Pushmataha

Pushmataha
Apushamatahahubi (Choctaw)
Paramount Chief of the Choctaw Nation
In office
1815–1824
Chief of the Six Towns District
In office
1800–1824
Succeeded byTappenahoma[1]
Personal details
Born1764, exact date unknown
Taladega, present-day Mississippi
DiedDecember 24, 1824(1824-12-24) (aged 59–60)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeCongressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Children5
Military career
Nickname(s)"The Indian General"
Allegiance Choctaw Nation
 United States
Service / branch United States Army
Rank Brigadier general
Battles / warsWar of 1812

Pushmataha (c. 1764 – December 24, 1824; also spelled Pooshawattaha, Pooshamallaha, or Poosha Matthaw) was one of the three regional chiefs of the major divisions of the Choctaw in the 19th century. Many historians considered him the "greatest of all Choctaw chiefs".[2] Pushmataha was highly regarded among Native Americans, Europeans, and white Americans, for his skill and cunning in both war and diplomacy.

Rejecting the offers of alliance and reconquest proffered by Tecumseh, Pushmataha led the Choctaw to fight on the side of the United States in the War of 1812. He negotiated several treaties with the United States.

In 1824, he traveled to Washington to petition the Federal government against further cessions of Choctaw land; he met with John C. Calhoun and Marquis de Lafayette, and his portrait was painted by Charles Bird King. He died in the capital city and was buried with full military honors in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference jenniferhsrn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Swanton, John (1931). "Source Material for the Social and Ceremonial Life of the Choctaw Indians". Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin (103).