Conotocaurius (Town Destroyer, Seneca: ''Hanödaga꞉nyas'') was a

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

given to

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

peoples in 1753. The name in its original language(s) has been given variously as ''Conotocarius'', ''Conotocaurious'', ''Caunotaucarius'', ''Conotocarious'', ''Hanodaganears'', and ''Hanadahguyus''. It has also been translated as "Town Taker", "Burner of Towns", "Devourer of Villages", or "he destroys the town".

History

Washington was given the name in 1753 by the Seneca leader Tanacharison. The nickname had previously been given to his great-grandfather

John Washington John Washington (1633 – 1677) was an English-born merchant, planter, politician and military officer. Born in Tring, Hertfordshire, he subsequently immigrated to the English colony of Virginia and became a member of the planter class. In add ...

in the late seventeenth century. He had participated in an effort to suppress Indigenous peoples defending themselves in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. It involved members of both the Susquehannah and the Piscataway, an Algonquian tribe that lived across the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

from

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

. Following the massacre of five chiefs who had come out to negotiate under a flag of truce to the colonizers, the Susquehannahs gave John Washington an Algonquian name that translated to "town taker" or "devourer of villages." The elder Washington's reputation was remembered and when they met his great-grandson in 1753 they called George Washington by the same name, ''Conotocarious''. Washington referred to himself as "Conotocaurious" in a letter he wrote to Andrew Montour dated October 10, 1755, in which he tried to manipulate the Oneida to resettle on the Potomac: :Recommend me kindly to our good friend Monacatootha, and others; tell them how happy it would make Conotocaurious to have an opportunity of taking them by the hand at Fort Cumberland, and how glad he would be to treat them as brothers of our Great King beyond the waters. " In 1779 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign) was a United States military campaign under the command of General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan duri ...

, under Washington's orders, destroyed over 40 Iroquois villages in New York, partially in response to Iroquois participation in attacks on the

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...

in July 1778 and Cherry Valley in November 1778. In 1790, the Seneca chief

Cornplanter John Abeel III (–February 18, 1836) known as Gaiänt'wakê (''Gyantwachia'' – "the planter") or Kaiiontwa'kon (''Kaintwakon'' – "By What One Plants") in the Seneca language and thus generally known as Cornplanter, was a Dutch- Seneca ch ...

told President Washington: "When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we called you Town Destroyer and to this day when your name is heard our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers."

Notes

References

''The life of George Washington'' Vol I,II,III and IV by John Marshall
* Ellis, Joseph J.
Excellency: George Washington
'. New York: Knopf, 2004. . * Graymont, Barbara. ''The Iroquois in the American Revolution''. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1972. ; (paperback). * Lewis, Thomas A. ''For King and Country: The Maturing of George Washington, 1748-1760.'' New York: HarperCollins, 1992. . * Randall, Willard Sterne. ''George Washington: A Life''. New York: Henry Holt, 1997. . {{George Washington George Washington Iroquois Nicknames of military personnel Genocide of Indigenous peoples of North America