Look across the river from Mt Vernon

We bring this story up here in our Fort Loudoun Winchester VA site because George Washington had a nickname during his years here.

Conotocaurius.

We wonder if his great grandfather, John Washington, was ever called that, as alleged.

Right across from Piscataway Creek is Mt Vernon.

This area of Piscataway in 1675 had a fort constructed by the tall Susquehannocks, unwelcomed by both the Piscataway nation and by Maryland.

John Washington from Virginia and a Truman from Maryland were sent there to clear them out.

It ended in tragedy.

. Compiled by Jim Moyer in 2015, and the great grandfather section treated separately in 1/28/2018, updated 2/9/2018, 7/10/2019, 8/5/2019 .

Was John Washington ever called Conotocaurious? That story is related to the one below. . Next time you go to Mt Vernon . and walk down to the bank of the Potomac . and look across to Piscataway on the Maryland side, you’ll remember this story. . In 1675, this is what Governor Berkeley tells John Washington of Virginia and Thomas Truman of Maryland after the slaughter of Susquehannock Chiefs seeking to parlay peace: . If they had killed my grandfather and my grandmother, my father and mother and all my friends, yet if they had come to treat of peace, they ought to have gone in peace… . Source: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002005266854&view=1up&seq=25&size=125 . Ctrl F for “father” and you find it: http://www.virtualjamestown.org/exist/cocoon/jamestown/fha/J1003 . . . OVERVIEW John Washington is the great grandfather of George Washington. . John Washington heads a Virginia Regiment to resolve the Indian problem of attacks. They decide, along with the Maryland Regiment, that the Susquehannocks are the cause. . The Susquehannocks are forted up at the mouth of the Piscataway. . They had promised Maryland legislature that they would move from there to above the Great Falls on the Potomac. . But a year later here they still remained undesired by the Maryland legislature and undesired by neighboring Indian Nations. . So, now they are under siege by both John Washington heading Virginia troops and Thomas Truman heading Maryland. . At one point the Chiefs of the Susquehannocks come out of the fort to parlay a peace agreement. They all are killed. It is unclear who did the killing. . The remaining Susquehannocks stay inside the fort. The Virginia and Maryland forces put a 6 week siege on this fort. The Susquehannocks finally escape. It is unclear whether John Washington or Truman, head of the Maryland forces, or both should be blamed for the slaughter of those Chiefs who came out to parlay. Sir William Buckley famously admonishes both in the House of Burgesses for slaughtering those Chiefs. . This slaughter and siege occurred on the Maryland side across from the future Mt Vernon. . Often John Washington was alleged to have the nickname. Conotocaurius, “Destroyer of Towns” given him. We can find no contemporary evidence of that. But we can find contemporary evidence of George Washington being called that name. . . . The Story of John Washington and the Susquehannock . First a timeline on John Washington, Great Grandfather of George Washington. . . 1629 or 1633. Year of birth? See Page 142 Volume 1 of Charles A Hoppin, The Washington Ancestry and Records of the McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families (Greenfield, Ohio, 1932) “This work, limited to three hundred copies, was printed for Edward Lee McClain, Greenfield, Ohio by the Yale university press, in January 1932, hereafter referred to as Hoppin.” . We are skipping over an interesting passage of John Washington’s life in England. This is a story of his Dad who did well with the Royals, but ran into the Puritan rebellion against the Royals and lost his position and in turn lost John Washington’s future. John Washington learns the Merchant Tobacco business before joining Prescott and 2nd in charge of the Ketch, Seahorse of London going to Virginia. . December 1656 or early 1657 John Washington arrives in Virginia. He arrives on the ketch, Sea Horse of London. The ships See Page 147 Volume 1, Hoppin. or Page 15 of Douglas Southall Freeman, George Washington, a biography, volume 1: Young Washington, hereafter referred to as Freeman. . 28 February 1657 The Sea Horse of London on leaving, runs aground a shoal. A winter storm comes along, sinking it. The tobacco it holds is ruined. John Washington helps to raise the ketch. See link claiming the date 28 February 1657. And this interesting link. . Meets Nathaniel Pope in Virginia . Litigation. No outcome found on this suit, See page 147 Hoppin. . Prior to December 1658 John Washington marries Nathaniel Pope’s daughter, Ann. See pages 153-154 Hoppin. . John Washington cannot get court to delay the trial of a law suit of his former business partner held on the same day as the christening of his first child, George Washington’s grandfather, Lawrence. . John Washington elects to forego the trial and be at the christening. . 16 May 1659 The will of Nathaniel Pope. Page 88, 115 Volume 1, Westmoreland Deeds and Wills. This will cancels the 80 lbs. debt John Washington’s owed to Nathaniel Pope. Page 282 Hoppin. Page 17 Freeman. . Positions attained, Land purchases in this time period. . Early 1661 Coroner position attained. . 3 July 1661 Vestryman of Appomattox Parish. See Westmoreland Deeds 1661-1662, page 47. See Hoppin, page 167. . Burgess position. Lieutenant Colonel position. Justice of the County Court position. See Westmoreland Deeds page 20, 23. See Hoppin, page 167, 170-171. 173. . October 1666 The Cessation Issue. Held at James City The 23d day of October, 1666, by adjournment from the ﬁfth of June 1666. . John Washington is one of the men appointed to get Maryland to cease (called the “Cessation”) planting tobacco so the price could return to higher levels and give incentive to merchants to trade. . See: Journals of the House of burgesses of Virginia, … 1659-93, page 35 . …. future links . Summer 1675 Thomas Mathew writes a report 30 years later July 13, 1705. He states his overseer is killed by the Indians. Here’s the account: . “My dwelling was in Northumberland, the lowest county on Potomack River, Stafford being the upmost, where having also a plantation, servants, cattle, &c. my overseer had agreed with one Rob’t Hen, to come thither, and be my herdsman, who then lived ten miles above it ; . . but on a sabbath morning in the sumer anno 1675, people on their way to church, saw this Hen lying thwart his threshold, and an Indian without the door, both chopt on their heads, arms & other parts, as if done with Indian hatchetts, th’ Indian was dead, but Hen when asked who did that ? answered Doegs, Doegs, and soon died, . then a boy who came out from under a bed where he had hid himself, and told them Indians at come at break of day & done those murders.” . July 1675 Reports of murders are attributed to the Susquehannock. . 31 August 1675 Letter from Green Spring, home of Gov Berkeley containing a copy of an order from Council. See pages 189-190 Hoppin and page 22-23 Freeman. . John Washington doesn’t receive this letter until early September. . The order is for him and Major Isaac Allerton to obtain redress from the Doeg Indians accused of 3 murders and to raise a “fit number of men” if they deemed it “requisite and necessary” and to join the Maryland forces on the Maryland side of the Potomac where the Doegs are. . John Washington is careful. He makes this order from Council a matter of public record. Source: Westmoreland Deeds and Patents, 1665-1677, pages 231-232. See page 23, Freeman. . September 1675 From Maryland Historical Society,page 2 : “In September the Maryland Council received a letter from Col. John Washington asking for permission to follow the enemy into Maryland with a force of men and asking cooperation from Maryland.” . But this is to join against the Susquehanocks, not the Doegs. . Truman’s orders read that the Susquehannocks ‘” be forthwith forced off from the place they now are and remove themselves to the place they assured the last Assembly they would goe and seate themselves.” 8 . There was no question of annihilating them; Maryland simply wanted them to move. . Maryland had wanted them to move to above the Great Falls on the Potomac and not stay at Piscatway area. The Susquehannock promised to move but never did. . Apparently the Susquehannocks were not wanted as neighbors even by the Indians themselves. The king of the Mattawomans voluntarily offered all his men to Truman, and the Piscataways, Chopticos, Pomonkeys and Nanjemoys also joined the Maryland forces. . Truman did not wait for Washington and on Sunday, September 25 or 26, he arrived at the Susquehannock Fort and asked for a parley. . The Susquehannocks were accused of the murders on both sides of the Potomac but they denied them and accused the Senecas. . The next morning the Virginians arrived and there was another parley. This time the Susquehannocks brought with them a silver medal on a black and gold ribbon that a Maryland governor had given them as a pledge of eternal friendship. . There is a great deal of conflicting testimony as to what happened. Apparently Truman ordered the great men of the Susquehannocks bound and murdered and Washington did nothing to prevent it. . The siege of the fort began immediately. . The Susquehannocks had only about a hundred fighting men but all accounts agree that they put up a magnificent resistance. . The siege lasted for six weeks, the Colonists lost between fifty and a hundred men and the fort was never taken. . During the siege the Susquehannocks made frequent sallies and captured some of the colonists’ horses to replenish their food supply. . At the end of the six weeks the Susquehannocks escaped through the colonists’ lines with their women and children and crossed over into Virginia. . They raided the heads (falls) of the Rappahannock and York rivers, killing as they went. When they came to the head of the James they killed Bacon’s overseer. This led directly to Bacon’s Rebellion. . . . 21 September 1675 John Washington’s Will recorded, before going on this military mission. Source: Page 23 Freeman. See Hoppin, page 29. . . Sunday, September 25 or 26 Maryland’s Major Thomas Truman did not want to wait any longer for Virginia’s Colonel John Washington. . Truman went to the Susquehanna Fort demanding a parley. . The next day the Virginians arrived. . Then it appeared by this account there was confusion on who ordered or caused the killing of the Susquehannock Chiefs who came out to parley peace. The testimony quotes the impatience of Truman who didnt want to waiting anymore on John Washington’s fact finding questions. . Aftermath of the massacre Governor Berkeley rebukes John Washington. See Thomas Mathew’s (TM) account: . The next forenoon, th’ Assembly being met in a chamber over the general court & our speaker chosen, the Govern’r sent for us down, where his hon’r with a pathetic emphasis made a short abrupt speech wherein where these words. . ‘ ‘ If they had killed my grandfather and my grandmother, my father and mother and all my friends, yet if they had come to treat of peace, they ought to have gone in peace, ‘ ‘ and sat down. . The two chief commanders at the aforementioned siege, who slew the ffour Indian great men, being present and part of our assembly. . The Govern’ or stood up againe and said “if there be joy in the presence of the Angels over one sinner that repented, there is joy ” now, for we have a penitent sinner come before us, call Mr. Bacon; …” . And the testimony goes on telling us of Bacon on knee asking forgiveness for rebelling (but later raises an army and burns down Jamestown). . And the testimony describes an Indian Queen. Worth reading. . Another Summary of the incident from this link. : . “John Washington, the great-grandfather of George Washington, headed a party of Virginians to the assistance of Maryland and the welfare on both sides was conducted with the utmost ferocity. . When six of the Indians came to treat for peace, they were murdered by the Colonists and here again we see the spirit of the Cavalier in Berkeley’s rebuke, “If they had killed my father and my mother and all my friends, yet if they had come to treat of peace, they ought to have gone in peace.” . When the Indians, mad for revenge, started their awful reprisals, Berkeley refused the Colonists the right to arm themselves for defence. Then it was that Nathaniel Bacon, disregarding orders, formed a “rebel army” which ultimately forced Berkeley to yield. “ . . . . . ————————————————————————– A report by T.M. — its provenance . Provenance: A record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality. . This 1833 edition seems to have lost a few pages of a very interesting Introduction. This Introduction reproduces a story written by a Thomas Mathew. . This is the story that shows how John Washington might have earned the name TOWN DESTROYER, but the story does not indicate any Indian bestowing on him the name. . How was this report by T.M. found? . This story was in President Thomas Jefferson’s library collection which he then donated to the Library of Congress. . Thomas Jefferson explains he received this story from a Mr. King, minister plenipotentiary in the court of London in 1803, who purchased it from a bookseller, and somehow the bookseller got it from Lord Oxford who desired a report from a Thomas Mathew, a report he wrote 30 years after the incident, to unravel the details how this incident led to the Indian Wars which led in part to Nathaniel Bacon’s Rebellion of 1675-1676. . See this report written by Thomas Mathew reproduced in the Introduction, pages xxi to xxx of A History of the Valley of Virginia by Samuel Kercheval (1833; 3rd ed. 1902) . . Thomas Jefferson wondered over the initials T.M. President Jefferson did not know that T.M., the author of the story was Thomas Mathew. . Jefferson wrote: . “It appears to have been written by a person intimately acquainted with its origin, progress and conclusion, thirty years after it took place, and when the passion of the day had subsided, and reason might take a cool and deliberate review of the transaction. . It was written, too, not for public eye, but to satisfy the desire of minister Lord Oxford… and he subscribes the initials of his name T. M. . Whether the records of the time, (if they still exist) , with the aid of these circumstances, will show what his name was, remains for further inquiry.” . . Maryland Historical Magazine Volume 36, 1941 , indicates who T.M. was — Thomas Mathew, and the report discusses his story. . And could “TM” Thomas Mathew, even after 30 years, whom as Thomas Jefferson observed was “intimately acquainted with its origin, progress and conclusion,” really take a “take a cool and deliberate review” ? The Indians had killed Thomas Mathew’s own servants. . . —————————————————————————– T.M.’S WILD STORY ITSELF This is the story that shows how John Washington might have earned the name TOWN DESTROYER, but the story does not indicate any Indian bestowing on him the name. . The story told by T.M. in his own words: Introduction, pages xxi to xxx from the book, A History of the Valley of Virginia by Samuel Kercheval (1833; 3rd ed. 1902) . The source for who TM was and some analysis of the story : Maryland Historical Magazine Volume 36, 1941 . See Another link: “Mathew’s Narrative,” in Charles M. Andrews, ed., Narratives of the Insurrections, 1675-1690, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1915), 17. . . ————————————————————————————— FORT SUSQUEHANNOCK – an Indian Fort The Susquehannock Fort at mouth of Piscataway Creek, eastern shore Maryland, sitting across the Potomac River from a future Mt Vernon. . . This fort went under seige for 6 weeks. . By then the whites were exhausted and not feeling so wonderful about what they did earlier. What they did earlier was to kill those 10 Indian Chiefs (other accounts state 6) who came outside of the fort in peace to parley. . Then the rest of the Indians hunkered in their fort for a 6 week siege. Finally at night the Susquehannocks escaped. . The Whites had a motivated enemy. John Washington got a rebuke from Gov Berkeley. . And Trent of Maryland got a penalty from the MD colony legislature. . But the Indians? They weren’t done with this yet. . Excellent Source: Maryland Historical Magazine Volume 36, 1941 . . Here is another link which is politically charged but it does reference some points and chronology of what happened. See link. . A picture of this fort was drawn by contemporary eyes at the time. See the picture in: Maryland Historical Magazine Volume 36, 1941 : . “… in 1677 there was a Royal Commission of Investigation. In 1910 Professor Wertenbaker found a map of the Susquehannock Fort (Fig. 1) in the British Public Record Office.”

Click on maps supplied by Maryland Historical Magazine Volume 36, 1941 . . .. . . To find Fort Susquehannock, click on upper right corner square icon. This will open a new tab window. On top left corner you will see a magnifying glass icon. Click on that and type Fort Susquehannock and press enter or return. . . . . Running Down a Footnote and Challenging it When trying to find the source for the claim John Washington was called Conotocaurius (many spellings) aka “Town Destroyer,” I was surprised the search ended with nothing. . First, I began with David Preston’s book, Braddock’s Defeat, page 26, who writes: . “He [George Washington] signed it with his Iroquoian moniker, “Connotaurcarious” (“town taker” or “devourer of villages”), which dated back to his great-grandfather John Washington, who had been involved in the brutal murders of five Susquehannock Indian emissaries in a 1675 war.” . David Preston’s footnote sites several sources. One was George Washington’s papers. And we checked those references here. . Another was Fred Anderson’s, “George Washington Remembers: Reflections on the French and Indian War.” Did GW himself say his great grandfather was given the nickname? Anyone who has read this book, please let us know. . The 3rd source listed in David Preston’s footnote, sites: . Pages 115-155 in an anthology of essays, “George Washington and the Virginia Backcountry,” edited by Warren R Hofstra. . That led me to J. Frederick Fauz, the contributing writer of those pages 115-155. He wrote the essay, “Engaged in Enterprises Pregnant with Terror: George Washington’s Formative Years among the Indians. “ . The short bio provided at the back of the book, in part, states: . “J. Frederick Fausz is an ethno historian of Anglo-Indian relations in the 17th Century Chesapeake and of fur trading in colonial America. He received his Ph.D. in early American History from the College of William and Mary and served as assistant editor of The Complete Works of John Smith.” . The footnote in Dr Fausz’ essay is at the end of each paragraph, so it is vague what the part of the paragraph the footnote proves. . Dr Fauz’ footnote, sites Douglas Southall Freeman’s George Washington, volume 1, pages 22-25. . No where does Freeman state that the Susquehannock called John Washington the nickname or its equivalent definition Town Destroyer. . We end this search with no proof. But then, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. . So we remain open to continue the search. . . . ———————————————————————- LINKS about John Washington . . Page 28 about Lt Col John Washington, Archaeological studies of the Susquehannock Indians of Pennsylvania by Cadzow, Donald A published 1936 Pa Historical Commission Volume III Harrisburg . Washington family tree http://www.archives.com/genealogy/president-washington.html . page 414 start of info on John Washington page 425 pictures of some descendents Ancestral records and portraits : a compilation from the archives of Chapter I, the Colonial Dames of America, 1910 . . . —————————————————————————— RESEARCH . Charles A Hoppin, The Washington Ancestry and Records of the McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families (Greenfield, Ohio, 1932) “This work, limited to three hundred copies, was printed for Edward Lee McClain, Greenfield, Ohio by the Yale university press, in January 1932.” . A speech from Half King addressing Lt Gov Dinwiddie does not mention Town Destroyer or any of its variant spellings. See page 31 of book: MINUTES, PROVINCIAL COUNCIL PENNSYLVANIA, from the organization to the termination of the proprietary government. published by the state. vol. vi. containing the proceedings of council from. April 2d, 1754, to January 29th, 1756, both days included. Harrisburg: printed by Theo. Fenn & Co 1851, and Founders Online link mentions same letter, from George Washington to James Hamilton, 24 April 1754 . Source: Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants, A History of Frederick County, Virginia (ILLUSTRATED) From its Formation in 1738 to 1908 Compiled Mainly from Original Records of Old Frederick County, now Hampshire, Berkeley, Shenandoah, Jefferson, Hardy, Clarke, Warren, Morgan and Frederick…..by T. K. Cartmell Clerk of the Old County Court . Susquehannock Fort at the mouth of Piscataway Creek, eastern shore Maryland Source Maryland Historical Magazine Volume 36, 1941 . An ancestor of Robert E Lee and Zachary Taylor, Major Isaac Allerton in 1667 served under Colonel John Washington, great-grandfather of our first president George, in order to subdue Susquehannock and Doeg Indians… See Source. . ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY REPRODUCED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION General Editor, J. FRANKLIN JAMESON, Ph.D., LL.D., LlTT.D. DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON ….. NARRATIVES OF THE INSURRECTIONS 1675-1690 EDITED BY CHARLES M. ANDREWS, Ph.D., L.H.D. FAKNAM PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN YALE UNIVERSITY WITH THREE FACSIMILES CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS NEW YORK 1915 . One of many historicals signs for the Sullivan Expedition started 18 June 1779 . From a Founders Online Editorial Note: . David Humphreys wrote GW from France on 30 Sept. 1784 about the utility of having a biography of George Washington, particularly one written by GW himself. In early 1785 Humphreys began suggesting himself as a possible biographer, to which GW agreed (Humphreys to GW, 15 Jan. 1785, GW to Humphreys, 25 July 1785). Humphreys apparently started work on the biography when he visited Mount Vernon in the late summer of 1786 (Zagarri, Humphreys’ Life, description begins Rosemarie Zagarri, ed. David Humphreys’ “Life of General Washington” with George Washington’s “Remarks.” Athens, Ga., 1991. description ends xix); but he must have written most of it after his return to Mount Vernon in November 1787, where he remained until GW traveled to New York in April 1789 to assume the presidency. . More Humphrey links: . http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0123 . https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-01-02-0362#GEWN-04-01-02-0362-fn-0003 . https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-02-02-0074#GEWN-04-02-02-0074-fn-0001 . REMARKS, 1787–1788 These are George Washington’s remarks on Humphrey’s biography draft from the Founders Online web site. . . Sulgrave Manor link . George Washington National Monument’s page on John Washington . . Compiled by Jim Moyer in 2015, and the great grandfather section treated separately in 1/28/2018, updated 2/9/2018. . Was John Washington ever called Conotocaurious? . . George Washington during 1791 to 1799 tries to discover his family tree . Founders Online footnote: . “Sir Isaac Heard (1730–1822), Garter Principal King of Arms, first wrote to GW on 7 Dec. 1791 . enclosing some excerpts regarding the Washington family in America and a genealogy which he had drawn up of the descendants of the two Washington brothers, John (1632–1677) and Lawrence (c.1635–1677), who had immigrated to Virginia in the midseventeenth century. . Heard asked GW to fill in the blank areas in the chart…” . To George Washington from William Augustine Washington, 23 March 1798: . “I then wrote to Mr Lawrance, & Robt Washington of Chotanck; I got very little information from them, they said that they always understood that they were decended from Lawrence, who came over with John, our Ancestor; but Mr Robt Washington sent me word, that he understood, that Mr John Washington near Leeds, had a Genealogical Table of the Family from the first coming over of our Ancestors . . . I immediately wrote to a Mr Balmain, who married one of Mr J. Washingtons Daughters, & who had administered upon the Estate; requesting that he would examine his Testators papers & if he could find such a paper…” . William Augustine Washington , the writer of the above letter, was George Washington’s nephew, son of George Washington’s half brother, Augustine Washington. . . See a simple family tree diagram. . Click on picture to enlarge. Click on Source. . . . . —————————————————————————– . . Side Notes . . Fort Loudoun Winchester Virginia August 11, 2019 at 6:00 AM · . Sunday Word 1 John Smith was NOT saved from death by Pocahantas? . It was actually an adoption ceremony? . Whaaa? . We’ll get to the Fort Loudoun connection. It’s thin. Maybe too thin. . Let’s go back to those questions. . Excerpt: In 1607, Powhatan ordered the capture of John Smith so he could learn more about their intentions and perhaps turn Smith into an ally. During his captivity, the Indians tried to “adopt” Smith in an elaborate three-day ceremony. . Smith had quite a different interpretation. At one point, when the Indians laid his head on two rocks, Smith later wrote, he thought they were going to “beate out his braines.” Then, he said, Pocahontas — Powhatan’s daughter — came to his rescue and “got his head in her armes, and laid her owne upon his to save him from death.” . His life was spared, but not for the reasons he thought. Kelly said it was all a “scripted, symbolic adoption ceremony.” . In “A Land as God Made It,” James Horn wrote that Powhatan was guaranteeing Smith and the settlers food and safety “if they acknowledged the great chief as their lord and became a subordinate people within his chiefdom.” . End Excerpt. . Okay no proof here. But the book might contain the proof. . . Now the thin Fort Loudoun connection? . . Only less than a mere 75 years later, George Washington who designed and oversaw the construction of Fort Loudoun Winchester Virginia had a Great Grandfather, John Washington of Virginia who along with a Maryland Forces leader Thomas Truman are berated by Governor Berkeley for their slaughtering of Susquehannock Chiefs: . ‘ If they had killed my grandfather and my grandmother, my father and mother and all my friends, yet if they had come to treat of peace, they ought to have gone in peace, . Source: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002005266854&view=1up&seq=25&size=125 . Ctrl F for “father” and you find it: http://www.virtualjamestown.org/exist/cocoon/jamestown/fha/J1003 .More Sources: A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America James Horn — http://a.co/9hZ96cn . Washington Post article . https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/08/03/powhatan-his-people-american-indians-that-jamestowns-settlers-shoved-aside/ . The Story of John Washington: . http://frenchandindianwarfoundation.org/event/john-washington-gws-great-grandfather/ .