The Half King and a Future President

The ice and snow made walking difficult for the small group of men and the horses. As the silent group followed the path along the treacherous and icy Riviere aux Boeuf, perhaps Tanacharison remembered his father's gruesome murder. Tanacharison was a young boy when his father was killed, boiled and, then eaten.

There was time on the trail to think about the past, as they trudged towards the future. As night fell, there was time for talk. Huddled around a winter campfire on a bitter cold night often gives rise to stories of the past. Maybe the story of Tanacharsion's father was whispered on the trail.

Tanacharison knew the twists and turns of the old river trail as did two or three of the others. There were many other names for the river; names Tanacharison and the others also knew. They knew it as In nungash or Onenge, and possibly, at times, Winingus.

The English called it Beef Creek, translating the French name. The French called the herds of bison, cattle.

Bison were plentiful and the large, lumbering animals, easy to shoot for food, the hides for warm clothing. Parts of the trail, which Tanacharison led the English adventurers, followed such bison trails along the eastern shores of the raging river.

When the young, tall English soldier first asked for his help, Tanacharison was unaware of a new fork along the trail which would change world history. Nor was the English soldier, aware of his destiny on the trail. His orders were to deliver a written message the commander of the French soldiers in the region. The trail led to Fort LeBouef and Captain Jacques Legardeur de St. Pierre on the edges of a small lake of the same name.

The English soldier, George Washington, finally was able to deliver the letter to the commander shortly after the group of travelers arrived at the French Fort on December 11, 1753 after leaving Fort Machault four days earlier and traveling an estimate 130 miles through the wilderness.

Washington, who was not quite 21 years old and a member of the Virginia militia, accepted the assignment to travel to the French Fort LeBouef, by the English lieutenant governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. The English were concerned about French plans and construction projects in the Ohio Valley, lands claimed by the British Crown.

The French commander politely refused to honor the English request to leave the then western frontier. Washington, along with Tanacharison and the others, left the fort after several days and traveled back downstream. If Tanacharison was seeking revenge for his father's tragic death, it is not recorded at Fort LeBoeuf. But his revenge would happened in the near future.

The group encountered even worse weather and an assassination attempt on Washington on the return back to Virginia. The plot failed but the story traveled quickly in a wilderness.

Washington kept a diary of the journey which he gave to Dunwittie along with his report on the French and his estimates on their military strength.

In the diary, George Washington renamed the Riviere aux Boeufe, French Creek, the name the river would always be known.

Within months, after Washington's return to Virginia, hostilities escalated into an all out war which spanned two continents, the French and Indian War. One of the earliest conflicts once again saw Washington and Tanacharison, who was also called the Half King, cooperating in a military alliance.

Tanacharison warned Washington and his forces, situated near fort Dusquene (Pittsburgh) on May 28, 1754 about an approaching French force. Washington and Tanacharison, attacked the French and captured the wounded French leader, Ensign Coulon Jumenville de Villiers.

During an interrogation, according to reports, the Half-King, plunged a tomahawk in Jumenville skull and removed the brains washing his hands in the tissue. Tanacharison had his revenge. The French were outraged and called it bloody murder. They claimed Jumenville was on a diplomatic mission. The bodies of those killed have never been discovered.

A few months later, Washington and his troops were defeated at a place called Fort Necessity by the French. Saint Pierre from the LeBouef Fort was there. Washington was captured and later released, unharmed.

Tanacharison, a Seneca chief, would never live to see the results of his frontier friendship with Washington. Tanacharison, the Half King died near present day Harrisburg shortly after his revenge for his father's brutal demise on October 4, 1754. His role in the frontier area of what would soon be known as northwestern Pennsylvania sank into obscurity.

A century and a half later, ceremonies were held near the ghost of the old French Fort LeBouef, which commemorated the events. A statue of George Washington was dedicated that day in 1922 and placed on a small island in the middle of the busiest highway in a town is now called Waterford. The town's statue is remarkable since it is believed to be the only depiction of the future president dressed in a British military uniform. It was moved to a small park, closer to the actual fort and the small lake in 1948 where it remains.

Without the friendship of the Half King Tanacharison, it is probable Washington's mission would have been a failure, if he even lived. There is no statue to the Seneca Half King Tanacharison; without whose help events may have been entirely different.

The December journey by a group of men through heavy snows on an old bison trail along a frontier river changed global history. Perhaps, the story opened years earlier though with the murder of one unknown man who was boiled and eaten. The statue of George Washington in a British military uniform holds many secrets and many stories.The ice and snow made walking difficult for the small group of men and the horses. As the silent group followed the path along the treacherous and icy Riviere aux Boeuf, perhaps Tanacharison remembered his father's gruesome murder. Tanacharison was a young boy when his father was killed, boiled and, then eaten.

There was time on the trail to think about the past, as they trudged towards the future. As night fell, there was time for talk. Huddled around a winter campfire on a bitter cold night often gives rise to stories of the past. Maybe the story of Tanacharsion's father was whispered on the trail.

Tanacharison knew the twists and turns of the old river trail as did two or three of the others. There were many other names for the river; names Tanacharison and the others also knew. They knew it as In nungash or Onenge, and possibly, at times, Winingus.

The English called it Beef Creek, translating the French name. The French called the herds of bison, cattle.

Bison were plentiful and the large, lumbering animals, easy to shoot for food, the hides for warm clothing. Parts of the trail, which Tanacharison led the English adventurers, followed such bison trails along the eastern shores of the raging river.

When the young, tall English soldier first asked for his help, Tanacharison was unaware of a new fork along the trail which would change world history. Nor was the English soldier, aware of his destiny on the trail. His orders were to deliver a written message the commander of the French soldiers in the region. The trail led to Fort LeBouef and Captain Jacques Legardeur de St. Pierre on the edges of a small lake of the same name.

The English soldier, George Washington, finally was able to deliver the letter to the commander shortly after the group of travelers arrived at the French Fort on December 11, 1753 after leaving Fort Machault four days earlier and traveling an estimate 130 miles through the wilderness.

Washington, who was not quite 21 years old and a member of the Virginia militia, accepted the assignment to travel to the French Fort LeBouef, by the English lieutenant governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. The English were concerned about French plans and construction projects in the Ohio Valley, lands claimed by the British Crown.

The French commander politely refused to honor the English request to leave the then western frontier. Washington, along with Tanacharison and the others, left the fort after several days and traveled back downstream. If Tanacharison was seeking revenge for his father's tragic death, it is not recorded at Fort LeBoeuf. But his revenge would happened in the near future.

The group encountered even worse weather and an assassination attempt on Washington on the return back to Virginia. The plot failed but the story traveled quickly in a wilderness.

Washington kept a diary of the journey which he gave to Dunwittie along with his report on the French and his estimates on their military strength.

In the diary, George Washington renamed the Riviere aux Boeufe, French Creek, the name the river would always be known.

Within months, after Washington's return to Virginia, hostilities escalated into an all out war which spanned two continents, the French and Indian War. One of the earliest conflicts once again saw Washington and Tanacharison, who was also called the Half King, cooperating in a military alliance.

Tanacharison warned Washington and his forces, situated near fort Dusquene (Pittsburgh) on May 28, 1754 about an approaching French force. Washington and Tanacharison, attacked the French and captured the wounded French leader, Ensign Coulon Jumenville de Villiers.

During an interrogation, according to reports, the Half-King, plunged a tomahawk in Jumenville skull and removed the brains washing his hands in the tissue. Tanacharison had his revenge. The French were outraged and called it bloody murder. They claimed Jumenville was on a diplomatic mission. The bodies of those killed have never been discovered.

A few months later, Washington and his troops were defeated at a place called Fort Necessity by the French. Saint Pierre from the LeBouef Fort was there. Washington was captured and later released, unharmed.

Tanacharison, a Seneca chief, would never live to see the results of his frontier friendship with Washington. Tanacharison, the Half King died near present day Harrisburg shortly after his revenge for his father's brutal demise on October 4, 1754. His role in the frontier area of what would soon be known as northwestern Pennsylvania sank into obscurity.

A century and a half later, ceremonies were held near the ghost of the old French Fort LeBouef, which commemorated the events. A statue of George Washington was dedicated that day in 1922 and placed on a small island in the middle of the busiest highway in a town is now called Waterford. The town's statue is remarkable since it is believed to be the only depiction of the future president dressed in a British military uniform. It was moved to a small park, closer to the actual fort and the small lake in 1948 where it remains.

Without the friendship of the Half King Tanacharison, it is probable Washington's mission would have been a failure, if he even lived. There is no statue to the Seneca Half King Tanacharison; without whose help events may have been entirely different.

The December journey by a group of men through heavy snows on an old bison trail along a frontier river changed global history. Perhaps, the story opened years earlier though with the murder of one unknown man who was boiled and eaten. The statue of George Washington in a British military uniform holds many secrets and many stories.