“ALL THE NATIONS TO THE SUN SETTING” GEORGE CROGHAN, EXTENDING THE LIMITS OF EMPIRE IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Liberal Studies By Jeffrey Michael Zimmerman, M.B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. December 28, 2015 i ©2015 by Jeffrey Michael Zimmerman All Rights Reserved ii “ALL THE NATIONS TO THE SUN SETTING” GEORGE CROGHAN, EXTENDING THE LIMITS OF EMPIRE IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA Jeffrey Michael Zimmerman, MBA Chair: Ronald M. Johnson, PhD ABSTRACT George Croghan was a mid-eighteenth-century British Indian agent. Born in Ireland, he came to America and settled in Pennsylvania in 1741. As an Ohio Valley fur trader he pushed far enough west to invite destruction of his Great Miami River depot by New France in 1752. Over time he befriended Shawnee, Ohio Huron and Miami Indians. Indian Department Superintendent Sir William Johnson rewarded his countryman’s effectiveness by appointing him western deputy. Britain’s victory in the French and Indian War added Illinois to Croghan’s responsibilities. General Lord Jeffrey Amherst led Britain’s war efforts; he was replaced by General Thomas Gage, under whom Croghan had served at Braddock’s Defeat. Pontiac’s War ensued; Gage and Johnson relied on Croghan, who knew the Ottawa leader, to end it. However, Croghan’s focus became blurred by land speculation. Several western land schemes crafted by Croghan and Philadelphia financier Samuel Wharton either failed or were cut short by the American Revolution. Distrusted by both the Patriots and the British, and his finances ruined, George Croghan died in poverty in 1782. iii Two Croghan biographies exist, written in 1926 and 1958. In the latter, historian Nicholas Wainwright focused on records he uncovered in the collection of the Cadwalader family, whose progenitors had been Croghan’s Philadelphia solicitors and accountants. Croghan’s biography as presented herein relies largely on the papers of General Thomas Gage and Sir William Johnson. This thesis also has two important human values and interdisciplinary subthemes: Croghan’s effective dealings with Indians, and his appreciation of geopolitics and geography, particularly watersheds. The Gage papers provide a generally unseen view of Croghan from a contemporary leader who relied on him greatly and was rarely disappointed. Journals of contemporaries who travelled with Croghan as well as Johnson’s papers present useful Indian data. While these native vignettes were perceived through European eyes and ears, Indian narrations appear accurately recorded. Comparisons of maps from different periods yield important information for the interdisciplinary subtheme. The Cadwaladers had a vested interest in the payoff of Croghan’s speculations, leading Wainwright to judge him negatively. Croghan’s relationships with Gage and Johnson, who both had frontier experience, dealt with British empire-building and Francophile Indian reconciliation. Nineteenth-century historian C. Hale Sipe saw Croghan as an effective servant of the crown and a positive force for Indian relations, conclusions with which this thesis agrees. Croghan had a hand in Amherst’s removal, but his greatest moment came when he reached an accord with Pontiac. Croghan’s legacy, particularly as regards the Shawnees, was drowned out in the United States after the Revolution, but to some extent it was carried to Canada by his Mohawk offspring. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “All the Nations to the Sun Setting” has been a labor of love for three and half years; the associated Georgetown Doctor of Liberal Studies program, close to seven. I cannot say enough about my Chairman emeritus history professor Ronald Johnson. Ron is just a great person; I wish I had known him my entire life. My first DLS core teacher, Ron later guided me through two semesters of directed readings in American and Canadian history. These involved a lot of coffee and included Timothy Shannon’s Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier. When I decided on George Croghan as a subject Ron advised, “Go find yourself a subject matter expert.” Then he cleverly asked if I knew that Tim Shannon was in my back yard. In 2012 my wife Amy and I escaped Washington’s onerous economy by moving to Gettysburg. There I found myself to be one of two people who knew anything about history prior to 1863, much less 1763. The other was Tim Shannon, chair of Gettysburg College’s history department. My friend, former Gettysburg management professor, Colonel Bill Rosenbach, USAF, introduced us. Tim has become my friend, my mentor and my prodder. A published authority on eighteenth-century North America Tim was the “subject matter expert” that Ron knew I needed. The third member of my committee is Adjunct Professor Kazuko Uchimura. As a descendent of eighteenth-century Palatine German and Ulster Irish immigrants to British North America, I had sparred with Kazuko over the starting point of her v immigration course “Becoming American.” For my part I read two more books than I had expected and wrote an extra paper, but Kazuko moved the start of her course from the nineteenth-century Irish to the seventeenth-century Dutch. When a graduate professor honors you in such a fashion you put her on your doctoral committee. In the beginning my love of history was enriched by H. Clifton Osborn, my high school history teacher. Clif was arguably the finest history teacher I have had. His course on Modern and Contemporary Europe planted the seeds for my lifetime interest in Europe and North America. Once this project began forty-six years later, many others became cheerleaders, particularly the Thursday breakfast Gettysburg “Romeos.” Two Romeos deserve special mention. John Murphy, my longest-standing Gettysburg friend and president of the local Notre Dame club, deciphered Dublin Anglicans. Gettysburg Councilman Graham Weaver rode along on many trips to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I’m also indebted to Barry Ruderman of Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps, Inc., of La Jolla, California, who graciously permitted my use of images of three maps which he had previously sold. In Detroit my former Gartner colleague, Richard Stiennon, and his lovely wife, Karen Ethier, hosted me for a week while I pored over the papers of Thomas Gage at the University of Michigan. At Michigan’s William Clements Library, curators Clayton Lewis, Cheney Schopieray and Brian Dunnigan, who was especially helpful with maps, worked closely with me to ensure I made the most of my research. Georgetown Assistant Dean Anne Ridder helped me avoid many administrative pitfalls; two DLS cohort-mates, Joyce Lussier and Lieutenant General Bob Schmidle, USMC, were excellent sounding boards. Doctoral vi program director and philosophy Professor Francis Ambrosio, a fabulous teacher in his own right, was always available to discuss the project on short notice. Lastly I cannot thank my wonderful wife, Amy Miller Zimmerman, enough for her steadfast love and encouragement. She’s pretty sick of “Uncle George” as the family has taken to calling Croghan, but her understanding and support have never wavered. I know she will be glad to see both George and me graduate. Jeffrey M. Zimmerman Gettysburg, Pennsylvania December 28, 2015 vii I have heard with pleasure what our Grand Children the Shawnese have said this day in Council, and I hope it is agreeable to you. I have been present at all the conferences you have held here this last year with all the nations to the sun setting, and as the peace is now confirmed and the ancient friendship renewed, I hope it will last to our latest generation. Be strong brethren, it is in your power to make this a lasting peace. – Ohio Delaware Chief Tamaqua (Old Beaver), Fort Pitt, April 7, 1760 viii CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v CONTENTS ix LIST OF MAPS x INTRODUCTION 12 CHAPTERS 1. THE NEWFOUND WORLD 29 2. ALL THE NATIONS AT THE SWAMP’S EDGE 72 3. BEFORE OHIO: IRELAND AND PENNSYLVANIA 107 4. AUDACITY: OHIO 131 5. THE WAR YEARS 166 6. IMPERIAL HUBRIS: LORD AMHERST AT WAR 215 7. AN IMPERFECT PEACE: GENERAL GAGE AND PONTIAC 255 8. AFTER ILLINOIS: SPECULATION, LOSS AND REVOLUTION 301 9. PROGENY AND LEGACY: THE SUN RISING AND SETTING 347 CONCLUSION 375 APPENDIX A: EARLY FUR TRADE 388 APPENDIX B: GEORGE CROGHAN GENEALOGY 393 APPENDIX C: PRÉCIS OF THE IROQUOIS CREATION LEGEND 397 BIBLIOGRAPHY 399 ix LIST OF MAPS Map 1-1. Marc Lescarbot, “Figure de la Terre Nueve, Grand Riviere de Canada, et Cotes de l’Ocean en la Nouvelle France,” 1609. 32 Map 1-2. Vincenzo Coronelli, “La Louisiane Parte Settentrionalle,” 1693. 37 Map 1-3. Jacques Bellin, “Partie Occidentale de la Nouvelle France or du Canada,” 1755 39 Map 1-4. United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Satellite Map of the Great Lakes,” 2011. 41 Map 1-5. John Mitchell, “A Map of the British and French Dominions in North America with the Roads, Distance, Limits and Extent of the Settlements,” 1755. 43 Map 1-6. Reuben Gold Thwaites, “Fox-Wisconsin Rivers,” 2010. 48 Map 1-7. Pierre Bonnecamps, “Carte d’un Voyage dans La Belle Riviere en La Nouvelle France,” 1749. 53 Map 1-8. Guy Johnson, “Map of the Country of the VI Nations,” 1771. 62 Map 1-9. Paul A. W. Wallace, “Frankstown Path, East,” 1952. 64 Map 2-1. London Magazine, “A Plan of the Fort and Bay of Frontenac with the Adjacent Countries,” 1758. 82 Map 2-2. Johann Baptiste Homann, “Regni Mexicani seu Novae Hispaniae, Floridae, Novae Angliae, Carolinae, Virginiae,” 1720. 99 Map 3-1. Thomas Kitchin, “A Map of The Province of Pensilvania Drawn from the Best Authorities,” 1756.