Analysis: Sir William Johnson and his nephew Guy played key roles as British colonial administrators, especially around relationships with Native Americans
A recent TG4 documentary Éire agus na Chéad Náisiúin on historic Irish links with Native Americans made reference to the career of Sir William Johnson (1715 to 1774). Born in Smithstown, Co. Meath, Johnson travelled to New York State in 1738 and ultimately settled in the Mohawk Valley. There, he would establish a vast estate of up to 400,000 acres, grow rich in the fur trade and establish several businesses and the town of Johnson, NY.
Johnson would emerge as one of the key figures in the British colonial administration in America. He served with distinction in the French and Indian War (1754-63), held the local rank of brigadier-general and was awarded a baronetcy for his service in 1755. In 1759, he successfully captured Fort Niagara from the French, in a decisive moment in the war.
From TG4, trailer for Éire agus na Chéad Náisiúin
A key factor in Johnson's rise to power was his close relationship with the tribes of the Six Nations (Iroquois Confederacy), especially the Mohawk. He learned the Mohawk language and ensured the support of the Six Nations for the British cause through present-giving and loyalty ceremonies. He also had a close friendship with some of the senior Mohawk leaders, such as Joseph Brant, while Molly Brant (Konwatsi'tsiaienni), an influential matriarch in the Mohawk tribe, became his second common-law wife. The alliance with these warrior tribes ensured British control of the frontier region, and Johnson was appointed as the superintendent of the northern division of the British "Indian Department". He died in 1774, on the eve of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783).
But while Johnson played a key role in the British administration in the area, it is now obvious that he used his position to enrich himself personally, a trait not uncommon among colonial officials of the period. Indentured servants and African slaves were a significant part of his labour force in all of this business ventures. It is equally obvious that he intended to use his position to the benefit of his wider family, and that he was building a personal empire that he hoped would benefit generations of Johnsons.
In 1755, his 15 year old nephew, Guy Johnson, travelled to America to work alongside him. Despite his youth, he served in the French and Indian War, commanding a company of rangers under Lord Amherst. His uncle appointed Guy as secretary to the Indian Department and in this capacity, he attended tribal councils and also drew maps of the frontier region.
Like his uncle, he learned Mohawk and, in 1762, he was made Sir William's deputy agent. Cementing his place in the Johnson dynasty, he married Sir William's youngest daughter (and his first cousin), Mary ('Polly’) Johnson. In 1768, he served as part of the team assembled by Sir William to conclude the crucial Treaty of Fort Stanwix.
Elected to the New York assembly in 1773, Johnson became a divisive figure in politics. Like his uncle, he combined several roles in terms of his service with the Indian Department, and as a colonel and adjutant-general of the New York militia. The death of Sir William in July 1774, propelled him to a level of prominence and authority for which he would ultimately prove to be ill-suited.
As revolutionary activity developed in the Mohawk Valley, Johnson and his brother-in-law Sir John Johnson, attempted to resist the Patriot movement, which was embodied in the Tryon County committee of safety, and focused on retaining the allegiance to the crown of the Six Nations. In May 1775, he led a few hundred loyalists, both settlers and native Americans, out of the Mohawk Valley to Canada. En route, at the fort at Oswego, he met with more than a thousand members of the Iroquois Confederacy, and negotiated an arrangement to protect the crucial St Lawrence River–Lake Ontario supply route.
But he failed to secure a wider alliance for Six Nations support in suppressing the rebellion. Some tribes, such as the Mohawk and the Seneca, would become very active in the war on the Loyalist side, while others tried to steer a path of neutrality. Some of the Onedia tribe would side with the Patriot cause. Not possessing the powers of persuasion of his uncle, Johnson failed to secure a widespread tribal alliance.
The meeting at Oswego was also the location of a personal tragedy. Johnson was travelling with his young wife, Polly, who was heavily pregnant. The stress of the journey brought on her labour and, following a botched attempt at a Caesarean section by a local doctor, she died along with her new born son. Bereft, Johnson was left to complete the journey to Canada with his two young daughters.
In November 1775, he travelled from Canada to England to clarify his jurisdiction as superintendent, which he hoped to expand to include the Canadian tribes. On this journey, he was accompanied by senior Mohawk leaders Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) and Captain David Hill (Karonghyontje, "Flying Sky"), who wished to gain guarantees of their lands in return for supporting the British cause in the revolution. While Johnson managed to retain his role as superintendent to the Six Nations, he was denied any jurisdiction over the Canadian tribes.
It is now obvious that Johnson was also trying to maintain the Indian Department as something of a family business
On return to New York in 1776, Johnson essentially squandered any political capital that he gained during his trip to London. He remained in New York City during a crucial phase in the war, and delegated responsibility for the developing campaign in the Mohawk Valley to subordinates in the field. It was a shameful neglect of his duty, for which he was criticised. It is believed that he managed a theatre and also occasionally acted in plays during this phase in New York City.
In late 1779, Johnson moved to Fort Niagara, from where he directed a series of raids into the Mohawk Valley. It was a brutal phase of the war, as Loyalist forces, including Loyalist rangers and warriors of the Mohawk and Seneca tribes, raided Patriot communities along the frontier. His letters from this period survive, in which he enumerates the numbers killed or taken captive in these raids, as Loyalist forces devastated rural communities in their campaign to deny food to the Patriot army. He also found himself responsible for over 2,000 native warriors and their families who were now in exile at Fort Niagara.
Ultimately, it was his activities at Fort Niagara, the location of one of his uncle's greatest triumphs, that were to prove his undoing. Governor Sir Frederick Haldimand questioned his returns about the strength of his forces, as it would seem that Guy was engaged in a typical scam of 18th century commanding officers by claiming pay and allowances for troops that did not exist. Haldimand also questioned his request for the supply of luxury items, such as cases of port wine.
It is also now obvious that Johnson was also trying to maintain the Indian Department as something of a family business. In his 1776 return of the officers and agents of the department, we find that he had appointed Peter Johnson (Sir William's son by Molly Brant), William Johnson (his younger brother) and Dr John Dease from Co. Cavan (his cousin). Despite his protests, he had been effectively replaced by 1778 by his brother-in-law, Sir John Johnson, as the chief advisor on "Indian affairs". Sir John officially succeeded as superintendent in 1783, by which time the war was lost and the fate of the Native allies was sealed.
Johnson returned to London to press his claims for government compensation for his lost property in the Mohawk Valley, which included the impressive Guy Manor. His later appeals strike a pathetic tone, and he pointed out in one that he had "lost everything". Effectively stonewalled by the government, Johnson's case was never resolved and he died, in relative poverty, on 5 March 1788. He was buried in St. James Churchyard in London, where there is a modest memorial to him within the church.
Britain’s Mohawk allies were to be equally disappointed by the outcome of the Revolutionary War. Displaced from their homeland, they were initially allocated over 950,000 acres in Ontario. Today, their descendants, the Six Nations of the Grand River, occupy about 50,000 acres, and are engaged in long-term redress cases with the Canadian governments. Despite the fact that Johnson has largely disappeared from the history of the Revolutionary War, he did play a significant role at the time. His career in America, which started with such promise, paralleled the collapse of British power in the colonies.
Johnson's career in America, which started with such promise, paralleled the collapse of British power in the colonies.
Johnson is also referenced in one of the most evocative art works of the period. During his visit to London in 1775-6, he commissioned Benjamin West to paint his portrait. West is now remembered for perhaps his most dramatic painting, The Death of General Wolfe (1770), which includes Sir William Johnson within the crowd attending the dying general. West also painted Sir William in his depiction of an episode of the French and Indian War: General Johnson saving a wounded French officer from the tomahawk of a North American Indian (completed by 1768).
It was perhaps natural for Guy Johnson to approach West to paint his portrait as there was a long family connection, and it was planned that the painting would play a part in his campaign to be confirmed as superintendent. Ultimately, West painted a dual portrait Colonel Guy Johnson and Karonghyontye (Captain David Hill), which included the Mohawk leader Karonghyontje.
In the portrait, Johnson is depicted as a man of two worlds, wearing the uniform coat of an officer of the Indian Department, while there are references to native dress in his blanket, moccasins, belt and beaded cap. He holds a musket, representing war, while Karonghyontje holds a peace pipe, The portrait has been interpreted variously, with some art historians suggesting that the focus on Johnson puts the native leader in a subservient position.
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