This week in Christian history: Jesuit founder canonized, martyr killed, dozens massacred

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, March 07, 2021

The Gnadenhutten massacre - March 8, 1782

A monument stands at the Gnadenhutten Massacre site, located in the cemetery at Gnadenhutten, Ohio. | Wikimedia Commons/SalomonCeb

This week marks the anniversary of when a group of Pennsylvania militiamen stormed a Moravian mission settlement in Gnadenhutten, Ohio and slaughtered around 90 Native Americans.

Gnadenhutten had been founded by the Moravians just before the start of the American Revolution and was abandoned when the settlers were accused of helping the British.

In 1782, a group of Native Americans returned to the settlement searching for food. Instead, they were massacred by the militia, who falsely claimed the victims belonged to a raiding party.

“This infamous attack on non-combatants led to a loss of faith in the Patriots by their Indian allies in the Revolutionary War and reprisals upon Patriot captives in Indian custody,” noted History.com.