Conotocaurius (Town Destroyer,Seneca:Hanödaga꞉nyas) was anickname given toGeorge Washington byIroquois peoples in 1753. The name in its original language(s) has been given variously asConotocarius,Conotocaurious,Caunotaucarius,Conotocarious,Hanodaganears, andHanadahguyus. It has also been translated as "Town Taker", "Burner of Towns", "Devourer of Villages", or "he destroys the town".[1]
George Washington was given the name in 1753 by theSeneca leaderTanacharison. The nickname had previously been given to his great-grandfatherJohn Washington in the late seventeenth century. John Washington was a colonel in the Virginian colonial militia during the events leading up toBacon's Rebellion, involving conflicts with theSusquehannock, theDoeg and thePiscataway. Following raids by the Doegs on Virginian settlers, the colonial militia responded by tracking down and killing both Doegs and Susquehannocks. Colonial officers invited five Susquehannock chiefs to parley under a flag of truce, but when they denied their responsibility for the earlier Doeg raids, the colonial militia murdered them. Following this incident, the Susquehannock gave Col. John Washington anAlgonquian 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.[2][3]
Washington referred to himself as "Conotocaurious" in a letter he wrote toAndrew Montour dated October 10, 1755, in which he tried to manipulate theOneida to resettle on the Potomac:
In 1779 during theAmerican Revolutionary War, theSullivan Expedition, under Washington's orders,[6] destroyed over 40 Iroquois villages in New York, partially in response to Iroquois participation in attacks on theWyoming Valley in July 1778 andCherry Valley in November 1778.[7] In 1790, the Seneca chiefCornplanter 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."[8][9]
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