USA > Tennessee > History of Tennessee, its people and its institutions > Part 3
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23. Spanish Explorations in Tennessee .- In May, 1539, Ferdi- nand DeSoto landed in Florida, and began his famous expedition which resulted in the discovery of the Mississippi River. In the accounts of this expedition, given by the followers of DeSoto, the rivers, villages, and localities are called by Indian names, which it is
31
CONTEST FOR POSSESSION OF AMERICA.
almost impossible to identify. In the spring of 1541, DeSoto crossed the Mississippi near the Indian village of Chisca, which was situated on the Chickasaw Bluffs, where Memphis now stands. Thus, the Spaniards were the first of Europeans to enter the limits of Tonnessee. 1 After the expedition of DeSoto the Spaniards were discouraged and inactive, and made no efforts to colonize or occupy that portion of their province of Florida now known as Tennessee. Yet Spain did not for many years formally abandon her claims, and even after she had been forced to cede them by treaty, the recollection of her former title led her to nurse hopes for recovering the country, and to enter upon a course of policy known as the "Spanish Intrigues," which produced important results on our early history.
24. Other Claims .- In the days of Columbus there were no newspapers, telegraphs, or telephones to herald the discovery of America over the world. The news spread slowly, but such an event could not be concealed. The nations of Europe, and especially Eng- land and France, turned covetous eyes to the new world, but they feared the power of Spain, and were compelled to be cautious. They sent explorers to examine the country, in order to lay the foundation for future claims, but they did not dare as yet to attempt possession. Important events must take place in the Old World before the destiny of the New World is decided. The power of Spain must be weak- ened by the Reformation and broken by the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and Europe must change front from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic before England and France can trust their ships on the ocean, and plant colonies in America.
25. The Effect of the Reformation .- The revolt of the Protest- ants, beginning in the Church, spread among the people, and at length caused a revolution in government. The Pope attempted to crush the Protestants, and Spain came to his aid with the whole of her immense power. The German States, aided by England, resisted bravely. The result was a series of fierce wars which drenched Europe in blood, and finally broke the power of Spain. Although Tennessee was then a wilderness, her future settlement hung on the issue of these European events. The student of Tennessee history will be well repaid by reading the books noted below,2 and he will
1 Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 17 et seq .; Bancroft, Vol. I; Irving; Monette ; also any good Cyclopedia, under head of DeSoto.
2 Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella; Robertson's Charles V; Prescott's Philip II; Motley's Dutch Republic.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
arise from the perusal well informed on many European events which influenced the early settlement of America, and which can not be detailed in a school text-book.
26. Queen Elizabeth and Raleigh .- Queen Elizabeth of England had given mortal offense to the vindictive tyrant, Philip II of Spain. by rejecting his proposals of marriage, by espousing the Protestant cause, by aiding the revolt of the Netherlands, and by detaining as a prisoner Mary Queen of Scots, whose destruction she was even then contemplating. Foreseeing the inevitable contest with Spain, she lent a ready ear to the solicitations of her favorite, the gallant and sagacious Walter Raleigh. She determined upon the policy of invit- ing the conflict with Spain by asserting her claims in America, which had been allowed to slumber for more than eighty-six years. In 1583 she issued a patent to Sir Humprey Gilbert, the half-brother of Walter Raleigh, empowering him to explore and colonize her American pos- sessions. Here were sown the seeds of the great European contest for the possession of America.
27. English Begin Colonization .- Sir Humphrey Gilbert set sail with five vesels. He visited New Foundland, and on the return voyage lost his own life and four of his vessels in a storm at sea. In the next year, 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh obtained a new patent from the Queen, granting him all the land in America extending between the thirty- third and fortieth parallels of north latitude. He sent two vessels, under the command of Philip Armidas and Arthur Barlow, to explore the American possessions. This expedition came in sight of the coast of that portion of Virginia which is now North Carolina, on the four- teenth day of July, 1584, and anchored near Roanoke Island July 16. On this day the foot of the white man for the first time touched the soil of Virginia. After remaining a few days for the purpose of send- ing out exploring parties and trading with the natives, this expedi- tion returned to England, taking with them two Indians, named Manteo and Wauchese. Raleigh was much gratified with the report of his explorers, which he represented to the Queen in glowing colors. and asked permission to name the country in honor of the virgin queen. The name Virginia was given to the whole country extending from the thirty-third to the fortieth parallel of north latitude, and stretching indefinitely to the west.1 Basing her claim upon the exploration of
1 Let the pupil point out these boundaries on a map of the United States.
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33
CONTEST FOR POSSESSION OF AMERICA.
the Cabots, in 1497 and 1498, Queen Elizabeth determined to colonize the country and maintain her title at all hazards.
28. Lane's Colony .- Raleigh having received the rank of knight from the Queen, and having his patent confirmed by act of Parlia- ment, fitted out an expedition intended this time for colonization. On the twenty-sixth day of June, 1585, Sir Richard Grenville, in command of Raleigh's fleet of seven ships, reached the coast of America. He brought with him one hundred and eight colonists, with Ralph Lane as governor. This colony returned to England in the ships of Sir Francis Drake, June 19, 1586.
29. Governor White's Colony .- Other efforts of Sir Walter Ral- eigh to plant colonies along the coast of North Carolina resulted in failure. A colony was sent over which landed at Roanoke Island July 22, 1587, with John White as Governor. Here the first white child in America, Virginia Dare, was born August 18, 1587. Governor White went to England to secure supplies for the colony. Upon his return, in 1590, he found Roanoke Island abandoned, and no trace of his colony except the word, " Croatan," which was roughly carved on a tree. No trace of this colony has ever been found. Many theo- ries have been advanced by modern writers. It was supposed at that time that the colony had either removed to a place called " Croatan," or had been massacred by the Indians. There is some reason to believe that they removed to the mountains of Tennessee. Will not some pupil who studies this book investigate the history of the " Lost Colony"?
30. The Spanish Armada .- The turning point in European his- tory, which established the Protestant power in Europe, and decided the fate of America, was the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The Spanish power was broken on land and sea. England rapidly became " Mistress of the Seas." Her rights of discovery in America were now boldly asserted, and she prepared for extensive colonization.
31. Jamestown .- The first permanent English settlement was made at Jamestown in 1607. From this germ the settlement of Vir- ginia began. Rapidly other English settlements were planted and
1 The early settlements may be studied more in detail in the histories of North Carolina and Virginia, or in the larger histories of the United States. . Valuable information may be obtained in any good Cyclopedia. Especially read Moore's School History of North Carolina.
34
HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
grew apace. The grant to Virginia extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, then called the "South Seas." Tennessee, although unex- plored and unsettled, was thus included in Virginia, and is entitled to her share in the honor of the first legislative assembly in America and all the glorious colonial history of Virginia ; for the ancestors of the Tennessee pioneers played the first act of the drama in the settle- ment of America.
CHAPTER IV.
THE CONFLICT OF TITLE.
32. The Three Claimants .- The general claim of Spain to the whole of America by right of the discovery of Columbus and by virtue of the decree of the Pope, had now come to be ignored by all nations. Her claims were recognized only to those portions of America which she had explored in advance of other nations. Her claim to Ten- nessee rested, therefore, on the explorations of DeSoto. As she was inert in prosecuting this claim, although she had not formally aban- doned it, the contest narrowed down to England and France. England claimed it as a part of her colony of Virginia, but had never explored or occupied the country. France 1 claimed it, at first, as a part of her province of New France, and subsequently as a part of her province of Louisiana. To examine the claim, let us take a short review of French exploration and colonization.
33. French Claims .- Although John Denys had explored the St. Lawrence in 1506; and Verrazani, in 1524, and Cartier, in 1535, had made explorations, France dared not take immediate possession. In 1562, a feeble effort was made by French Huguenots to plant a colony on the Atlantic coast within the French claim of New France, which overlapped the Spanish province of Florida. This effort was made not by the French government, but by a private expedition sent out by Admiral Coligny under Jean Ribaut, which made a short-lived set- tlement at Port Royal. Two years later, another French colony was established on the St. John River at Fort Caroline. This colony was
1 Refer to any good history of the United States, and to the Cyclopedias. The subject is fully treated in Marbois' History of Louisiana, in Martin's History of Louisiana, and in Gayarre's History of Louisiana.
35
THE CONFLICT OF TITLE.
massacred by the Spaniards under Menendez. Although the French leader, De Gourges, inflicted summary vengeance on the Spaniards, yet France abandoned, for the time, all efforts of colonization, and England attempted none for many years.
1687280
34. French Begin Colonization After the Defeat of Spanish Armada .- In 1604, the French made a settlement at Port Royal. In 1608 Champlain founded Quebec, which was made the base of French operations. French soldiers were sent out to occupy the country. A flourishing trade was established with the Indians, the Jesuits were sent out to convert the natives to Christianity, and to win them to the control of France. It was claimed by France that the rights of England extended only from the coast to the Alleghany Mountains, including the country drained by the rivers which flow into the Atlantic. France claimed the entire valley of the St. Lawrence, and sent explorers along the lakes and along the country west of the Alleghanies.
35. French Explore the Mississippi Valley .- In 1673, in pursu- ance of the policy previously described, the French began their explor- ations along the Mississippi River. Marquet and Joliet descended the Mississippi and made maps of the country. They noted many Chick- asaw villages, and especially noted the Chickasaw Bluffs. In 1682, La Salle made his famous voyage down the Mississippi, claimed the country for France, and named it Louisiana. He stopped at Chick- asaw Bluffs, built a cabin and a fort, to which he gave the name "Prud homme," made a treaty with the Indians, and established a trading post. Thus, the French erected the first building in Tennes- see. Other French trading posts were established among the Indians. Among these, was the post of M. Charleville, a French trader who built a store at Salt Lick on the Cumberland, where Nashville now stands. 1
36. The French Approach Tennessee from the West .- For a long time France and England maintained the struggle for possession of all the country extending from the Mississippi River to the Alleghany Mountains, embracing, of course, the present State of Tennessee. The French had been the most daring travelers, traders, and mission. aries in the New World. They discovered the basin of the St.
1 Marbois' History of Louisiana; Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, 38, 39: Monette ; any good history of the United States.
2
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
Lawrence, and were the first to explore the banks of the Mississippi. 1 Thus, they approached Tennessee from the west many years before the American pioneer had climbed to the top of the Alleghany Mount- ains from the east and prepared to descend into the Mississippi Valley.
37. The French not a Colonizing People .- They made little effort to settle the country. They mingled with the native population, and assumed, in a large measure, their manner of life. They hoped to hold the country for the sake of the Indian trade. To do this, they erected a powerful cordon of forts and trading posts, completely encircling the English colonies on the Atlantic coast. These they located, with marvelous wisdom, at Quebec, Detroit, Chicago, Pitts- burg, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, and Mobile, besides numer- ous other places varying in importance from Vincennes, on the Wabash, to the Old French Trading Post, at Nashville, on the Cum- berland.
38. Progress of the English Colonies .- The English in the mean- time, were colonizing the country from the Atlantic seaboard west- ward. The colonists were a daring and aggressive race of home- seekers. While clearing and cultivating their fields, erecting churches and schoolhouses, founding towns and cities, and developing trade and commerce in the older settlements, they were constantly pushing their frontiers further into the wilderness. Their vanguard had already reached the foot-hills of the Alleghany Mountains before the close of the long struggle between France and England for the possession of North America.
39. The English Build Counter Forts. - The garrisons and rangers from the French forts produced disaffection to the English among the Indian tribes. As early as 1734, the Province of South Carolina recommended that English forts be built among the Indians, to counteract the French influence. In 1755 Governor Glenn, of that Province, held a treaty with the Cherokees. He obtained from them a grant of land upon which to build two forts in their country. Soon after the cession he built Fort Prince George, on the headwaters of the Savannah, about three hundred miles above Charleston, and within gun-shot of an Indian town called Keowee. 2
40. Fort Loudon Built .- In 1756, the Earl of Loudoun was appointed commander-in-chief of the army throughout the British
1 Bancroft's History of the United States ( Old Ed.), Vol. IV, pp. 457, 458.
" Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 48-51.
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37
THE CONFLICT OF TITLE.
continental provinces in America, as well as governor of the Province of Virginia.1 Following up the concession to Governor Glenn, he dispatched Andrew Lewis to build the other fort at the head of navi- gation on the Little Tennessee River, in 1756. He located it on the south side of the river, within five miles of Chota, the home of the eloquent Cherokee chief, Oconostota. It was about thirty miles from the present city of Knoxville, and nearly one hundred and fifty miles in advance of any white settlement. It was called Fort Loudon - in honor of the first commander-in-chief of the army, and was garrisoned by a force of two hundred British regulars. This was the first structure erected in Tennessee by Anglo-Americans. 3
41. Other Forts Built on the Frontiers .- Besides these forts in the heart of the Indian country, others were erected on the borders of the provincial settlements. North Carolina built Fort Dobbs under the shadow of the Alleghanies. Virginia built a fort on the New River, called Chissel, and another on the Holston, nearly opposite the upper end of Long Island, where Colonel Bird wintered in 175S. This latter fort, while for more than twenty years it was believed to be on Virginia soil, was really some distance south of its line, and was the second Anglo-American fort erected within the boundaries of Tennessee. 4
42. Temporary Settlement of Fort Loudon .- Under the protec- tion of these forts, the tide of emigration reached the base of the mountains that separate Tennessee from North Carolina. They also afforded the daring frontiersman an opportunity to gain some knowl- edge of the country beyond. A small settlement sprang up under the guns of Fort Loudon. It is probable that this would have been the first permanent settlement in the State but for an unfortunate affair that occurred immediately after the reduction of Fort DuQuesne.
43. Massacre of Fort Loudon .- The Cherokees had been the friends and allies of the English. They had volunteered to protect the American frontier south of the Potomac. Some of them marched with the army of the south to Fort DuQuesne. After that decisive engagement, they received little attention from their allies. Having lost their horses, the neglected Indians supplied themselves with such
1 Bancroft's History of the United States ( Old Ed.), Vol. IV, p. 22S. .
2 Note the spelling. In Fort Loudon, the z has been dropped. The English nobleman in whose honor it was named was the Earl of Loudoun.
3 Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 51-53, 66, 85.
+ Ramsey, p. 54.
38
HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
as they found running at large, as they returned through the back counties of Virginia. The enraged backwoodsmen pursued and put a number of the offending warriors to death.1 The result was, that while the victory of Fort DuQuesne brought peace to the northern frontiers, this distressing incident plunged the southern provinces into the horrors of an Indian war. Fort Loudon was besieged and cap- tured, its garrison was massacred, and the permanent settlement of the State was delayed for another decade.
44. The Treaty of Paris, 1763 .- The battle of Fort DuQuesne was the last stand of France in her struggle for supremacy in America. It was followed, in 1763, by the treaty of Paris. By this treaty France surrendered to England her claim to all territory east of the Mississippi River, except the Isle of Orleans. From this time the sovereignty of England over the Mississippi Valley was undisputed.
CHAPTER V.
ENGLISH TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS.
45. The King's Proclamation of 1763 .- The French, who had little desire for the lands of the Indians themselves, never failed to warn them against the encroachments of the English, who, they said, were determined to occupy their land, and dispossess them of the whole country. Accordingly, the Indians viewed every excursion into their hunting ground with dissatisfaction and jealousy. For the purpose of removing their appre hensions and quieting their discontent, King George issued a proclamation, October 7, 1763, prohibiting all provincial governors from granting land, and all British subjects from making settlements, west of the sources of the streams which flow into the Atlantic. It also prohibited all private purchases of land from the Indians. 2
46. Treaty of Augusta .- For the purpose of apprising the South- ern Indians of the change effected by the treaty of Paris, a congress was held with them, at Augusta, in November, 1763. There were pres- ent representatives of the Creeks, Cherokees, Catawbas, Chickasaws and Choctaws, on the one side, and the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern District, the Governors of the two Carolinas and Geor-
1 Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 54; Bancroft's History of the United States (Old Ed.) Vol. IV, p. 341.
2 Ramsey's Annals, p. 71.
39
TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS.
gia, and the Lieutenant-governor of Virginia, on the other. After mutual explanations and promises, a treaty for the preservation and continuance of a fair and perfect peace and friendship, was con- cluded. 1
47. The King's Proclamation not Observed .- At the close of the year 1763, the boundary between the colonies and their Indian neigh- bors, was the line that divides the eastern from the western waters. But the peace that existed between them rendered the enforcement of the King's proclamation impractical, if not impossible. The frontiers- men who had seen something and heard much of the beautiful country beyond the mountains, were impatient to go in and possess it. They were accumulating in companies upon the border from the Mononga- helà to the Savannah. Their early descent in force upon the western waters was even then seen to be inevitable. At that time the geog- raphy of the country was imperfectly understood, as may be seen from the annexed map, taken from the tracing of an old map pub-
ILLINOIS
........
VIRGINIA
CAROL .
EARLI GRANVILLE'S
PROPERTY
........
NORTH -.
CAROLINA
VADKINA
NIVEA
SOUTH
1
CAROLINA
GEORGIA
... Y
AN OLD MAP IN 1756, SHOWING INCORRECT IDEAS OF THAT TIME.
1 Stevens' History of Georgia, Vol. II, pp. 26-29.
.
comment
...
LOUISIANA
.
40
HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
lished in Europe in 1756, and preserved in the archives of the Ten- nessee Historical Society. It shows no reason for the failure to observe the King's proclamation, but it testifies to the ignorance which then prevailed as to the geography of the country, and one of the obstacles in the accurate demarkation of treaty lines.
48. First Grant of Land in Tennessee .- The Holston River, at that time, was supposed to be the dividing line between North Caro- lina and Virginia. Already, June 20, 1753, John Buchanan had received a patent from Virginia for 1,250 acres of land, lying on the Indian River, in what is now Sullivan County, Tennessee. This is notable as the first grant ever issued to land in Tennessee. It was confirmed by the State of North Carolina in 1782.1 After the procla- mation of 1763, the Governor of Virginia continued to issue patents for lands, not only on the headwaters of the Tennessee, but on the Kanawha and Ohio as well.
49. Treaty of Hard Labor.4-The Indians were restive and uneasy. In 1767 the Cherokees asked the governor of North Carolina to have a dividing line run between the western settlements of that province and their hunting ground.2 The next year the Superintend- ent of Indian Affairs for the South, concluded a treaty with them at Hard Labor, in South Carolina, by which the southwestern boundary of Virginia was declared to be a line extending from a point about thirty-six miles east of Long Island of Holston to Chiswell's Mine on the Kenawha, and down that stream to its junction with the Ohio. 3 But even then the settlements had penetrated beyond this line.
50. Treaty of Fort Stanwix.4-In the North, the Six Nations had the same fears and misgivings, with perhaps greater reason, that were entertained by the Cherokees. They had entered into a negotiation with the Superintendent of Indian Affairs about 1765, but it had been practically barren of results. In 1768, they demanded that the set- tlers be removed from their lands, adding that it had been a long time since they first complained of this grievance. The matter was presented to the King, and resulted in the treaty of Fort Stanwix, by which the Six Confederate Nations and their dependent tribes ceded
1 Acts of 1782, ch. 16; Haywood & Cobb's Statutes, Vol. II, p. 25. Dr. Ramsey supposed a grant for 3,000 acres to Edmund Pendleton in 1,56, in his possession at the time he wrote, was the oldest grant in this State, but the ac: referred to shows Buchanan's to be three years older. See Ramsey's Annals, p. 66. ? Ramsey's Annals, p. 73; 4 see Map of Indian Treaties.
3 Ramsey's Annals, p. 76.
41
TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS.
to the Crown all the lands lying between the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers.1 This was the first cession by Indians, of lands within the limits of Tennessee.
51. Indian Title to the Land Conveyed .- Learned arguments have been constructed to prove that the Six Nations owned the land they undertook to convey. It seems to have been forgotten, that less than a month before this transaction, the royal government itself had recognized the right of the Cherokees to the same territory, in the Treaty of Hard Labor. The fact is, no tribe occupied or held undis- puted possession of it. The effect of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix was to convey the claim of the Six Nations in the land described. It did not prevent the Cherokees from setting up any claim they might have to it, inasmuch as they did not claim under the Six Nations. It was not improper, therefore, that the Cherokee claim should be recognized and fairly extinguished, notwithstanding the Treaty of Fort Stanwix.
52. Effect of the Treaties of Hard Labor and Fort Stanwix .- The Treaties of Hard Labor and Fort Stanwix had the effect to precipi- tate the flood of immigration that had been impending over the valleys on the western slope of the mountain. Some historians do not mention the former treaty in connection with this inundation, but it seems clear, so far as North Carolina and Southern Virginia are con- cerned, that it was much the greater factor of the two. It will be remembered that the line between Western North Carolina and Virginia was quite as shadowy as the Indian title itself. No man knew when he had passed from Virginia into North Carolina. Indeed, the first settlements made in Tennessee, were supposed to be in Virginia when made. Although the line fixed by the Treaty of Hard Labor did not include all existing settlements, still, it served to invite the back- woodsmen over the mountain, and once over, their progress could hardly be stayed by an imaginary line, even more definitely located.
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