DRAGGING CANOE

 

E. Raymond Evans

 

During the first half of the eighteenth century the Cherokees were constantly at war. Unrest created by the colonial aspirations of European powers combined with the centuries old tribal differences to set every Indian group against their neighbors. During this period of Cherokee history it is only natural that the most notable persons were the war leaders. Even the less militant Cherokees, such as the great diplomat Attacullaculla, were occasionally forced to fight. Some time around the middle of the eighteenth century Attacullaculla prepared to lead a war band from Chota against the Shawnee towns. His young son longed to go with his father, but was flatly refused permission. The boy slipped away, however, ahead of the warriors to a portage which he knew they would use, and hid in a dug-out canoe. The warriors found him there, and his father told him he could come along - if he was able to carry the canoe over the portage. The boy was unable to lift the heavy vessel, but, determined to go, he took it by one end and began dragging it. Much impressed, the Cherokee warriors began to shout encour­agement. "Tsi.yu Gansi.ni" cried one, "Tsi.yu Gansi.ni" which means "He is Dragging the Canoe." Others took up the cry, and from that time on the boy was known as "Tsi.yu Gansi.ni", or "Dragging Canoe. "^l

There is no record of how the boy performed on this first military action, but, considering his later career, it can be expected that he did well. Dragging Canoe grew up to become the greatest military leader ever produced by the Cherokee people. It was he who led the Cherokee resistance during the difficult years of the American Revolution. Long after the last British army had surrendered and the Loyalists had fled to Canada or England, he continued the struggle alone. On different occasions he was beaten by the Americans, but he was never conquered. In the end he sought to block the decay and destruction of his culture by forming a federation of tribes which embraced most Native Americans in the east - and almost succeeded. His power and ability was such that later historians have called him the "Savage Napoleon." His enemies called him the "Dragon."

Dragging Canoe was born around 1740 in one of the Overhill Towns, on the Little Tennessee River, where his father was the recognized "Second Man" of the Nation. After growing to manhood he served as the Head Warrior of the town of Malaquo.² During the 1760's the Cherokees were at peace. They recognized the soverignity of the British Crown, and in turn the Crown was sworn to protect Cherokee lands from any further encroachment. The man responsible for relations between the Cherokees and the British government was the Southern Superintendent of Indian Affairs, John Stuart.³ Stuart was a career British army officer as well as an adopted member of the Cherokee nation, which gave him the highest respect of both parties. His deputy, a Scottish officer named Alexander Cameron, was the adopted brother of Dragging Canoe.⁴

The boundary between the white settlements and the Indians was firmly fixed by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The entire line, running the length of the Applachian mountains, was intended to prevent any friction between white and red subjects of the Crown. In the Cherokee area the line was surveyed to the satisfaction of all parties concerned under the personal

 

 

supervision of Deputy Superintendent Alexander Cameron, with both Cherokee and white representatives being present.⁵ (See Journal of Cherokee Studies Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 117-118).

While the Proclamation was conceived as a final solution to the frontier problem, adequate measures for enforcing it were not provided. Consequently, before the ink was dry whites began moving over the line. By 1770 there were four settlements of whites within the present boundaries of Tennessee - well beyond the limits of the Proclamation line. These settlers were largly land-hungry poor whites, escaped bond servants and other undesirables from the coastal settlements. Many entered the area under the pretense of trade with the Indians, taking advantage of the recent repeal of the Royal monolopy on trade. However, unlike the licensed traders, these individuals were seeking land rather than deer skins. In 1771, out of pity for the women and half-starved children in the settlements, the Cherokees requested that the line be adjusted so as to provide a home for these people, and at the same time halt any additional trespass on Cherokee land. The line was accordingly adjusted so that the settlers living between the forks of the Holston River south of the 36° 30' parallel were permitted to remain.⁶

The following year settlers not benefiting by the adjustment devised a plan to circumvent the strict provisions of the Royal Proclamation. They attempted to lease lands on the Watauga and Nollichucky Rivers from the Cherokees directly.⁷ The Cherokees, for a small consideration, gave them permission to grow corn on the land on a temporary basis. However, some of the whites who had made the lease arrangement with the Cherokees then sold the land to new arrivals from the east. The new settlers purchased the land on the assumption that the sellers had clear title.

Minor confrontations in other parts of the frontier brought on ramifications which affected the Cherokee area. For example, in October 1773, a group of whites traveling to Kentucky were ambushed by a Shawnee war band. Five white youths, including the eldest son of Daniel Boone, and a Black slave were killed. One of the survivors, Isaac Crabtree, who had watched the torture of young Boone from hiding, was deeply affected by the incident.⁸ In June of 1774 at a horse race held in the Watauga settlement, Crabtree murdered a Cherokee visitor named Will, or "Cherokee Billy" without provocation. Other Cherokees present immediately left and hurriedly carried the news to the Overhill towns.⁹ Had it not been for the intercession of Alexander Cameron it is likely that open war would have erupted.¹⁰

Increased pressures from the numerous settlers in upper east Tennessee caused the Cherokee a great deal of concern. They made complaints to John Stuart who brought the matter to the attention of the Governor of North Carolina, in a letter dated February 22, 1774.

"... I have received a message from the Cherokees expressing the strongest attach­ment to his Majesty's white subjects . . . That Nation is extremely uneasy at the encroachments of the white people on their hunting ground at Watauga River, where a very large settlement is formed upwards of fifty miles beyond the established bound­ary. And as I am apprehensive that it consists of emigrants from your province to which it is contiguous, I must beg your excellency's interposition to endeavour to prevail on them to remove, otherwise the consequences may in a little time prove fatal ... Should they through neglect to move off, I am afraid it will be impossible to retrain the Indians from taking redress themselves."¹¹

The Governor of North Carolina responded by issuing the following proclamation in March

1774:

". . .1 . . . issue this Proclamation, hereby strictly enjoining the said settlers im­mediately to return from the Indian Territory, otherwise they are to expect no

 

 

 

 

INSERT MAP

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Map of important locations in the life of Dragging Canoe.

MISSISSIPPI

VIRGINIA

1. Chota - Capitol of the Cherokee Nation between 1753 and 1788.

2. Malaquo - Town where Dragging Canoe served as Head Warrior as a young man.

3. Baton's Station - scene of the Battle of Island Flats which was Dragging Canoe's first major engage­ment with the whites.

4. Chickamauga - Town founded by Dragging Canoe in the winter of 1776-77 and burned by Evan Shelby in 1779.

5. Running Water - One of the Five Lower Towns founded by Dragging Canoe. He made his resi­dence here and died in the town on March 1,1792.

6. Lookout Mountain - In a battle fought here in 1788 Dragging Canoe decisively defeated and turned back an American army attempting to invade the Chickamauga towns.

7. Nashville (Formerly Fort Nashborough) Drag­ging Canoe fought several engagements in this area, the best known of which was the Battle of the Bluffs in 1781.

8. Tellico Blockhouse - Where the final peace treaty between the Chickamauga Cherokees and the Americans was concluded in 1794 by Dragging Canoe's successor, John Watts.

 

 

 

protection from his Majesty's government."¹²

Despite these warnings there is no evidence that any of the illegal settlers removed them­selves. Instead, they sought to obtain additional land.

In March of 1775 Dragging Canoe, along with most other Cherokee leaders, went to Sycamore Shoals in the Watauga settlement to discuss land problems at the invitation of the Transylvania Land Company. The company represented a group of eastern land speculators organized by a Judge Richard Henderson of North Carolina for the purpose of gaining some sort of title to Indian lands for re-sale to unsuspecting settlers. By an ostentatious display of trade goods, including lavish gifts of rum to the Cherokee leaders, and misrepresenting his purposes, Henderson was able to obtain the signatures of several of the older Beloved Men present. Those involved, including Attacullaculla and Oconastota, later stated that they only signed the "treaty" and accepted Henderson's goods as compensation for damages done by the white settlers.¹³

In fact, they signed a deed to all Cherokee lands between the Ohio River and the Cumberland divide, including central Kentucky and the portion of Tennessee north of the Cumberland River. The Watauga and Nollichucky settlers took advantage of the situation to obtain similar signatures to deeds for the land they occupied. John Carter later made the doubtful claim that he was given title to all of Carter's Valley in compensation for damages done to a small store he operated by raiding Shawnees.

Richard Pearis, John Vann and other friendly whites who were present attempted to explain to the Cherokees the consequences of what Henderson was attempting. Unfortunately, by then Henderson's rum had served its purpose.¹² The only Cherokee leader present who saw through the deception was Dragging Canoe.

Dragging Canoe was firmly opposed to any form of land cession. Unable to influence the actions of the older Beloved Men, he left the meeting in disgust. Before leaving, however, he bitterly denounced the fraudulent transaction and warned the whites of the consequences. Facing Henderson he said: "You have bought a fair land, but there is a black cloud hanging over it. You will find its settlement dark and bloody!"¹⁵

Even if the Cherokees had been knowing parties to the transaction, neither the sale nor the lease of Cherokee lands can be considered valid, since the Proclamation of 1763 banned any attempt of private individuals to enter into treaty with the Indians, and specifically provided that private individuals, in any manner, could not obtain title to Indian land. When Henderson's actions became known, both Virginia and North Carolina issued warrants for his arrest, and the governor of Virginia wrote the Cherokees protesting- their dealings with Henderson. Aside from the Proclamation, the transaction was further illegal since much of the lands involved were a part of a Royal grant to Lord Granville, a proprietor of the colony of North Carolina. As the governor of North Carolina wrote, Henderson was attempting "an invasion of Lord Granville's propietary (sic) rights, exceedingly injurious to the interests of that nobleman and his family."¹⁶ George Washington, who was also interested in obtaining western land but was more careful about the legality of his actions wrote, regarding the Henderson Purchase: "There is something in that affair which I neither understand, nor like."¹⁷ Henderson and his supporters fled to the wilderness to avoid prosecution and the Cherokee petitioned John Stuart to have the fraudulent treaty nullified.

 

Superintendent Stuart had previously acted in behalf of the Crown to remove other illegal settlers from Indian land, and the Cherokees' problem would have probably been satisfactorily resolved had it not been for the outbreak of the American Revolution. The frontiersmen, knowing the illegality of the so-called "Henderson Purchase", were quick to embrace the

 

Revolution since an overthrow of the established government seemed the only way to obtain clear title to the land. Charlestown, South Carolina, where John Stuart had his residence, was also a hot-bed of revolutionary activity. Before he could act in behalf of the Cherokees, Stuart was forced by a savage mob to flee for his life, leaving his estate and family in the hands of the rebels.¹⁸

When Stuart was driven from Charlestown, the Cherokees not only lost their legal represen­tative, but also lost their trade connections. This was gravely serious to the Cherokees, as they were then dependent upon England for manufactured goods, particularly powder and lead which were necessary for hunting. Thus, for reason of economic necessity as well as fulfillment of treaty obligations, the Cherokees were commited to support the government in supressing the rebellion.

Stuart was also aware of the need of establishing a temporary base in British-held Florida. He informed the Cherokees by letter that the trade goods would soon be moving again. To meet immediate needs, he dispatched his brother, Henry, and Deputy Superintendent Alexander Cameron with a small packtrain of ammunition to Chota.¹⁹

As soon as Dragging Canoe learned of the packtrain, he led an eighty-man force of warriors south to provide an escort through the hostile countryside. He met Henry Stuart and Cameron at Mobile on March 1, 1776. In addition to the pressing need for ammunition, Dragging Canoe was deeply concerned with the situation brought on by Henderson's actions. Not bothering with legal questions, the Transylvania Land Company was already rushing settlers into the area. Dragging Canoe informed Stuart and Cameron of the situation and complained bitterly of the continued presence of the illegal white settlers, saying:

"The white men have almost surrounded us, leaving us only a little spot of ground to stand upon, and it seems to be their intention to destroy us as a Nation."²⁰

Stuart replied by reminding Dragging Canoe that it was the Cherokees themselves who had granted the whites permission to settle and also recalled the fact that many of their senior Beloved Men had signed the papers selling land to Henderson. Dragging Canoe quickly replied,

"I had nothing to do with making that bargin; it was made by some of the old men, who are too old to hunt or to fight. As for me, I have a great many of my young warriors around me, and they mean to have their lands."²¹

Dragging Canoe then asked how the Cherokees could best assist the authorities in suppres­sing the rebellion, hinting that he would like to begin by using direct measures to remove settlers. John Stuart, aware that an Indian offensive would have difficulty in distinguishing loyal whites from the rebels, had instructed his brother and Cameron to inform the Cherokees to take no hostile action at present, but to hold themselves in readiness to act in conjuction with the movements of regular troops who were expected soon. Henry Stuart explained this to Dragging Canoe and added that he would contact the settlers and attempt to get them to move by peaceful measures.²²

After arriving at Chota, Stuart sent letters to the white settlers in which he pointed out their illegal trespass on Indian land and urged their removal, promising them free land in Florida. The settlers, many of whom were already in communication with the revolutionary "Commit­tees of Safety" in the east, saw an opportunity to turn the situation to their own advantage. They replied to Stuart in concilatory terms, but, at the same time, altered his letter to indicate that a

 

large British army, reinforced by several hundred Creeks, Choctaws and Chickasaws, was on the march from Pensacola to join the Cherokees in an all out attack against the frontier. This clumsy forgery had the desired effect when copies were distributed to the revolutionists in the east.²³ In a matter of weeks forces were being raised to destroy the Cherokees.²⁴

The situation was further complicated by the arrival, at Chota, of a delegation of northern Indians who described in graphic detail the excesses of the revolutionists against their people in New York and Pennsylvania. They urged the Cherokees to join them in war against the Americans. Stuart and Cameron refused to accept the war belts offered by these delegates and urged the Cherokees to wait until they were able to coordinate their efforts with the movement of regular troops. However, when a messenger arrived with the news that a large army was , gathering in Virginia, Stuart realized that he could no longer control the Cherokees. He                   j therefore departed to report to his brother, the Superintendent.                                                                     '

Knowing that war was inevitable, the Cherokees determined to strike the first blow. Careful plans were made for an offensive to be carried out by three separate divisions, striking simultaneously. The Great Warrior, Oconastota, took no part in the deliberations, probably due to his advanced age. However, his deputy, the Raven of Chota, was selected to lead one of the Cherokee Divisions. The other two units were to be led by Abram of Chilhowie and Dragging Canoe.

In a general council at Chota, prior to the campaign, Dragging Canoe made it clear that the coming fight was not be to viewed as a racist war against all whites, but only against the emenies of the government, adding that they "considered their white people to be the same as themselves. "^2S There were a number of whites, largely traders, present at the meeting. Most of these had Cherokee wives and all had recently re-affirmed their oath of allegiance to the Crown. To them, Dragging Canoe said:

"I hope you will not in the future pay attention to idle dreams. If any of you choose to ; join the war, I will be glad, but I will not insist upon any of you going. Those who do not                                  : go, however, will be expected to furnish the warriors with ammunition and supplies."²⁸

It is a matter of historic record that many of the whites, of their own free will, did fight alongside the Cherokees during the long struggle that lay ahead. There were a few, however, who slipped away, with the help of Nancy Ward and other Cherokee women, to warn the settlers.²⁷

Unaware that their plans had been betrayed, the Cherokees began the campaign. The Raven of Chota led his unit against the settlers in Carter's Valley, while Abram of Chilhowie attacked the Watauga and Nolichucky River settlements. Dragging Canoe's target was the Holston settlements, where the whites had a fort near Long Island called Baton's Station. (See Journal of Cherokee Studies Vol. I, No. 2, pages 118-120) On July 19, 1776, the Cherokee war band crossed Bay's Mountain and camped for the night on the upper end of Long Island. The Cherokees were startled by the sound of female laughter, and upon investigation they were even more suprised to see two nude white women splashing in the shallow water near the opposite river bank. They were the wife of one of the fort's officers and her sister who had returned to their cabin outside the walls to pick up some clothing. The day was hot, and they were taking advantage of the water. Several of the Cherokees immediately wanted to swim over and capture them, but Dragging Canoe refused permission. He knew that due to the critical shortage of ammunition, their only hope of victory lay in a suprise attack and would not risk alerting the fort for the sake of two captives.

 

Dragging Canoe could have let his warriors take the women, because his presence had already been detected by a reconnaissance patrol from the fort. That night, while the Cherokees slept, a heated argument raged between the militia officers at Baton's Station over the best method of meeting the attack. In the end it was decided to leave the fort and meet the Indians in the open.²⁸

On the morning of June 20, the two opposing forces began advancing toward each other. After an ineffective exchange of fire between.the advance units, the main bodies closed up. The Cherokee battle line consisted of a wedge formation in the center led by Dragging Canoe with crescent shaped lines extending on both flanks. When the Cherokees emerged from the woods a number of the militiamen, including one of their senior officers William Cocke, broke ranks and ran for the safety of the fort.

When Dragging Canoe saw the whites running he was sure of victory. "The Unacas are running," he cried, "Come and scalp them!" However, not all the whites had fled. Most of them took shelter behind trees and directed a murderous rifle fire at the oncoming Cherokees. Dragging Canoe himself was hit, his right leg shattered by the bullet. His brother, Little Owl, was hit eleven times. So badly was he wounded that many of the whites who recognized him were certain that he was dead. The battle was over in a matter of minutes. There was nothing for the Cherokees to do but withdraw with their wounded, leaving thirteen of their men dead on the field to be scalped and mutilated by the white militiamen.²⁹

Abram of Chilhowie also failed to take the fort on the Watauga. The Raven of Chota, while raiding up the valley and far above the Virginia border, destroyed several isolated cabins, but did little military damage. The Cherokees now braced themselves for the counter-attack they knew was coming. They did not have long to wait. .A large combined colonial army, raised for the express purpose of the complete destruction of the entire Cherokee Nation, moved against them. In spite of his recent wounds, Dragging Canoe led a war band to join his adopted brother, Alexander Cameron, in South Carolina, where they held the American army at bay until their ammunition was exhausted. Cameron escaped to Florida to raise loyalist support, while Dragging Canoe returned to the Overhill towns. The armies from the Carolinas and Georgia swept over the Lower, Middle and Valley towns, killing men, women and children indiscrimi­nately. Prisoners who were not immediately murdered, were put on the slave block and sold like Blacks.³⁰

By October, 1776, only the Overhill towns remained, and a large army from Virginia, with North Carolina reinforcements, was moving against them. The senior Overhill military leaders, Oconastota, and the Raven of Chota, felt that further resistance was futile. In council they advised the Cherokees to make peace with the Americans at any price. Caleb Starr and other white residents of the Nation added their arguments to this plea. The only man to speak out against this position was Dragging Canoe. He urged the Cherokees to burn their own towns, and, after sending the women and children to safety below the Hiwassee, to meet the Virginia army at the French Broad Ford with every available man. All of his pleading with the council was to no avail. The Beloved Men chose to take -the advise of the peace faction, and sent envoys to the Virginia army.³¹

The tension was so great that the Cherokees most sacred obligations, the centuries-old ties of family and clan, were broken. When threatened with total destruction, Oconastota agreed to give up Cameron and Dragging Canoe to the Americans.³² In a letter to Cameron, Dragging Canoe expressed his bitter disappointment and his determination to continue the war alone:

"I am glad you are where you are, for our great man Oconastota wanted to take your life as well as mine. While I live, you shall never be hurted, for I shall never forget your

182

 

talks-to us ... They offered at least £ 100 for you, and £ 100 for me, to have us killed. Let them bid up and offer what they will, it never disturbs me. My ears will always be open to hear your talks, and our Father's. I will mind no other, let them come from where they will. My thoughts and my heart are for war as long as King George has one enemy in this country. Our hearts are straight to him and all his people, and whoever is at war with us."³³ . .

As a result of the capitulation of the Overhill Cherokees, Dragging Canoe and his young men withdrew from the area. Acting on the advice of Cameron, they established new towns in the vicinity of the home of the British commissary, John McDonald, on Chickamauga Creek.³⁴ Most of the traders and other permanent white residents in the Nation moved with Dragging Canoe to the new towns.³⁵ Also, a considerable portion of the Middle and Lower Cherokees affiliated with the band of Dragging Canoe, rebuilding their towns on the headwaters of the Coosa River in north Georgia.^3e Many white refugees; fleeing the excesses of the revolutionists in the Carolinas and Georgia, sought safety in the same area.³⁷ This mixed group came to be called the Chickamaugas, or the Chickamauga Cherokees.

Dragging Canoe made good his pledge to continue his support of the British war effort by initiating a guerrilla campaign against the Virginia and North Carolina frontier.³⁸ In 1777, he demonstrated his contempt for the Overhill peace efforts by raiding within fifteen miles of Fort Patrick Henry where the talks with the Americans were in progress.³⁹ The following year, guided by McDonald and Cameron, the Chickamaugas were cooperating with the Creeks to further the British plans for the liberation of the Georgia coastal cities.⁴⁰

Although the Overhill towns concluded a peace treaty with the Americans, the whites continued their encroachments on Cherokee land,.and refused to provide the people with badly needed trade goods. The British saw to it that the Chickamauga towns were well supplied but interdicted any dealings with the Overhills who were viewed as having defected to the Americans.⁴¹ This brought additional recruits to Dragging Canoe. The suffering among the Overhill Cherokees was so extreme that the American agent, Joseph Martin, took the extraor­dinary step of writing the British Superintendent,- begging for aid to feed the Cherokees. In a letter to John Stuart, dated February 20,1778_>:Martin stated that all of the Cherokees were in favor of the British and were only prevented by fear of the Americans from openly expressing themselves. He asked Stuart to restore trade to the Overhill towns, adding that he himself had no sympathy for the American actions and would come to Pensacola if Stuart desired.⁴²

With the coming of summer, Cameron directed the Cherokees to send as many men as possible to work in conjuction with the British army which had recently liberated most of Georgia. Dragging Canoe and John McDonald led all the able bodied men from the Chick­amauga towns south where they spent the rest of the year in action against the rebels in Georgia and South Carolina. Meanwhile, the Americans had learned the location of the Chickamauga towns, and during the winter a punitive expedition against them was planned.

In April of 1779, a large American force under the command of Colonel Evan Shelby descended the Tennessee river in a fleet of dugout canoes. In the Chickamauga towns, the Cherokees were taken completely by suprise.⁴³ Since all of the fighting men were away in the south with Dragging Canoe and McDonald, resistance was impossible. ** When the attack came the women and children ran into the woods, and most were able to escape safely to the mountains. Only four Cherokees were killed, but the loss of property was great. Shelby burned eleven towns in the area. Everything not destroyed Was confiscated. McDonald's home and store were looted and burned by the Americans, resulting in a loss of goods valued at 25,000 pounds. The victorious Americans returned home confident that they had won a major victory.

 

The victory, however, had been won against women and children - the men would be heard from later.⁴⁵

As soon as they learned of the attack, Dragging Canoe and McDonald returned to Chick-amauga. They were reinforced by a fifty-man detachment of Loyalist Rangers led by Cameron, who also provided a small packtrain of goods to help replace those lost to the Americans.⁴⁶ The blow had been unexpected, but Dragging Canoe was not conquered. In July, addressing a delegation of northern Indians, he reaffirmed his determination to continue the war. Speaking to the Shawnee representative, he said:

"We cannot forget the talk you brought to us some years ago into this Nation, which was to take up the hatchet against the Virginians. We heard and listened to it with great attention, and before the time that was appointed to lift it we took it up and struck the Virginians. Our Nation was alone and surrounded by them. They were numerous and their hatchets were sharp; and after we had lost some of our best warriors, we were forced to leave our towns and corn to be burnt by them, and now we live in the grass as you see us. But we are not yet conquered, and to convince you that we have not thrown away your talk here are four strands of whampums we received from you when you came before as a messenger to our Nation."⁴⁷

This talk of Dragging Canoe made a lasting impression upon the Shawnees. The Cherokees and Shawnees put aside forever the ill feeling and hostilities which had existed for more than a hundred years. The two peoples exchanged pledges of friendship and mutual aid in the war.⁴⁸ In confirmation of this friendship, a number of the Chickamauga Cherokees moved north to the Ohio Valley, where they lived with the Shawnees and shared their defeats and victories during the rest of the war. In return, about a hundred Shawnees came south to live with the Cherokees.⁴⁹

To prevent another suprise attack by the Americans, Dragging Canoe relocated his towns in a more impregnable area further down the Tennessee River. The Five Lower Towns, as the rebuilt Chickamauga towns came to be called (although, because of shifts of occupancy, there were actually more than five), made full strategic use of the windings of the river. Tuskegee Island town commanded the entrance to the Suck. Running Water town, where Dragging Canoe made his headquarters, and the nearby town of Nickajack, lay just below the Narrows. Long Island town and Crow town were still further south. Lookout town was behind the mountains in Georgia, and Will's town was in northern Alabama.⁵⁰ The area was unapproacha­ble by land except for a few hidden paths through the Mountains known only to the Cherokees. Any hostile force attempting to move down the river would be observed by the Cherokees at Tuskegee town, who could alert the lower towns by sending runners through the mountains while the boats faced the navigational hazards of the Suck and the Narrows.

In the summer of 1780 the new British superinendent, Colonel Thomas Browne, planned a fell conference with the Creeks and Cherokees to coordinate their activities with the overall mission of the British army under Lord Cornwallis.⁵¹ In September the Americans made a determined effort to recapture Augusta. Only the timely arrival of a Cherokee war band prevented the city, and Colonel Browne himself, from falling into the hands of the rebels.⁵² The victorious Cherokees, supported by Colonel Browne's East Florida Rangers, pursued the army led by Elijah Clarke. They scattered the rebels and destroyed the American settlements, forcing Clarke himself to flee west of the mountains to take refuge with John Sevier.⁵³

Following the disastrous defeat of Colonel Patrick Ferguson at King's Mountain, who had moved south in an effort to intercept Clarke, the Chickamauga Cherokees were entrusted with

the mission of keeping the frontier militiamen occupied west of the mountains.⁵⁴ Dragging Canoe and McDonald responded with vigor, staging a series of guerrilla raids all along the North Carolina frontier and well above the borders of Virginia. The Americans responded by mounting a vicious attack against the defenseless Overhill towns.⁵⁵ Although the American army, led by Colonel Arthur Campbell and John Sevier, burned all the major Overhill towns, the campaign had no effect on the Chickamaugas who evaded the army and continued their raids against the frontier throughout the winter.⁵⁶

In 1781 the British suffered a reverse in the south due to the intervention of Spain and France on the side of the Americans. Pensacola was taken by a large Spanish fleet, and, a few weeks later, Augusta also fell.⁵⁷ Undisturbed by these events, Dragging Canoe personally led an attack on the area of present day Nashville which almost destroyed the American settlements on the Cumberland River.⁵⁸

The British difficulties increased. The English people began to speak out against the war, now that the major European powers had made an international conflict out of what had been a colonial rebellion. On October 19, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to an overwhelming American and French force at Yorktown. The following year there were riots in London. In March, Lord North, the principal supporter of the war, resigned. King George III even spoke of abdication due to Parliament's growing opposition to the war.⁵⁹ Loyalists in the colonies began departing for England and Canada during the fall, and on November 1782, a provisional peace treaty was signed between England and the Americans in Paris.⁶⁰

In January, 1783, Dragging Canoe met with a deputation of Northern Indians at St. Augustine to propose a tribal federation to oppose the Americans. Colonel Browne gave British approval to the plan.⁶¹ In April, a general council of Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws and Choctaws was held at Tuckabatchee to discuss the proposed federation.⁶² From the British standpoint, however, the movement was too late. On June 1, 1783, Colonel Browne received orders to withdraw all British officials, agents and traders from the Indian country. He at once proceeded to carry out his instructions. ^ In spite of the promise of military grants in other parts of the king's dominions, John McDonald and a number of other whites elected to remain with Dragging Canoe and the Chickamauga Cherokees.

Following the war, many of the states rewarded their soldiers with grants of Indian land. State officials and private speculators began nibbling away at the borders provided by treaty with the Indians.⁶⁸ The Southern Indians reacted in various ways. The Choctaws made overtures to Georgia and a treaty with Spain; the Chickasaws made treaties with both Virginia and Spain; the Creeks allied themselves with Spain; and the Chickamauga Cherokees contined the war on their own. Ten years later they were still fighting.⁶⁶

With the British gone from the south, Dragging Canoe and McDonald realized that a new source of supplies was essential to the war effort. Before his departure Colonel Browne had suggested that they seek help from Spain.⁶⁷ The Spanish had supported the Americans during their rebellion from the motive of self interest, and now the cooperation of the Southern Indians against the Americans best suited that interest. In June of 1783, Chickamauga representatives listened attentively as the Spanish governor addressed a general Indian congress at Pensacola. Governor Miro told them:

"Do not be afraid of the Americans. You, our brothers the red men, are not without friends. The Americans have no king, and are nothing of themselves. They are like a man that is lost and wandering in the woods. If it had not been for the Spanish and Frenoh, the British would have subdued them long ago."⁶⁸

 

Dragging Canoe re-established contact with the British through Alexander McKee at De­troit, and developed a working alliance with the Creeks. His brothers, Little Owl and The Badger, made several trips to Detroit to establish a supply line from the north.⁶⁹ The road to Detroit, however, was long and dangerous, whereas Pensacola could easily be reached through the country of the Creeks. Dragging Canoe, therefore, went to Pensacola in 1784 when Governor Miro held a second Indian Congress. At this meeting Miro informed the Indians:

"The King of Spain desires the friendship of all red nations, and looks upon them as his brothers. No other nation except Spain can now supply your wants. In a short time the Spaniards expect to be at war with the Virginians, and we look upon the Indians as our allies to aid and assist us when called upon."⁷⁰

The Chickamauga Cherokees returned from the Indian congress loaded with presents, and assurances of a constant supply of ammunition. With his supply lines secure, Dragging Canoe now resumed his attacks on the Cumberland settlements and the North Carolina frontier in earnest.

In 1784, North Carolina attempted to throw on the United States the burden of protecting her satiated land speculators by the cession of her western lands to the national government. A group of rival speculators, led by John Sevier, responded by initiating an illegal and short lived independent "state" called Franklin.⁷¹

On November 28, 1785, the Cherokees concluded their first treaty with the new United States government at Hopewell in South Carolina.⁷² Almost a hundred Cherokees attended, with representatives from all parts of the Nation except the Chickamauga towns.⁷³ The U.S. Commissioners appeared to have been sincere in wanting to establish a stable peace, and made no demands for land cessions. A boundary was defined and efforts made to keep out trespassers, but no provisions were made for the removal of the hundreds of illegal settlers from the "state" of Franklin who were already living on Cherokee land. John Sevier had a direct, if illegal, solution to this problem. As president of Franklin, he sent an expedition against the easily accessible Overhill Towns. Here Old Tassel and other Overhill leaders were forced at gun point to sign the treaty of Coyatee which surrendered all remaining land north of the Little Tennessee River.⁷⁴

In 1786, Dragging Canoe blocked a movement of the Franklin speculators to seize the Muscle Shoals region by defeating a force led by Valentine Sevier and destroying their settlement before it could be completed.⁷⁵ During the summer, supported by a large rein­forcement of Creeks, he struck the Cumberland settlements with such force that the raiding parties swept well into Kentucky before returning. The following year, Sevier, determined to strike a blow in response to the Chickamauga raids. As usual, the peaceful Overhill towns were selected as the targets.

In June of 1788, Sevier's militiamen brutally murdered Old Tassel and several other Beloved Men who had come in at their own invitation to confer with them.⁷⁶ The immediate result of this act was to unify the Cherokees to a greater degree than ever before. Most of the Overhill Cherokees deserted their towns forever, and moved south to Georgia, where the tribal council established Ustanali as the new capital town. A successor was elected to replace Old Tassel, but Dragging Canoe was recognized as the senior man directing the policy of the entire Nation.⁷⁷

Most of the young men followed the example of John Watts, the brilliant half-blood nephew of Old Tassel, who joined the Chickamaugas in exacting a bloody satisfaction for his murdered uncle. An attempted invasion by the whites of the Chickamauga area was turned back with the decisive defeat of the white army at Lookout Mountain in August of 1788.⁷⁸ The U.S.

Commissioners and most of the North Carolina officials blamed the continued Indian troubles on the unrestrained acts of John Sevier. Official pressure was brought to bear, and combination of events brought an end to Sevier's "state" of Franklin. The area claimed by Franklin came under the direct control of the United States as a part of the newly created Southwest Territory. William Blount was named territorial governor.

As time passed, Dragging Canoe became more and more active in the diplomatic field. He was getting too old to continue leading his men in the field, but he directed the efforts of younger warriors like Bob Benge (see Journal of Cherokee Studies Vol. I, No. 2 page 105) and John Watts. His greatest efforts, however, were directed toward establishing closer contact with other Indian tribes. The Creeks in the south and the Shawnees in the north were two groups who worked closely with the Chickamauga Cherokees. His greatest hopes were realized in November of 1791 when a federation of Indian forces, including many Creeks and Cherokees, defeated and utterly crushed the American army of General St. Clair in the greatest victory over St. Clair. Dragging Canoe devoted the final energies of his failing life to forming such an alliance. After a meeting with his Creek allies at Little Tallassie, he carried the message of unity to the Chickasaws. Shortly after his return from this diplomatic mission Dragging Canoe died at Lookout Town, March 1, 1792, as a result, it is said, of a too vigorous celebration of a recent Chickamauga success near Nashville.⁸⁰

Dragging Canoe's death was the first of several losses to the Chickamaugas. Bob Benge, one of their most feared war leaders, was killed while on a raid in Virginia, and the noted Doublehead began taking white bribes. The Cherokees lost their northern allies when General Wayne won his victory at Fallen Timbers. In the South they lost the support of the Spanish as a result of secretive arrangements with the frontier leaders, who were willing to betray the federal government in return for Spanish aid against the Indians. An unauthorized expedition from Nashville burned two of the lower towns.

John Watts, who was selected as Dragging Canoe's successor, continued to fight the Ameri­cans. He led several expeditions in person, but he also saw the advantage of diplomatic action. On November 7 and 8, 1794, Watts and other Cherokee leaders concluded a firm treaty with the whites at Tellico Blockhouse. The results were satisfactory to both sides. On the basis of mutual respect, all differences were arranged on a friendly basis, and the long war came to an end.⁸¹

At the beginning of the American Revolution it had seemed that the Cherokees might be completely exterminated, or at best survive only as a beaten and degenerate people like the Catawba. This disaster was avoided by the firm holding action fought by Dragging Canoe. It was his determined resistance that made the Treaty of Tellico Blockhouse workable. Having felt the strength of the Cherokees, the whites respected the treaty for more than a generation. This period of peace made possible the brillant flowering of Cherokee Culture during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. It was no accident that Major John Walker, Major Ridge, and virtually every notable Cherokee leader of this period came from Dragging Canoe's Chick­amauga faction. John Ross, perhaps the best known of all Cherokee political leaders, was the grandson of Dragging Canoe's old comrad-in-arms, John McDonald.

Although Dragging Canoe did not live to see the end result of his long years of fighting, his continued struggle was not in vain. The Cherokee culture which Dragging Canoe and the Chickamauga Cherokees devoted their lives to saving, is still very much alive. Today, their descendents in Oklahoma and in the mountains of North Carolina can still repeat with pride Dragging Canoe's statement to the Shawnee delegation: "We are not yet conquered!"

Winter, 1977

NOTES

1. J. Leonard Raulston and James W. Liningood in Sequatchie, the University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1974, page 33.

2. John P. Brown in Old Frontiers, Southern Publishers Inc., Kingsport, 1938, page 9.

3. R. S. Cotterill in The Southern Indians, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1954, page 32.

4. Dragging Canoe in a letter to Alexander Cameron, November 14, 1776, quoted by J. P. Brown, op. cit. pages 155-156.

5. John Richard Alden in John Stuart and the Southern Colonial Frontier, Univeristy of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1944, pages 140 and 265.

6. Ibid, 344-350.

7. Samuel Cole Williams in Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History, Watauga Press, Johnson City, 1937 pages 366-367.

8. Ibid, pages 380-381.

9. Ibid, 387-389.

10. Alexander Cameron in a letter to John Stuart, April 12, 1774, Haldimand MSS, Series B. Vol. 12, page 359.

11. John Stuart in a letter to Gov. Martin, Feb. 22, 1774, Colonial Records of North Carolina Vol. IX, page 825.

12. Proclamation of Gov. Martin of North Carolina, March 1774, Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. IX, page 982.

13. William Tatham quoted by Samuel Cole Williams in "William Tatham, Wataugan," Tennessee Historical Magazine Vol. 2, pages 154-179.

14. John Reid in a deposition given April 16,1777 at Washington Court House, Virginia, Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. I, pages 284-285.

15. Samuel Wilson in a deposition dated April 16, 1777 at Washington Court House, Virginia, Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. I, pages 283-284.

16. Governor Martin in a letter to Lord Dartmouth dated September 1775, North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. IX, page 1173.

17. Samuel Cole Williams, op. cit. page 419.

18. John Stuart in a letter to Lord Dartmouth dated July 25, 1775, Colonial Records of North Carolina Vol. X, page 117.

19. J. P. Brown, op. cit., pages 138-139.

20. Henry Stuart in a letter to John Stuart dated August 25, 1776, Colonial Records of North Carolina Vol. X, pages 763-785.

21. Ibid.

22. Philip M. Hamer in "John Stuart's Indian Policy During the Early Months of the American Revolution", in Missisippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. XVII, No. 3, page 364.

23. Philip M. Hamer in "The Wataugans and the Cherokee Indians in 1776," in East Tennessee Historical Society Publications No. HI, pages 108-126.

24. Griffith Rutherford in a letter to the N. C. Council of Safety dated July 5,1776, Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. X, page 651.

25. Henry Stuart, op. cit.

26. Ibid.

27. J. P. Brown, op. cit. page 149.

28. George Christian in a letter to Lyman Draper dated May 6, 1834 in the Draper MSS 3XX32.

29. Ibid.

30. James Mooney in Myths of the Cherokee, Bureau of American Ethnology, Nineteenth Annual Report, Washington 1900, pages 51-53.

31. Samuel Cole Williams in Tennessee During the Revolutionary War, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1974 pages 55-58.

32. J. P. Brown, op. cit. page 159.

33. Dragging Canoe to Alexander Cameron, Nov. 14, 1776, op. cit.

34. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit. page 44.

35. Theodore Roosevelt in The Winning of the West, Current Literature Publishing Co., New York, 1905, Vol. 3, page 111.

36. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., page 46.

37. C. J. Milling in Red Carolinians, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1940, pages 320-321.

38. James Mooney, op. cit., page 54.

39. J. P. Brown, op. cit., page 162.

40. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., page 49.

41. William Blount in a statement dated August 13, 1793 in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, page 458.

42. Joseph Martin in a letter to John Stuart dated February 20, 1778, in British Public Records Office, Colonial Office, Series 5, Vol. 79, page 279.

43. James H. O'Donnell, III in Southern Indians in the American Revolution, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1973, page 84.

44. R. S. Cotterill, op.cit, page 49,

45. Thomas Jefferson in a letter to George Washington June 23, 1779 mjefferson's Works, Vol. I page 163, quoted by Samuel Cole Williams, op. cit., page 95.

46. Theodore Roosevelt, op. cit, page 119.

47. Dragging Canoe in a public talk of July 12, 1779, Haldimand MSS., Series B. Vol. 117, page 157.

48. A seemingly insignificant incident of this exchange of friendship was to have far reaching consequences. Among the Shawnees who came south was a recently widowed mother and her four sons. One of the younger boys was named Tecumseh. This young Shawnee, without a father or uncle to guide him, was greatly influenced by the example of Dragging Canoe. Tecumseh listened avidly as Dragging Canoe expounded on the need for closer unity and harmony among the different Indian peoples. He also learned from Dragging Canoe and other Cherokee leaders the principles of border warfare. All these lessons he put to practical use when he became a man. Thus, Tecumseh, using what he had learned from Dragging Canoe, became the last great Indian war leader in the east.

49. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., page 89.

50. Donald Davidson in The Tennessee, Rinehart & Co., Inc., New York and Toronto, 1946, Vol. I, page 153.

51. James H. O'Donnell, op. cit., pages 102-103.

52. L. L. Knight in A Standard History of Georgia and Georgians, Lewis Publishing Co., New York, 1917, Vol. I, pages 293-294.

53. William Campbell in a letter to William Preston, Dec. 12, 1780, in "The Preston Papers", Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 27, 1919, pages 314-316.

188 •                             Journal of Cherokee Studies

 

54. Samuel Cole Williams, op. cit, page 183.

55. William Springstone's deposition of 11 Dec. 1780, in "The Preston Papers," Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 27, 1919, pages 313-314.

56. Arthur Campbell in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, January 15, 1781, in Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. I, pages 343-347. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., page 52.

57. James H. O'Donnell, III, op. cit., page 114.

58. A. W. Putnam in History of Middle Tennessee, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1971, pages 129-135.

59. SirWinstonS. Churchill in History of the English Speaking Peopks, Dodd, Mead & Co., Inc., New York, 1957, Vol. Ill, page 175.

60. Dale Van Every in Men of the Western Waters, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1956, page 219.

61. Thomas Browne in a letter to Lord Townshend, Jan. 12, 1783 British Public Record Office, Colonial Office, Series 5, Vol. 82, page 695.

62. Alexander McGillivray in a letter to Thomas Browne, April 10, 1783, Ibid., page 749.

63. R. S. Cotterill in op. cit., page 56.

64. James H. O'Donnel, III, op. cit., 138.

65. Samuel Cole Williams, op. cit., pages 225-231.

66. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., page 59.

67. Janes H. O'Donnel, II, op. cit., pages 138-139.

68. J. P. Brown, op. cit., page 222.

69. Ibid., page 224.

70. Esteban Miro in a talk to Southern Indians, June 1784, in North Carolina State Records, Vol. 17 pages 74-87.

71. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., page 63.

72. James Mooney, op. cit., page 61.

73. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., page 66.

74. J. G. M. Ramsey, The Annals of Tennessee, Walker and James Steam Power Press, Charleston, 1853, pages 344-345.

75. J. P. Brown, op. cit., page 251.

76. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit. page 79.

77. Ibid., page 80.

78. J. P. Brown, op. cit. page 259.

79. Ibid., pages 322-327.

80. R. S. Cotterill, op. cit., pages 97-98.

81. James Mooney, op. cit., pages 78-79.

Winter, 1977                                     189

 

 

 

---

---