George Washington and the Half King Chief Tanacharison is a detailed account of the singular events in western Pennsylvania that precipitated the French and Indian War. In particular, it describes the interpersonal relationship between twenty-two year old, inexperienced, but self-assured George Washington and the fifty-four year old wily Iroquois half-king, Chief Tanacharison, and how their interaction resulted in, as Horace Walpole quipped, Washington firing
a volley in the backwoods of America that set the world on fire.
The book explores the history of the French and English rivalry for the trans-Allegheny territory, and its impact on the Indians in the area. It details how Washington and Tanacharison each sought to influence the other to gain support for their respective agendas. Washington wanted the Indians to endorse Virginia’s claim to the Ohio territory, while Tanacharison wanted nothing less than a war between England and France so that the Iroquois could maintain their dominance over the Ohio Indians. The book describes in detail the sequence of events through which the crafty half-king manipulated Washington into starting the war he wanted, and by his actions implicated Washington in nothing less than a cold-blooded murder.