On March 7, 1782, one hundred and sixty Pennsylvania militiamen, under the command of Lt. Col. David Williamson, entered the Indian town of Gnadenhutten, Ohio.
Delaware, Mohican and other Native Americans lived at or near Gnadenhutton. They were harvesting leftover corn as the militiamen arrived. All of these people had been converted to Christianity by Moravian missionaries.
The Native Americans were rounded up and told that they would be taken to Fort Pitt for safety. An order was given that separated men from women and children, and the captives were isolated in two longhouses.
The militia held a council and voted to kill the captives. Eighteen militiamen voted against the killings but they were overruled.
The next morning, March 8, 1782, the Native American captives were tied up, and one by one, as they prayed to God for forgiveness, each was killed by mallet blows to the head and then scalped. Twenty-eight men, twenty-nine women, and thirty-nine children were slaughtered. Then the longhouses were burned to the ground.
Two captive boys, one of whom had been scalped, survived the massacre. In all, ninety-six people were killed.
For more information, click on http://gnadenhutten.tripod.com/ or visit Wikipedia.
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