Little Turtle - A famous chief of the Miami Indians. He was born in 1752 at what became known later as Little Turtle's Village on the Eel River, and what is known now as Fort Wayne, Indiana. his father was a Miami chief and his mother a Mahican.
Little Turtle became a chief at an early age and was the principal leader of the Indians who defeated General Harmar on the Miami River in the fall of 1780. Five years later, after being defeated by General Wayne's army, Little Turtle signed a treaty of peace. At the time, he said: "I am the last to sign it and I will be the last to break it." he kept his word and when the War of 1812 started he refused to join Tecumseh.
In 1797 Little Turtle made a memorable trip to Washington. Here he met, among others, General Kosciusko, the Polish general who had fought with the Americans in the War of Independence. General Kosciusko gave little Turtle his own pair of handmade pistols. During this trip, also, Gilbert Stuart, the famed artist who painted George Washington, made a portrait of the chief.
Little Turtle died in 1812 at Little Turtle's Village. His Grave is marked by a monument in his honor in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.