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A Man of Distinction Among Them: Alexander McKee and the Ohio Country Frontier, 1754-1799
A Man of Distinction among Them represents an important step in understanding the complexities surrounding the early history of the Ohio Country and the Old Northwest and provides the clearest and most comprehensive portrait of a central figure in that Alexander McKee.Fathered by a white trader and raised partly by his Shawnee mother, McKee was at home in either culture and played an active role in Great Lakes Indian affairs for nearly 50 years.McKee served as a "cultural mediator"--a go-between who linked the native and European worlds. He exploited his familial affiliation and close economic ties to both communities to encourage trade, foster diplomatic relations, and forge a military alliance between the British government and the tribes of the Old Northwest.
262 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1999
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June 21, 2022
Alexander McKee's legacy illustrates the truism that history is written by the victors. His name is unknown to all but the specialist and aficionados of his period. Yet, had his side won the American Revolution he would be remembered as a bold cultural hero, and perhaps Mel Gibson would even have made a movie about him. In A Man of Distinction Among Them Larry Nelson has stepped into the void left by Mr. Gibson's absence, and has recorded a chronicle of McKee's life and career.
McKee served for nearly fifty years with the British Indian Department, and as Nelson writes,
“participated in events that had defined Great Britain's imperial interest in the Great Lakes frontier from the capture of Fort Duquesne to the surrender of Detroit."
The mixed race son of Thomas McKee, an Irish Indian trader, and a Shawnee Indian mother (who may have been a white captive raised among the Shawnee) McKee first came to prominence serving as an interpreter for Colonel Henry Bouquet in his negotiations with Native tribes during the French & Indian War. He later became a protégé of George Croghan, a business associate of McKee's father. Croghan had been renowned as the King of the Indian Traders, and Sir William Johnson, the head of the Crown's Indian Department in North America, had made him his chief deputy serving the western tribes of the Ohio country. McKee served as Croghan's chief lieutenant until Croghan's retirement from the department in 1771, when McKee replaced him.
While McKee's service had been competent, his genius did not fully emerge until forced by the events of the American Revolution. His allegiance was uncertain at the start of the war, as he was torn between loyalty to the Crown and his own interests as a large landholder on the frontier of Pennsylvania. But in 1778, events moved to force his hand, and he made his escape from Pittsburgh to a British frontier post in the Ohio country. From that point on, he became the single most valuable asset the British had in gaining the alliances of the western tribes, inflaming them against the Rebels, and helping to coordinate their attacks on the frontier into a coherent military strategy. His efforts continued through the end of the Revolution, and into the post Revolutionary period, when he was one of the chief architects of the British Indian policy that encouraged and supported Indian efforts against the Americans in the Indian War of 1790 to 1795. It was not until the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 ended that war and forced the British surrender of Detroit and their other frontier outposts that the frontier became safe from the genius of Alexander McKee.
Though McKee had a long and fascinating career, Nelson's book is slim, at just 187 pages. Chalk this up to the lack of personal information on McKee — the book deals almost exclusively with McKee's times and his public career. There is apparently almost no surviving information on McKee's youth, schooling, or personal life. Nelson makes a fair attempt to judge McKee's character and personality from his public actions, but is limited from going in depth by the silence of the historical record on these issues. Nelson's writing style is serviceable, not brilliant, but should be sufficient for anyone with an interest in his subject. His book is an important contribution, as it gives us a study of a pivotally important man previously overlooked and neglected. Those with an interest in the colonial frontier, French and Indian War, American Revolution, or the Indian War in the Old Northwest will benefit from reading Nelson’s book.
McKee served for nearly fifty years with the British Indian Department, and as Nelson writes,
“participated in events that had defined Great Britain's imperial interest in the Great Lakes frontier from the capture of Fort Duquesne to the surrender of Detroit."
The mixed race son of Thomas McKee, an Irish Indian trader, and a Shawnee Indian mother (who may have been a white captive raised among the Shawnee) McKee first came to prominence serving as an interpreter for Colonel Henry Bouquet in his negotiations with Native tribes during the French & Indian War. He later became a protégé of George Croghan, a business associate of McKee's father. Croghan had been renowned as the King of the Indian Traders, and Sir William Johnson, the head of the Crown's Indian Department in North America, had made him his chief deputy serving the western tribes of the Ohio country. McKee served as Croghan's chief lieutenant until Croghan's retirement from the department in 1771, when McKee replaced him.
While McKee's service had been competent, his genius did not fully emerge until forced by the events of the American Revolution. His allegiance was uncertain at the start of the war, as he was torn between loyalty to the Crown and his own interests as a large landholder on the frontier of Pennsylvania. But in 1778, events moved to force his hand, and he made his escape from Pittsburgh to a British frontier post in the Ohio country. From that point on, he became the single most valuable asset the British had in gaining the alliances of the western tribes, inflaming them against the Rebels, and helping to coordinate their attacks on the frontier into a coherent military strategy. His efforts continued through the end of the Revolution, and into the post Revolutionary period, when he was one of the chief architects of the British Indian policy that encouraged and supported Indian efforts against the Americans in the Indian War of 1790 to 1795. It was not until the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 ended that war and forced the British surrender of Detroit and their other frontier outposts that the frontier became safe from the genius of Alexander McKee.
Though McKee had a long and fascinating career, Nelson's book is slim, at just 187 pages. Chalk this up to the lack of personal information on McKee — the book deals almost exclusively with McKee's times and his public career. There is apparently almost no surviving information on McKee's youth, schooling, or personal life. Nelson makes a fair attempt to judge McKee's character and personality from his public actions, but is limited from going in depth by the silence of the historical record on these issues. Nelson's writing style is serviceable, not brilliant, but should be sufficient for anyone with an interest in his subject. His book is an important contribution, as it gives us a study of a pivotally important man previously overlooked and neglected. Those with an interest in the colonial frontier, French and Indian War, American Revolution, or the Indian War in the Old Northwest will benefit from reading Nelson’s book.
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