General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian
Encyclopedia
General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian is a painting by Benjamin West
, completed between 1764 and 1768. It depicts a scene as observed by a native of Pennsylvania, soon after the actual events shown. It is in the collection of Derby Museum and Art Gallery
.
(which could be called more comprehensively "the British
, French
and Indian
War"). It depicts Major General Sir William Johnson
preventing a North American native warrior from taking the scalp
of Baron Dieskau
, a wounded and defeated French soldier lying on the ground.
West was an early American painter. He claimed to have been first taught how to make paint by a native American childhood friend who demonstrated how paint could be made by mixing clay with bear grease. This painting has fine detail on the native figure, whose plucked scalp and tattoos are shown in more detail than the Europeans' uniforms. West is known to have had a collection of North American artefacts which he used in his paintings.
Benjamin West probably began this painting soon after his arrival in London, in 1763, when West returned from Italy
, where he spent three years. Following The Indian Family, a painting of about 1761, this one demonstrates the same willingness to show "the proper dress and accoutrement". Thus it provides us with one of two known contemporary pictures of the British Light Infantrymen
for the French and Indian War period. Whereas in the Italian painting, accuracy and authenticity were intended to give a generic representation of the Indian life, the new one employed them to make a report of a recent historical event.
Although the subject matter and some "physical and symbolic details" could be found more closely corresponding to the Battle of Fort Niagara
(1759), the painting is usually related to an incident that occurred during the campaign of 1755 around Lake George
, when the French commanded by Baron Dieskau
, with their Indian allies, were opposed by a mixed troop of Mohawk
and New England
militia
, led by Johnson. After having repulsed an attack against their camp, the British and their auxiliaries took over. Dieskau, wounded three times, had his life saved by Johnson, who protected him from the Mohawks wanting revenge for their killed kinsmen. He actually survived and was taken as a prisoner to New York
, then to London, and then to Bath for treatment of a still unhealed wound. At the end of the Seven Years' War
in 1763, he was repatriated to France, where he died in 1767.
West returned to the American war in his The Death of General Wolfe
, exhibited in 1771, a much larger work that made his reputation, though causing controversy through its use of contemporary costume.
By showing Johnson restraining the aggressive actions of an auxiliary, the painting promotes "civilized" standards of honor and laws of war, as opposed to the ferocity of "savages". It refers to the concerns and debates that the employment of Indian allies aroused among Europe
ans, throughout the conflicts in North America
. Johnson's act of humanity contrasts against Johnson's reputation which has included him being described as a "White Savage" for his general attitude.
At the beginning of the French and Indian War, young George Washington
is said to have let Indian chief Tanaghrisson seal their fresh alliance by smashing the skull of Joseph Coulon de Jumonville
, a wounded French officer they just took as prisoner, then washing his hands in the man's brain. The Jumonville affair
caused a scandal in Europe, where it accelerated the expansion of the Seven Years' War.
The same questions persisted during the War of Independence of the United States
. In 1777, both Houses of British Parliament
debated over the use of Indian auxiliaries. William Pitt
's speech in the House of Lords
(November 20), denouncing acts of violence perpetrated against "innocents" and the practice of cannibalism
, is indicative of reluctances that appear to have been widely shared.
Benjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...
, completed between 1764 and 1768. It depicts a scene as observed by a native of Pennsylvania, soon after the actual events shown. It is in the collection of Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...
.
Description
The painting is important as it is a contemporary view showing all three powers involved during the 1750s in the French and Indian WarFrench and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
(which could be called more comprehensively "the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
War"). It depicts Major General Sir William Johnson
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish official of the British Empire. As a young man, Johnson came to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Admiral Peter Warren, which was located amidst the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League...
preventing a North American native warrior from taking the scalp
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
of Baron Dieskau
Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau
Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau or Jean-Armand Dieskau, Baron de Dieskau or Ludwig August von Dieskau was a German-born soldier remembered mostly as a French general and commander in America for a part of the French and Indian War.-Biography:He was aide-de-camp of Marshal Maurice de Saxe, and visited St...
, a wounded and defeated French soldier lying on the ground.
West was an early American painter. He claimed to have been first taught how to make paint by a native American childhood friend who demonstrated how paint could be made by mixing clay with bear grease. This painting has fine detail on the native figure, whose plucked scalp and tattoos are shown in more detail than the Europeans' uniforms. West is known to have had a collection of North American artefacts which he used in his paintings.
Benjamin West probably began this painting soon after his arrival in London, in 1763, when West returned from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where he spent three years. Following The Indian Family, a painting of about 1761, this one demonstrates the same willingness to show "the proper dress and accoutrement". Thus it provides us with one of two known contemporary pictures of the British Light Infantrymen
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
for the French and Indian War period. Whereas in the Italian painting, accuracy and authenticity were intended to give a generic representation of the Indian life, the new one employed them to make a report of a recent historical event.
Although the subject matter and some "physical and symbolic details" could be found more closely corresponding to the Battle of Fort Niagara
Battle of Fort Niagara
The Battle of Fort Niagara was a siege late in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759 was part of a campaign to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions, making possible a western invasion...
(1759), the painting is usually related to an incident that occurred during the campaign of 1755 around Lake George
Lake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
, when the French commanded by Baron Dieskau
Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau
Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau or Jean-Armand Dieskau, Baron de Dieskau or Ludwig August von Dieskau was a German-born soldier remembered mostly as a French general and commander in America for a part of the French and Indian War.-Biography:He was aide-de-camp of Marshal Maurice de Saxe, and visited St...
, with their Indian allies, were opposed by a mixed troop of Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, led by Johnson. After having repulsed an attack against their camp, the British and their auxiliaries took over. Dieskau, wounded three times, had his life saved by Johnson, who protected him from the Mohawks wanting revenge for their killed kinsmen. He actually survived and was taken as a prisoner to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, then to London, and then to Bath for treatment of a still unhealed wound. At the end of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
in 1763, he was repatriated to France, where he died in 1767.
West returned to the American war in his The Death of General Wolfe
The Death of General Wolfe
The Death of General Wolfe is a well-known 1770 painting by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West depicting the death of British General James Wolfe during the 1759 Battle of Quebec of the Seven Years' War. It is an oil on canvas of the Enlightenment period...
, exhibited in 1771, a much larger work that made his reputation, though causing controversy through its use of contemporary costume.
Historical context
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans, throughout the conflicts in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Johnson's act of humanity contrasts against Johnson's reputation which has included him being described as a "White Savage" for his general attitude.
At the beginning of the French and Indian War, young George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
is said to have let Indian chief Tanaghrisson seal their fresh alliance by smashing the skull of Joseph Coulon de Jumonville
Joseph Coulon de Jumonville
Joseph Coulon de Villiers, Sieur de Jumonville was a French Canadian military officer. His defeat and killing at the Battle of Jumonville Glen by forces led by George Washington was one of the sparks igniting the Seven Years' War.- Early life :Jumonville was born in the seigneury of Verchères, New...
, a wounded French officer they just took as prisoner, then washing his hands in the man's brain. The Jumonville affair
Battle of Jumonville Glen
The Battle of Jumonville Glen, also known as the Jumonville affair, was the opening battle of the French and Indian War fought on May 28, 1754 near what is present-day Uniontown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania...
caused a scandal in Europe, where it accelerated the expansion of the Seven Years' War.
The same questions persisted during the War of Independence of the United States
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. In 1777, both Houses of British Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
debated over the use of Indian auxiliaries. William Pitt
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
's speech in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
(November 20), denouncing acts of violence perpetrated against "innocents" and the practice of cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
, is indicative of reluctances that appear to have been widely shared.