Joseph Brant's Ball-Headed Club

Ball-headed club

Iroquois (Mohawk)

Wood, ribbon, feather

Length 52 x width 13.5 x cm

18th century

Area of Origin: Great Lakes, Canada

Belonged to Joseph Brant (Thayendanega)

In Canada, Joseph Brant (1742 – 1807) is remembered as the Mohawk military leader who sided with the British in the American War of Independence (1776 – 1783). Following the British defeat, Brant led Loyalists and his followers to Canada where they had been granted land, a small portion of which became the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in 1841. Brant’s memory is honoured in the sash worn by Seth Newhouse in 1889.

Copy and images from Royal Ontario Museum.

Joseph Brant's Pistols

The second Duke of Northumberland presented these pistols to Thayendanegea (aka Joseph Brant, 1742-1807) in 1791. Thayendanegea was a Mohawk who was a renowned war chief of the Iroquois Confederacy. During the American Revolution, Thayendanegea fought on the British side and convinced most Iroquois to follow him. These pistols were delivered to Brant in 1793 by John Graves Simcoe, the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. They are of unique Scottish type and were prestige weapons of officers in Highland regiments, aristocrats, Scottish chieftans, etc.

Copy and images from Royal Ontario Museum.