Untold Stories: The Indian Prophecy of Washington’s Future Greatness

Today, Feb. 22, is George Washington’s Birthday. To celebrate, I wanted to share a little-known story of an American Indian chief predicting the younger Washington’s future role as Father of his Country.

To understand the story we must first review the Battle of Monongahela. The Battle of Monongahela occurred on July 9, 1755, during the French and Indian War. British Gen. Braddock’s forces were trying to clear the way for other British armies when they were attacked by the French and their Native American Indian allies. After several hours, Braddock himself had been mortally wounded and Braddock’s troops were only saved from total annihilation by a young colonial officer, George Washington. It is a remarkable and miraculous fact that George Washington, though he spent a good deal of his life leading troops into battle, often in very dangerous situations (he was known for not taking care to shield himself), was never wounded in those battles.

George Washington’s personal physician Dr. James Craik related the later 1770 event of the Indian Prophecy as he personally witnessed it.

”Since the sachem and his fellow warriors were allied with the French, they had intended to kill Washington, who took over command of the British army’s attempt to retreat after Braddock was injured. Multiple shots were fired directly at Washington, but none touched him…Convinced that the Great Spirit had preserved Washington, the chief [prophesied] that ‘he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn, will hail him as the father of a mighty empire!’”