Changes

Killbuck became a leader in a very dangerous time for the Lenape (Delaware). The American Revolution had just begun, and Killbuck found his people caught between the British in the West and the Americans in the East. At the war's beginning, Killbuck and many Lenape claimed to be neutral. In 1778, Killbuck did give permission to a force of American soldiers to traverse Lenape territory so that the soldiers could attack Fort Detroit. In return, Killbuck requested that the Americans build a fort near the Lenape people's major village, Coshocton, to provide the Lenape with protection from British attacks. The Americans agreed. While the Lenape had begun to side with the Americans, other groups, especially the Wyandot, the Seneca-Cayuga, the Munsee, the Shawnee, and even the wolf clan of the Lenape (Delaware) favored the British. These Ohio Country American Indian nations planned to attack Fort Laurens in early 1779 and demanded that the neutral Lenape formally side with the British. Killbuck warned the Americans of the planned attack. His actions helped save the fort, but the Americans still abandoned it in August 1779. The Lenape had lost their protectors and, in theory, faced attacks from the British, other local American Indians sided with the British, and even American settlers that flooded into the area in the late 1770s and early 1780s. Most Lenape natives formally joined the British after the American withdrawal from Fort Laurens.<br />