Abstract
In February of 1779, a combined British and Native American raiding party ambushed a small group of American soldiers at an isolated fort on the Ohio frontier. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 13 soldiers, many of who died from massive head injuries that, to modern researchers, do not appear to have been tactically necessary. However, rather than being an isolated instance of savagery or wartime atrocity this paper considers the ideological and cultural bases of violence behind the trauma, and will argue that the Fort Laurens ambush was just one example of violence in a long standing, and exceedingly brutal, conflict between Native Americans and white settlers on the American frontier during the 18th century.
Recommended Citation
Somerville, Kyle
(2011)
"A Case Study in Frontier Warfare: Racial Violence, Revenge, and the Ambush at Fort Laurens, Ohio,"
Journal of Contemporary Anthropology: Vol. 2
:
Iss.
1,
Article 5.
Available at:
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jca/vol2/iss1/5