Tammany; or, the Indian Chief

Tammany; or, the Indian Chief (1794), a musical by Mrs. [Anne Kemble] Hatton (book), James Hewitt (music). [John Street Theatre, in repertory.] The Indian Chief Tammany ( John Hodgkinson) loves an Indian maiden ( Mrs. Hodgkinson). After she is kidnapped by the invading Spaniards led by Ferdinand ( John Martin), Tammany rescues her. Pursued by the Spaniards, they take refuge in a cabin, which the Spaniards set afire, killing the lovers. The earliest produced stage work about Native Americans, it reached the boards at the time of widespread sympathy for the French Revolution. According to George Odell, “The piece was consequently turned into a symbol of republicanism, and as such was patronised by the hot‐heads of New York, to the utter rout of the aristocrats.” Hatton (1757?–96?) was the sister of the famous English performers John Philip Kemble and Mrs. Siddons. She was also the official poet of New York's Tammany Society. James Hewitt (1770–1827) was a violinist, composer, conductor of the orchestras at the John Street Theatre and later at the Park Theatre, and in later years one of the first important music publishers in America.