USA > Tennessee > Old times; or, Tennessee history, for Tennessee boys and girls > Part 5
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But the clouds now cleared away, and the sun shone brilliantly, while the officers beld a short council, to arrange the plan of attack. The men busied themselves in putting their rifles in good order, especially in putting in fresh and dry powder for priming. in place of that which had been wet by the rain. Percussion-caps kad not then been invented, but they used ffinic- locks to fire their rifles.
They were soon again in rapid motion toward Ferguson's camp; but when within a mile or it, they met a man hurrying with a letter from that officer to Lord Cornwallis, stating his situation. and asking for reinforcements as soon as pos- sible. In this letter, which was taken from the express, Ferguson said to his commander that he was encamped on a hill, which he had named King's Mountain, in honor of the King of England, and that "all the rebels out of hell should not drive him from it." The tro at ; then moved forward at a gallop, until they were in full view of the enany's camp. Here there was a short halt. while the officers were making an examination of the ground, and some lasty arrangements for the battle.
And now, young readers, we are not going to describe to you the battle of King's Mom-
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tain, for two reasons. The first is, that you could not understand such matters, even when well described; and the second is, that we do not ourselves comprehend such operations well enough to describe them. Let it satisfy us to know that, after an hour's hard fighting, the Americans were victorious, and that Colonel Ferguson and every man of his army were cither slain or madle prisoners. Some of the special incidents and results of the battle shall be noticed in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER XXII.
INCIDENTS AND RESULTS OF THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN.
Is this battle, two hundred and twenty-five of the enemy were killed, one hundred ant eighty wounded, and seven hundred made pris- oners. The Americans also got possession of fifteen hundred guns, and many horses andl wagons loaded with supplies. The wayons cher burned on the spot, as they could ret take th. 11 over the mountains for the want of roads. The Americans had thirty killed, and aboat sisty wounded. Among the killed wia the gallant Colonel Williams, who fell in making a daring charge at the person of the British com- mander. Major Ciroviele was Jain early in the battle.
Of Colonel Campbell's regiment. three of the Edmondsons, and ten otheres, were Killed. CoBael Sevier bad in his regime it six of his own name, amongst them two brett es and pro
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sons. Of the sons, one was only sixteen years old. Captain Robert Sevier, brother of the Colonel, died of his wounds a few days after the battle. The names of those killed on the side of the enemy are not known, except that of Colonel Ferguson. He obstinately refused to surrender at every stage of the fight, and twice cut down a white flag which the Tories ha.l raised as a sign of submission. However we may detest the service in which he was em- ployed, we may not deny that he was a brave man, and an able and faithful officer.
This memorable battle was fought on Satur- day, the 7th of October. The Americans camped on the ground that night, buried the dead of both parties on Sunday morning, and then commenced their return march, as they could not think of remaining to wear to the large army of Lord Cornwallis. They had more prisoners than there were American soldiers to guard them; besides, the arms captured from the enemy were to be taken al: : by some means. Well, they just took the flints out of the locks, so that the guns could not be fired, and made the prisoners carry them, while the Americans kept close bel'ad them with their rifles loaded. Ten or twelve miles on their way,
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they met their friends whom they had left be- hind two days before the battle.
When they thought themselves at a safe dis- tance from the main British Army, they halted and held a court-martial, for the trial of some of the Tory prisoners that were known to have robbed and murdered Whigs. The court con- demned thirty to be hung, but only nine of the worst were actually executed. the others being let off with some lighter punishment. Among those put to death, was the same Grimes that had been run off from the neighborhood of Wa- tauga for the murder of a Whig. Our young readers must understand that these men s re not punished because they were the public enemies of the country, but for the crimes they had done as private individuals. The British and other Tory prisoners were treated kindly, but not allowed to get away.
The regiments of Campbell and Shelby now directed their march toward the central parts of Virginia, where the prisoners could be an !; kept. Colonel Sevier and his men separated from the others, and cut across the mountains toward home. In their short absence. the Cherokees had again begun to threaten the frontiers of Washington county. No doubt
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they had been led to expect that Sevier and his volunteers would never return, but be either killed or captured in the expedition against Ferguson. In that event, they might promise themselves some sport in taking scalps.
The victory of the Americans at King's Mountain was, in many ways, a most important event. It subdued the hostile spirit of the In- dians, by proving to them that the western riflemen could conquer even British regulars. It quelled the courage of the Tories, for the same reason, and prevented them from joining the army of Lord Cornwallis, as otherwise they would have done. But above all, it was the first serious check to the course of British sue- cess in the Southern States. The down-trodden Whigs began everywhere to raise their heads, and to look hopefully for the success of their cause. In a word, it was the turning-point in the War of the Revolution; and from that time, the prospect continued to brighten, till final victory was consummated in the surrender of the British Army under Cornwallis at York- town.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE CHEROKEES.
Ir was not only in the battle of King's Moun- tain, but on several other occasions, both before and atter, that the western riflemen provedl their zeal and courage, in defending the liberty of' their country against the British and Tories. Whenever they could be spared from guarding their own settlements against Indian attacks, they were always ready to give help to their countrymen, who, in North and South Carolina. were more exposed than elsewhere to the on- pressions of the public enemy. But these mat- ters belong to a history of the Revolutionary War, and not to that of Tennessee in particular. We will therefore let them pass, and tura . ur attention again to the condition of the western settlements.
As mentioned in the last chapter, the Indiaas took advantage of the absence of Colonel Sevier and his men at King's Mountain, and a large
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party of them were marching against the white settlements when the volunteers reached home. Without resting a single day, Colonel Sevier put himself at the head of abont a hundred men, and hastened to meet the advancing sav- ages before they should do any mischief on the frontiers. As soon as they could get ready, a larger body of troops were to follow and join him, in order to march into the Indian territory, and attack the Cherokees at bome.
After crossing French Broad River, the troops met the Indians near Bord's Creek, and had a pretty severe battle with them. . More than twenty of the Indians were left dead on the ground, and a considerable number were carried off wounded. Not one of the white men was hurt, though a bullet from an Indian's rifle shaved off the hair on the side of Colonel Se- vier's head. The enemy retreated toward the Cherokee towns, and Colonel Sevier camped in the neighborhood of the battle-ground, to wait for the volunteers that were coming on to join him.
In a few days, Colonel Campbell, at the head of a regiment from Virginia, and Major Martin with the volunteers of Sullivan e unty, arrived at the camp. The army being now increase1
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to about seven hundred men, the leaders determined to push forward into the Indian towns. The enemy had assembled to oppose their passage across the Little Tennessee, but dispersed and fled at sight of the volunteers, and without firing a gun. The towns of Chota, Chil- howe, Hiwassee, and many others, were burned, and the cattle and other property of the Indians destroyed. To our young readers it may seem very cruel thus to deprive the Indian women and children of shelter and food at the begin- ning of winter ; but it was a necessary measure of self-preservation for the white men, who had no other means of punishing the savages for their cruel hostilities. The troops were com- pelled either to do this, or suffer their own wives and children to be murdered, and their own property carried off by the Indians.
The volunteers then continued their march to the Chickamauga towns, and even a consid- crable distance into what is now the State of Alabama. The Indian warriors ventured no. where to oppose them, and consequently they were forced to do here as they had done on the Tennessee-that is, to destroy the wigwams, pro- visions, and cattle, wherever they could find them. In their route, they found in one of the
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towns a white man, who was proved to be a British agent, that stayed among the Cherokees for the purpose of persuading and bribing them to make war upon the white settlers. It is not necessary to say what was done with him. They also found and brought home several young white persons that the Indians had taken cap- tive, and kept as slaves.
In this place it may be well to take notice, that the Indians did not always kill their pris- oners. It was indeed very seldom that a grown person was spared; but children were frequently kept by them as a sort of servants to help the squaws in their work. After awhile the cap- tives would be adopted into the tribe, and con- sidered and treated, in all respects, as Indians. In some instances, after staying some years with the savages, these young persons would become fond of that kind of life, and be unwilling to return and live with their white relatives and friends. Sometimes an Indian would save the life of a prisoner, for the sake of selling him back to his family for a high price-that is, for a rifle or a long knite.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENTS.
THE expedition spoken of in the last chanter was followed by several others, undertaken against different Indian towns. Especially one. under the command of Colonel Sevier himself. was entirely successful in breaking up some strongholds of the Indians, called the middle towns, and situated in the mountains about the head-waters of the Little Tennessee. By these various disasters the Cherokees were much dis- abled, and disposed, at least for some time. to behave themselves peaceably. In consequence of this state of things, the settlements were ron- idly advanced, and early in the year 17:2. a fow cables might be seen scattered along the south side of the French Broad River.
On the 15th of August, 17-2, the first Circuit Court ever heldt in Tennessee, under the author- ity of North Carolina; comwieneed its session at Jonesborough. Honorable Spruce MeCay was
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the Judge; Waightstill Avery. Attorney for the State, and John Sevier, Clerk. In the next year, Washington county was again divided, and a new county formed, with the name of Greene, in honor of General Nathanael Greene, of the Continental Army. About the same time, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a law, fixing the boundary line between the Indians and the white settlers. But as the Cherokees were not consulted in this matter, the claim of the State to the described line had still to be made good by western ritles.
About this time, also, a great quantity of land in East Tennessee was disposed of by the Gov- ernment of North Carolina. Some of this was given to the soldiers who had served in the Revolutionary War, and some was sold to any one who would buy it. North Carolina, like the other States, was very rauch in debt, and the lands thus sold were generally paid for, not in money, but in claims against the State called specie certifentre. The price of the land, as fixed by law, was ten pounds per hundred acres. Ten pounds. Carolina currency, being equal to twenty dollars, we see that the Ene bottoms in East Tennessee, now worth fit' v dollar, per dere, were then bought for twenty cents.
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It had now been fourteen years since the first cabin was built by Captain Bean, at Wa- tauga, and the settlements had not yet ad- vanced farther west than the French Broad. But they had become every year stronger and more populous, and, except on the western and southern outskirts, there was no longer any use for stations, or any great dread of Indian massacres. And, although game was still plentiful, people did not "miss a dinner because the ride snapped." Suficient land hal been cleared to raise an abundance of corn and other crops, and the farmers had plenty of cattle and hogs, and they were always fat. Even some apples and peaches had now been raised, for the delight of the robust boys and ruddy girls of Watauga and Nolichucky.
Still, in all this plenty of the substantial means of living, the people enjoyedl no lux- uries and few conveniences. They and some water-mills to grind corn, but no means of waking good tour. Even their sait had rate brought.from August. in Georgia, on park- horses, and sometimes cost as high as ten dollars per bushel. The sugar they usel was made from the trees in the forest: but as cu culite and t: . these were hardly seen amongst them. The
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first court-house built in Jonesborough had a roof of shingles, put on with wooden pegs in- stead of nails, and probably there was not a pane of window-glass west of the mountains.
Amidst these great discomforts, as they may now seem to us, the inhabitants felt themselves contented and happy, and, as far as circum- stances would allow, turned their attention to the best means of improving their social condi- tion. In every neighborhood where a sufficient number of pupils-boys and girls together- could be collected, the humble log school-house was set up, in which reading, writing, and com- mon arithmetic were taught. Perhaps the number of houses for preaching and Christian worship was nearly equal to that of school- houses, and often the same building was used for both purposes. The preachers, of several denominations, were supported by the voluntary kindness and hospitality of the people.
The Revolutionary War, which bad lasted eight years, was now at an end, and Great Britain had acknowledged the thirteen prov- inces to be free and independent States. The war had left the people poor, and the govern- ments in debt, but still with the means of es- tablishing a great and prosperous nation, if theer
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could only be brought to act with prudence and moderation. As to the people of the Tennessee settlements, it was no new thing for them to be free. They had been accustomed to govern themselves, and to take care of their own affairs, from the time they first crossed the mountains. In the next three chapters, we shall see how they behaved on this occasion.
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CHAPTER XXV.
THE STATE OF FRANKLIN.
WHEN the Revolutionary War commenced, the thirteen provinces appointed delegates from each one, to meet together in Philadelphia, to consult for the publie good, and to manage the war against Great Britain. It was agreed, by a written instrument, that this body of delegates, called the "Continental Congress, * should have power to do certain things, but not others. Among the rest, this written instrament, called "Articles of Confederation," gave authority to the Congress to tax the States, but not to collect the tax from the people. This was to be done by the State Governments, and if they did not force the people to pay the tax, the law of Con- gress could do no good toward raising money. These "Articles of Confederation" regulated the power of Congress, till the year 1757, when the present " Constitution of the United States" was made and agreed to by the stones.
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At the close of the war, the Congress and the State Governments were deeply in debt, for ex- penses in carrying it on. The Congress could not force the people to pay taxes, and the States would not, or at least did not. Indeed, the war had so entirely cut off the Americans from all trade with the rest of the world, that there was scarcely any money in the country with which taxes could be paid. In this difficulty, several of the States, amongst them North Carolina; gave up to Congress all their vacant lands west of the mountains, so that by the sale of them the public debt might be paid. In this way, as the debt was mostly due to our own people. if they could not get money. they might have land for their claims.
In the month of June, 1784, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a law, granting to Congress all the territory belonging to that State between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi River. The countries of Washington. Sullivan, and Greene, lying in this territory, were thus cut off from North Carolina. The General Assembly, in the act of cession, gave to Congress two years to determine whether they would take the territory or not, ant, during that time, it was to be under the
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government of North Carolina. The members from the western counties in the General As- sembly voted for this act, as they were willing and expected soon to be organized into a sepa- rate State.
For reasons that we cannot well explain here, the Congress did not at once accept the terri- tory thus granted to them, and the inhabitants of the western counties were left without any regular, lawful government. It is true, that North Carolina had reserved to herself the right to govern them during the two years of sus- pense; but it was taken for granted that they would not long continue to be a part of that State, therefore very little attention was bestowed upon them by her authorities. In those times, before fast traveling by railways had been thought of, a community so extensive as North Carolina and Tennessee together, was considered too large to be conveniently managed; and therefore it had been expected. on all hands, that the territory west of the mountains would, at some time, be formed into a distinct govern- ment.
Well, the people of the three counties thon cht the time had now arrived, and immediately sei shout the work of providing a government fr
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themselves. Delegates, elected by each cap- inin's company, met together to consult about the best manner of proceeding. This conven- tion recommended to the people to elect dele- gates to another convention, for the purpose of forming a constitution for the new State, and putting it into operation. This convention was held accordingly, a constitution formed, and provision made for electing a governor, mell- hers of the Legislature, and other officers. To the new State was given the name of Franklin, in honor of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, the great American philosopher and patriot.
Between the times of holling the two con- ventions, the General Assembly of North Caro- lina had repealed the "cession act." by which the territory had been granted to Congress, and al-o passed several laws for the convenience mul satisfaction of the western couuties. A good many of those who had at first been in favor of forming a separate State, were satis- fel with these proceedings of North Carolina, undl were willing to continue under her juris- drtion. Among these was Colonel Sevier, who had been the president of the first cuten- tion, and hal lately been appointed brigadier- .eneral of the western militia. But the majority
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were still for separation. and the business pro- ceeded accordingly. General Sevier presided also over the convention that framed the con- stitution.
As provided for by the convention, members were elected to the Legislature of Franklin, and held their first session at Jonesborough in 1785. Among their first acts was the appointment of a governor, and that office was bestowed on General Sevier. By the constitution of the new State, the governor, judges, and many other officers, were appointed by the Legislature, that are elected by the people under the present constitution of Tennessee. David Campbell, Joshua Gist, and John Anderson, were the three judges appointed by the Legislature at this session.
At this session of the General Assembly of Franklin. among other good laws passed for the better regulation of the new State, and the benefit of the people, was one to establish " Mar- tin Academy." This was the first institution of learning established by law in what is now Tennessee -- full of colleges, academies, and high schools. The first teacher was the Rev. Samuel Doak, a Presbyterian clergyman, who had received his education at Princero .. Col! ze,
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in New Jersey. For many years this school, kept in a log cabin, was the only one, west of the mountains, where boys could be taught Latin and Greek, and in it were educated many of the leading men of Tennessee.
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CHAPTER XXVI.
STATE OF FRANKLIN.
As might have been expected, the procced- ings related in the foregoing chapter were quite distasteful to the government and people of North Carolina. While they expressed a will- ingness that the territory west of the mountains should, in a proper way, and at a proper time, become an independent State, they condemned, as irregular and unlawful, the course which the inhabitants had actually adopted. The conse- quence was, that a warm controversy sprung up between the authorities of the two States. The Governor of North Carolina issued his proclamation, asserting the rights of the parent State, and warning the people against giving countenance and support to the new govern- ment. This naturally called out a reply from Governor Sevier, in which he undertook to justify what had been done by the people of the western counties.
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But a still warmer controversy arose among the western people themselves. Many of them had, from the first, been opposed to the measure of forming a new State, and many others were dissatisfied with the constitution proposed. A third convention rejected that constitution, and. after a good deal of debate, finally agreed to adopt the constitution of North Carolina, with a few alterations. The angry discussions in the convention were taken up by the people, who were soon divided into two distinct porties, the one favoring the new State, and the other the old. Everywhere, in public and in private, men talked of little else than this absorbing subject.
In the meantime, the General Assembly of North Carolina continued to make laws, and to appoint officers for the western countics, as if still a part of the old State, and as if no separate government had been instituted. Thus was pre- sented the strange and dangerous condition of two governments and two sets of officers. exercis- ing authority over the same people at the same tine. The people were required to serve two masters at once, which the Bible well- us cannot be done. Even oue young readers can see that if' two teachers in the same school should! make
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contradictory rules-the one forbidding what the other required to be done-it would be im- posssible to obey both.
This state of things lasted for two years or more; and the great wonder is, that the western settlements were not entirely ruined by it. But the people, on both sides, had been so practiced in self-government, and so much ac- customed to think for themselves, understood so well their own rights, and so much respected the rights of others-in a word, were so prudent and patriotic, that much less mischief grew cut of the collision of authorities than might have been expected. True, there were violent quar- rels in public, and bitter enmities in private -- the two parties sometimes broke up each other's courts, destroyed the records, and resisted the officers; and in these struggles, first and last, two or thice men were killed. still, there was nothing like general violence or insecurity to life or property.
As Governor of Franklin, General Sevier ex- erted himself to maintain the authority and the dignity of the new State, while he did his whole duty in guarding the frontier against Indian hos- tilities. The seat of the Franklin Government was at Greeneville, in Greene county; and
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