Gnadenhutten Massacre

Ninety-six Christian Munsee and Christian Mahicans were killed by US militiamen from Pennsylvania at the Moravian Christian missionary village of Gnadenhutten, Ohio. This was one of the most tragic incidents of the Revolutionary War.

When this happened

Gnadenhutten Massacre occurred in March 8, 1782, during the revolutionary era period of American history.

Where this happened

Gnadenhutten Massacre took place in Ohio. Explore the full history of Ohio and primary source records from this era.

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) grew from colonial resistance to British taxation without parliamentary representation — a dispute that radicalized through the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Boston Massacre (1770). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775; the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington faced severe shortages of supplies and troops, enduring the brutal winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778) before French alliance and French financing turned the military balance. Major engagements included Bunker Hill (1775), Trenton (1776), Saratoga (1777) — which secured French intervention — and Yorktown (1781), where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. An estimated 25,000 American soldiers died in service, from combat, disease, and captivity. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded British territory east of the Mississippi, though it left unresolved questions about Indigenous land rights and the status of Loyalists.

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: American Revolution.