To George Washington from James McHenry, 28 November 1796
From James McHenry
War-Office November 28th 1796.
Sir.
The Indian Chiefs named Mus-qua-ca-nokan or Red pole, Wey-a-pur-sen-waw, or Blue Jacket, She-me-kum-ne-sa or soldier, Ase-me-the, and Muc-ca-te-wa-saw or Black chief, stiling themselves the representatives of the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanoes Ottawas, Chipwas, Putawatimes, Miamis, Eel River, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankashaws, and Kaskaskias have informed the Secretary of War in a talk delivered by Red pole, at the War-Office the 20 inst: that they had come a great way to see their Father the President; that they had long listened to the British: that they had discovered their error; that they had made peace with the Fifteen Fires: (meaning the United States) and in future would only listen to their great Father the President; that they were now waiting till they could hear what advice he had to give them, which they would follow; and that they would on their part try to keep the path open between their people, and the people of the United States. That finally, they wished to hear the President’s advice, as soon as possible, having a great way to go to get to their nations.1
To this Blue Jacket added, that what had been spoken by Red pole was the sense of all the warriors present. That he rose to mention this, and give a particular proof of his own sincerity, by delivering to his great Father, the commission he had received a long time ago from the British; that he now broke it, and would hereafter serve faithfully the United States.2
The Secretary of War replied to this talk, that he would communicate what they had said to the President, and hoped that their father would find leisure to give them his advice on tuesday next the 29th instant; but that they should be informed more certainly respecting it, after he had an opportunity to see him.
The Secretary has subjoined certain points, upon which it would appear proper to offer them advice, all which is respectfully submitted.3
James McHenry
LS, DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW.
This letter concerns the delegation of the northwestern Indian tribes that traveled to Philadelphia in November 1796. It was at the treaty of Greenville in August 1795 that Shawnee chief Blue Jacket (Weyapiersenwah) first sought Gen. Anthony Wayne’s assistance in dispatching a group of northwestern Indian chiefs to the nation’s capital in order to address boundary and other issues, strengthen their ties and friendship with the United States, and announce their regret at their past loyalty to the British. Their repudiation of British allegiance especially became an important factor in the delegation’s mission after the British surrendered the western posts in the summer of 1796 (see GW to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 7 Dec., n.6). Wayne and McHenry worked to arrange a conference between the tribes and GW. On 28 Aug., Wayne wrote McHenry from Detroit: “The Indians belonging to the several tribes with whom peace was made by the Treaty of Greene Ville have been assembled in considerable Numbers for a length of time, at Forts Wayne Defiance, Miamis & Detroit waiting to receive their annuities agreeably to that Treaty & have been very uneasy & anxious to know when & where they may expect them, also to be informed whether I had obtained permission for two Chiefs” of each nation “to visit their Great & good Father General Washington at the seat of Government or Great Council fire—agreeably to their Unanimous request at the close of the late treaty.” The delegation of northwestern Indian chiefs gathered in Detroit in September 1796 and left that place on 3 October. They stopped at Presque Isle, Pa., and Pittsburgh before reaching Philadelphia. Wayne wrote McHenry on 3 Oct. enclosing “a list of the Names of the Chiefs & Nations they represent—& who this day embark for the City of Philadelphia, under the Charge & Conduct of Capt John Heth … in order to see & converse with their great Father the President of the United States of America.” Blue Jacket was named on that list (, 515, 532). Other chiefs that formed the delegation included Shawnee village chief Red Pole (Misquacoonacaw), Eel River headman Soldier (Shamekunnesa), Potawatomi chief and spokesman Asimethe, and Chippewa leader Black Chief (Muccatiwasaw).
A delegation of southern Indian chiefs also visited Philadelphia in November and December 1796. In late summer 1796, GW had invited the Cherokee Indians to send their chiefs to the nation’s capital the following November (see GW to the Cherokee Nation, 29 Aug.). Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia) for 2 Dec. 1796 printed an item dated 18 Nov. at Staunton, Va., that reported the arrival there on 12 Nov. of “32 warriors, four women and three boys of the four Southern nations of Indians.” These included chiefs of the Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Choctaws. The Indian delegation was “on their way to Philadelphia, by a request of the President of the United States.”
Members of the southern tribes arrived in Philadelphia by late November, when they exchanged communications with GW. On 3 Dec., GW and Vice President John Adams dined with John Watts (Kunoskeskie), a leading Cherokee chief, and the next day, Adams informed his wife, Abigail, that “The President dined four Setts of Indians on four several Days the last Week” (, 11:430–32). GW dined with members of both delegations.
During their stay in Philadelphia in November and December, the Indian chiefs of both the northwestern and southern delegations held conferences with GW and McHenry and toured various sites around the capital. For instance, GW and the Indian chiefs from the northwestern tribes attended a conference around 29 Nov. in order to deliberate over various issues, such as the stipulations of the Treaty of Greenville, boundary disputes, and the punishment of both white settlers and Indians guilty of theft and other crimes. They also discussed the various gifts promised the Indians. According to an undated summary of the conference, Soldier stated the following about the Treaty of Greenville: “These nations are pleased with the treaty generally but wish the line to be altered if possible as mentioned yesterday to the President by Red Pole. As so small a portion of land can be no object with the United States hopes the boundary may be the river instead of that laid down in the Treaty.” Red Pole declared that the chiefs “neither want to go to war with each other or with the United States.” Red Pole’s reluctance to inflict the punishment of hanging upon those accused of theft made him “anxious to prevent them [young men] from stealing, and if they cannot be prevented wholly to have what they may steal delivered up.” Red Pole asked that a suit of clothes be given to Miami war chief Little Turtle, and requested saddles, rifles, and other items for several chiefs. Blue Jacket also spoke at the conference, soliciting GW’s assistance in replacing his property that had been destroyed during periods of warfare against the Americans. A copy of the full summary of the conference is in MHi: Adams Papers. In early December, GW arranged to provide the requested gifts in order to gain the support of the leading Indian chiefs. Conversely, GW refused to agree to any modifications to the Treaty of Greenville. This left boundary disputes unresolved.
On 2 Dec., the chiefs from both deputations simultaneously visited Charles Willson Peale’s museum, where, despite an initial “indisposition to associate together,” they conversed through interpreters. GW and McHenry were “requested to attend” the museum, where GW “in a short address, recommended to them peace and harmony among themselves” (Philadelphia Gazette & Universal Daily Advertiser, 6 Dec. 1796). As a result, a peace conference between the northwestern and southern Indian tribes was held on 2 December. At that conference, McHenry addressed the chiefs of the “different Indian Tribes” on behalf of GW. McHenry believed that peace among the tribes was attainable through compromise and frequently held meetings in which they could settle disputes. Red Pole also spoke, noting that he had communicated to the Chickasaws and Creeks and expressed his wish that they “may be all as one people.” Deputies of the Creek and Chickasaw nations shook hands and afterward discussed the Creek prisoners taken by the Chickasaws. Referencing GW and his speech to the northwestern Indians of 29 Nov. (see n.3 below), Red Pole declared: “Our Great and good father, who is indeed a Great Man has taken care of us his red Children—he has provided laws against persons intruding on our land—he told me our lands were good and that we should take care of them.” He asked his fellow Indians to prevent their “bad people from injuring” or stealing from U.S. citizens. Red Pole communicated GW’s promise to maintain peaceful relations not only between the whites and Indians, “but also among the Red people one with another.” A full summary of the conference is at MHi: Adams Papers.
On 9 Dec., the Chickasaw delegation met with McHenry. According to a summary of that meeting, the Chickasaws stated their desire for a Spanish evacuation of “the post at the Chickasaw Bluff,” which had been promised by GW. The Chickasaws demanded that the post, when abandoned, “be destroyed and not occupied by Troops of the United States.” They also asked for compensation “for a tract of land which” the state of South Carolina had “confiscated under pretext that the Indians who owned it had joined the British Army during the American revolution” (MHi: Adams Papers). McHenry had already met with the Chickasaws about these and other issues. In a talk delivered to McHenry at Philadelphia on 24 Nov., Chickasaw chief Piomingo complained that his tribe’s “Boundaries are not yet marked,” and advised of “Encroachments” on their territory (MHi: Adams Papers).
McHenry continued to exchange communications with the chiefs of the Chickasaw and Cherokee Nations throughout the month of December. On 19 Dec., McHenry informed the Chickasaw chiefs that GW “knows that a great many people go back every year towards the Indian Country … but he will as soon as possible have the Boundary line run and marked that so none of them shall have any excuse for the trespassing on your land.” After addressing the tribe’s disputes with South Carolina, McHenry cited GW’s recommendation that members of the Chickasaw Nation meet with the president or War Secretary each year “to fix upon the persons who ought to receive” the presents “which he has promised them” (MHi: Adams Papers). In a speech to the Cherokee chiefs given at Philadelphia on 27 Dec., McHenry discussed boundary issues and efforts on the part of the United States to punish atrocities committed upon the Indians by white settlers (MHi: Adams Papers). The issues raised by the southern delegation undoubtedly had a role in GW’s appointment of commissioners to run the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Creek boundaries (see GW to the U.S. Senate, 19 Jan. 1797, n.1).
Though McHenry’s meetings with the southern tribes continued throughout December, by 10 Dec., he had prepared for the departure of the northwestern tribes from Philadelphia. McHenry wrote GW on Saturday, 10 Dec.: “The Secry of war requests the Presidents signature to the inclosed advice which was delivered to the deputies of the Western Indians the 29 Nov. ulto. The Secry hopes to be able to have them dismissed on Monday or tuesday” (ALS, DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW). The enclosed advice has not been identified, but GW had given a speech to the chiefs of the northwestern tribes on 29 Nov. (see n.3 below). In a second letter of 10 Dec., McHenry again wrote GW: “I have prepared every thing for the departure of the deputies of the Northern Nations who will leave this City early on Monday morning. As they have expressed a desire of taking leave of you to-day, if it should be convenient, I request you to mention the time, when I will send them with Col. [Francis] Mentges” (ALS, DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW). During the northwestern Indians’ journey home, Red Pole died at Pittsburgh on 28 Jan. 1797 (see , 213–16).
1. This speech to McHenry of 20 Nov. has not been identified.
2. No speech from Blue Jacket to McHenry has been identified. However, Blue Jacket addressed GW in a speech given at Philadelphia in “November 1796,” which reads: “Father. Open your ears, and listen to what I shall say.
“Father. I speak to you in the language of truth, and request your particular attention. I need not tell you how long I was attached to my late British Father over the Waters of the Ocean, nor how often I fought his battles on the Borders of our great Lake—for my name has been well known to your Nation.
“Father. My eyes are now opened—and my heart has felt glad since I have been in friendship with my American Brethren.
“Father. I have been long deceived by the falsehoods of [Alexander] McKee and other British Agents who have ever urged myself and my red Brethren to keep up the War against the fifteen fires—they have often told me not to trust to the Americans, that they only wished to get our lands and then drive us to the immense Waters of the West—that if I would cross the lake with them and go to Quebec I should be one of the first Men of their Nation—but I refused their intreaties.
“Father. Long have I been blinded to my own interest and that of my Nation but thank the great Spirit who sent that Bird whose spreading wings embraced our nation and diffused peace throughout our Country.
“Father. When I fought for the British I fought with bravery and sincerity—but since I have found them carrying on a deception among us for many years past, I have been determined to break asunder the chain by which we were held and dissolve the ties of friendship by which we were bound—I have seen my error in holding them so long fast by the hand and since have found a great difference between their friendship and that of my American brethren.
“Father. Many years past I received from Sir John Johnston [Johnson], British Superintendant of Indian affairs—a testimonial of my fidelity and attachment to the British King—this flattered me because I was sincere in their cause—but being so long in the clouds of Darkness and guided by a deception which has ever attended their Councils, I have thrown them off and hope to be placed under the left arm of the United States there to be held as a sincere friend and Brother.
“Father. This testimonial which I beg you to read—I shall cast away and would be glad to receive from the United States a testimonial of my attachment to them—this I hope you will give me.
“Father. It shall be my study as it is my wish to instil into the minds of my young men and warriors the necessity of acting faithfully towards the United States and preserving inviolate the treaty of peace lately concluded between your great Warrior [Wayne] and my red Brethren.
“Father. I take you by the hand and hope you will believe what I have said to be truth.
“Father. I have accompanied one of the great Chiefs of our Nation to this City to see you he is now here and a good friend to the Americans” (copy, MHi: Adams Papers).
3. Neither McHenry’s response to Blue Jacket or other northwestern Indians, nor his enclosed “points” have been identified.
During a conference in late November with the northwestern Indian tribes (see source note), GW, on 29 Nov., gave the following speech to the “Chiefs and Warriors, Representatives” of the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Ottawa, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Miami, Eel River, Wea, Kickapoo, Piankasha, and Kaskaskia Indian tribes: “I have heard and considered what you have said to me through the Secretary of War, and I am pleased to see you at the Seat of Government, and to receive you as friends.
“You have asked for my advice, and I will give it to you freely upon such matters as appear to me, to be essential to your welfare.
“In the treaty which you have entered into with my great Warrior, General Wayne, and which has been ratified by the Senate of the United States, you have made certain grants and promised certain things, that I make no doubt you will comply with. On the other hand the United States have promised in the same treaty, certain things to you, which they mean to perform.
“The United States, who love justice, have agreed to pay to you and your Children for ever, a yearly sum of money in Goods, for a certain parcel of your land. By the same treaty, the Indian Nations mentioned therein, have bound themselves not to sell any of their land, except to the United States. This is a wise part of the treaty, inasmuch as it prevents your people from being cheated out of large tracts of their Country by designing Men, who would not pay them what the land was worth; whilst what they might receive for it, could be of no use to their posterity. This is not the case when the United States buy your land. They are careful that the Children of those who sell it, shall reap as much advantage from the Sale, as their fathers did. Thus the treaty secures to each Indian nation their land against purchases by Individuals, whilst the laws of the United States, have in addition to that treaty, provided a punishment for Persons who shall attempt to buy it, contrary thereto.
“Let your Nations therefore, pay a due respect and attention to this part of the treaty, and they will have nothing to apprehend for their land.
“It may be proper to say something to you relative to the distribution of the Goods agreed to be paid to you annually for the land ceded by the treaty. It is right that the Quota, apportioned to each Nation, should be delivered to such persons only as the Nation may appoint to receive it. To prevent frauds, therefore, and ensure a fair distribution among yourselves, it is recommended that each Nation should fix every year upon the Persons whom it wishes should receive it’s quota, and that they should instruct their Interpreter to inform the Agent who is to deliver the Goods, of the names of the Persons so chosen.
“I shall now give you some advice respecting the conduct of your people, the observance of which, I consider of importance to their tranquillity and peace. There are among the Indians as among the whites, Individuals who will steal their Neighbour’s property, when they find the opportunity, in preference to acquiring property to themselves by honest means. Bad white Men, for example, will go into the indian Country, and steal horses; and bad Indians, in like manner, will go into the settlement of the Whites and steal their horses. If the Indian Nations wish to deserve the friendship of the United States and to prevent the white settlers on the frontiers from retaliation on their property, the Chiefs and Warriors of the respective Nations must use their endeavours to punish such Offenders, and restore to the Whites, or to some Officer of the United States, the property they may have stolen. As for the Government, it will use it’s utmost endeavours to restore to every Indian any property of his which may have been stolen by Citizens of the United States, and will moreover punish those who violate the laws that have been made to prevent such practices, whenever the fact can be proved upon them.
“But, it is not enough that the United States should furnish your Nations with an annual quantity of Goods; that you should not sell your lands for that which could be of no advantage to your Posterity; that you should prevent bad Indians from stealing from the white frontier People; and that you should live in friendship with the United States. More than all this is required to render your condition comfortable. Your lands are good. Upon these you may raise horses and large flocks of Cattle, by the Sale of which you may procure the conveniencies and necessaries of life in greater abundance, and with less trouble than you do at present. You may also, by a little more industry, raise more corn and other grain, as well for your families as for the support of your Stocks in winter. I hope the Nations will maturely reflect upon this subject, and adopt what cannot fail to make them happier. When the Government shall be informed that they have taken this wise course and are sincerely desirous to be aided in it, they may rely upon receiving all necessary assistance.
“In order that my Children of the different Nations should be informed of this advice, I request that you will explain to them what you have heard me say. I shall also, to the end that it may remain among them, and not be forgotten by their Children, request my beloved Secretary of War to send a copy of this Talk to each Nation, to be explained to them by their respective Interpreters.
“Should you have any thing particular to say before you leave the Seat of Government, you will address it to the Secretary of War, who is instructed by me upon all matters relating to the Indian Nations, and who will furnish such of you as have acquired the title of Chiefs or Warriors with a Testimonial, of the same import as that delivered up by Blue Jacket, as a proof of my esteem and friendship.
“I now sincerely wish you a good journey, and that you may find your Brothers and families well on your Return, and that the Great Spirit above, may long preserve your Nations in peace with each other, and with the United States. Given at Philadelphia this twenty ninth day of November 1796 and in the twenty first year of the Independence of the United States of America” (DS, MoSW; DS, MiU-C: Lewis Cass Papers; DfS, DLC:GW; copy, MHi: Adams Papers; copy, DLC: James McHenry Papers).