USA > Tennessee > The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century: Comprising Its Settlement, as the. > Part 58
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We copy or condense from Haywood :
" In June, Scott's boat left Knoxville for Natchez, on board of which were William Scott, John Pettegrew, William Pettegrew, Mr. Tate, Mr. Young, John Harkins, three women, four children, and twenty negroen. As this boat passed down the Tennessee, it was fired upon by the Lower Cherokees of the Running Water, and at the Long Island village, with- out receiving any injury. On the other hand, the fire was returned, and two Indians were wounded. A large party of a hundred and fifty Indians then collected, headed by Unacala, the same who was wounded at the attack upon Buchanan's Station, in September, 1792, and they pursued the boat to the Muscle Shoals, where they overtook it. They killed all the white people who were in it, made prisoners of the ne- groes, and plundered the boat of its lading. The white people, in making resistance, killed three Indians and wounded a fourth.
"On the 24th of July, a party of Indians killed John Ish at his plough, in his field, within one hundred and eighty yards of his own block-house, and scalped him. Ish lived eighteen miles below Knox- ville. IIe left a wife and cleven children, the eldest not more than eleven years of age. Major King and Lieutenant Cunningham, with John Boggs and ten other Cherokees, sent by the Hanging Maw in pursuit of the offenders, returned a few days afterwards with a Creek fellow, whom the Hanging Maw wished to scalp, but was dissuaded from his purpose, and took only the war-lock, with which they danced the scalp dance all night. But the Cherokees apprehended for this act the resentment of the Creek nation. Major King, in the pursuit, came upon the trail of the murderers, leading into the path that was travelled from Coyatee to Hiwasser, which he kept to a point within two miles of Hiwassee. He there received information that those he was in pursuit of, passed with a fresh scalp about the middle of the afternoon, and would, it was supposed, tarry all night at Wococee, eight miles ahead. The pursuers went to Wococee, and, finding the murderers still ahead, they continued the pursuit till they were overtaken by a runner from Hiwassee, with information that one of Ish's murderers was behind, stopped at a little village two miles from Hiwassee. Despairing to over- take the main body, they turned back and found the Creek, as the run- ner had reported, in the house of a Cherokee. After some consultation
595
M'CLELLAND'S REPULSE OF THE OREEKS.
whether the Cherokees or white people should kill or take him, the Maw's son, Willioe, with three others, seized and tied him. Having tied him, four warriors took him in charge, who were particularly care- . ful that he should not escape until he was delivered, confined in cords, to the agent of the United States, Mr. McKee, at the Tellico Block- house, on the evening of the 28th of July. The Governor issued a commission of Oyer and Terminer for the trial of this Indian, pursuant to the stipulations contained in the treaty of New-York. A court was held by Judge Anderson, and an indictment was found by the grand jury against Obongpohego,* of Toocaucaugee, on Oakfuskee. When charged, he confessed the fact. But the court permitted him to with- draw his plea and to plead not guilty; which being done, the trial pro- ceeded, and the petit jury found him guilty of the murder of John Ish, as charged in the bill of indictment.
" On the 13th, Lieutenant McClelland, who had with him thirty-seven of Captain Evans's company, was attacked on the Cumberland path, near the Crab-Orchard, eighteen miles from South-West Point, by a body of Creeks, consisting of upwards of one hundred warriors ; he made a brave and soldierly defence, twice repelling the Creeks, but was finally compelled to retreat, with the loss of four men killed, one wounded, four missing, thirty-one horses, thirty-eight saddles and bridles, blankets, great-coats and provisions. On the side of the Creeks the loss was not ascertained, but from the obstinacy and bravery of the defence, and the report of Lieutenant McClelland and others, there was reason to believe they lost from twelve to sixteen ; the Creek commander was conspicuously bold, and was numbered amongst the slain. The white men who were killed, were Paul Cunningham, Daniel Hitchcock, William Flennegan, Stephen Renfroe; Abraham Byrd was wounded; the four men who were missing from the detachment after the action, afterwards reached South-West Point. William Lea, one of that num- ber, arrived on the 18th, and reported that he had been made prisoner by the Indians, and had escaped from them.
"On the 20th of December, a party of Indians, about two hours after dark, secreted themselves within twenty feet of the door of Thomas Cowan, and fired upon his wife and son as they stopped into the yard, and pierced the clothes of the latter with eight balls, but he escaped, under cover of the night, into the woods, and Mrs. Cowan returned into the house unhurt. The firing alarmed the neighbourhood, and Captain Baird was at Cowan's with twenty men, within an hour and a half, and patroled the woods the whole night in search of the Indians, hoping they would strike up a fire by which he could discover them ; on the next day, by order of Governor Blount, he went in pursuit of them." .
Hanging Maw declared that his nation would no longer listen to Spanish emissaries and agents, and that the Upper and Lower Towns were now disposed for peace. His over- tures had scarcely reached the Governor, when a party of . Anglice-" Dance upon nothing." . His name was thus significant of his fate. He was hung.
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506
MURDER OF VALENTINE SEVIER'S SONS.
Indians-principally Creeks-nearly one thousand strong, marched through the country towards the white settlements. Governor Blount ordered out Colonel White, with half of the military force of Knox county, to oppose them. The Chero- kee women and children were brought to the north side of the Tennessee, and placed under the protection of the block- houses, and the warriors of the Upper Towns agreed to co- operate with Colonel White in resisting the advancing Creek army. That formidable party advanced no further than Wills Town, and there dispersed in various directions. In- telligence of the victories of Wayne over the North-Western Indians had reached the Cherokees, who, apprehensive that the arms of the conquerors of their northern allies would be turned against themselves, sued for peace through Tuca- latague or Double Head, a principal chief. Governor Blount assented to a conference, to be held at Tellico, and there accepted the proposed friendship with the Cherokees, and arranged a general exchange of prisoners and of all the property taken during the war.
We have already mentioned, as given in Governor Blount's official report to the War Department, the names of some who fell victims to Indian massacre. To these are here added others, as detailed by Haywood, or furnished from other sources.
1791, June 2 .- "The Indians killed John Thompson in his own corn field, within five miles of Nashville; on the 14th of June they killed John Gibson and wounded McMoon, in Gibson's field, within eight miles of Nashville ; they killed Benjamin Kirkendall in his own house, within two miles of Colonel Winchester's, in Sumner county, and plun- dered his house of everything the Indians could use. In June, three travellers from Natchez to Nashville, were found dead on the trace near the mouth of Duck River; there were eight in company and only two come in ; on the 3d of July, Thomas Fletcher and two other men, were killed on the north side of Cumberland, near the mouth of Red River- their heads were entirely skinned ; and in the same month, a man was killed within a hundred and fifty yards of Major Wilson's, on the pub- lic road, as he was riding up to the house ; on the 12th, Thomas White was killed on the Cumberland Mountain and on the Cumberland trace. " On Monday, the 19th of January, 1792, the Indians killed Robert Sevier and William Sevier, sons of Valentine Sevier, who lived at the mouth of Red River, near the present site of Clarkesville : they had gone to the relief of the distressed families on the Cumberland River, who had sent an express for assistance ; the officers of Tennessee county
597
GENERAL ROBERTSON WOUNDED.
.could give none. A part of the crew was on shore getting provisions to be carried in boats to the sufferers; the boats were ahead of them when these young men discovered the enemy, whom they mistock for their own party, the Indians having been seen late in the evening at a considerable distance from that place. Robert Sevier hailed them, who answered they were friends, with which answer being satisfied, he sailed on, and the Indians carelessly began to chop with their hatchets, till the young men in the boats got very near them. Robert said to the man who was with him in the boats, ' these are not our friends, steer off.' The Indians then fired upon them ; the man leaped out of the boat, and left them in it about three rods distant from the shore. .Before the 25th, William was found and buried, but Robert met a party of twelve white men, pursued, but did not overtake the Indians. On . the 16th of the same month, Valentine, a third son of this unfortunate parent, also fell by the hands of the savages ; he was in a boat ascend- ing the river, and was fired upon and killed dead in it; two others were wounded, one of them, John Rice, died, and both he and Valen- tine were buried about sixty miles below the mouth of Red River. Until Valentine fell, he and two others kept up so brisk a fire, that they intimidated the Indians and saved the crew. Deprived of all his sons who had come with him to Cumberland in so short a time, the afflicted parent wrote to his brother, General Sevier, to send to him his son John to come and see him ; as, said he, in the moving language of suffering innocence, I have no other sons but small ones. On the 28th of Janu- ary, 1792, Oliver Williams and Jason Thompson, at night encamped on the road leading from Bledsoe's Station to the ford on Cumberland River, on the north side of the river, where they were fired upon by In- dians and both wounded, and their horses and other articles were taken from them. About the beginning of March, 1792, the Indians attacked the house of Mr. Thompson, within seven miles of Nashville, killed and scalped the old man, his wife, his son and a daughter, and made pri- soners Mrs. Caffrey, her son, a small boy, and Miss Thompson. On the 5th of March, 1792, twenty-five Indians attacked Brown's Station, eight miles from Nashville, and killed four boys ; on the 6th they burnt Dunham's Station ; on the 12th they killed McMurray on his own plantation, at the mouth of Stone's River ; on the 5th of April, they killed Mrs. Radcliff and three children; on the 8th they killed Benja- min Williams and party, consisting of eight men, in the heart of the Cumberland settlements ; on Station-Camp Creek a boy was wounded in three places ; at the same place two boys, sons of Robert Desha, were killed in the field in the daytime, near their father's house, and also Kirkendall, on the 16th of May, 1792, and a man on the 17th. On the 24th of May, 1792, General Robertson and his son Jonathan Rob- ertson, were at or near Robertson's Lick, half a mile from his station, where they were fired upon by a party of Indians ; the General was wounded in the arm, and thrown by his horse amongst the Indians; bis · son was wounded through the hip, but seeing the dangerous situation in which his father was, he dismounted, though so badly wounded, and fired on them as they rushed towards his father; this checked them for
598
INDIAN HOSTILITIES RENEWED.
a moment, and gave time to the General to get off, and both got safely into the station. On the 25th, a boy was wounded near the General's, and died of his wounds on the 6th of June ; on Sunday, the 13th of May, a man and two girls were fired on by the Indians within four miles of Nashville ; the man and one girl escaped, the other was tomahawked by the Indians. On the 26th of June, 1792, Zigler's Station, within two miles of Bledsoe's Lick, was attacked by a party of Indians, first in the afternoon and again by night; they killed five persons, burnt one in the station and wounded four others ; three escaped unhurt.
"On the 31st of August, an attack was made on John Birkley and his son, in his poach orchard near Bledsoe's Lick ; the former was wounded, but bravely returned the fire and killed an Indian in the act of scalping his son. On the night of the 27th of August, a party of fifteen Creeks put fire to Captain Morgan's house near the same place; the fire was extinguished and the party repulsed by the aid of Captain Lusk's company, stationed for the protection of the frontiers. On the preceding night, the same party opened the stables of James Douglass, and took his horses; the next day Samuel Wilson fell in with them, wounded one, put the party to flight and regained the horses, a gun .and a bloody blanket. Shortly before the 11th of August, 1792, the Indians killed a boy and wounded a man near Bledsoe's Lick.
" On Monday, the 8th of October, William Stuart was killed about six miles from Nashville, on the north side of Cumberland. On the night of the same day, the Indian's burnt Stump's distillery, on White's Creek, on the north side of Cumberland; On the 9th of October, a party of Indians went to Sycamore Creek, eighteen miles from Nash- ville, and burnt the house of James Frazier, Mr. Riley and of Major Coffield, a large quantity of corn, and shot down a number of hogs. They then proceeded to Bushy Creek of Red River, where they burnt the house of Obadiah Roberts, and took off a number of horses : they were followed by a party of whites, who killed one of the Indians and regained the horses.
" On the 7th of December, 1792, a party of cavalry, in service for the protection of the District of Mero, about eight miles from Nashville, was fired upon by about twenty Indians, who put them to flight, killed John Hankins, who was scalped and his body much mangled. The Indians stole horses in this district without intermission, through all the month of December, 1792.
" On the 29th of December, John Haggard was killed and scalped, about six miles from Nashville ; twelve balls were shot into him. His wife was killed by the Indians in the summer, and he left five small children in poverty and wretchedness."
Through James A. Robertson and Anthony Foster, Go- [ vernor Blount procured the attendance, at Nashville, 1792 ( of the principal chiefs and warriors of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes. The conference with them began on the 7th, and continued to the 10th of August. By Governor Blount and General Pickens, valuable goods were presented
599
CONFERENCE AT NASHVILLE WITH INDIANS.
to the Indians, as evidences of the friendship of the United States. To each of the chie s, arifle was also given, and the thanks of the Government were tendered to such of them as had assisted Wayne's operations against the northern In- dians. It was also promised, that a trading post should be established, for the benefit of the Indians, at the mouth of Bear Creek.
A few Cherokees were present during the conference at Nashville, and, it was afterwards believed, were secretly try- ing to discover the strength and situation of the country, with a view to the expedition they were then plotting against Cumberland.
" General Robertson immediately raised the militia, leaving a few to keep up the different stations ; he collected five hundred men and placed them under the command of Col. Elijah Robertson, Col. Mansco and Col. Winchester, and Captain John Rains, two miles from Nashville. A troop of horse, commanded by Colonel Hays, was ordered to discover, if possible, at what point the Indians intended to make the meditated attack.
" Abraham Castleman, one of the militia soldiers, had withdrawn bim- self from the army for some days, and at length returned and stated, that he had been as far as the Black Fox's camp, where he had seen the signs of a numerous army of Indians, and that they might shortly be expected in the neighbourhood of Nashville. The General sent off Captain Rains to ascertain the reality of the facts detailed by Castle- man : Rains took with him a young man, Abraham Kennedy, and went to the place where Murfreesborough now stands, and halted in the woods, and remainingon the ground all night, he next day made a cir- cuit around the spring where the Black Fox's camp was. The Black Fox was an Indian chief, who formerly hunted and encamped at the spring not far from the spot where now is the site of Murfreesborough. In this circuit, he examined all the paths which led to the camp from the direction of the Cherokee country ; finding no traces of Indians, he ventured to the spring ; he then returned home by way of Buchanan's Station, and informed the people that the traces of an Indian army were nowhere to be scen. Soon after the return of Captain Rains, the troops were marched back to Nashville.
"Two other men, however, were sent off to reconnoitre the country through which the Indians were necessarily to pass in coming to Nash- ville. These were Jonathan Gee and Seward Clayton, who went on the Indian . trace leading through the place where Murfreesborough now stands, to Nashville, eight or ten miles from Buchanan's Station ; as they travelled along the path talking loudly, they saw meeting them the advance of the Indian army, who called to them in English to know who they were, to which question, without disguise, they answered. Up- on being asked in return, who they were, they said they were spies from
600
DETAILS OF THE BRAVE DEFENCE AT BUCHANAN'S,
General Robertson's Station, and were returning home; both parties advanced till they came within a few steps of each other, when the In- dians fired and killed Gee dead in the road. They broke the arm of the other, who ran into the woods, but being pursued by a great number of them, they overtook and killed him also. Thence they marched rank and file, in three lines abreast, with quick step till they arrived at Buchanan's Station, where the people were wholly unapprised of their coming, and did not expect it. This was on Sunday next after the dis- charge of the troops, being the 30th of September."
In addition to the account, as given in Governor Blount's letter to the Secretary of War, of the attack on Buchanan's Station, we extract further details of that invasion, and of the remarkable and successful defence by the brave men within the fort.
" MeRory rose and looked towards the place whence they ran, and saw sixty Indians not more than a few feet from the gate of the fort ; be instantly fired through the port-hole, and killed the chief leader of the In- dians, who on receiving the wound, immediately expired. He was a Shaw- nee, and had quarrelled with Watts, who insisted upon deferring the attack uutil day, and until after the garrison had dispersed to their various avoca- tions. The whole garrison, consisting of nineteen men, flew to arma, and fired upon the Indians through the port-holes ; the Indians, in turn, fired upon the fort. Captain Rains was sent for; he and five other men went off in full gallop to Buchanan's Station, and arrived just in time to see the Indians leaving the plantation at the fort; they had lost some of their men ; some were found on the ground near the outside wall of the fort; others were carried off and buried in different places, and were after- wards found by the white people. Of the wounded, were John Watts, with a ball through one thigh, which lodged in the other, supposed to be dangerous ; the White Man Killer, the Dragging Canoe's brother, the Owl's son, a young man of the Lookout Mountain, a Creek war- rior, who died, and a young warrior of the Running Water, who died. " There were also sundry young Cherokee warriors with Watts, besides those who lived in the five Lower Towns, particularly John Walker and George Fields, two young half-breeds who had been raised amongst the white people, and in whom, every one who knew them, had the utmost confidence. The former was quite a stripling, and, apparently, the most good-natured youth the Governor ever saw ; for so he thought him. They acted as the advanced spies of Watts's party, and decoyed and killed Gee and Clayton. The Cherokees said that many of the Creeks kept at such a distance from the station, that they could hardly shoot a bullet to it. With Watts, there were sixteen Cherokees from Hiwas- see ; one from Keuka ; five from Connasauga, and one from Strington's.
" When the Indians retired, General Robertson hastily collected what troops he could, and pursued them to Hart's big spring, near Stewart's Creek. It was discovered that they marched out as well as in, in three columns. The general's force, not being more than a hundred and
001
AND HEROIC REPULSE AT GREENFIELD.
eighty men, and that of the enemy being greatly superior, and they having got far ahead, he deemed it most advisable to return home, which he did."
Indian aggressions were repeated almost daily, and evi- [ denced that a numerous body of Indians was in the 1798 ( neighbourhood, as a small party would not have been so daring as to continue their repeated attacks, and still remain near the scenes of their atrocious cruelties, ready to renew and extend them. An opportunity was soon found by the Indians to attack the station near Greenfield. This was a position of some strength, and guarded by a few men. A number of negroes had left the station early in the morning of April 27, to work in the adjoining fields. As was the general custom, a sentinel, John Jarvis, accompanied them. About two hundred and sixty Indians had, the previous night, formed an ambuscade, not far from the field, and when the horses were attached to the ploughs by the negroes, and their attention was directed to their work, they were sud- denly fired upon by the Indians, who formed a line between them and the fort across a field, so as to cut off their retreat, and intercept them, should they attempt it in the direction of the station. As soon as the firing and the war whoop reach- ed the men in the fort, four of them-William ITall, William Neely, William Wilson and another-snatched up their guns and ran to the gate of the station, from which point they could see over the entire field, where the enemy was pur- suing the sentinel and the negroes. It was evident that without a bold and immediate rescue, their comrades would all be killed. Hall and the other soldiers dashed impetuous- ly forward, and met the advancing Indian column at a cross fence in the field, received their fire, took the fence from them, killing three or four of the warriors, and keeping the whole of them in check, until all but one of the unarmed negroes reached the fort. This one was shot on his retreat, and after he had got fifty yards within the fence, from which the whites were firing. Poor Jarvis was unfortunately killed. It is remarkable, that though nearly a hundred guns were fired at the gallant men who were bravely repulsing the Indians, distant not more than thirty yards, not one of them
602
GENERAL HALL'S GALLANTRY.
was seriously hurt. Mr. Hall was without his hat-a ball passed through his hair, cutting it off close to the skin, and abrading it about three or four inches long, but doing slight damage. The little party gained the fort, under a heavy fire from the Indians. This they kept up for a considerable time, but at such a distance that the guns from the station could not reach the enemy. During their firing, the Indians caught all the horses and took them off, carrying upon them a number of their dead and wounded, raising the war whoop as they marched off.
This repulse, at Greenfield, of two hundred and sixty war- riors, well armed and flushed with late successes, made by four men, exposed to the constant fire of the Indians during the whole attack, is almost without a parallel. One of the brave men who participated in it, General William Hall, of Sum- ner county, still survives, venerated and esteemed by his countrymen for his gallantry, his patriotism and private worth. He has since occupied the highest stations in the civil and military service of his state, and presents a proud specimen of the heroic age and of the early times of Ten- nessee. The three comrades of Hall exhibited also signal bravery, which, in the case of Neely and Hall, was stimu- lated by the spirit of revenge each of them felt for the loss, by the savages, of a father and two brothers, on previous occasions. Such intrepidity awed the assailants from fur- ther attempts upon the station, and they withdrew from that place. But, upon the next day, Francis Ransom was killed on the Kentucky Trace, near the Dripping Spring.
In the spring of this year, more than six hundred Creek 1793 § warriors crossed the Tennessee, at the Lower Chero- ( kee Towns, on a war excursion against the Cumber- land settlements. Small detachments of this body scattered themselves in every direction, and perpetrated mischief where- ever it could be effected with safety, or wherever the stations were defenceless. The people were incensed that the Gov- ernment left them thus without protection, and was so tardy in making provision for their defence. Their complaints, on account of this neglect, induced Governor Blount to do some- thing for their relief. On the 29th of April, he sent one
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