Collier’s problem was his family pedigree:
Lacking an aristocratic background, money, or
influence, Collier never enjoyed the political
patronage necessary to secure a high rank or
important commands. This was especially
tragic for the Royal Navy, which, being sad-
dled by men of the likes of Arbuthnot and
Thomas Graves,very much needed men of
Collier’s quality. However, he opted instead for
a political career and was elected to Parlia-
ment in 1784. Collier continued there in obscu-
rity for nearly a decade before rejoining the
navy as a rear admiral in 1793. Clearly, his best
years were behind him, but in 1794 the govern-
ment saw fit to raise him to vice admiral.
The following year Collier became com-
mander of the naval base at Nore and died
while visiting London on April 6, 1795. Con-
sidering his skill and decisiveness—the finest
traditions in the Royal Navy—his employ-
ment during the American Revolution was al-
together too brief, a wasted opportunity.
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American History Illustrated13, no. 8, (1978):
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American Heritage 75, no. 6 (1974): 28–33,
100–101; Flood, Charles B. Rise and Fight Again:
Perilous Times Along the Road to Independence.
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L. L. “‘To my inexpressible astonishment’: Admiral
Sir George Collier’s Observations on the Battle of
Long Island.” New York Historical Society Quar-
terly48 (1964): 292–305.CORNPLANTER
Cornplanter
(ca. 1735–February 18, 1836)
Iroquois War Chief
C
ornplanter was a fierce Iroquois war-
rior who ravaged New York’s frontier
during the American Revolution. After-
ward, he became firmly wedded to the idea of
peaceful coexistence with the United States, a
stance that brought him great wealth—but
also the enmity of his own people.
Cornplanter (Gyantwakia, or “By What
One Plants”) was born in Conawagus (Avon,
New York) into the Wolf clan of the Seneca
nation. His mother, Gahhononeh, was a full-
blooded Seneca women, but his father, John
O’Bail, was a white Indian trader stationed at
Albany who subsequently abandoned them.
The Seneca, as part of the six-nation Iroquois
confederation, were a matriarchal culture, in
which lineage and prestige were traced
through one’s mother. Because Gahhononeh’s
brother was Guyasuta, an important chief,
Cornplanter thus enjoyed direct ties to the
Seneca’s innermost power circles, despite his
half-breed origins. He matured into a re-
spectable young warrior, though teased some-
what on account of his fair complexion. In
1754, the Senecas threw their lot in with
France during the French and Indian War, and
Cornplanter may have participated in Brad-
dock’s defeat at the Forks of the Ohio. Over
the next two decades, he rose to prominence
within his tribe and, by the onset of the Amer-