When war broke out in the colonies in 1775, the Catawba people of the Carolinas cast their lot with the Patriots. In 1780, the tribe’s new leader, General New River, continued the alliance with those challenging British rule. Under his direction, Catawba warriors served in many southern battles of the revolution, from the first attacks on Charleston in 1776 to the battles of Guilford Courthouse and Eutaw Springs in 1781.
New River’s birthdate is thought to be around 1740. He married Sally Scott-Toole, the granddaughter of esteemed Catawba Chief Nopkehee (also known as King Hagler) and white Indian trader Matthew Toole, and distinguished himself as a warrior. Early in the rebellion, the Catawba scouted for the Patriots, helping them recapture gunpowder intended for the Cherokees—who were British allies and Catawba enemies—at Fort Ninety Six. As the focus of the war shifted to the South, New River and 40 other Catawba men joined the company of Captain Thomas Drennan, which served with General Thomas Sumter. New River and his men also fought with Colonel William Richardson Davie in the Battle of Hanging Rock, where the Native soldiers helped achieve an American victory.
The Catawba did not win the same freedoms as the colonists for whom they risked their lives. The revolution cost them most of their ancestral ground. After the war, New River continued to cooperate with his white neighbors while fighting for his people’s land and hunting rights. His service as chief ended in 1801. He died in 1804.