Simeon Simons Simeon Simon was born in Pachaug in 1759 , during the French and Indian Wars , and died in 1835 at the age of 76 . A card file at the Providence Public Library in Rhode Island states that Simeon Simon was a ( colored man ) . Noted at the bottom of this card is : ( “ Colored ” as distinguished from Negro . He was said to have been a full blood American Indian , Wampanoag Tribe . ) Simeon Simons was a descendant of OsaMequin , the Massasoit at the time of the Pilgrim ’ s landing , and also of King Phillip . Simons carried the royal blood of the Pokanoket in his veins and was the leader of the Pokanokets at Pachaug . ( FN — Affidavit , 5 / 15 / 98 , Paul Weeden ) His Revolutionary War Pension states he was born in Norwich ; however , at that time Norwich comprised the present town of Norwich and included Bozrah , Franklin , Lisbon , Sprague , and the western border of Griswold and Preston , Jewett City , Long Society and a part of Poquetannock . Griswold ( Pachaug ) was incorporated in 1815 from Preston , which was incorporated from Norwich in 1686 . According to local Griswold , CT history , on a late June day in 1775 General George Washington , Commander - in - Chief of the Continental Army , stopped to refresh himself at the little hamlet of Pachaug on the way to Boston . Word of his arrival spread rapidly throughout this small community . While looking out the front window of his room , Gen . Washington noticed a group of young men engaged in exercises such as leaping , wrestling , throwing the quoit and other such pastimes as were common at that time . One of them , Simeon Simons , a full - blooded Indian and descendant of Massasoit , impressed the general with his athletic carriage . Washington summoned the young man to his room , and asked him to be his bodyguard . Simon accepted and remained with the General throughout the Revolutionary War . Simeon Simons ' position as an intimate of Washington ’ s is confirmed by Phillips that on August 22 , 1824 the Marquis de Lafayette , who served with General Washington , visited Johnson Tavern in Jewett City and met many comrades who knew the General from the Revolutionary War . Among them was Simeon Simons . A letter published from Miss Alice Brown on behalf of the Annie Brewster Fanning Chapter of the D . A . R . , Jewett City , Connecticut invited Mrs . Ella Peek ( Princess Red Wing ) , the Squaw - Sachem of the Pokonoket , to a pageant on August 17 , 1935 . This pageant portrayed the meeting of General Washington and Simeon Simons at Pachaug , Connecticut . According to the Pokanoket Oration handed down from generation to generation , Simeon Simons was the leader of the Pokanoket at Pachaug until his death in 1835 . “ [ General ] Washington asked from whence are you from ? Simeon replied from a line broken through no fault of my own . You see I am from the line of Massasoits , my parents died when I was but an infant and I was reared by an aunt . She told me that I should be quiet about my ancestry in these parts for fear of harm . While speaking Simeon pulled a piece of hide from his pocket and showed it to the General . This piece of leather was all that was left to him from his parents . On it was the markings of the Seven Crescents , the insignia of the Royal House of Pokanoket . This insignia has been carried down through this line unto this very day . ” . As leader , or Massasoit , of the tribe , Simeon Simons was responsible for any major decisions concerning the tribe or its members . These decisions were always made after a group meeting with core family members to receive their input . As leader , he also was responsible for keeping the tribe ’ s Oration — its heritage — and for passing on this history and culture to members of his family to preserve it for following generations .