Native American Women in the Military – Molly Brant

One word from her is more taken notice of by the Five Nations than a thousand from any white man without exception.

~ Molly Brant

Historical Women
April 6, 2026

It is interesting to compare indigenous women warriors to other famous female warriors who lived in other cultures and during many other times in history. Boudicca, (British Celtic), Hatshepsut (Egyptian), Ru Hao (Chinese), the Dahomey Amazons, Tomoe Gozen (Japanese samurai), Zenobia (Syrian), and Joan of Arc (French). Women have answered the call to defend their countries many times.

So far in our accounts on Native American female warriors we have told the stories of Lozen (Apache), Dahteste (Apache), Buffalo Calf Road (Cheyenne), Pi’tamaka (Running Eagle, Blackfeet), Pretty Nose (Arapaho), and Moving Robe Woman (Sioux), Chief Pine Leaf Woman (Crow) and Colestah (Yakima). It is clear from this list that native women in battle was not just a part of a few tribes but many.

This week we will relate the unusual story of Molly Brant (Mohawk). Molly lived a long time ago. It is fitting that we include in our series on indigenous female warriors the story of a woman who exemplifies womanhood at its best, displaying the courage, honor, and dignity that any woman anywhere in any time might demonstrate.

What is unusual about this post is that Molly Brandt might be considered by some today to be a traitor. You see, she spied for the British during the American War for Independence. I admire Molly for following her conscience. In the 1770’s the colonies were part of Britain and King George III was their sovereign. Many colonists did not want to oppose their lawful king. The ones we call Patriots today were called Rebels in their day.

Molly’s story is a good reminder that all people of all cultures are the same under the skin. Everyone has to make choices. Molly’s choice was different than the one I might have made but I respect her and look forward to talking it over with her in Heaven.

Molly Brant – Konwatsi’tsiaienni (Mohawk – 1736-1796)

Molly Brant was not a warrior in the same sense as Lozen or Buffalo Calf Road. She did not pick up guns and go and fight. Neither was she formally in the military. She was a spy and an aide to the British during the American War for Independence. We could still call her a soldier who fought bravely from the sidelines.

Mary Brandt was born in 1736 probably somewhere in the Ohio Valley. Molly is a nickname for Mary and that is how she is known today. She was raised by parents who were part of a Christian community among the Mohawks. She had a little brother, Joseph, who will figure into her story in a big way. They moved to central New York. Later their mother married Kanagaradunkwa (a leader in the Turtle Clan) also named Brant. Molly and Joseph took his name to show their place in his family.

These Mohawk peoples had close ties with the British colonists. Molly and Joseph learned to speak fluent English. They lived in an English-style house but maintained many of their tribal practices. Like many of the indigenous women that I have written about they blended the two cultures.

When she was eighteen she accompanied her stepfather to Philadelphia with a delegation of Mohawk chiefs to talk about fraudulent land transactions. Here she was introduced to the world of politics. She became a Clan Mother.

Sometime during the 1740’ or 1750’s she met Sir William Johnson. In 1759 they became romantically involved. She bore him eight children of which seven survived. She was known as the “housekeeper” but Sir William relied on her for much more.

Sir William was an officer in the British Army who was responsible for representing the British government in their dealings with the indigenous peoples. The home that Molly kept for Sir William was a blend of the traditional Mohawk and English cultures. She taught her children to speak Mohawk. She dressed as a Mohawk all her life. She was helpful to Sir William as Clan Mother.

Molly impressed Sir William’s English colleagues and they were fascinated by her well-rounded character and many abilities. While Sir William was away fighting in the French and Indian War, Molly managed their farm and business. Sir William became a mentor for her brother Joseph and sent him to a mission school in Connecticut. Later Joseph was named a Mohawk war chief and their family’s prestige grew.

Sir William died in 1774. Molly and her children moved to Canajoharie. She established a trading post and was doing well until war broke out in 1776. The Haudenosaunee were divided as to which side to support – the British or the Americans. Some tried to stay neutral. When others around her decided to side with the Americans Molly chose to side with the British. She had spent most of her life building ties with them. Besides, her brother Joseph was a captain in the British army. Molly and Joseph tried to convince the Mohawk to side with the British. She provided shelter, weapons and any food that the British Loyalists needed.

In September 1777 Joseph Brant and British loyalists destroyed the village of Oriska. This incident would prompt the Oneidas to side with the Americans. In the next post we will feature two native women who fought with the Oneida nation in the war.

The British marched through central New York in 1777 to take Fort Stanwix from the Americans. Molly heard that some American soldiers were on their way to rescue the fort. She sent runners to warn the British. The British and Mohawk allies ambushed the Americans and claimed an important victory. Some tribal members who had sided with the Americans got very angry with Molly. She and the children were forced to flee. They had to leave all of their possessions behind. Patriot forces plundered her home and occupied it.

First, Molly moved to Onondaga. She rallied the people there to support the British. Her influence was so great that one British agent noted, “one word from her is more taken notice of by the Five Nations than a thousand from any white man without exception.”[1] Next, Molly moved to Fort Niagara where she worked as a mediator between the British and the Haudenosaunee. In 1779 she was forced to flee again and she made her way to Carleton Island.

When the war was over Molly evacuated with the British army. She settled in the area known today as Kingston, Ontario. The British government gratefully built her a home and gave her some farmland. They paid her some compensation for her service.

The American government tried to encourage Molly to come back to the United States and work with her people. They offered her a lot of money. Molly rejected their offer. She proudly remained pro-Haudenosaunee and pro-British for the rest of her life.

Molly remained a devout Anglican and regularly attended services at St. George’s in Kingston. Molly died in 1796. She was buried in St. Paul’s churchyard, the settlement cemetery. The exact location of her grave is unknown. The ceremony was conducted by pastor John Stuart who had once been a missionary to the Mohawks at Fort Hunter.

Even though Molly is not remembered as a hero for the American side in the War for Independence, I included her story because she clearly models the courageous, faithful, and steadfast characteristics of an admirable woman. It was hard for colonists to choose which side to fight for and the victors get to write the history. Even though the British did not win, Molly is still a hero to me.