Red Jacket

Red Jacket (1756?-1830), a leader of the Seneca peoples, who was noted for his skill as a speaker and a politician. Red Jacket, whose indigenous name was Sagoyewatha, received his English name because of a red coat that the British gave him. As a member of the Iroquois Confederacy, Red Jacket fought with the British during the American Revolution (1775-1783). After the war, he negotiated for peace between the Confederacy and the Americans. He supported the United States in the War of 1812. However, he opposed his people’s adoption of Christianity and other customs of white Americans.