Konieschquanoheel

Captain Pipe was an hereditary chief of the Munsee-Delaware Indians during and after the American Revolution.

Little is known of his early years. His American Indian name was Konieschquanoheel, meaning "maker of daylight." After 1763, his nickname among the Delaware was Hopocan, which translates to "tobacco pipe." He fought against the British during the French and Indian War. He also met at Fort Pitt with General George Croghan in 1759. Several years later, Captain Pipe attempted to capture Fort Pitt, but his effort failed and led to his brief capture. Captain Pipe eventually settled with his people on the Upper Muskingum River in the Ohio Country. He was also present at a number of councils held at Munsee villages and at Fort Pitt until the outbreak of the American Revolution.

By the time of the American Revolution, Captain Pipe had become a leader among his people because of his oratorical skill and wise counsel, two attributes common among Delaware political leaders. During the conflict, he first tried to remain neutral to both the British and the Americans. He refused to take up arms against the Americans even after General Edward Hand's soldiers killed Konieschquanoheel's mother, brother, and a few of his children during a military campaign in 1778. The Delawares that Hand attacked were neutral, but he sought to protect American settlers in the Ohio Country from Indian attack and sometimes killed innocent natives. Later that same year, General Lachlan McIntosh, the American commander at Fort Pitt, requested permission from the Delaware Indians to march through their territory to attack Fort Detroit. Captain Pipe and other Delaware chiefs agreed, as long as the soldiers would build a fort to protect the Delaware form both the British and white American settlers. McIntosh agreed and had Fort Laurens built near the Delaware villages in eastern Ohio. After constructing the fort, McIntosh demanded that the Ohio Country natives assist the Americans in capturing Fort Detroit. If the Indians refused, McIntosh threatened them with extermination.

Realizing how weak McIntosh's force was and believing that the Americans could not protect them from the British and their native allies, Captain Pipe and many other Delaware Indians began to form a friendlier relationship with the British. The Americans pushed Captain Pipe solidly into England's embrace in 1781, when Colonel Daniel Brodhead attacked and destroyed Coshocton, a Delaware Indian village. Captain Pipe spent the remainder of the war trying to thwart American expansion into the Ohio Country. In 1782, he participated in William Crawford's defeat. Seeking vengeance for the Gnadenhutten Massacre, Captain Pipe was probably the one who marked Crawford for death by painting his face black. He also threatened to kill Simon Girty if he tried to intercede on Crawford's behalf while the natives first tortured and then executed Crawford. Following the Revolution, Captain Pipe continued to resist white settlement of the Ohio Country (known as the Northwest Territory by 1787). By the 1810s and 1820s, Captain Pipe realized that his people had little chance against the Americans and began to negotiate treaties. The whites quickly violated these agreements, moving onto land set aside for the Delaware.

The exact date of the death of Captain Pipe has not been determined. Some writers have argued that he died as early as 1794. Others believe that he lived until 1812 or 1814 when his role was assumed by his son, who was also called Captain Pipe.