Louis Cook, orAkiatonharónkwen (died October 1814) (Mohawk), was anIroquois leader and commissioned officer in theContinental Army during the American Revolution. Born to an African father and anAbenaki mother in what is nowSchuylerville, New York, he and his mother were taken captive in a French-Mohawk raid and taken toKahnawake, aMohawk village south of Montreal. They were adopted by a Mohawk family. His mother soon died and he served Catholic missionaries, learning French. He became an influential leader among the Mohawk and distinguished himself as a warrior for their allies the French during theFrench and Indian War.
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, Cook supported the American colonists and joined their fight against the British. He became the highest-rankingNative American officer in theContinental Army, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. He ledOneida warriors, who were allied with the rebels, against the British in some actions. When the Americans sought Native American allies in the Revolutionary War, they looked to form an alliance with some of the Iroquois. It was known that the British wanted Native allies in their ranks too so failure to add allies would surely push them into the ranks of the British.[2]
After the war, he settled in central New York State, where he became an important adviser to theOneida. He represented them and theSeven Nations of Canada to negotiate with the government of New York state in trying to achieve more justice in postwar land deals. He later settled atAkwesasne, eventually a formal Mohawk reserve that straddles the New York, USA-Quebec, Canada borders.
Cook was born asNia-man-rigounant to anAbenaki mother and Black father; while living in what is todaySchuylerville, New York, the family was taken captive in a French-Mohawk raid in 1745.[3] A French officer planned to keep the boy as aslave, but the Mohawk intervened and saved him. They took the boy and his mother with them when they returned to their village ofKahnawake south of Montreal.[4] Cook was formally adopted by a Mohawk family and assimilated into the tribe; he grew up learning their culture and language. In theMohawk language, he was namedAkiatonharónkwen, translates as "he unhangs himself from the group."[3] Over the years, Cook also learned French, as he was educated byJesuit Catholic missionaries in the village.
Later he learned English as well. Among English-language records, he is most often referred to asLouis Cook orColonel Louis. He is sometimes referred to asJoseph Louis Cook orJoseph Lewis.
Cook lived in the Mohawk village of Kahnawake. He fought with theMohawk nation on the side of the French against the British in theFrench and Indian War, the North American front of theSeven Years' War.[5] A friend and minister,Eleazer Williams, later wrote that Cook was at the battle against theBraddock expedition in 1755 (the Braddock party included the youngGeorge Washington), and served underGeneral Montcalm at theBattle of Fort Oswego in 1756.[4] The same year, he was wounded in a skirmish withRogers' Rangers nearFort Ticonderoga.[4]
Cook was given his first command in the 1758Battle of Carillon, where he was praised by General Montcalm. He was also present at theBattle of Sainte-Foy in 1760, serving under theChevalier de Levis.
Following the war, Cook returned to Caughnawaga and married Marie-Charlotte.[6] As he never fully accepted the British victory and found his homeland increasingly overrun by American colonists, he moved with his family toAkwesasne, a Mohawk village along theSt. Lawrence River in what was then Quebec.
Although the Mohawk and three other of theIroquois nations sided with the British during the American Revolution, hoping to expel the colonists from their lands, Cook allied with the Thirteen Colonies, as did the Oneida and Tuscarora. As early as 1775, he offered his services to GeneralGeorge Washington.[8] Cook returned in January 1776 with a group to meet withPhilip Schuyler inAlbany and with Washington andJohn Adams atCambridge, Massachusetts.[9] Cook was withBenedict Arnold on hisexpedition into Quebec, when he was already known as "Colonel Louis."[10] Washington met again with Cook in 1776.[11]
John Adams who saw the Natives at Cambridge said Colonel Louis ,” spoke English and French as well as Indian.”[1]Louis Cook was present at the siege at Fort Stanwix which resulted in a Patriot Victory. A story that illustrates Cook’s fierceness as a fighter was that“ Lous Atayutaghranghta noticed that an enemy Indian was a crack shot. When the warrior next rose to take aim, Louis fired. That fell will do no more harm.”[1] Declared Louis, who went to take the dead man’s scalp. Colonel Cook was a man of action who could be relied upon especially by the likes of our founding Fathers such as George Washington and John Adams.[2][12][2]General Washington even referred to Colonel Louis as ,” our friend.” General Washington was also relieved to hear that Colonel Louis had ,” returned safely from a mission.”
In New York, Louis Cook was present at theBattle of Oriskany, and participated in theSaratoga Campaign.[6] He led a large body ofOneida andTuscora warriors[13] under GeneralRobert Van Rensselaer. Following theBattle of Klock's Field, Cook forded a river in pursuit ofSir John Johnson while General Rensselaer delayed. Infuriated, Colonel Louis shook his sword at Rensselaer and accused him of being aTory.[14]
Cook was with the Continental Army atValley Forge in the winter of 1777. In spring 1778,Peter Stephen DuPonceau wrote of meeting Cook, dressed in Americanregimentals, after hearing the officer singing a French aria.[15] In March of that year, GeneralPhilip Schuyler sent Cook to destroy British ships at Niagara in order to prevent another Canadian expedition.[16][17]
The nickname of "Colonel Louis" was made fact on June 15, 1779, when Cook received a commission from theContinental Congress as alieutenant colonel in theContinental Army.[6] This commission was the highest rank awarded to anAmerican Indian during the Revolution.[18] It is the only known Continental Army commission given to a man of known African descent.[19][20] Colonel Louis led a Native American delegation to greetGeneral Rochambeau in 1780, where some officers noted he spoke French with no discernible accent.[21] Louis was with Lieutenant-ColonelMarinus Willett at theBattle of Johnstown in 1781, one of the last North American battles of the Revolution.[6]
During the war, Cook became a personal enemy of CaptainJoseph Brant, a Mohawk who supported the British. When each returned to their homes after the war, their personal conflict divided the Mohawk nation. TheSeven Nations of Canada and the Iroquois at what would be theSix Nations Reserve, who were mostly emigrants from the New York colony, were brought to the brink of war.[3]
Cook settled in the area ofSterling, New York following the war. He became an influential adviser to theOneida tribe because he could speak both French and English in addition to Oneida.[22] While living atOnondaga, Cook married Marguerite Thewanihattha. They had several children.[6]
Cook convinced the Oneida to lease their lands, using the example of the Mohawk tribe atKahnawake. The Oneida leased nearly 5 million acres (20,000 km2) to Colonel John Livingston for 999 years.[19] Conflicting claims were made on many of the Iroquois lands, and much of the land was lost to the state of New York because the Iroquois were forced to cede land, as the majority had been allies of the defeated British.
The Oneida named Cook and Peter Otsequette to negotiate with GovernorGeorge Clinton for a return of, or compensation for, their land. Governor Clinton made some minor concessions to the Oneida in theTreaty of Fort Schuyler, but generally did not yield much to the Oneida representatives.[23] Today, Cook has been criticized for negotiating bad land deals for the Oneida.
Despite his shortcomings in the Oneida land negotiations, between 1792 and 1796 Cook was selected by the Seven Nations of Canada on six separate occasions to represent them in land negotiations with New York state.[24] The negotiations were related to lands sold by the people of two villages, Grand River andTyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario, who were led by Joseph Brant. The Mohawk peoples ofAkwesasne and Kahnawake, then considered two of the Seven Nations, denied that those villages had the right to sell what was common Mohawk land in New York. Ultimately, New York prevailed in keeping control of the land, and the division between Cook and Brant was deepened.
By 1789, Cook had settled at Akwesasne, where he became an influential chief. The Mohawk reserve eventually established there spans the New York (US)-Quebec (Canada) border and the St. Lawrence River. He argued that the St. Regis Indians (as they were called in New York) and the Seven Nations should remain neutral in theWar of 1812 between the US and Great Britain.[25] The United States forgot Cook's earlier service and detained the Mohawk atFort Niagara; he was released after producing proof of his commission in the Continental Army, as well as letters from George Washington.[26]
[27][1]Colonel Louis still fought to make sure that the Natives who fought for the United States earned their full rights as American citizens who bled for this nation. His nation continued to lose their lands and this time, President Washington was unable to help. Louis Cook fought for the United States and was even a good friend to the President but he still couldn’t attain the fair treatment that the rest of the Continental Army seemed to enjoy.
Although too elderly to participate in the War of 1812, Cook followed the United States Army into Canada during the war; he was present at theBattle of Lundy's Lane. He was involved in a skirmish and fell from his horse. The injuries proved fatal; he died in the American camp in October 1814. Cook was given a military salute at his funeral,[26] and was buried nearBuffalo, New York.[6]