History Detective, day 4 Yesterday I visited a place named Gnadenhutten, which means HUTS OF GRACE. In 1782, 96 Indians, men, women and children were killed by Pennsylvania militia men commanded by James Williamson. They were systematically executed by having their heads bashed in with a wooden maul. They were also scalped and later their bodies were burned in a cabin. Gnadenhutten was a Moravian Christian mission and a very beautiful, peaceful and a well laid out town with some sixty cabins, some of which had glass windows. The Moravian Indians were peaceful and God faring. They were killed just because they were Indians and thinking of that makes me feel sad and angry. But the site itself was beautiful, located right next to the Tuscarawas River, with beautiful old trees everywhere. All around the site there are graves, some of them very old and as I walked around, I felt such a sense of peace—hard to explain considering the history. I also visited a Moravian church in the town where I had a wonderful discussion with the Church’s secretary, Sigrid Miller. She is a very pleasant person to talk with, very knowledgeable. She took time out of her busy schedule to gave me a brief history of the Moravians and then later a tour of the church. The church building is stately, the present structure built in the 1840’s I believe. The Moravians trace their faith back before the Reformation to the early church reformer John Huss. Gnadenhutten is a stark testimony to the dark side of America’s westward expansion. But as I walked through the site and later through the town, it somehow seemed very peaceful and beautiful. I may visit this place again.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 14:59:28 +0000
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