George Washington and the Frontier: A Brief Overview of His Experiences with Native Americans
A Talk Given at a Brown-Bag Lunch at Anderson House, The Headquarters of the Society of the Cincinnati In Washington, DC May 8, 2003
By Mary V. Thompson Research Specialist Mount Vernon Ladies Association
Say the word, "frontiersman," and what picture comes to mind? If you are of my generation, I'd almost be willing to bet it was either Fess
Parker as Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett, with that catchy tune from the
Disney movie-you remember, "King of the Wild Frontier"-playing in the background in your mind. It almost assuredly wasn't George
Washington-the elegant gentleman most famously depicted by artist
Gilbert Stuart, with his white powdered hair and black silk suit. George
Washington was not, however, always that esteemed elderly figure on the dollar bill. While he was not born in a log cabin, Washington spent about ten years of his young adult life on the frontier, first as a surveyor and then as a soldier. Later in life, he made two extended visits back to the frontier with an old friend, who had shared many of those early experiences with him, and throughout his career, even during the American Revolution and his presidency, the frontier figured prominently in his plans for the country. There were many things that Washington learned from the frontier, but, given the very short amount of time we have today, I'd like
I to focus on one aspect of his experiences, in which we can find evidence
of Washington's transformation from a rather wide-eyed and petty
teenager into a statesman, and even something of a visionary, specifically his dealings with Native Americans.
George Washington's first recorded encounter with Native
Americans occurred when he was sixteen years old, on Wednesday, the
23'd of March, 1748, during his first surveying trip for Lord Fairfax. His party had reached the home of noted frontiersman and Indian trader,
Thomas Cresap, on Monday of that week, after traveling in the rain over what Washington described as, "1 believe the Worst Road that ever was trod by Man or Beast." Continued rain kept them at Cresap's all day
Tuesday, and most of the day on Wednesday. Shortly after it stopped at about 2:00 that afternoon, he noted that "we were agreeably surpris'd at the sight of thirty odd Indians coming from War with only one Scalp." The travelers shared some liquor with the newcomers, which, "elevating there
Spirits put them in the Humour of Dauncing of whom we had a War
Daunce." This must have been pretty exciting for the young man, who then proceeded to describe the ensuing music and dancing:
"... There Manner of Dauncing is as follows ... They clear a Large Circle & make a great Fire in the Middle then seats themselves around it[.] the Speaker makes a grand Speech telling them in what Manner they are to Daunce[.] after he has finish'd the best Dauncer Jumps up as one awaked out of a Sleep & Runs & Jumps about the Ring in a most comicle Manner[.] he is followed by the Rest[.] then begins there Musicians to Play[.] the Musick is a Pot half
2 of Water with a Deerskin Streched over it as tight as it can & a goard with some Shott in it to Rattle & a Piece of an horses Tail tied to it to make it look fine[.] the one keeps Rattling and the other Drumming all the While the others is Dauncing.":
While he initially found the Indians colorful, and even "comicle,"
the young Washington did not have a high opinion ofthem, or for that
matter, any of the settlers, especially the Germans, who had moved into
the area from Pennsylvania. At one point on his first surveying trip,
Washington's party was hampered in their work by some of the Germans,
" ... "a great Company of People Men Women & Children ... attended us
through the Woods as we went shewing there Antick tricks." The sixteen-
year old Washington was not very impressed, confiding in his journal that:
"...Ireally think they seem to be as Ignorant a Set of People as the
Indians. They would never speak English but when spoken to they speak
all Dutch.,,2 He was shocked to discover, in the home of a local official,
that "there was neither a Cloth upon the Table nor a Knife to eat with,"
that there were cabins where everyone slept on the floor in front of the
fire, piled together "like a Parcel of Dogs or Catts," and even more
1 Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, editors, The Diaries of George Washington, 6 volumes (Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1976-1979), 1:12-15; Albert Cook Myers, The Boy George Washington Aged 16, His Own Account of an Iroquois Indian Dance, 1748 (philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Publisbed by Albert Cook Myers, 1932),61-63. For more on Thomas Cresap, see Myers, The Boy George Washington, 18-23,35-58.
2 Jackson and Twohig, The Diories of George Washington, 1:18.
3 pointedly complained to one friend about being "amongst a parcel of
Barbarian's and an uncouth set ofPeople.,,3
During the course of his career on the frontier, Washington
frequently met with Indian leaders to ask for their cooperation with, or
even more active help for, the army. One feature of many of these
meetings was the exchange of belts made of wampum (small beads
formed of seashell), which were used by the Iroquois to record historical
events, treaties, and diplomatic agreements." Although he chafed at the
delays inherent in diplomacy with Native Americans, he showed
sensitivity to their sensibilities and customs, or at least recognized that
diplomacy was an important factor in carrying out his various
assigrunents, and seemed to understand the importance of wampum in
their culture.' Early in the French and Indian War, for example,
Washington met with two Iroquois leaders, from whom he gathered
information about such things as the numbers and locations of French
forts, as well as intelligence concerning individuals taken prisoner by the
French. Although Washington soon wanted to proceed on the mission
3 For the lack of table linens and cutlery, see Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries a/George Washington, I: 15. For sleeping on the floor and the quote about barbarians, see George Washington to Richard __ , [1749-1750], in John C. Fitzpatrick, editor, The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-/799, 39 volumes (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944), 1:17.
4 Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries of George Washington, I: 133, 140, 141, 142; The Editors of Time-Life Books, Realm of the Iroquois (Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1993),66-75.
'Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries of George Washington, 1:142.
4 which had brought the three men together, he wrote that, "As I found it
impossible to get off without affronting them in the most egregious
Manner, I consented to stay.:"
Almost twenty years later, as Washington and his long-time friend,
Dr. James Craik, traveled along the Ohio River, they met an Iroquois
hunting party, led by a man named Kiashuta, who had been with
Washington during the early days ofthe French and Indian War.
Washington recorded that this band "treated us with great kindness" and
shared with them a quarter from a "very fine Buffalo." Washington's party
spent the night with the Indians, during which time "much Councelling"
went on, and the next morning the two groups talked about the possibility
of furthering trade between the Virginians and the Iroquois. Washington
promised to tell the governor of the colony about their desire for increased
trade, as well as "their friendly disposition towards the white People."
Privately, however, he expressed to his diary his frustration with the
"tedious ceremony which the Indians observe in their Councellings &
speeches," which kept them from getting started on their journey until nine
o'clock in the morning.' A little over a week later, the two groups met up
again, leading Washington to comment that through "the kindness, and
Idle ceremony of the Indians, I was detaind at Kiashutas Camp all the
6 Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries of George Washington, 1:138-t40.
7 Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries of George Washington, 2:304.
5 remaing. part of this day." On a positive note, however, the two men were
able to have "a good deal of conversation ... on the Subject of Land," a
topic always close to Washington's heart'
During his years on the frontier, Washington also came to know
the horrors of warfare between British settlers and Native Americans.
While stopping at one home, he and a companion, Christopher Gist, a
well-known frontiersman, met with 20 Indian warriors, who told them
about the massacre of a family of settlers by the French and some of their
Indian allies:
"... they found People kill'd & Scalpt, all but one Woman with very Light Hair, they [the warriors who had found the bodies] turn'd about; & ran back, for fear of the Inhabitants rising & takeing them as the Authors of the Murder: They report that the People were lying about the House, & some of them much tom & eat by Hogs; by the Marks that were left, they say they were French Indians of the Ottaway N·anon ... that did iIt. ,,9
As dreadful as this information was, it probably served to remind
Washington of the importance of his mission. For a period of four to five
years in the rnid-to-late 1750s, through his disastrous baptism by fire at
Fort Necessity, the debacle of Braddock's defeat, and several years during
which he and his men struggled to protect the frontier settlements, the
majority of Washington's time would be spent in the wilderness.
8 Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries of George Washington, 2:310.
9 Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries oj George Washington, I: 154-156.
6 Sometimes he was discouraged by the task at hand, with the seemingly
futile responsibility of defending a 350-mile frontier with a force of only
700 men.lo It was in such a mood that he wrote his British agent, Richard
Washington, in the spring of 1757:
"I have been posted then for twenty Months past upon our cold and Barren Frontiers, to perform I think I may say impossibilitys that is, to protect from the cruel Incursions of a Crafty Savage Enemy a line of Inhabitants of more then 350 Miles extent with a force inadequate to the taske, by this mean I am become in a manner an exile and Seldom infonnd of those oppertunitys which I might otherwise embrase of corrisponding with my friends." II
During this period, Washington came to know and care about those
frontier settlers, the people he had initially found "ignorant" and so
uncouth as to live without tablecloths and dinner knives. In a poignant
letter to the Governor of Virginia, he wrote of the plight of the
frontiersmen during the French and Indian War:
"...Iam too little acquainted, Sir, with pathetic language, to attempt a description of the peoples distresses; though I have a generous soul, sensible of wrongs, and swelling for redress-But what can I do? If'bleeding, dying! would glut their insatiate revenge-I would be a willing offering to Savage Fury: and die by inches, to save a people! I see their situation, know their danger, and participate [in] their Sufferings; without having it in my power to give them further relief, than uncertain promises .... The supplicating tears ofthe women; and moving petitions from the men, melt me into such deadly sorrow, that I solemnly
101. Frederick Fausz, "Engaged in Enterprises Pregnant with Terror": George Washington's Formative Years Among the Indians," in George Washington and the Virginia Backcountry (Madison, Wisconsin: Madison House, 1998,115-155),134.
11 George Washington to Richard Washington, 4/15/1757, in The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 10 volumes, edited by W.W. Abbot (Charlottesville, Virginia, and London: University Press of Virginia, 1983-1995),4:132-133.
7 declare .. .1 could offer myself a willing Sacrifice to the butchering Enemy, provided that would contribute to the peoples ease.,,12
Despite the horror of what he had seen, Washington also grew to
appreciate certain aspects of Native American culture. Their skill as
warriors and method of fighting in the forests was something he had seen
first-hand and tried to use as a reason for instituting changes in British
army procedures and tactics. In the summer of 1755, Washington tried to
convince the British commander, General Edward Braddock, of "the
necessity of opposing the nature of his defence, to the mode of attack
which, more than probably he would experience from the Canadian
French, and their Indians on his March through the Mountains & covered
Country." Unfortunately, as Washington noted many years later,
Braddock and his officers were "so prepossessed ... in favor of regularity
& discipline" and held the enemy "in such absolute contempt. ..that the
admonition was suggested in vain." As a result of British intransigence in
this matter, Braddock's force of 1200-1300 men suffered enormous
casualties, 500 dead and another 400 wounded in the course of just one
action, "among whom a large proportion of brave and valuable Officers
were included." Washington himself had one horse killed and two
wounded, as he was riding them that day, as well as a musket ball shot
through his hat and several through his clothes, but was unhurt. This
12 George Washington to Robert Dinwiddie, [4/22/1756), in The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 3:33-34.
8 battle, which also cost the life of the commanding general, did, however,
lead to the change Washington had hoped for. He later wrote that "The
folly & consequence of opposing compact bodies to the sparse manner of
Indian fighting in woods, which had in a manner been predicted, was now
so clearly verified that from hence forward another mode obtained in all
future operations.v'r'
Washington found other aspects of Native American culture
worthy of emulation, as well. During the French and Indian War, a lack of
uniforms led him to suggest putting the Virginia militia troops into the
leggings and hunting shirts known as "Indian dress," which Washington
felt was practical for a number of reasons:
"My Men are very bare of Cloaths (Regimentals I mean), and I have no prospect of a Supply; this want, so far from my regretting during this Carnpaigne, that were I left to pursue my own Inclinations I wou'd not only order the Men to adopt the Indian dress, but cause the Officers to do it also, and be the first to set the example myself. Nothing but the uncertainty of its taking with the General causes me to hesitate a moment at leaving my Regimentals at this place, and proceeding as light as any Indian in the Woods. 'T is an unbecoming dress, I confess for an officer; but convenience rather than shew, I think shou'd be consulted .... " 14
13 Rosemarie Zagarri, editor, David Humphreys' "Life a/General Washington" with George Washington's "Remarks" (Athens, Georgia, and London: The University of Georgia Press, 1991), 14, 16, 18-19. For casualties at the Battle of the Monongahela, see also John E. Ferling, "School for Command: Young George Washington and the Virginia Regiment," in George Washington and the Virginia Backcountry, edited by Warren R. Hofstra (Madisoo, Wisconsin: Madison House, 1998, 195-222),200.
14 George Washington to Colonel Henry Bouquet, 7/3/1758, and George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Adam Stephen, 7/16/1758, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings a/George Washington, 2:229, 229n, and 240.
9 Upon learning that his plan was approved, Washington commented that
soldiers wearing "Indian dress" were "better able to carry their Provisions;
are fitted for the active Service we must engage in; less liable to sink
under the fatiegues of a March; and by this means, get rid of much
baggage that wou'd .. .ifcarri'd protract our line of March. " He went on to
say that it had only been these practical considerations, "and not whim or
caprice," which had led him to order the men into this new uniform. 15
Almost twenty years later, during the American Revolution,
Washington again found himself at the head of an army for whom
resupply of uniforms was a problem and once again suggested "Indian
dress" as the solution. In this case, his novel approach to clothing his
troops had additional advantages resulting from the stereotypes held by his
British enemy:
"The General being sensible of the difficulty, and expence of providing Cloaths, of almost any kind, for the Troops, feels an unwillingness to recommend, much more to order, any kind of Uniform, but as it is absolutely necessary that men should have Cloaths ... he earnestly encourages the use of Hunting Shirts, with long Breeches, made of the same Cloth, Gaiter fashion about the Legs, to all those yet unprovided. No Dress can be had cheaper, nor more convenient, as the Wearer may be cool in warm weather, and warm in cool weather by putting on under Cloaths which will not change the outward dress, Winter or Summer-Besides which it is a dress justly supposed to
15 George Washington to Colonel Henry Bouquet, 7/13/1758, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 2:235; see also George Washington to David Franks, 5/1/1758 and George Washington to Major Francis Halkett, 7/16/1758, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 2: 190,239.
10 carry no small terror to the enemy, who think every such person a complete Marksman.,,16
About a year later, Washington suggested to Colonel Daniel Morgan, then
commanding a company of rangers, the use of both Indian dress and
mannerisms as a tactic against the British: "It occurs to me that if you
were to dress a Company or two of true Woods Men in the right Indian
Style and let them make the Attack accompanied with screaming and
yelling as the Indians do, it would have very good consequences especially
ifas little as possible was said, or known of the matter beforehand." 17
Washington not only found clothing based on Native American
models, but footwear, as well, to be practical for the Continental Army.
At one point during the American Revolution, he ordered that moccasins
be made for his soldiers:
"The commanding officers of corps are immediately to select the most suitable of their men, and set them to making Mockasins for their corps. The Commissaries are to order the skins of the heads and legs of bullocks to be taken off, and applied to that use so far as they will go. The Commissaries also are to issue the raw hides for the purpose .... "18
16 George Washington, General Orders, 7/24/1776, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 5:336; for other references to Indian dress in the Continental Army, see also 7:16 and 8: 196 & 197.
17 George Washington to Colonel Daniel Morgan, 6/13/1777, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 8:236-237.
18 George Washington, General Orders, 10/8/1777, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 9:341.
11 By the time of his presidency, Washington had come to believe, as
did many of his contemporaries-primarily those who did not live on the
frontier-that the Indian nations should be assimilated into American
society.l" Time and again, he encouraged Native Americans to take up the
lifestyle of the American small fanner and promised government support
to help the process along. In one of his more detailed addresses on the
subject, delivered to leaders ofthe Cherokee Nation in 1796, Washington
noted that he had been thinking for a long time about how to improve the
lives of these people, who were suffering because of the loss of their
traditional hunting lands and the fact that their agricultural technology was
among the most rudimentary available. Washington, who was himself an
accomplished and dedicated scientific farmer, had come to the conclusion
that the only way to accomplish this goal was for the Cherokee and others
to take up agriculture as he knew it. Washington encouraged the raising of
cattle and hogs for food and suggested that sheep be added as well, in
order to provide both food and clothing. The addition of plows would
allow for more extensive cultivation of corn and he also recommended the
growing of different grains for food, and flax and cotton for clothing. In
addition to agricultural tools, and the spinning wheels and looms needed
by the women and girls to make cloth, the government would supply
teachers to demonstrate the use of those things, and domestic livestock to
19 Kathryn E. Holland Braund, "The Creek Indians, Blacks, and Slavery," The Journal of SOli/hem History (November 1991, 601-636), 626-627, 636; and Mary V. Thompson, "Idealism and the Politics of Prejudice: Indian-White Relations in the Colonial Southeast, 1732-1776" (unpublished master's thesis, University of Virginia, May 1980), 7-9.
12 get them started. Indian agents were to be available to give advice about
this new lifestyle. Washington concluded by saying that he would soon be
going home to his own farm and to challenge these leaders with the
thought that:
"The advice I here give you is important as it regards your nation; but still more important as the event of the experiment made with you may determine the lot of many nations. If it succeeds, the beloved men ofthe United States will be encouraged to give the same assistance to all the Indian tribes within their boundaries. But if it should fail, they may think it vain to make any further attempts to better the condition of any Indian tribe; for the richness of the soil and the mildness of the air render your country highly favorable for the practice of what I have recommended. ,,20
Washington also took steps to encourage education and missionary
work among Native Americans, as another step in the assimilation
process. During the Revolution, when the Delaware people brought three
of the children of their principal chiefs to be educated by the colonists,
Washington welcomed the children and assured the tribe that Congress
would provide for this education. He went on to say that: "... My ears
hear with pleasure the other matters you mention. Congress will be glad
to hear them too. You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways oflife,
and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater
'0 George Washington, Talk to the Cherokee Nation, 8/29/1796, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings a/George Washingtoll,35:193-198. For similar offers to other trihes, see George Washington to The Complanter, Half-Town, and the Great Tree, Chiefs of the Seneca Nation, 1/19/1791, and George Washington to the Chiefs and Warriors, Representatives of the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanoes, Ottawas, Chippewas, Potawatimes, Miamis, Eel River, Weeas, Kickapoos, Piankashaws, and Kaskaskias, 11/29/1796, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 31:198-199 and 35:301.
13 and happier people than you are. Congress will do every thing they can to
assist you in this wise intention .... ,,21 Later, as president, he offered one
missionary group government cooperation "with the disinterested
endeavours of your Society to civilize and Christianize the Savages of the
Wilderness." 22
It is also obvious from the mature Washington's correspondence
that he was not only concerned with where Native Americans as a people
were headed in the future, but shared with at least some of his
contemporaries an anthropological curiosity about where they had come
from in the past. In the early 1770s, one of his associates named John
Connolly wrote to tell him about the ancient Indian mounds he had just
seen in "the Illinois Country, where his Majesty's business, as well as my
own private Affairs had called me." Connolly speculated that the builders
of these mounds had been overrun by the present Native American
inhabitants of the area:
"Might not a Warlike Set! of People from the North, or North West part of this Continent have overan & defaced a cultivated and polite Country; burying in obscurity, every Sign of former Accomplishments, & Government? All Europe underwent, nearly a similar change. An Opinion so new may appear singular; but as the conjucture may afford
21 George Washington, Speech to the Delaware Chiefs, 5/12/1779, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 15:55.
22 George Washington to the Society of the United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen, 7/10/1789, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 30:355n. For similar sentiments, see George Washington to John Ettwein, 512/1788, in W.W. Abbot, editor, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 6 volumes (Charlottesville, Virginia, and London: University Press of Virginia, 1992-1997), 6: 182n.
14 entertainment, so neither does it want some plausible reasons to alledge in its support. The Antient Inhabitants of South America were by no means destitute of civil policy & order; the Arts & Sciences flourished amongst them in no contemptible degree, if we credit the Reports of the first European Invaders."
Connolly went on to expound on his theories, which certainly gave
Washington something to think about, when he had a quiet moment.f
The origins of the Native American population continued to be an
interest after the Revolution. During the mid-1780s, there are several
indications in Washington's surviving papers that he and others were
really intrigued by these questions. Washington was fascinated to learn
from Tench Tilghman in 1785, for instance, that the Chinese crew
members of a newly-arrived ship "are exactly the Indians of North
America, in Colour, Feature-Hair and every external Mark." He quickly
responded that he had always had the impression from his reading that,
"the Chinese though droll in shape & appearance, were yet white. ,,24 A
few months later, Washington was approached by the Marquis de
Lafayette, writing on behalf of Catherine the Great of Russia, in order to
obtain information about Indian languages for a universal dictionary.
Although extremely busy, Washington jumped into the project, asking for
help from a number of correspondents throughout the country. As he had
23 John Connolly to George Washington, 6/29/1773, in The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 9:248-250.
24 Tench Tilghman to George Washington, 8/25/1785 and George Washington to Tench Tilghman, 8/29/1785, all in Abbot, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 3:205, 208-209.
15 known it would, the project took several years to complete. In a letter
accompanying his contribution for the dictionary, Richard Butler also
discussed theories about the ancient inhabitants of America and how the
contemporary tribes had come to live where they did, surmising that the
Iroquois:
"may be of Tarter [Mongol] Origins or descent. ..as they may have come from the Northern parts of Asia across to our Continent, and streached, some along the Seacoast by Hudson's Bay, & others by the way of the Lakes from the high north Latitudes where the Asiatic & American Continents approach each other and their lanpage differs exceedingly from all the Southern Indians. ,,2
Washington replied that Butler's observations about the remains of older
civilizations and "other traces ofthe country's being once inhabitted by a
race of people more ingenious, at least, if not more civilized than those
who at present dwell there, have excited the attention and enquirries of the
curious to learn from whence they carne, whither they are gone and
something of their history .... ,,26 When he forwarded the information for
the dictionary to Lafayette, Washington let slip some clues to the
contemplative, visionary side of his personality, which his quietness in
public tended to hide:
25 The Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington, 2/10/[1786], in Ahbot, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 3:555-556; George Washington to Thomas Hutchins, 8/20/1786; Thomas Hutchins to George Washiogton, 11/8/1786; George Washington to Richard Butler, 11/27/1786, in Abbot, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 4:222, 343-344, 398-400; James Madison to George Washington, 3/18/1787; George Washington to James Madison, 3/31/1787; Richard Butler to George Washington, 11/30/1787; Enclosure I, Richard Butler's Indian Vocabulary, [circa 11/30/1787]; and Enclosure IJ, Extract of letter from Richard Butler, [circa 11/30/1787] in Abhot, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 5:92, 94n, 116,456, 457n, 458-460, 461-464.
26 George Washington to Richard Butler, 1/10/1788, in Ahbot, The Papers of George Washington, COllfederatioll Series, 6:26-27.
16 "... Should the present or any other efforts of mine to procure information respecting the different dialects of the Aborigines in America, serve to reflect a ray oflight on the obscure subject oflanguage in general, I shall be highly gratified. For I love to indulge the contemplation of human nature in a progressive state of improvement and melioration: and if the idea would not be considered as visionary and chimerical, I could fondly hope that the present plan of the great Potentate ofthe North, might, in some measure, lay the foundation for that assimilation of language, which, producing assimilation of manners and interests, should one day remove many of the causes of hostility from amongst mankind. ,,27
As he aged, Washington showed increasing concern that Native
Americans be treated fairly and an understanding that they often were not.
One reason for the first was to prevent the kind of frontier war he had
known as a young man, which was not only costly in terms of human
suffering, but could also be financially devastating to a young country.
Although the British had won the French and Indian War, the French were
still active players on the North American continent and either they, the
English, or the Spanish (who were a factor in the southeast) might, once
again, lure the Indians to their side. Throughout his presidency,
Washington strove to make treaties with the major tribes east of the
Mississippi River. In 1790, for example, he informed his dear friend, the
Marquis de Lafayette, about a recent treaty with the Creek Nation, which
he boasted would "leave us in peace from one end of our borders to the
27 George Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette, 1/10/1788, in Abbot, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 6:29-31. For other correspondence on the subject of Native American languages and origins, see John Ettwein to George Washington, 3/28/1788 and George Washington to Jonathan Edwards, 8/28/1788, in Abbot, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 6: 181- 182,479-480.
17 other." While small groups of what he called "refugee banditti" from the
Cherokees and Shawnee might try to cause problems, Washington, the old
soldier, felt that they could be "easily chastised or even extirpated if it
shall become necessary." He hastened to assure Lafayette, however, that
"this will only be done in an inevitable extremity; since the basis of our
proceedings with the Indian Nations has been, and shall be justice, during
the period in which I may have any thing to do in the administration of
this government. ,,28
In a long letter written several years later, Washington was quite
clear that he understood the problems facing the Native American
population and showed quite a bit of sympathy for their position:
"I accord fully in my opinion with you, that the plan of annual presents [to the Indians] in an abstract view, unaccompanied with other measures, is not the best mode of treating ignorant Savages, from whose hostile conduct we experience much distress; but it is not to be overlooked, that they, in turn, are not without serious causes of complaint, from the encroachments which are made on their lands by our people; who are not to be restrained by any law now in being, or likely to be enacted. They, poor wretches, have no Press thro' which their grievances are related; and it is well known, that when one side only of a Story is heard, and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it, insensibly. The annual presents however, which you allude to, are not given so much with a view to purchase peace, as by way ofretribution for injuries, not otherwise to be redressed. These people are very much irritated by the continual pressure of land speculators and settlers on one hand; and by the impositions of unauthorised, and unprincipled traders (who rob them in a manner of their hunting) on the other.
28 George Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette, 8/11/1790, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings a/George washington, 31 :87.
18 Nothing but the strong arm of the Union, or in other words, energetic laws, can correct these abuses ... My communications to Congress at the last and present Session, have proceeded upon similar ideas with those expressed in your letter, namely, to make fair treaties wi th the Savage tribes, (by this I mean, that they shall perfectly understand every article and clause of them, from correct and repeated interpretations); that these treaties shall be held sacred, and the infractors on either side punished exemplarily; and to furnish them plentifully with goods under wholesome regulations, without aiming at higher prices than is adequate to cover the cost, and charges. If measures like these were adopted, we might hope to live in peace and amity with these borderers; but not whilst our citizens, in violation oflaw and justice, are guilty of the offences I have mentioned, and are carrying on unauthorised expeditions against them; and when, for the most attrocious murders, even of those of whom we have the least cause of complaint, a Jury on the frontiers, can hardly be got to listen to a charge, much less to convict a culprit. ,,29
Interestingly, it is possible to get some clues about what the Native
Americans who knew Washington thought of him. Early in his public
career, while on a mission for the governor of Virginia, when he hand-
delivered a message to the French commander in the Ohio Valley to leave
the area, Washington was given a nickname, by a Seneca chief known as
The Half-King, that stayed with him for the remainder of his life. In the
late 17th century, many years before Washington's birth, his great-
grandfather, John Washington, had helped to put down an Indian uprising
in Virginia and Maryland, which appears to have involved both the
Susquehannahs and the Piscataway, an Algonquian tribe who lived across
29 George Washington to Edmund Pendleton, 1/22/1795, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 34:99-100.
19 the Potomac River from Mount Vernon. After an incident in which five
chiefs, who had come out to negotiate under a flag of truce, were
murdered by the colonists, the Susquehannahs gave him an Iroguoian
name, which translates into English as "town taker" or "devourer of
villages." The elder Washington's reputation was remembered and, when
the Indians met his great-grandson in 1753, they called him by the same
name, Conotocarious. Many years later, George Washington wrote that
this name "being registered in their Manner and communicated to other
Nations ofIndians, has been remembered by them ever since in all their
transactions [with Washington] during the late War [the American
Revolution]. ,,30
During his trip to the Ohio country with Dr. Craik in 1770, while
getting reacquainted with some Indians he had known many years before,
one of them made a prophecy about George Washington's future. This
chief, whose name is unknown, had seen Washington only once before,
during the battle of the Monongahela, in which General Braddock and
most of his force lost their lives. During their reunion, Washington and
his party offered him both alcohol and tobacco, but the chief would not
'0 Jackson and Twohig, The Diaries of George Washington, 1:183, 183n-184n; Zagarri, David Humphreys' "Life a/General Washington" with George Washington's "Remarks," 10. For John Washington's involvement with Native American tribes in Maryland and Virginia, see Charles Arthur Hoppin, The Washington Ancestry and Records of The McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families, 3 volumes (Greenfield, Ohio: Privately Printed, 1932), 1:188-197, and Fausz, "Engaged in Enterprises Pregnant with Terror," in Hofstra, George Washington and the Virginia Backcountry, 118.
20 take them, nor would he eat with the group. Finally, after the lighting of a
council fire, the chief is said to have made the following speech:
"1am a chief, and the ruler over many tribes. My influence extends to the waters of the great lakes, and to the far blue mountains. 1have travelled a long and weary path, that 1 might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on the day, when the white man's blood, mixed with the streams of our forest, that I first beheld this chief: 1called to my young men and said, mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of the red-coat tribe-he hath an Indian's wisdom, and his warriors fight as we do-himself is alone exposed. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were levelled, rifles which, but for him, knew not how to miss-'t was all in vain, a power mightier far than we, shielded him from harm. He can not die in battle. I am old, and soon shall be gathered to the great council-fire of my fathers, in the land of shades, but ere 1 go, there is a something, bids me speak, in the voice of prophecy. Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies-he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn, will hail him as the founder of a mighty
empire! II
This prophecy was said to have been well-known during the Revolution
and a favorite of Dr. Craik, who later told it to Martha Washington's
grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, the source of the
information]l
31 George Washington Parke Custis, Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington. By His Adopted Son, George Washington Parke Custis, With A Memoir of the Author, By His Daughter; and Illustrative and Explanatory Notes, by Benson 1. Lossing (Philadelphia: J.W. Bradley, 1861),223-224,300-307. Custis was an amateur artist, poet, and playwright and may have dramatized this scene and the old chiefs speech to varying degrees. The Indian in this story, however, was not the only one of Washington's contemporaries to suggest that his virtually miraculous salvation in battle meant that God had spared him for greater things. The Reverend Samuel Davies, of Hanover County, Virginia, in preaching to a group of volunteers, is traditionally reported to have said: "I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preserved him in so signal a manner, for some important service to his country" (see Parker C. Thompson, The United States Army Chaplaincy: From Its European Antecedents to 1791 (Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Chaplains, Department of the Army, 1978),56).
21 Many years later, starting at about the time of George
Washington's death, the visions recorded by a Seneca leader named
Handsome Lake show the esteem in which Washington was held by at
least some Native American people and their appreciation for the
statesman he had become. In section 92 of his vision, Handsome Lake
was shown a house, suspended between the earth and the clouds, in which
a white man and dog were living. The man was said to be:
" ... the first and oldest president ofthe United States. Now he enjoys himself and he is the only white man so near the new world of our Creator. Now it is said that there was once a time when the Thirteen Fires [the American colonies] and the King were in trouble. The Thirteen Fires were victorious and this man won the victory from the king. Said the king, "You have overpowered me, so now I release everything that was in my control, even these Iroquois who were my helpers. It rests with you what shall be done with them. Let them be to you a thing for sacrifice." Then said the president, "I shall let them live and go back to the places that are theirs for they are an independent people." So it is said. Now this man did a great work. He has ordered things that we may enjoy ourselves, as long as the sun shines and waters run. This is the doing of our Great Creator. ,,32
From the time he was an inexperienced teenager until his death
five decades later, the frontier shaped and influenced George
Washington's life. Surveying gave him experience in judging different
types of terrain and natural features, a skill, which later proved useful to
the army. His early military assignments taught him things about winning
and keeping the respect of his soldiers and subordinate officers, an
J2 Arthur C. Parker, The Code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet (1913), 66, as published on the Internet at http://www.sacred-texts.comlnamlir/parker!cohl.htm. 10/1612002.
22 invaluable lesson put to good use during the Revolution. Contacts with
Native Americans and frontiersmen gave Washington experiences none of the other founding fathers could match and helped him to understand these peoples who were culturally so different from himself. Those contacts, in turn, gave both Indians and settlers the chance to know and appreciate the man who would eventually lead the country. Finally, the vastness of the land itself gave him a continental view of the new United States, which, again, was not shared by others of his generation. Washington understood that the nation would move far beyond the narrow strip of land it then occupied, just a few hundred miles west from the Atlantic Ocean. Without those frontier experiences, neither George Washington nor the United
States would have been the same.
23