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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Krieg" data-source="post: 1094370" data-attributes="member: 5282">As promised earlier...Cornstalk's CursePoint Pleasant WV sits at the confluence of the Ohio & Kanawa rivers. It is the oldest town south of Pittsburgh on the Ohio. Tradition holds that the name comes from none other than George Washington who referred to the area as a “pleasant point” while surveying land in 1770. To the Shawnee it was “Tu-Endie-Wei” or “mingling of the waters”.In 1774 a fierce battle was fought between the Shawnee with their allies led by Chief Cornstalk and Virginia militiamen under the command of Andrew Lewis. The Shawnee were forced to withdraw, primarily a result of bad luck. Shortly thereafter Chief Cornstalk signed a peace treaty with the colonists promising a cessation of hostilities.Later one of the militiamen would say of Chief Cornstalk "When Cornstalk arose, he was in no wise confused or daunted, but spoke in a distinct and audible voice, without stammering, or repetition, and with peculiar emphasis. His looks while addressing Dunmore were truly grand, yet graceful and attractive."The battle of Point Pleasant as it was to be known was the final battle of Lord Dunsmore’s War  & is now officially recognized as the first battle of the Revolutionary War (by act of Congress in 1908). Cornstalk was true to his word & never again attacked colonials. Unfortunately this was not the case for other Shawnee who continued to skirmish with settlers at the behest of the British. In 1777 Cornstalk & two other Shawnee went to Point Pleasant to warn the Americans that the rest of the Shawnee nation was planning on forming an alliance with the British. The commander of the garrison felt it prudent to hold onto the three Shawnee until a decision was made. While being held Cornstalk shared information with the Americans & helped them draw maps of the Ohio valley north of the river. His son came to join him during this time. Tragically during this time a settler out hunting was killed by a group of Shawnee. In retaliation a mob stormed the room in which Cornstalk & the other Shawnee were being held & murdered them. Legend says that with his final words Cornstalk uttered a curse…“I was the border man’s friend. Many times I have saved him and his people from harm. I never warred with you, but only to protect our wigwams and lands. I refused to join your paleface enemies with the red coats. I came to the fort as your friend and you murdered me. You have murdered by my side, my young son.... For this, may the curse of the Great Spirit rest upon this land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted in its hopes. May the strength of its peoples be paralyzed by the stain of our blood.” Since then pretty much any disaster or tragedy that befalls the area around Point Pleasant (the Silver Bridge Collapse, the Monongah Mine Collapse, the airplane crash that called the Marshall Football team etc etc) is commonly accredited to Cornstalk's Curse.</blockquote>

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