Tishomingo (from ) () was an early 19th-century

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

leader and the

namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...

Tishomingo County, Mississippi Tishomingo County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,850. Its county seat is Iuka. History Tishomingo County was organized February 9, 1836, from Ch ...

Early life and military service

Tishomingo was born around 1758 in the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation () is a federally recognized Indigenous nation with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation descends from an Indigenous population historically located in the southeastern United States, in ...

(present-day

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

). He served with

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Major-General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

against the

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

and received a silver medal from President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. He led by example and was respected for his honesty and high moral standards, serving with distinction at

Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States ...

and the

Red Stick War The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...

with the Creeks. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, he served under Major-General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

Later life and the "Trail of Tears"

After the War of 1812, Tishomingo retired to his farm until white settlers came onto his land. He traveled to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and was a principal signatory of the treaties of 1816 and 1818 as well as the 1832

Treaty of Pontotoc The Treaty of Pontotoc Creek was a treaty signed on October 20, 1832 by representatives of the United States and the Chiefs of the Chickasaw Nation assembled at the National Council House on Pontotoc Creek in Pontotoc, Mississippi. The treaty cede ...

. In 1837, a final treaty forced him and his family to relocate to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

. Chief Tishomingo was reported to have had a kidney stone operation March 25, 1821, in Columbus, Mississippi performed by Dr. Henderson and Dr. Barry. The article stated, "...the patient is supposed to be in his 63d year..." This would place his birth approximately in the year 1758.

Death

According to Tishomingo's son Richard, Tishomingo died around 1837 on Brushy Creek in the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo, exceeding t ...

on the same day as his wife ''U-Kuth-Le-Ya'' died. This was during the time both Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes resided together in

. Both he and his wife's burials were witnessed by two Chickasaw Warriors who had served with Tishomingo in the War of 1812. They gave their testimony attesting to the facts of the couple's deaths to the Indian Agent, Douglas H. Cooper, on September 27, 1859, in accordance with the requirements of a Bounty Land Application of Richard.Bounty Land Application # 305.066, Sept. 27, 1859. US National Archive.

Honors

The county of Tishomingo, town of Tishomingo, and

Tishomingo State Park Tishomingo State Park is a public recreation area located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, Tishomingo County, some northeast of Tupelo, Mississippi, Tupelo, Mississippi. The major feature of the ...

; and the capital of Tishomingo in the

are named for him.

Notes

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links

Chief Tishomingo Home Site
at

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tishomingo 1730s births 1837 deaths 18th-century Native American people 19th-century Native American leaders American military personnel of the War of 1812 American people of the Northwest Indian War Burials in Oklahoma Chickasaw people Native Americans in the War of 1812 Non-commissioned officers People of the Creek War People from Mississippi Trail of Tears survivors