No individual was more influential in frontier affairs than Sir William Johnson, who settled in the Mohawk Valley and became Britain’s Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Northern Department. Through diplomacy, trade, and personal relationships, Johnson cultivated close ties with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and became one of the most powerful figures in colonial New York.
Among Johnson’s most important allies was the Mohawk leader Hendrick Theyanoguin, known to the British as King Hendrick. A respected diplomat and warrior, Hendrick played a central role in relations between the Confederacy and the British during the mid-eighteenth century.
A monument overlooking Lake George, erected in 1904 by the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New York, commemorates their partnership. The sculpture depicts Johnson and Hendrick discussing strategy before the Battle of Lake George in 1755. According to a well-known tradition, Johnson proposed dividing his forces, whereupon Hendrick broke a single arrow and then demonstrated that several arrows bound together could not easily be broken. The lesson was clear: unity was strength.
Whether literally true or refined through retelling, the story captures an essential reality of colonial New York: British success on the frontier depended heavily upon Native allies whose experience and judgment commanded respect.
Sources
Wikipedia. "The Battle of Lake George." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_George.
American Revolutionary Geographies Online. "Planting the Seeds of Rebellion: The Battle of Lake Geroge, September 8, 1755." https://www.argomaps.org/stories/lake-george/.
Britannica. "Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sir-William-Johnson-1st-Baronet.
Wikipedia. "Hendrick Theyanoguin." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrick_Theyanoguin.
Further Reading
Carson, James Taylor. "Inventing a Past: Molly Brant's Life in Leadership." History Now 59 (2021): https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/inventing-past-molly-brant%E2%80%99s-life-leadership.
Flexner, James Thomas. Mohawk Baronet: A Biography of Sir William Johnson. Syracuse University Press, 1990.
Griffith, William. "The Battle of Lake George: England's First Triumph in the French and Indian War." The History Press, 2016.
Hinderaker, Eric. "The Two Hendricks: Unraveling a Mohawk Mystery." Harvard University Press, 2011.
University of the State of New York, ed. The Papers of Sir William Johnson. Hutson Street Press, 2025.