Tuscarora Indian War of 1711

New English colonists in Carolina had been in contact with and had lived among the native Tuscarora Indians for several years by the time the Swiss and German settlers arrived in New Bern.  By all accounts, the Tuscaroras tolerated the newcomers well, often sharing food and articles of clothing.  Trading and bartering for goods among the colonists and the Tuscaroras also became commonplace.

Stemming from several years of disputes over colonist’s acquisition of Tuscarora’s ancestral lands, hunting grounds, inequitable trading deals, and a host of other insults, the Tuscarora Indians planned retaliation against the colonists.  On the morning of September 22, 1711, the Tuscaroras carried out a coordinated attack against colonist throughout eastern Carolina.  Shortly before the attack, von Graffenried and John Lawson had been captured by the Tuscarora and were being held prisoners.  In New Bern, von Graffenried would later estimate that about 70 Swiss and Palatine settlers were killed.  Many more were severely injured and several women and children were taken prisoners by the Tuscarora.  These children along with von Graffenried and John Lawson were taken up the Neuse River, then up Contentnea Creek to the large Tuscarora town of Catechna near present day Snow Hill, NC.  Lawson was apparently seen by the Tuscaroras as a purveyor of their strife and was executed.  Von Graffenried was held prisoner but was released on or about October 28, 1711 after signing a treaty with the Tuscarora insuring peace between him, the Swiss and German colonists and the Tuscarora.

An estimated 15 women and children from the New Bern settlement were still being held captives by the Tuscarora and were not released until January 1712. 

Von Graffenried wrote a letter to Governor Edward Hyde and described a young boy from one of his tenant families who survived the massacre but was taken prisoner by the Tuscarora.  The young boy’s parents and brother had been killed by the Tuscarora leaving the young boy as a surviving orphan.  Although some uncertainty exists, Jones, Jr. and Rohrbach (2002) believe this young boy may have been Georg Gnӓge.  This is the closest hint we have in the historical record that young George Kornegay may have actually been a prisoner of the Tuscarora.  From court records, we do know that one Geo. Kneegee, along with Geo. Cones later were orphans and were bound to craftsman Jacob Miller until the age of 21.

Hostilities between the Tuscarora and the New World colonists continued into 1712 but finally ceased when Captain James Moore’s troops along with Yamasee Indians from South Carolina entered North Carolina, capturing and destroying the Tuscarora stronghold at Catechna

For more in depth reading on these topics, see:

https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/tuscarora-war

https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/christoph-von-graffenrieds

Jones, Jr. and Rohrbach. 2002.

Todd and Goebel. 1920.