On the morning of January 26, 1856, the "Battle of Seattle" began when Native Americans raided the white settlement in what is now known as Seattle. Previously warned of the attack, most settlers had barricaded themselves in a blockhouse. Settlers say the women who sought shelter in the blockhouse used strips from their petticoats to sew this flag during the battle. The flag was designed to hang vertically so that the stars would be in the upper left corner. The attackers were driven off by artillery fire. The battle was the penultimate event in a series of armed conflicts, known as the Puget Sound War, which stemmed from Washington Territory Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens' (1818-1862) forced treaties with local tribes during 1854 and 1855, and the government's later refusal to honor the treaties. The "war" ended with the November 1856 wrongful arrest and later execution of a central figure of the war, Nisqually Chief Leschi (1808-1858). There were only two casualties for the settlers and the exact number of casualties the Indigenous peoples suffered is unknown.e settlement in what is now known as Seattle. Previously warned of the attack, most settlers had barricaded themselves in a blockhouse. Settlers say the women who sought shelter in the blockhouse used strips from their petticoats to sew this flag during the battle. Both the shape of the flag and its 13 stars suggest that they patterned it on a vessel flag, possibly from the Decatur. The attackers were driven off by artillery fire. The battle was the penultimate event in a series of armed conflicts, known as the Puget Sound War, which stemmed from Washington Territory Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens' (1818-1862) forced treaties with local tribes during 1854 and 1855, and the government's later refusal to honor the treaties. The "war" ended with the November 1856 wrongful arrest and later execution of a central figure of the war, Nisqually Chief Leschi (1808-1858). There were only two casualties for the settlers and the exact number of casualties the Indigenous peoples suffered is unknown.