Pickawillany

Pickawillany was a Miami town on the Great Miami River in western Ohio. Founded by the chief Memeskia, known to English traders as Old Briton, it became a centre of trade with Pennsylvania merchants. An English trading post and stockade stood beside the village, drawing commerce that challenged French influence in the Ohio country.

In 1752 Charles Michel de Langlade led a force of French-allied warriors against Pickawillany. Many inhabitants were away from the stockade or working in the cornfields when the attack came. Short of water, the defenders negotiated surrender, and several English traders were captured. Memeskia was killed, and the town was destroyed. The raid struck a serious blow to British trade and the Miami community that had cultivated it.