By Melinda Anne Roberts
Hobby historian and “Little Wisconsin” author
HOBART – After the Revolutionary War about 40 patriot soldiers made their way to Wisconsin, lived out their lives and were buried here – including Oneida Chief James Powlis.
Today a Wisconsin Historical Society Official Marker in Hobart honors the life of Chief Powlis and his service with the Continental Army.
America’s first veterans served during the Revolutionary War from April 1776 to September 1783.
Established by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, the Continental Army was created “to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their revolt against the rule of Great Britain.”
The Oneida Indian Nation allied with the colonists in their fight for independence, and fought
valiantly at the bloody Battle of Oriskany (Aug. 6, 1777) and the Battles of Saratoga (Sept. 19 and Oct. 17, 1777), where American forces forced the surrender of British General John Burgoyne and forever changed the course of the war.
The first tribe to acknowledge the United States as an independent country, the Oneida Nation suffered immeasurable losses during the Revolutionary War.
Their “loyalty, courage and sacrifice,” were affirmed in the Treaty of Canadaigua signed by President George Washington on Nov. 11, 1794.
Oneida First Christian Party Chief James Powlis was around 27 years old when he enlisted in the Continental Army in 1777, encouraged by Second Continental Congress promises of “American protection and supplies.”
He was commissioned as a captain on April 3, 1779, and served with Mohawk Lt. Colonel Louis Cook, the “highest ranking Indian in the Continental Army,” and his “New York Line.”
Powlis was honorably discharged in December 1784.
The first Oneida arrived at Green Bay in early August 1821, purchased land from the Menominee and settled at a portion of Duck Creek that would become Hobart.
Captain Powlis remained in New York until after his wife Nelly passed away, afterwards removing to the Oneida Duck Creek settlement. He was 99 years old when he died on March 15, 1849.
Patriot soldier James Powlis was buried in the family plot at Oneida Holy Apostles Cemetery.
Other Revolutionary War veterans also relocated to Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Society Sons of the American Revolution (WISSAR) determined in 1975 that 41 Patriot soldiers lived out their lives and were buried here.
Years later WISSAR established a goal of placing historical markers at their grave sites.
WISSAR collaborated with the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, and, on Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, 2005, the official Wisconsin Historical Society marker number 502 was dedicated.
Powlis was honored by “three generations of Oneida soldiers,” and a “150 member color guard,” comprising veterans as far back as World War II and three members of WISSAR in Continental Army uniforms.
Pendleton blankets covered the Historical Society marker and Captain Powlis’ new bronze military headstone, both unveiled by Purcell Powless, the captain’s great-great-great-grandson.
Today the prestigious Wisconsin Historical Society marker honoring Chief Powlis stands prominently at a Freedom Road entrance to Oneida Holy Apostles Cemetery amid a sea of American flags placed at the graves of Oneida veterans like Sgt. Gordon A. Cornelius (U.S. Army, Korea), PFC Timmon John Doxtator (Co I 8 Inf Regt, World War II), and CPL Louis Chief LaTraille (U.S. Army, World War I).