The Indian World of George Washington
The Indian World of George Washington
THE FIRST PRESIDENT, THE FIRST AMERICANS, AND THE BIRTH OF THE NATION
Colin G. Calloway
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© Colin G. Calloway 2018
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Calloway, Colin G. (Colin Gordon), 1953– author.
Title: The Indian world of George Washington: the first president, the first Americans, and the birth of the nation / Colin G. Calloway.
Description: New York, NY: Oxford University Press, [2018] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017028686 | ISBN 9780190652166 (hardback: alk. paper)
ebook ISBN 978–0–19–065218–0
Subjects: LCSH: Washington, George, 1732–1799—Relations with Indians. |
Indians of North America—Government relations. | Indians of North America— Wars—1750–1815. | Indians of North America—History—18th century. | United States—History—French and Indian War, 1754–1763. | United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783.
Classification: LCC E312.17 .C17 2018 | DDC 323.1197090/33—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017028686
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Edwards Brothers Malloy, United States of America
To Marcia, Graeme, and Meg
Contents
List of Illustrations
Individual Native Americans in the George Washington Story
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Introduction
ONE: LEARNING CURVES
chapter 1: Virginia’s Indian Country
chapter 2: The Ohio Company and the Ohio Country
chapter 3: Into Tanaghrisson’s World
chapter 4: Tanaghrisson’s War
chapter 5: Braddock and the Limits of Empire
chapter 6: Frontier Defense and a Cherokee Alliance
chapter 7: Frontier Advance and a Cherokee War
TWO: THE OTHER REVOLUTION
chapter 8: Confronting the Indian Boundary
chapter 9: “A good deal of Land”
chapter 10: The Question of Indian Allies
chapter 11: Town Destroyer
chapter 12: Killing Crawford
chapter 13: Building a Nation on Indian Land
THREE: THE FIRST PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST AMERICANS
chapter 14: An Indian Policy for the New Nation
chapter 15: Courting McGillivray
chapter 16: The Greatest Indian Victory
chapter 17: Philadelphia Indian Diplomacy
chapter 18: Achieving Empire
chapter 19: Transforming Indian Lives
chapter 20: A Death and a Non-Death
Abbreviations
Notes
Index
Plates
List of Illustrations
Figures
1. Map published to accompany Washington’s Ohio journal, showing the extent of Virginia’s western claims, 1754
2. George Washington’s map, accompanying his “journal to the Ohio,” 1754
3. Washington Peace Medal, 1792
4. Hoboithle Mico. Hopothle Mico, or the Talassee King of the Creeks, by John Trumbull, 1790
5. Little Turtle, 1797
6. Silas Dinsmoor
7. Benjamin Hawkins
Color Photo Insert (Plates)
1. George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, 1772
2. Ostenaco (Scyacust Ukah), by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1762
3. The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec, by John Trumbull, 1786
4. Louis Cook, by John Trumbull, c. 1786
5. Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), by Gilbert Stuart, 1786
6. Cornplanter. Portrait of Ki-on-twog-ky, by F. Bartoli, 1796
7. Henry Knox, by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1784
8. Good Peter, by John Trumbull, 1792
9. Arthur St. Clair, by Charles Willson Peale, 1782
10. Timothy Pickering, by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1792
11. Indian delegation in Philadelphia, c. 1800
12. Red Jacket, after a portrait by Charles Bird King, c. 1828
13. Apotheosis of Washington or Commemoration of Washington, by John James Barralet, 1802
Maps
1. Eastern North America at the Time of Washington’s Birth
2. Washington’s Western Lands
3. Washington’s Ohio Country, 1744–1758
4. Shifting Boundaries and Land Cessions, 1763–1775
5. Washington’s Invasion of Iroquoia, 1779
6. Washington’s Western Journey, 1784
7. The Native American South
8. Washington’s War against the Northwestern Confederacy, 1790–1794
Individual Native Americans
in the George Washington Story
Ackawonothio (Shawnee or western Delaware chief)
Aliquippa; Queen Allaquippa (Seneca woman chief, d. 1754)
Aroas: see Silver Heels
Atiatoharongwen: see Cook, Louis
Attakullakulla; Ada-gal’kala; Ouconecaw; Little Carpenter (Overhill Cherokee chief, c. 1705–1779 or 1780)
Aupaumut, Hendrick (Stockbridge Mahican, 1757–1830)
Beaver: see Tamaqua
Belt of Wampum; the Belt; Kaghswaghtaniunt; Tohashwughtonionty; White Thunder (Seneca, d. by 1762)
Big Tree; Great Tree; Karontowanen; Kiandochgowa (Seneca, d. 1792)
Black Hoof; Catahecassa (Shawnee, c. 1740–1832)
Bloody Fellow; Nenetuah; Nenetooyah; Washington gave him the name General Eskaqua or Iskagua, meaning “Clear Sky” (Cherokee, d. c. 1800)
Blue Jacket; Waweyapiersenwaw (Pekowi Shawnee war chief, c. 1743–1808)
Brant, Joseph; Thayendanegea (Mohawk war chief, 1743–1807)
Brown, John (Chickasaw chief)
Buckongahelas; Pachgantschihilas (Delaware chief, c. 1720–1804/5)
Bullen, Captain James; Jimmy Bullen (Catawba chief, d. 1758)
Canasatego (Onondaga, d. 1750 or 1760)
Captain Jacobs; Tewea (Delaware war chief, d. 1756)
Captain Pipe: see Hopocan
Chutloh; Tsu-la; Kingfisher (Cherokee)
Colbert, George; Tootematubbe (Chickasaw chief, 1764–1839?)
Colbert, William; Cooshemataha (Chickasaw chief, d. c. 1835)
Conoghquieson; Kanaghquaesa (Oneida sachem, d. 1776 or 1777)
Cook, Louis or Lewis; Colonel Louis; Atiatoharongwen; Akiatonharónkwen; Atayataghronghta (Abenaki–African American–Kahnawake Mohawk, 1740–1814)
Cooper, Polly (Oneida)
Cornplanter; Kayenthwahkeh; Ki-on-twog-ky; sometimes called Obeal or Captain Abeel (Allegheny Seneca war chief, 1740s or 1752/53–1836)
Cornstalk; Colesquo (Mekoche Shawnee chief, c. 1720–1777)
Corn Tassel; Tassel; Old Tassel; Utsi’dsata (Cherokee, d. 1788)
Cussetah Mico; Cussetah King; Cussitah King (Creek chief): see Eneah Mico
Custaloga (Delaware chief, d. 1776)
Delaware George; Nenatcheehunt; Nenatchehan (Delaware, d. c. 1763)
Doublehead; Chequalaga; Chuquilatague (Cherokee, 1744–1807); brother of Corn Tassel
Dragging Canoe; Tsí-yu-gûnsí-ni; Tsi’yu-gûnsi’ni; Chincanacina (Overhill Cherokee; head warrior of Malaquo, or Great Island and Chickamauga chief, c. 1730–1792)
DuCoigne, Jean Baptiste (Kaskaskia chief, 1750–1811)
Efau Hadjo; Mad Dog (Creek chief of Tuckabatchee)
Eneah Mico; Neah Mico; Cussetah Mico; Cussetah King; Cussitah King; the Fat King; Fat King of Cussitah (Creek chief)
Egushawa; Egushewa; Agushaway; Agashawa; Negushwa (Ottawa war chief, c. 1730–c. 1796/1800)
Farmer’s Brother; Honanyawas; Honeyewus; Ogh-ne-wi-ge-was (Buffalo Creek Seneca chief, c. 1725–1815)
Franchimastabé (Choctaw chief, d. c. 1801)
Fusatchee Mico; White Bird King; Bird Tail King (Creek chief of Cussetah)
Gill, Joseph Louis (Abenaki chief at Odanak, 1719–1798)
Good Peter; Agwerondongwas; Agwrondougwas; Gwedelhes (Oneida chief of the Eel clan, d. 1793)
Guyasuta; Kayashuta; Kayasota (Allegheny Seneca chief, c. 1725–1794 or 1795)
Hagler; King Hagler; Nopkehe (Catawba chief, c. 1690/1700–1763)
Half King: see Tanaghrisson
Half Town; Gahgeote; Achiout (Seneca)
Hallowing King (Creek chief of Coweta)
Handsome Lake; Ganiodaio (Seneca, c. 1735–1815)
Hanging Maw; Uskwa’li-gu’ta; Scolaguta (Cherokee chief, d. 1798)
Hendrick, Theyanoguin (Mohawk, c. 1680–1755)
Hendricks, Captain Solomon (Stockbridge)
Hoboithle Mico; Hopoithle Mico; Opothle Mico; the Tame King; Tallassee King; Good Child King (Creek chief of Tallassee, d. 1813)
Hopocan; Hobocan; Pipe; Captain Pipe (Delaware chief of the Wolf clan, c. 1725–1794)
Jeskakake; known to the French as Déjiquéqué (Cayuga chief)
Judd’s Friend: see Ostenaco
Kanuksusy; Canachquasy; Cassiowea; Newcastle; Washington gave him the name Fairfax (Seneca, d. 1756)
Keekyuscung; Ketiuscund (Delaware chief)
Keenaguna; Lying Fawn (Cherokee)
Keehteetah; Keenettehet; Kenotetah: see Rising Fawn (Cherokee)
Killbuck; John Killbuck; Gelemend; Kaylelamund (Delaware chief of the Turtle clan, c. 1722–1811)
Killbuck, John, Jr. (Delaware); son of John
Killbuck, Thomas (Delaware); son of John
Kithagusta; Ketagusta; Kitegisky; Keetakeuskah; the Prince (Cherokee); brother of Ocononosta
Kunoskeskie: see Watts, John
Little Turkey; Kanitta; Kanagita (Cherokee chief, d. 1802)
Little Turtle; Mishikinaakwa (Miami war chief, 1752–1812)
Logan; John Logan; Tachnechdorus (Mingo, 1725–1780)
McGillivray, Alexander (Creek chief, 1759–1793)
Mad Dog: see Efau Hadjo
Memeskia; Old Briton (Piankeshaw Miami, d. 1752)
Moluntha; Melonthe (Mekoche Shawnee chief, d. 1786)
Montour, Andrew; Satellihu; Eghnisara (Oneida-French intermediary)
Neetotehelemy; Netawatwees; Newcomer (Delaware chief, d. 1776)
New Arrow (Seneca)
Nimham, Abraham (Stockbridge, d. 1778)
Nontuaka; the Northward; the North Nation (Cherokee)
Neolin (Delaware prophet, fl. 1750s–1760s)
Occom, Samson (Mohegan preacher, 1723–1792)
Oconostota (Cherokee chief; First Warrior of the Overhill Cherokees and Great Warrior of the Cherokees, c. 1712–1782)
Ogaghsagighte; Jean Baptiste (Kahnawake Mohawk)
Opechancanough (Powhatan chief, 1545–1644)
Orono, Joseph (Penobscot chief, 1688?–1801)
Ostenaco; Ustenaka; Judd’s Friend; also known by his war title Outacite, Outacity, Outassite, Skiagusta, or Mankiller of Keowee (Cherokee chief; Second Warrior of the Overhill Cherokees, c. 1703–c. 1780)
Otsequette; Otsiquette, Peter; Ojekheta; Otchikeita (Oneida, d. 1792); adopted son of the marquis de Lafayette
Painted Pole; Red Pole; Messquakenoe (Shawnee, d. 1797)
Paxinosa; Bucksinosa (eastern Shawnee chief)
Pisquetomen (Delaware, d. c. 1763), brother of Shingas and Tamaqua
Piominko; Piomingo; Opoia Mutaha; Mountain Leader (Chickasaw chief, c. 1750–1798)
Powhatan; Wahunsonacock (Powhatan chief, c. 1547–1618)
Pontiac (Ottawa war chief, c. 1720–1769)
Raven: (Cherokee) war title of Chota, or Colonah; the Raven of Chota at the time was Savanukah, nephew of Oconostota
Raven Warrior: (Cherokee) war title of Hiwassee
Red Jacket; Sagoyewatha, “Keeps Them Awake”; Cowkiller (Seneca, c. 1758–1830)
Rising Fawn; Keehteetah; Keenettehet; Kenotetah (Cherokee from Hiwassee)
Saint-Aubin, Ambroise (Maliseet chief, d. 1780)
Sayengeraghta; Sayenqueraghta; Kayenquarachton; Kayinguaraghtoh; Old Smoke; Vanishing Smoke; the Seneca King (Seneca chief, d. 1786)
Scarouady; Scaroyady; Monacatootha; Monacatoocha (Oneida half king, fl. 1751–1756)
Shingas (Delaware war chief, fl. 1740–1763)
Silver Heels; Aroas (Seneca messenger); son-in-law of Belt of Wampum
Skenandoah; John Skenandon (Oneida, d. 1816)
Swashan (Abenaki chief)
Taboca (Choctaw chief)
Tamaqua; the Beaver; King Beaver (Delaware chief, d. c. 1770)
Tanaghrisson; Tanachrisson; Thanayieson; Johonerissa; Deanaghrison; the Half King (Seneca, c. 1700–1754)
Tarhe; the Crane (Wyandot chief, 1742–1818)
Teedyuscung; baptized as Gideon (eastern Delaware chief, 1700–1763)
Tekakiska; Tekakisskee; Taken Out of the Water (Cherokee)
Teesteke; Toostaka; Common Disturber; the Waker (Cherokee)
Thaosagwat, Hanyerry or Hanyost (Oneida, d. 1779)
Tomah, Pierre (Maliseet chief, fl. 1775–1780)
Ucahula (Cherokee warrior)
Uhhaunauwaunmut, Captain Solomon (Stockbridge)
Ugulayacabe; Wolf’s Friend (Chickasaw, fl. 1780s–1799, d. by 1805)
Vincent, Captain John (Kahnawake Mohawk)
Vincent, Lewis; Louis Vincent; Captain Lewis; Sawantanan; Sawatanen (Huron from Lorette; Dartmouth graduate)
Wawhatchee (Cherokee, head warrior of Keowee)
Watts, John; Kunoskeskie; Young Tassel (Chickamauga Cherokee chief, d. 1802)
White Bird King; Fusatchee Mico (Creek chief)
White Eyes; Quequedegatha; Koquethagechton (Delaware war chief of the Turtle clan, c. 1730–1778)
White Eyes, George Morgan; son of White Eyes
White Lieutenant (Creek war chief of Okfuskee, d. 1799) [There was also a White Lieutenant of Coushatta and of Oakchoy]
White Mingo; Kanaghorait (Seneca chief, d. by 1777)
Wingenund (Delaware chief)
Author’s Note
There is no general agreement about the appropriate collective term to apply to the indigenous peoples of North America. Although I occasionally use Native, Native American, indigenous, or, as in the title, First Americans, I most often use Indians or Indian people, which was the term most commonly used at the time. In writing a book aimed at a broad readership, I have used the names for Indian nations that seem to be the most readily recognizable to the most people: Iroquois rather than Haudenosaunee; Mohawks rather than Kanienkehaka; Delawares rather than Lenni Lenapee; and Cherokee, which derives from other people’s name for them, rather than how Cherokees referred to thems
elves, Ani-Yunwiya, “the principal people.” Applying the same criteria to individuals necessarily involves some inconsistencies, such as Joseph Brant rather than Thayendanegea and White Eyes instead of Quequedegatha or Koquethagechton, but Attakullakulla rather than Little Carpenter and Piominko rather than Mountain Leader.
Acknowledgments
I have accumulated many debts in the course of researching and writing this book. My notes cite the many scholars of Native American history and of George Washington whose work has guided and informed me. A glance at the number of times PGW appears in the notes will convey a sense of how much I have relied upon and benefited from the dedicated and meticulous work of the teams of scholars who have compiled, edited, and made accessible the Papers of George Washington.
Dartmouth College supported my work with sabbatical leave and the award of a senior faculty fellowship. Years of teaching at a college where I have Native and non-Native students in every class has been invaluable preparation for writing a book like this for a broad spectrum of readers, some of whom may see themselves on opposing sides of the country’s history. Macy Ferguson and Presidential Scholars Theresa Smith and Kevin Schorr all assisted early in the project by gathering material from the Washington Papers; Theresa continued to contribute with sustained interest and some excellent research of her own.
For encouragement, conversations, suggestions, interest, and support at different times along the way, and in some cases all along the way, I am grateful to Douglas Bradburn, Timothy Breen, Catherine Brekus, Stephen Brumwell, Ric Burns, the late Drew Cayton, Jay Hull, David Hildebrand, N. Bruce Duthu, Dan Gerstle, Patrick Griffin, Ed Hamilton, Fred Hoxie, Tsianina Lomawaima, Michael McDonnell, Alyssa Mt. Pleasant, Kristofer Ray, James C. Rice, Chris Rogers, Mark Sampson-Vos, Elliott West, David Silverman, Rick Thompson, Paul Williams, and Jace Weaver. Thomas Agostino, Kris Ray, and James Rice read and provided feedback on selected chapters from an early draft of the manuscript; Stephen Brumwell, Michael McDonnell, and David Silverman read the whole thing.
I am deeply grateful to the staffs of the Baker-Berry Library and Rauner Library at Dartmouth College; the New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division; the Massachusetts Historical Society; and Meg McSweeney and the David Library of the American Revolution at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. Having spent a quarter of a century working in a Native American Studies program, I wanted to complete this book at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia. The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington awarded me a fellowship that allowed me to do so. Doug Bradburn, Stephen McLeod, Mark Santangelo, Mary Jongema, Emily Rosa, and all their colleagues and staff at Mount Vernon made the experience pleasant and productive beyond all my expectations.
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