George Washington and the Half-King Chief Tanacharison

George Washington Sets the World on Fire

The book George Washington and the Half-King Chief Tanacharison details the events in western Pennsylvania that participated the French and Indian War. It describes the relationship between 22-year-old, inexperienced, but self-assured George Washington and the 54-year-old wily Iroquois Chief Tanacharison, which led to, as Horace Walpole quipped, Washington firing “a volley in the backwoods of America that set the world on fire.”
This book explores the history of the French and Indian rivalry for the trans-Allegheny territory and its impact in the Indians in the area. It shows how Washington and Tanacharison each sought to influence the other to gain support for their respective agendas. Washington wanted the Indians to endorse Virginia’s claim to the Ohio territory, while Tanacharison wanted a a war between England and France so that the Iroquois could maintain dominance over the Ohio Indians. The book describes in detail the sequence of events through which the crafty half-king manipulated Washington into starting the war he wanted, and by his actions implicated Washington in nothing less than a cold-blooded murder.

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Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, N.C.

Publication Date: 2014

ISBN 978-0-7864-7950-4

Key words:

1. United States – History – French and Indian War, 1754-1763 – Causes
2. Washington, George, 1732-1799 – Relations with Indians
3. Washington, George, 1732-1799 – Military Leadership
4. Pennsylvania – History – Frebch and Indian War, 1754-1763 – Campaigns
5. United States – History – French and Indian War, 1754-1763 – Campaigns
6. Mingo Indians – History – 18^th Century –  18^th century