#chief souligny

[clove-pinks]

A portrait of Chief Souligny of the Menominee (Wisconsin Historical Society). Undated, but credited to the English-born American artist Samuel Marsden Brookes (1816-1892).

I can't find any information about Souligny other than what the Wisconsin Historical Society provides: that he was named after his French great-grandfather, and he was an ally of Tecumseh who sided with the British in the War of 1812. He later changed his loyalty to the United States, and he is shown wearing a James Madison Peace Medal.

Yesterday I picked up Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation by Peter Cozzens from the library. I'm currently reading the section in the book about the battle for Fort Meigs, which is eye-opening. But there's nothing in the book's index about Chief Souligny. Maybe he was a very minor figure in Tecumseh's confederacy, I don't know.

It's frustrating and it feels like a symbol of how hard it is to learn the specifics of Indigenous participation in the War of the 1812: and there was a lot of it, especially on what was then the northwestern frontier of the United States. Many First Nations allied with the British against the expansion of US settlements, and in many War of 1812 battles there are a substantial number of Indigenous warriors, who are sometimes in the majority with British regulars and USAmerican army or militia as the other forces.

There are yearly reenactments of the Siege of Prarie du Chien in the War of 1812, but if you look up pictures you won't see any Menominee, Ho-Chunk, or Meskwaki—who were the vast majority of participants. If they're present they never seem to be in the photos.

#war of 1812 #chief souligny #menominee #indigenous #samuel marsden brookes #tecumseh #fort meigs #military history #us history #wisconsin #i almost went to the native american museum in the wisconsin dells #but apparently it's just a tourist trap and gift shop #warof1812posting on a friday night