Chief Pushmataha is belived to have been born at Noxuba Creek in Noxubee County, Mississippi in 1764. Little is known about his mother and father.  

His given full name was “Apushamatahahubi,” which means a messenger of death, literally, one whose rifle, tomahawk, or bow is fatal in war or hunting. 

During his teenage years it is believe that he was given the name of "Eagle" for his early actions as a warrior among his Choctaw people.  He showed his abilities as a warrior from a very young age, excelled in battles against neighboring tribes and during hunts, and became a leader at an early age. This gained his influence toward winning  chieftaincy. The Choctaw people knowing of his bravery as a warrior gave him influence, which promoting friendly relations with the whites. 

Pushmataha’s prowess in battle made him a great leader, as did his skill as a negotiator. He lived in the Six Towns Division of the Choctaw Confederacy, near the basins of the Leaf and Chickasawhay Rivers in Alabama. He became their diplomatic leader in his twenties. Around 1800, he began serving as a leading chief and played a significant role in negotiations with other Native American nations and the U.S. government. He developed a reputation for his speaking abilities and negotiation tactics, showing a firm grasp of English and other Native languages and a logical mind that helped overcome negotiation barriers. He took part in a formal treaty at the Fort Confederation meeting in 1802 and played a vital role in all negotiations between the Choctaw and the United States, like the Treaty of Mount Dexter in 1805 and the Treaty of Fort St. Stephens in 1816. However, he frequently disagreed with Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief. In 1811, Tecumseh tried to bring the Choctaw Nation into his confederacy to fight against the United States’ seizure of Native American hunting land. Tecumseh made a passionate appeal and almost won over the Choctaw

When Tecumseh visited the Choctaw in 1811 to persuade them to join in an uprising against the Americans, Push-ma-ta-ha strongly opposed the movement, and it was largely through his influence that the Shawnee chief’s mission among this tribe failed. However, Pushmataha delivered a memorable reply, calling Tecumseh a tyrant and appealing to the Choctaw’s desire for peace. After hearing from Pushmataha, only 30 Choctaw warriors joined Tecumseh.
 
During the War of 1812 most of the Choctaw became friendly to the United States through the opposition of Push-ma-ta-ha and John Pitchlynn to a neutral course, Push-ma-ta-ha being alleged to have said, on the last day of a ten days’ council: “The Creeks were once our friends. They have joined the English and we must now follow different trails. When our fathers took the hand of Washington, they told him the Choctaw would always be friends of his nation, and Push-ma-ta-ha can not be false to their promises. I am now ready to fight against both the English and the Creeks.” He was at the head of 500 warriors during the war, engaging in 24 fights and serving under Jackson’s eye in the Pensacola campaign. In 1813, with about 150 Choctaw warriors, he joined Gen. Claiborne and distinguished himself in the attack and defeat of the Creeks under Weatherford at Kantchati, or Holy Ground, on Alabama River, Alabama.

While aiding the United States troops he was so rigid in his discipline that he soon succeeded in converting his wild warriors into efficient soldiers, while for his energy in fighting the Creeks and Seminole he became popularly known to the whites as “The Indian General.”

The refusal to join Tecumseh’s confederacy proved critical at the start of the War of 1812. On June 18, 1812, Tecumseh’s confederacy and several other Native nations joined the British to fight against the United States. The Choctaw remained neutral until 1813, when the Red Stick Creeks attacked Fort Mims, Alabama Territory, killing 500 Americans. Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, leader of the United States’ southern forces at the time, asked Pushmataha to help counterattack. He agreed to help and received the rank of captain. His first order of duty was to call a grand council meeting of several thousand Choctaws to unite the nation and recruit volunteers to fight. Pushmataha assembled a force of more than 700 fighters and Jackson promoted him to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He and the Choctaw force helped bring an end to the Creek attacks in March 1814 at the Battle Horseshoe Bend, nearly wiping out the entire Creek fighting force. Afterward, Pushmataha was promoted to brigadier general. He and his men joined Jackson’s forces in Florida and helped capture Pensacola in November. They last saw action at the Battle of New Orleans in December 1814, after which Pushmataha and his men returned to Mississippi.

Pushmataha spent the rest of his life negotiating for the rights and land of his people. During the 1820s and 1830s, the U.S. government began forcefully relocating Native Americans west of the Mississippi River. Treaties from generations before fell apart rapidly as state populations grew and more settlers began moving west. In 1820, Jackson, now a Tennessee senator, returned to the Choctaw Nation to demand they give up their lands and move west in order to free up land for white settlers. Pushmataha resisted the proposed Treaty of Doak’s Stand, which required the Choctaw to give up more than half their territory in Mississippi and relocate to what is now Arkansas. 

Pushmataha tried to negotiate with Jackson, explaining that the move would force the Choctaw onto already settled land. Instead, Pushmataha wanted Jackson to evict the white settlers. The dispute brought him and other chiefs to Washington, D.C., in 1824. During the negotiations, Pushmataha became sick and died. Jackson visited him at his deathbed and asked if there was anything he could do for him. Pushmataha requested a funeral with full military honors. He received a general’s funeral and was laid to rest in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Pushmataha used his skills as a warrior and negotiator to serve his people and the Army. Although the U.S. government ultimately took the Choctaw lands and moved them west, Pushmataha believed that as chief, his role was to work with the government to fight for his people. Though he never achieved his ultimate goal, he proved himself in battle and at the negotiating table. Today, Pushmataha is considered the Chief of Chiefs of the Choctaw.

Push-ma-ta-ha signed the treaties of Nov. 16, 1805; Oct. 24, 1816; and Oct. 18, 1820. In negotiating the last treaty, at Doak’s Stand, “he displayed much diplomacy and showed a business capacity equal to that of Gen. Jackson, against whom he was pitted, in driving a sharp bargain.” In 1824 he went to Washington to negotiate another treaty in behalf of his tribe. Following a brief visit to Lafayette, then at the capital, Push-ma-ta-ha became ill and died within 24 hours. In accordance with his request he was buried with military honors, a procession of 2,000 persons, military and civilian, accompanied by President Jackson, following his remains to Congressional Cemetery. A shaft bearing the following inscriptions was erected over his grave: “Push-ma-ta-ha a Choctaw chief lies here. This monument to his memory is erected by his brother chiefs who were associated with him in a delegation from their nation, in the year 1824, to the General Government of the United States.” ” Push-ma-taha was a warrior of great distinction. He was wise in council, eloquent in an extraordinary degree, and on all occasions, and under all circumstances, the white man’s friend.” “He died in Washington, on the 24th of December, 1824, of the croup, in the 60th year of his age.”

General Jackson frequently expressed the opinion that Push-ma-ta-ha was the greatest and the bravest Indian he had ever known, and John Randolph of Roanoke, in pronouncing a eulogy on him in the Senate, uttered the words regarding his wisdom, his eloquence, and his friendship for the whites that afterward were inscribed on his monument.  The first portrait, painted by C. B. King at Washington in 1824, shortly before Push-ma-ta-ha’s death, was burned in the Smithsonian fire of 1865.

His headstone shares:  Push-ma-ta-ha, a Choctaw chief, lies here. This monument is erected by his brother chiefs, who were associated with him in a delegation from their nation, in the year 1824, to the general assembly of the United States. 

He died in Washington, Dec. 24, 1824, of the croup, in the 60th year of his age. 

Among his last words were this following : ‘When I am gone let the big guns be fired over me.’ He said that his death would be like the falling of a great tree in the forest when the winds were still.

US Army, Brigadier General Pushmataha.  Was Principal Chief of the entire Choctaw nation following the War of 1812. 

CHIEF PUSH-MA-TA-HA

Resting Place

Mementos

Tributes

Word Cloud

Biography

Milestones

Mementos

Historical Documents

Veteran programs and services

More VA resources

Get VA updates

In crisis? Get help now

Contact us