Cornstalk

Chief Cornstalk
Hokoleskwa, Colesqua
An 1872 drawing of Cornstalk from Frost's Pictorial History of Indian Wars and Captivities
Shawnee leader
Personal details
Born	ca. 1720 Pennsylvania
Died	November 10, 1777(1777-11-10) Fort Randolph, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Cause of death	Killed by soldiers from Fort Randolph
Resting place	Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Spouse(s)	Helizikinopo (1715-1756), m. ca. 1739; Ounaconoa Moytoy (1715-1755), m. ca. 1740; Catherine Vanderpool (1725-1806) or 1808, m. 1763-1777
Relations	Brother of Nonhelema
Children	Aracoma Cornstalk, Elinipsico Cornstalk (1745-Oct. 10, 1777)
Parents	Moytoy II Pigeon of Tellico (of Tainesi (Cherokee)) (1687-1760), Hawwaythi
Known for	Prominent leader of the Shawnee nation
Nickname(s)	Keigh-tugh-qua and Wynepuechsika

Cornstalk (Shawnee: Hokoleskwa) (ca. 1720 – November 10, 1777) was a prominent leader of the Shawnee nation just prior to the American Revolution (1775-1783). His name, Hokoleskwa, translates loosely into "stalk of corn" in English, and is spelled Colesqua in some accounts. He was also known as Keigh-tugh-qua and Wynepuechsika.

Cornstalk opposed European settlement west of the Ohio River in his youth, but he later became an advocate for peace after the Battle of Point Pleasant (1774). His murder by American militiamen at Fort Randolph during a diplomatic visit in November 1777 outraged both American Indians and Virginians.

Historians believe he may have been born in present-day Pennsylvania, and with his sister, Nonhelema, moved to the Ohio Country, near present-day Chillicothe, when the Shawnee fell back before expanding white settlement. Stories tell of Cornstalk's participation in the French and Indian War (1754–1763), though these are probably apocryphal. His alleged participation in Pontiac's Rebellion (1763–1766) is also unverified, though he did take part in the peace negotiations.

Cornstalk played a central role in Dunmore's War of 1774. After the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix, settlers and land speculators moved into the lands south of the Ohio River in present-day Kentucky. Although the Iroquois had agreed to cede the land, the Shawnee and others had not been present at the Fort Stanwix negotiations. They still claimed Kentucky as their hunting grounds. Clashes soon took place over this. Cornstalk tried unsuccessfully to prevent escalation of the hostilities.