John Bush, a Black American provincial soldier, and one of the first of the Lake George school of horn engravers, became renowned for his intricate and artistic powder horn engravings. His contributions to the craft were significant, though his life was short and tragically ended after being captured in 1757 at the Battle of Fort William Henry during the French and Indian War. Bush’s work remains a testament to the artistry and functionality of powder horns in colonial America. He is the only known Black American to have decorated powder horns of that era ^[1].

In colonial America, the gunpowder needed to load and shoot a rifle or musket was typically stored in a container made from the keratin sheath of cattle horns. These powder horns, carried at the hip or against the chest, were light, durable, and waterproof, making them ideal for keeping gunpowder safe and dry. The natural conical shape of cattle horns allowed them to taper to a point at one end. By cutting off the tip and carving out some material around it, the narrow end could be fashioned into a spout, enabling the user to conveniently pour gunpowder into the muzzle of a gun’s barrel. The broad end, or base, was fitted with a wooden plug, secured in place by nails to prevent the gunpowder from escaping, while the spout was fitted with a removable stopper.

While a finished powder horn typically had a plain surface, the need for its owner to distinguish it from others and claim it when necessary led to the practice of engraving the owner’s name on the body. This task could be performed by the owner or by someone more skilled in the craft. John Bush was one such skilled craftsman. Like many early horn engravers, Bush decorated blank horns during his spare time while holding another job. Engraving horn was not his primary profession, but his work left a lasting legacy.

Early Life and Background

John Bush was born into a free, literate, and landowning Black family that was established in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, by 1731. As a Black man in colonial America, he was free, not enslaved, but that did not mean he had freedom of movement and rights of any white person. There were serious restrictions on movement of black persons from state to state until after the Civil War, especially in Southern slave states, but also in Illinois and other Northern states, particularly in the Midwest. Charles W. Thayer and Melinde Lutz Sanborn have studied Bush’s life and family and published their findings and analysis in 2007. ^[4] John’s father, George Bush, moved to Massachusetts Bay during the 18th century and was a farmer in the North Parish of Shrewsbury (now Boylston). His mother’s identity remains unknown ^[14].

Military Service

Bush joined the Massachusetts provincial militia by no later than 1747, when he was about 22 years old. He was stationed at Fort William Henry, a strategic British stronghold on Lake George, by November 1755 where he served as a private in Major James House’s company. By March 14, 1756, Bush had transferred to Captain Joseph Ingersoll’s company, where he served as a clerk. This position required literacy and bookkeeping skills, indicating that Bush possessed certain skills that other lower-ranking men did not ^[18].

Result of the Battle of Fort William Henry and Aftermath: After several days of bombardment and increasing casualties, Monro surrendered the fort to Montcalm on August 9, 17576. The terms of surrender included the withdrawal of the British garrison to Fort Edward, with the French military promising to protect them from their Native American allies6. However, as the British forces began their withdrawal, they were attacked by the Native warriors, resulting in the deaths of approximately 185 British soldiers and civilians ^[8]. This event became infamous and is often referred to as the “massacre at Fort William Henry” ^[10].

Although part of the garrison was massacred, contrary to the terms of the capitulation that guaranteed that all of the fort’s occupants could leave unharmed, Bush was not killed. According to a letter from his father, which is based on hearsay, he had been taken by Native Americans to Canada, information that proved to be correct. While Bush’s life was spared by his captors, he died shortly thereafter in the fall of 1757, on a ship from Quebec to France, along with many other prisoners of war. He was about thirty-three years old ^[13].

The True Story of the Siege of Fort William Henry: History Documentary

A Father’s Plea for Help: On September 14, 1758, George Bush wrote to Governor Pownall of Massachusetts, asking for help in locating his son John, whom he described as “a mulatto Fellow, about 30 years of age.” He explained that his son was taken prisoner by the Indians serving with the French under General Montcalm at the surrender of Fort William Henry and had last been seen alive as a prisoner. Bush asked that the governor inquire if his son was still alive in a prison outside Quebec and that he help in securing his son’s release ^[14].

The available record, which shows that the prisoners who disembarked from the ship named Le Robuste at La Rochelle, France, had next to no clothes, a sight that prompted the local French shipowners and merchants to raise money so that the prisoners would no longer look as miserable and indecent. This strongly suggests that all, regardless of race, had been poorly treated and deprived of the most basic necessities during the voyage ^[5]. Many died over the following weeks, even after hospitalization. Upon his return to Massachusetts, a survivor provided the Boston News-Letter with a list of comrades who had died in Quebec and in route to France, which the newspaper published; John Bush’s name is included with the specification that he had died on board. Bush was a victim of the brutality of a war between two European colonial powers and their allies, which ended with French defeat and an expansion of the British Empire into Canada ^[13].

Impact on the War: The fall of Fort William Henry had significant implications for the French and Indian War. It demonstrated the volatility of alliances between European powers and Native American tribes, who had their own interests and grievances ^[8]. The massacre also fueled British propaganda against the French and their Native allies, influencing British military commanders’ actions for the remainder of the war6. The loss of the fort severed one of France’s lines of communication and supply into Lake Ontario and the Ohio River Valley, weakening French control in the region ^[6][7].

John Mahard Horn Gallery

Images in this gallery are of a rare horn from the French and Indian War, embellished by John Bush, one of the first major engravers of the Lake George School and the only Black American known to have decorated horns. This horn is important for its ornamentation, which is both original and graceful in execution, and for its historical significance as well. The ornamental motifs and the lettering are characteristic of the horns decorated by John Bush.

Photo Credit: Powder Horn of John Mahard | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0 1.0 Universal, via Metart Open Access

About the Powder Horn of John Mahard on Display at The Met Fifth Avenue

The John Mahard horn is a rare work from the French and Indian War, embellished by John Bush, one of the first major engravers of the Lake George School and the only Black American known to have decorated horns. Bush engraved this example while he served in the Massachusetts provincial militia at Fort William Henry on Lake George. Popularized by The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Copper’s novel (1826), the fort’s siege and its capitulation to the French and their Indigenous allies in 1757 form a particularly grim episode of the War. Although Bush escaped the fate of many other occupants of the fort, who were massacred contrary to the terms of the surrender, he died as a prisoner of war a short time after his capture by Native French allies. The John Mahard horn was completed a year prior to the fort’s fall, and is the only surviving horn that he is known to have decorated for a fellow militiaman in his company <sup<[15].

This horn is important for its ornamentation, which is both original and graceful in execution, and for its historical significance as well. The ornamental motifs and the lettering are characteristic of the horns decorated by John Bush. These works all date to the beginning of the French and Indian War (1754–63), a conflict that opposed the British and the French and their respective Indigenous allies in North America. Bush was then serving in the Massachusetts provincial militia to help the British, and stationed at Fort William Henry, a strategic stronghold on Lake George <sup<[15].

Acquisition of the ‘John Mahard Horn’ by the Department of Arms and Armor

The John Mahard powder horn featured in this article is one of a small number of examples that can be securely identified as having been embellished by John Bush. Among these, The Met’s horn is of particular significance because its ornamentation features most of the stylistic singularities that distinguish Bush’s works from those of other horn engravers, including some of whom he may have directly influenced.

Bush’s Trademark Features on the John Mahard Horn

The Mahard horn exhibits all the trademark features of Bush’s style. These include a copperplate calligraphy with tendrils sprouting from capital letters and the head in profile with a lambda-shaped chest; the occasional use of patterns of dashes or hatching to fill the spaces between the letters and these tendrils; the slightly arched serifs at the bases of the letters, and the form of the capital A letter; the lines with double arrowheads; the bands of zigzags; the bands of addorsed triangular designs, floral scrollwork, and shell-like scrolls; the form and size of the digits; and, last but not least, the use and distinctive placement of punched-carved dots and similarly small triangular designs throughout. Another distinctive example, the William Williams horn in The William H. Guthman Collection of American Engraved Powder Horns at Historic Deerfield exhibits the same features, which are discussed at greater length in Larkin’s article ^[13].

Several details of the powder horn of John Mahard distinguish Bush’s hand. Top left: a copperplate calligraphy with tendrils sprouting from capital letters and a lambda-shaped chest. Top right: dashes and hatching fill the spaces between letters and tendrils; slightly arched serifs decorate at the bases of the letters, including the distinctive form of the capital A. Middle: a row of double arrowheads. Bottom: bands of addorsed triangular designs and zigzags, floral scrollwork, and shell-like scrolls. Punched-carved dots and triangular designs are visible throughout ^[13].

The muster rolls that Bush compiled and his signature on his will show an elegant, confident handwriting, which must have served him well not only in a clerk’s capacity but also as an engraver of powder horns. The documents by his hand and the horns he engraved are written or inscribed in clear copperplate script. As Thayer and Lutz Sanborn note, other aspects of his engraved work, including elaborate borders and flourishes, bear similarities to copybooks that clerks would have studied. In short, Bush’s original style may have had much to do with his training and knowledge as a clerk. It is not known how and where he and his siblings gained their literacy ^[13].

The Fountainhead of the Lake George school

Other powder horns are decorated in styles that resemble Bush’s, but that in some respects also depart notably from Bush’s work. They appear to be the production of at least two other engravers who were influenced by Bush’s original style and were also active in the Lake George area, namely, Samuel Lounsbury and Nathaniel Selkrig. In Larkin’s words, Bush may be rightfully viewed as “the fountainhead of the Lake George school” of horn engravers. Since he died under tragic circumstances at a young age, his oeuvre is understandably small; at this time, only six horns that he decorated are known. Given the fate of Fort William Henry’s garrison, it is remarkable that so many have survived at all. ^[13].

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