Aupaumut, Captian Hendrick

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 10816
• Nationality: Abt 1757; Algonquin Indian
• Military Service: From 23 Jun 1775 to 1782; Revolutionary War
• Biography: Abt 1830
• News Mention: 15 Jun 1928; Kaukauna Times

Notes:

Biography:
Hendrick Aupaumut was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a son of the chief Sachem.

He enlisted in the revolution, at age 18, on June 23, 1775. In August 1775 he was serving as a private in Captain William Goodrich's Company of Indians, Colonel John Paterson's Regiment, during the siege of Boston. During the 1777 Saratoga campaign Aupaumut acted as the lieutenant of Indian Scouts under Captains Nimham and Mtohksin. The next year, 1778, he survived the massacre of Stockbridge Indians in the Bronx, New York, and took command of the Indian Company on the death of his captain.

In 1779 General George Washington promoted him to the temporary rank of captain. He-enlisted regularly and remained in the service through 1782. Captain Aupaumut was later with General William Harrison at the battle of Tippecanoe, when Chief Tecumseh was defeated.

In 1829 Hendrick Aupaumut moved to tribal lands on the Fox River where Kaukauna Wisconsin now lies. During his later years Aupaumut translated religious text into the Mohican language, wrote a traditional history of the tribe and, after 1811, became Chief Sachem (leader) of the Mohicans.

Rev. Cutting Marsh, a missionary to the Stockbridge wrote in his report to the missionary society and published September 1830, in the Missionary Herald wrote:

"there has been considerable sickness among the Indians during the summer…a number of whom have died, one was Captain Hendrick, at the age of 72. He was Head Chief of the nation. Captain Hendrick possessed a strong and vigorous mind, and was one of the ablest counselors and speakers the nation ever had. He was in the army of the United States at the taking of General Burgoyne at Saratoga, during the Revolution, and received a Captains commission from General George Washington. From time to time he rendered important service to the United States."

He is buried in the old Stockbridge Indian Cemetery. No one today is certain about its exact location. The 1826 Statesburg map locates the burial ground opposite the schoolhouse on what would become the John Brill farm on Buchanan Road. A Wisconsin Historical Marker, in tribute to Captain Aupaumut, is located in the City of Kaukauna's Thelen Park.

News Mention:
Captain Hendrick Aupaumut, a Revolutionary war hero buried in Kaukauna, is one of only three Revolutionary war veterans buried in the state of Wisconsin. He was honored here Thursday June 14th by the Daughters of the American Revolution, with a program staged at the triangle at Reaume and Hendricks avenues. The tablet unveiled today is to the memory of Captain Hendrick Aupaumut, a member of that great tribe of Algonquin Indians, his particular clan being known as the Muh-he-con-nuk originally known as the grandfather of them all. When the tribe gathered near Stockbridge, Massachusetts, they became known as the Stockbridge tribe. Captain Aupaumut was written of, by those who knew him in high esteem and General Washington mentioned him with praise on several occasions. He was born about 1757, descending as he did from a long line of chiefs noted for their sagacity and wisdom. He obtained his education and spoke several languages being sought after by the government to negotiate treaties with Indian tribes. At the closing of the ceremony the "The Star-Spangled Banner" was song.