Guy Johnson ( – 5 March 1788) was a

British Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations in Canada, First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Cana ...

officer, judge and politician. He served on the side of the

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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 ...

, having migrated to the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

as a young man and worked with his uncle,

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet Major-General Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland known for his military and governance work in British colonial America. As a young man, Johnson moved to t ...

who served as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs of the northern colonies. Guy was appointed as William's successor in 1774. The following year, Johnson relocated with

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

supporters to Canada as tensions rose in New York during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. He directed joint British-Mohawk military actions in the Mohawk Valley. Accused of falsifying reports, he went to London to defend himself after the war, and died there in 1788.

Early life and education

Guy was the son of either John or Warren Johnson of Smithstown, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, each younger brothers of Sir William Johnson. The Johnsons were descendants of the

O'Neill dynasty The O'Neill dynasty ( Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically one of the most prominent family of the N ...

of Ireland. In 1756, he sailed from Ireland and joined his uncle William in the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

of the

. He assisted his uncle, who was British Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern colonies. He was agent to the Iroquois, with whom the British had a strong trading diplomatic relationship.

Marriage and family

On 1763, Guy Johnson married William's daughter Mary (Polly), one of his children by his first consort, Catherine Weisenberg. His uncle (now also father-in-law) gave them a square mile of land on the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

, located in what is now

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. In 1773, their first home was destroyed by a lightning strike. They replaced it in 1774 with a large limestone house in the Georgian style, which they called Guy Park. Soon after, they were forced to leave because of rising tensions in the area prior to the American Revolution. With other Loyalists, they went to Canada to settle near Fort Niagara. On the way, Polly Johnson died at Oswego.

Career

Guy Johnson became a deputy to Sir William in his uncle's position as British Superintendent of Indian Affairs. He learned much about the Mohawk and Iroquois. When William died in 1774 on the eve of the war, Guy succeeded him as superintendent. Guy Johnson also served as a county judge, a colonel in the Tryon County militia, and an elected member of the

Assembly.

American War of Independence

When the New York Committee of Safety committed the colony to armed resistance following the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

in 1775, Johnson remained loyal to the Crown and worked to control the Tryon County courts, assisted by fellow

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

Sir John Johnson Brigadier-general (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, politician and landowner who fought as a Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist dur ...

(Sir William's son) and Colonel

Daniel Claus Christian Daniel Claus (17271787) was a Deputy Agent in the British Indian Department and a prominent Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist during the American Revolution. He was born September 13, 1727, at Bönnigheim, Württemberg the son ...

(also a son-in-law of Sir William). These three also commanded three regiments of the Tryon County militia. But, American Patriots in the Mohawk Valley soon drove the three Loyalists out of power. Johnson received a letter from British commander General Gage, ordering him to take as many Iroquois warriors as he could recruit to Canada to join forces with General Carleton for a joint attack on New England. In May 1775, Johnson fled with about 120 other Loyalists, along with 90 Mohawk under chief John Deseronto, to British-controlled

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Along the way, he worked to secure the allegiance of the

Iroquois League The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of Native Americans and First Nations peopl ...

at a council at

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

in July. Johnson's wife Polly had died (and likely buried) at Oswego. He and the remainder of his party reached Montreal on 17 July. In September 1775, John Campbell was appointed in Montreal as the superintendent of the Canadian Indians. General Guy Carleton, Governor-in-Chief of Quebec, told Johnson that he had no authority over any Indians in Canada and that the Iroquois were not to fight outside the

Province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. Johnson decided to travel to England in November 1775, accompanied by the Mohawk leader

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

, to appeal his case directly with the British lords. The Lords appointed Johnson as the permanent superintendent for Indian affairs in the northern colonies, but with no authority in Canada. Johnson and Brant returned to North America, landing in

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in July 1776 after the city had been retaken by the British. He was ordered to stay in New York since he had no position in Canada. Johnson finally persuaded his superiors to let him do his "duty," and he returned to Canada in 1779. He led forces against the colonials in the Mohawk Valley frontier, and his subordinates carried out the actions in what the Americans called massacres at

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and

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

valleys. This was also known as the "Burning of the Valleys". Back at

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...

in 1779, Johnson helped to provide for the many Iroquois refugees made homeless by 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 ...

that year, which laid waste to their villages and food stores in western New York. He also organized counter-raids. In 1781, General MacLean reported that Johnson's wartime accounts were "Extravagant, wonderful & fictitious, and the quality of articles so extraordinary, new & uncommon". Johnson was suspended as superintendent and summoned to Montreal, where the governor-in-chief, Frederick Haldimand, criticized his conduct as "reprehensible". Although never convicted, Johnson was in disgrace and in limbo. He went to London to defend his reports to the government and remained there. He died in 1788.

took over

as superintendent of Indian affairs in his cousin's absence; he was officially appointed to the position in March 1782.

Legacy

The state of New York confiscated the property of Loyalists and sold the house after the war. While in private hands, the house was used as a stagecoach stop during the extensive nineteenth-century westward migration through New York State. Since the early twentieth century, the house has been preserved as a state historic site. Recently used as the Walter Elwood Museum for local history, it was severely damaged in late August 2011 by the flooding caused by

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, first hurricane, and first major ...

References

; Citations ; Books * Kelsay, Isabel. ''Joseph Brant, 1743–1807: Man of Two Worlds''. 1984. * O'Toole, Fintan. ''White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. . * Taylor, Alan. ''The Divided Ground''. 2006.

External links

More about the Benjamin West portrait at the National Gallery of Art

References to letters and documents from Guy Johnson in the Haldimand Collection (Papers)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Guy 1740s births 1788 deaths British Indian Department Colonial American Indian agents Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) People from County Meath People from colonial New York Members of the New York Provincial Assembly O'Neill dynasty Irish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies