Life of General John Sevier

UC-NRLF

BID MM2

LIFE OF GENERAL JOHN SEVIER

62

LIFE OF

GENERAL JOHN
SEVIER

BY

FRANCIS M. TURNER, A.B., A.M.
»\

NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON

THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY

1910

COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY
THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE 7

CHAPTER

I. THE SEVIER FAMILY .... n
II. EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN EAST TEN
NESSEE 22

III. THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION . . 36

IV. THE FIGHTING HEROES OF WA

TAUGA 48

V. INDIAN DISTURBANCES ... 62
VI. THE VOYAGE OF THE "ADVENTURE "
AND SKIRMISHES WITH THE

BRITISH 90

VII. THE UPRISING OF THE WATAUGANS 108
VIII. THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN 125
IX. BATTLES WITH THE INDIANS . . 136
X. THE STATE OF FRANKLIN . . 153
XL UNHAPPY EVENTS ON THE WEST
ERN BORDER 171

XII. THE TERRITORY SOUTH OF THE

OHIO RIVER 186

XIII. THE CLOSING DAYS 211

At r\ -4 j*\

JOHN SKVIKR

ntOHTISPUCI

PREFACE

WHEN a boy reads the biography of a
great man, he is especially interested in the
hero's boyhood days — his joys and sorrows,
struggles and victories; and he is always dis
appointed if nothing has been said about that
period of the hero's life. The fact that
the youthful period of Sevier's life had
been neglected, led me to write this little
volume. During my school days, when
I read about the wonderful battles which
General Sevier fought with the dusky war
riors of the forest, and about the terrible
clash with the British at King's Mountain,
I wondered if anything reliable had been
written about his boyhood days. Later
I was disappointed to find that the biogra
phy of an American hero, a man who had
been instrumental in turning the tide of the
Revolution at King's Mountain, had been sadly
neglected. In all my early investigations I
could not find a book 'that furnished the in
formation I was seeking. I read Ramsey's
" Annals of Tennessee " and Gilmore's " Rear
guard of the Revolution " and " John Sevier

8 PREFACE

as a Commonwealth-Builder," the last-named
not being a biography and very unreliable
history; these books, though full of interest
ing matter, did not give me enough about the
early life of General Sevier and about other
neglected parts of his interesting career.

Next I wrote letters of inquiry. By this
plan I found, in the Draper Manuscript Col
lection in the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, many letters and manuscript
statements containing much desirable infor
mation about Sevier. In 1844, Doctor Draper
visited three sons of General Sevier and had
personal interviews with them, taking notes
of the information he gathered. He also re
ceived many letters from them, some of which
contain much biographical and genealogical
material. It was pure love for historical in
vestigation that led the venerable Doctor
Draper thus to preserve for mankind much
information of this kind. This is the first
time this valuable manuscript matter about
Sevier's life has been presented in history or
biography.

This book was written for those who love
to read about the deeds of the heroes who
fought for our freedom and caused the light
of peace and civilization to shine upon our
" land of the free and home of the brave."

PREFACE 9

My thanks are due to Mr. L. C. Burke,
Librarian of the State University of Wis
consin, who went through the Draper manu
scripts carefully and copied for me such ma
terial as I desired. My thanks are also due
to Doctor Reuben Gold Thwaites, the well-
known author, who, as Secretary of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin, very kindly
aided me with information concerning the
Draper manuscripts. I must also thank Doc
tor E. W. Kennedy, Professor of History in
the Peabody College for Teachers, Mr. A. V.
Goo'd pasture, author and Secretary of the
Tennessee Historical Society, Mr. J. W. Shep
herd, Nashville, Author, and Doctor Arthur
Howard Noll, of the University of the South,
Sewanee, who kindly read my manuscript and
made suggestions and corrections.

FRANCIS M. TURNER.

CHRISTIANA HIGH SCHOOL, April 24, 1909.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER

CHAPTER I

THE SEVIER FAMILY

IN THE sixteenth century the town of
Xavier, in Navarre, in the French Pyrenees,
gave its name to the family of one of its
most famous citizens, upon whom the Roman
Church a century later conferred the title of
Saint. St. Francis was of noble parentage
and was born in the castle of Navier on April
7th, 1506. He was educated at the College
of St. Barbe, Paris, and during his student
days he became acquainted with Ignatius de
Loyola. Some years later these two, with
others, founded the Society of Jesus, or the
Order of the Jesuits, as it is usually called.
St. Francis was afterwards sent by the
Order to the East as a missionary. He vis
ited Japan and many of the islands, and, with
his staff of assistants, baptised in a single
month ten thousand natives of the little king
dom of Travancore. He died in 1552 on his
way to undertake a mission to China. Sev
enty years later he was canonized, that is, de-
ii

12 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

clared by the Roman Church entitled to be
called Saint Francis, though he is generally
known as thr*crApostle of the Indies."

About this time the Protestants of France,
called Huguenots, werV>becoming numerous
and powerful, despite the persecutions to
which they were subjected in the reign of
Francis I. and the famous massacre of St.
Bartholomew's Day, August 24th, 1572.
They were the Puritans of France and were
generally noted for their virtuous conduct
and the purity of their lives. In 1598 King
Henry IV. of France issued the Edict of
Nantes, which secured to them full political
and civil rights and protected them from per
secution. In 1685 Louis XIV. revoked the
Edict, and the persecution of the Huguenots
began again and was pursued with such vio
lence as to force hundreds of them into exile
in Prussia, the Netherlands, Switzerland,
England, and America, or wherever the
rights of Protestants were respected.

Strange as it may seem, some of the fam
ily of St. Francis Xavier, living at Xavier,
and bearing the name of the town as a fam
ily name, had embraced the Protestant re
ligion, and one of them, a devout young
Huguenot, was among the first to leave
France after the revocation of the Edict of1

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 13

Nantes. He settled in London and there the
family name of Xavier was gradually
changed to Sevier. He married a woman
named Smith, by whom he had a son, born
some time in the year 1703. In or before
1740, this son, Valentine 'Sevier,1^ ran away
from home and came to the New World.
He found a home in the beautiful Shenan-
doah Valley, Virginia, in what was then
Augusta County, but is now within the lim
its of Rockingham County.1

In course of time Valentine Sevier met
Miss Joanna Goade,2 and some time later mar
ried her. It was a very happy marriage and
the two were held in high esteem by all the
neighbors and friends. On September 23,
1745, this marriage was blessed with a son,
to whom the name John was given*" Little
did these young parents fancy their babe
would live to be one of the world's heroes;
little did they think then that he would one
day help to smite the enemy of his country
and make way for peace and civilization ; little
did they dream, perhaps, that he would ever be
a ruler among his people, General John
Sevier.

Valentine Sevier, John's father, had a
country store, a small mercantile business,

1 Draper MSS. 2 Draper MSS.

14 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

and a farm; and his son John was taught to
labor in the field, learning the noblest of oc
cupations. John was very fond of horses
and dogs, and living on the frontier of the
colony, near the region of wild game, he also
became exceedingly fond of hunting. When
tired of the monotony of farm life, nothing
pleased him more than to shoot squirrels and
turkeys in the1 mountains or, in company with
his boy friends, to mount his favorite horse
and ride away into the distant woodlands
with the pack of hounds for a fox-chase or
a deer-hunt. The yelping of the hounds was
fascinating to him, and he would put the
spurs to his horse and gallop away to some
high hill to listen to the music of the chase.
Hunting wild game developed his powers as
a marksman, and riding the chase gave him
the fine physical £orm for which he was dis
tinguished in after life as a soldier and
general.

In Sevier's youth the South had no public
free schools, though there existed in most
communities the " old-field school/' supported
by those who chanced to have an interest in
it. But at best this was a very poor place
to obtain an "education." The school-house,
built of logs and daubed with mud or
mortar, was often so open in construction

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 15

that school could not be kept in it during
the winter months. It was furnished with
benches made of slabs hewed from split logs,
each slab resting upon four legs driven in
auger holes, two at each end. An opening
or two, made in the wall of the building and
furnished usually with wooden shutters,
served as windows, and a "stick and dirt"
chimney formed a very wide fire-place at one
end of the room.

As for the teacher, he was usually a stern
old fellow whom the scholars feared rather
than loved or respected. He was much more
skilful in the use of the rod than in imparting
knowledge, for he had very little learning to
impart. Spelling and writing, a little gram
mar, and a smattering of arithmetic were
about all he could teach. He usually had
a long list of rules which he read daily to his
pupils for the regulation of their conduct, and
often some unfortunate pupil who had vio
lated the " rules " had to wear the " dunce
cap " or was caned. There were no copy
books, except what the schoolmaster and his
pupils contrived to make of fool's cap paper.
Pens were made of goose-quills. The school
master was very skilful in making these pens
and in " setting copies " for his pupils. The
pupils studied their lessons aloud, and now

16 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

and then the stern voice of the old master,
followed by a rap on a bench, awakened some
idle pupil to greater efforts to get his lesson.
But there existed throughout the country a
few academies and private schools in which
some of our greatest patriots and statesmen
were educated after they had left the old-
field schools. Books were rare in the colo
nies, but well read. Shakespeare, a few vol
umes of history and biography, and the Bible
comprised the library of the frontier settle
ments.

In spite of these drawbacks young Sevier
was fairly well educated for his time. He
was a student for some time in the academy
at Staunton, Virginia, and applied himself
with reasonable diligence and acquired a good
knowledge of English, as his subsequent cor
respondence shows. While attending school
at Staunton, he fell into a mill race one day
and would have been drowned had he not
been rescued by two ladies, sisters, one of
whom was later the wife of Governor Mat
thews of Georgia.3 As long as he lived, when
ever opportunity offered, he showed his grat
itude to these ladies for their rescue of him
in his youth.

When his school days were over, John re-
3 Draper MSS.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 17

turned to his home and became a clerk in his
father's store.4 His father had become some
what dissipated and spent a good part of his
time at Culpeper Court House, gambling
and drinking. Such indulgences were very
common in those days and were not regarded
in the way they are at present. Fortunately
John never had any such bad habits, and was
not even addicted to the use of tobacco. He
had pleasant manners which won him many
friends, and he was naturally kind and cour
teous to his customers ; best of all, he was so
honest and sincere that he had the respect of
all with whom he was associated.

About the time young Sevier was attend
ing school at Staunton, Benjamin Franklin
was postmaster-general, the mail was begin
ning to be carried by stage-coaches, cities
were growing rapidly, and there were seven
newspapers published in the colonies. Many
planters read the papers and kept informed
on the political, social, and religious topics
of the day. Books by American authors
were beginning to be read. Franklin's wise
sayings in " Poor Richard's Almanac " were
eagerly read by people in all the colonies. It
was not by any means a time of mental stag
nation; the tide of political, social, and relig-
4 Draper MSS.

i8 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

ions affairs forced the minds of men to great
activity.

The school days of Sevier ended at Staun-
ton. William and Mary College was the
best-equipped of the colonial institutions of
learning, and it was customary for the sons
of the better class of planters who desired an
education to enter that institution for their
degrees and training for professional life.
But study was irksome to John Sevier's ac
tive nature, and he did not enter William
and Mary. He seems not to have aspired to
distinction in, a professional career in the
fields of science or literature. His was the
mission of the soldier and statesman, and he
was to become one of the pioneers of civiliza
tion in its westward journey.

A great many wild tales are told of
Sevier's fights with the Indians in his youth ;
and, while we cannot rely upon them all as
true, we do know, that he grappled 'with
the dusky fellows while yet in his teens. In
a letter to Doctor Draper in 1844, Major
James Sevier, son of John Sevier, says of his
father: "Near the close of the old French
Avar, Sevier was out on, several scouts on the
Virginian frontiers and on one occasion, with
others, came near getting into an ambuscade,
but fortunately discovered the net in good

THE LIFE -OF SEVIER 19

time to escape. This was his first military
service and experience."

After leaving the academy at Staunton,
and while yet a merchant in his father's
store, young Sevier began to devise plans for
launching out into the sea of life in his own
little bark. Like many another American, he
had learned early to paddle his own canoe.
The cause of such serious considerations, suf
fice it to say, "was the fact that he had fallen
in love. This passion of love, growing
stronger day by day, may have been one of
the chief causes of his leaving the acadeniy
and ending his school days when he did.
History is silent as to this. He seems to have
been devoted entirely to the young woman,
Sarah Hawkins. She was a tender, deli
cate young lady; and her delicacy and pure
modesty constituted the youth!s ideal. She
may have been a schoolmate, and was doubt
less the first lover of his youth. The wedding
took place in 1761*

After this union, which proved a happy
one, young Sevier tried his hand at farming
on a tract of land called Long Meadows.7
This work was well suited to his taste, as
he could here indulge his fondness for horses
and dogs and hunting more freely than he
5 Draper MSS. « Ibid. 7 Ibid.

20 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

could if engaged in the mercantile pursuits.
Those who have enjoyed the freedom and in
dependence of farm life, and the peace and
happiness which dwell in the humble cottage,
can easily imagine the supreme happiness of
this young husband and wife on the little
farm at Long Meadows.

Sevier's business at Long Meadows was on
too small a scale to satisfy his ambitions and
he remained there only a few years. He
bought a tract of land in the Shenandoah
Valley, near Mt. Jackson, and laid off town
lots, founding a little town which he named
New Market, and which still exists under
that name, and has a population of about
seven hundred. In this town he established
himself as a farmer, inn-keeper, and mer
chant. He gave the Baptist Church three
acres of land on which to erect a church
building. He dealt in dry-goods, groceries
and such other articles as were in demand,
the settlers along the valley and from the hills
proving good customers. It often happened
that the Indians came down from the moun
tains and exchanged their peltries for beads,
looking-glasses, gay-colored cloths, and such
other things as were attractive to them.

Sevier remained in New Market several
years and prospered, but, desirous of doing

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 21

greater things in the world for his wife, and
rapidly increasing family, he began to yearn
for a new field of activity. So, in 1770, he
moved to Millerstown in Shenandoah
County,8 only a few miles from New Market.
While living here he began to travel and ex
plore. Formerly he had been seeking his
fortune in the northern part of the Shenan
doah Valley; now he turned his attention
towards the wilderness of the great South
west in the region known to-day as East
Tennessee.

s Draper MSS.

CHAPTER II

EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN EAST TENNESSEE

BEFORE considering the early settlements
in the regions now known as East Tennessee
and the advent of our hero into that terri
tory, it will be well to take a panoramic view
of the vast wilderness west of the stately
mountains which tower above the rippling
waters of the Watauga, and to take a look
at its early dwellers.

Standing on these lofty mountain heights,
the explorer might have beheld a wide ex
panse of forest, a forest clothing one of the
richest and most beautiful spots on the face
of the earth. In the distance vast herds of
buffaloes grazed, bear lurked in the dense
cane-brake, and deer fled over the hills. By
day, the wilderness was flooded with the
music of countless song-birds; by night, the
solitude was broken by the howls of wolves,
the screams of panthers, and the hoots of
horn-owls. This wild but beautiful country
was the inter-tribal park and hunting-ground

22

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 23

of the Red Man of the forest. Living
among these mountains as the Cherokee did,
we do not wonder that he left us so many
poetical names. Think of the sweetness of
sound in the name Watauga.

The taste and disposition of the Indians dif
fered from those of the white men. They
were naturally very fond of athletic games ; *
they enjoyed foot-racing and wrestling, and
dancing was a favorite pastime. The war-
dance was usually indulged in before going
upon the war-path. One of their most popu
lar games was played with balls and rackets,
somewhat like the modern game of lacrosse.
The ball, usually about the size of a base
ball, was made of deer-skin, stuffed hard wTith
hair. This ball was knocked by rackets made
of sticks about two feet long, strung with
raw-hide. The game was sometimes played
by select players, but often by all the young
men of a village. One village frequently
played against another, or one tribe strove
for the championship against another tribe.
When they came together at the appointed
time and place, every player arrayed in his
best, they found great crowds of spectators
assembled to see the contest. All things be
ing ready, the game was ushered in by sol-
1 Bartram, Adair.

24 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

emn dances and religious ceremonies. Dur
ing the game a successful hit was followed
by loud applause from the enthusiastic
crowd. The excited players often rushed
together in a scrimmage, each side eager to
win, and one or two players came out of the
contest with broken bones. All these games
and sports helped to develop the fine physique
of the Indian warrior.

Many tribes claimed access to the common
hunting-ground, but no tribe dared to make
a home within its boundaries, lest the other
tribes combine for its complete extermination.
The particular tribes claiming an interest in
the coveted hunting-ground were the Creek,
the Chickasaw, the Uchee, the Shawnee, the
Chickamauga, and the Cherokee. The last
two most directly concern us at present.

In order to appreciate the peculiar diffi
culties which confronted the white man in
his attempts to settle in this wilderness, we
shall have to understand the fiery, martial
spirit of the Cherokees especially. Their
tribal name is derived from Cheera, which
means fire, and fire is regarded their lower
heaven. They call their medicine men
Cheera-tahge, or the men possessed of di
vine fire. Forty years before the break
ing out of the Revolutionary war, this pow-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 25

erful tribe had, it is said, sixty- four towns ;
and old traders estimated the number of their
warriors to be above six thousand. They
liked war and were not content unless en
gaged in martial conflicts. In reply to an
earnest appeal of the white people, that they
establish peace between themselves and the
Tuscaroras, they said : " We cannot live
without war. Should we make peace with
the Tuscaroras, we must immediately look
out for some other, with whom we can be
engaged in our beloved occupation." They
loved a brave man and despised a coward.

Speaking of the Indian's passion for re
venge, one writer has said : " I have known
them to go a thousand miles for the purpose
of revenge, in pathless woods, over hills and
mountains, through large cane-swamps full
of grape-vines and briars, over broad lakes,
rapid rivers, and deep creeks; all the way
endangered by poisonous snakes, if not with
the rambling and lurking enemy; while, at
the same time, they were exposed to the ex
tremities of heat and cold, the vicissitudes of
the seasons, to hunger and thirst, . . .
to fatigues and other difficulties. Such is
their over-boiling revengeful temper, that
they utterly contemn all those as imaginary
trifles, if they are so happy as to get the

26 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

scalps of the murderer or enemy, to satisfy
the supposed craving ghost of their deceased
relations." These characteristics, existing
to a more or less degree in all Indians, were
fully developed in the Cherokee and the
Chickamauga. Intellectually, the Cherokee
tribe was among the strongest of American
tribes. We shall learn more of this tribe,
and find that John Sevier was perhaps the
only man on the frontier who could outgen
eral its cunning warriors.

The English pushed into this romantic re
gion, and established Fort Loudon in 1756.
This region was included in the grant which
Charles II. made in 1663 to a company of
men called Lords Proprietors, the grant in
cluding the country between the present
States of Virginia and Florida, and extend
ing from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. A
small settlement sprang up under the protec
tion of this fort, but the old fort has a sad
story to tell.

The Cherokees assisted the English in
their second expedition against the French at
Fort Duquesne, which brought victory and
peace to the English, gaining for the crown
of Great Britain the Ohio country and all the
territory south to the Gulf of Mexico and east
2 Adair.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 27

of the Mississippi River, except the Isle Or
leans. The Indian warriors had lost many
of their horses in this expedition, and, as
they were returning to their homes, they
caught some horses running at large in Vir
ginia. The Virginians became offended at
the Indians and killed some of their warriors,
and then the Cherokee warriors, of course,
desired revenge. Gathering together a large
band of warriors, they took the war-path and
in 1758 laid siege to Fort Loudon under the
command of Captains Demere and Stuart.
The whites sent out for help, but their mes
sengers were murdered by the Indians. A
few friendly squaws stole in by a secret pas
sage at night with a small supply of beans,
but this was not sufficient to satisfy their
hunger, and the starving inmates fell to eat
ing the flesh of their horses and dogs. Fi
nally Captain Stuart went to Chota to ask for
terms. It was agreed that the whites should
abandon the fort, with its guns and powder,
and return to their homes in Virginia and
North Carolina. They had the promise of
a safe passage through the Indian country
under the protection of an escort of Indian
warriors. They encamped the night after
their departure near an Indian village on the
Tellico plains. The next morning about day-

28 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

light a band of infuriated Cherokees fell
upon them, and few were left to tell the
mournful story of the massacre that ensued.
It is said that the Indians afterwards made
a fence of the bones of the dead white men
left upon the plains after this terrible mas
sacre.

From this time on, the Indians were very
jealous of the encroachments of the white
men upon their lands, but traders continued
to traffic with them, and hunters and trappers
frequently crossed over the mountains, ex
ploring and hunting in the new country. Re
turning to the East, they fascinated their
neighbors with glowing descriptions of the
magnificent region. Daniel Boone, the cele
brated hunter and explorer, wras among the
first to explore and hunt in these western
wilds. It is said that while standing on the
summit of the Alleghanies, facing the beauti
ful region into which he was about to enter,
he exclaimed to his companion : " I am
richer than the man in Scripture who owned
the cattle on a thousand hills. I own the
wild beasts of a thousand valleys."

Boone pushed on into the unexplored wil
derness, hunting the wild beasts \vith his
flint-lock rifle. He caused the light of his
bravery and invincible spirit of adventure to

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 29

illuminate the pathway of the pioneer when
he took his hunting-knife and carved on a
large beech-tree standing on the bank of
Boone's Creek the inscription : " D Boon
Cilled A Bar On Tree in The yEar 1760."

Story after story about the new country
was related till it became common talk in the
towns along the Atlantic. After the French
and Indian War, a few people, impelled by
British tyranny and allured by hopes of ob
taining better lands and more independence,
made up their minds to move into the new
country. The French had told the Indians
that the English, if victorious in gaining pos
session of the territory claimed by France,
would take their lands from them and de
prive them of their hunting-grounds. So,
when the French were defeated, the Indians
believed that the English would next fall
upon them and seize their hunting-grounds.
To quiet their apprehensions, George III. of
England issued a proclamation in 1/63 pro
hibiting any private purchase of land by any
citizen or any grant of lands, by any gov
ernor, west of the sources of the streams
which flow into the Atlantic. He also said
that none of his subjects should make settle
ments on individual lands west of the sources
of these streams.

30 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

This order of the king prevented many
people from settling in the fertile region ex
plored by Boone and his companions, but the
thrilling stories stirred the adventurous spirit
of a few pioneers who were willing to risk
the king's displeasure. So they crossed the
mountains and made their settlements, claim
ing, as an excuse for violating the proclama
tion, the treaty of Fort Stanwix, a treaty
made in October, 1767, which fixed a bound
ary line for the Indians of the Six Nations
and conceded to the British the whole coun
try south of the Ohio River.

The physical formation of this beautiful
region was very favorable for an inflow of
immigration. It was as if some Titanic
power had plowed a deep furrow in the mid
dle of the great Alleghanies, forming the
beautiful long valley extending from Vir
ginia into the picturesque region explored by
Boone and others. Along this valley ran
the old war-path of the various Indian
tribes. It was an inviting pathway to the
Southwest, and it received the impress of
some of the best families of Virginia.

The North Holston Settlement was founded
in what is now Sullivan County, Tennes
see. The leading family in it was the Shel
bys. General Evan Shelby, who settled at

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 31

King's Meadows, was a noted Indian fighter,
and his son, Colonel Isaac Shelby, later
fought heroically in the battle of King's
Mountain. In Tennessee the family name is
preserved in Shelby County, in the south
western part of the State, and in the town
of Shelbyville, the county-seat of Bedford
County, near the center of the State. The
Carter's Valley Settlement, made about
1770, was in what is now Hawkins County,
Tennessee, and was a part of the Virginia
settlement which had been extended down
from Wolf Hills.

The most noted of the four western settle
ments was the one made at Watauga, on the
Watauga River, near the present Elizabeth-
ton, Tennessee. The first settler was Wil
liam Bean, a bold hunter from Virginia, who
had previously hunted with Boone in this
region. Their old camping-ground was on
Boone's Creek, a tributary of Watauga
River, not very far from that river, and in
1769 Bean built his hut on the very spot
where he and Boone had previously camped
together. There in that lonely cabin his son,
Russell Bean, was born, the first \vhite child
born in what is now the State of Tennessee.
Other people, from Virginia, settled near
Bean's cabin; and, soon afterwards, came

32 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

many settlers from Wake County, North
Carolina, in search of homes, many of whom,
as soldiers, had seen the rich country as they
went to the relief of Fort Loudon in 1758.

An important event in the early days of
Watauga was the arrival of James Robert
son in the spring of 1770. Though he came
from North Carolina, he was a native of
Brunswick County, Virginia. He was taci
turn and thoughtful, and in every way a man
well suited to the trying position which he
was about to assume. He was hospitably en
tertained by a hunter and recent settler at
Watauga named Honeycut and by William
Bean. Deciding at once to make his home
at Watauga, he selected and cleared a spot
of ground and planted and raised a crop of
corn.

After harvesting his first crop of corn,
Robertson set out for North Carolina for his
family and a few neighbors who were de
sirous of moving to the new settlements. On
recrossing the mountains, he got lost. Wan
dering about for some time, he came to a
cliff where he had to leave his horse. Heavy
showers fell and drenched his powder so that
he could not kill any game for food. For
fourteen days he trudged about in the moun-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 33

tains without anything to eat, except a few
nuts and berries, and became so weak that he
despaired of ever reaching his home again.
Accidentally two hunters chanced to find him.
They gave him food, furnished him a horse
to ride, and soon he returned to Watauga
with his family and the neighbors he had
guided to their new homes.

British aggression in the colonies since the
French and Indian war had been arousing the
spirit of independence and resistance and now
gave a new impulse to immigration into this
region from North Carolina. In 1771 this
impetus was strengthened by the defeat of the
popular uprising in the eastern colonies. The
Regulators, citizens banded together to resist
the imposition of taxes by England, and the
efforts of Governor Tryon to impose other
taxes for the building of an executive man
sion, were defeated in the battle of Alamance
on the 1 6th of May and forced into retreat
before the royal troops. They were not
cowed by their defeat, however, these North
Carolinians ; " like the mammoth, they shook
the bolt from their brow and crossed
the mountain " and were received with glad
ness by the settlers at Watauga. With this
voluntary exile to the western wilds began

34 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

the exodus from North Carolina which
swelled the population of the little settle
ment, and gave the Wataugans a prominent
place in history.

In 1772 Jacob Brown settled on the north
bank of the Nolichucky River, founding the
second south Holston, or Nolichucky Settle
ment, which was one of the most noted of
the western settlements. By the Indians the
river was called Nonachunheh, which means
rapid or precipitous. This beautiful river
rises high up in the Alleghanies and flows
down the mountain side through scenery
beautiful beyond description. Brown was a
merchant, and in exchange for the small store
of goods brought with him on a single pack-
horse, he secured the lease of a large tract
of land from the Cherokees. He afterwards
leased portions of his land to other settlers,
thus making considerable profits.

The persecuted people living on the At
lantic seaboard were glad to find such a re
treat, and the settlements were thronged with
people of the best blood of North Carolina
and Virginia. Here they felt secure from
the oppression of the colonial government.
Living in the shadow of the Alleghanies as
they did, we do not wonder that the love of

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 35

freedom swelled every man's bosom; and
it is not surprising to see them rise up from
their mountain homes, like the Swiss, when
the time came to strike a blow for freedom
and independence.

CHAPTER III

THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION

ANGLO-SAXONS have always been charac
terized by a love of law and order and free
institutions. The settlements on the banks
of the Watauga lay in the red man's Garden
of Eden, and peace and friendship prevailed
in every cabin till fugitives from justice
crept into the new settlements, fugitives
from the States along the Atlantic. Then
the settlers felt the need of a fixed system
of government, by which violations of the
law could be punished. They were too far
back in the wilderness to be under the imme
diate protection of either North Carolina or
Virginia, and, as they could not live peaceably
and prosperously without courts to regulate
their affairs, the demands of the people be
came greater with the rapid increase of popu
lation.

Imagine the critical condition of these set
tlements. When they first settled on the
banks of the Watauga, they thought they
36

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 37

were within the bounds of Virginia; but, in

1771, the boundary line between North Car
olina and Virginia was surveyed from Steep
Rock to Beaver Creek, and, much to the dis
appointment of the Wataugans, it was dis
covered that the settlements were in North
Carolina. Virginia at once made a treaty
with the Cherokees, making the boundary
line of their lands identical with the new
State line. The settlers could no longer rely
upon Virginia for protection ; they were be
yond the reach of the authority of North
Carolina and living on Indian lands con
trolled by the King of England; the King's
proclamation forbade their purchasing any of
the land upon which they had built their
cabins and lawless bands of fugitives and out
laws from the seaboard annoyed them day
and night. The whole situation was distress
ing in the extreme, and the prospects became
still more gloomy, when, in the spring of

1772, Alexander Cameron, British Agent of
the Southern Indians, warned the settlers off
the Indian lands.

Fortunately, the Cherokees had been en
gaged in war with the Creeks and Chicka-
saws so incessantly that their ranks were
thinned and their martial spirits quieted for
a time. Having been terribly beaten by the

38 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Chickasaws, they were in a state of mind to
be friendly toward the settlers, and they even
expressed a desire that the settlers be allowed
to remain in their new homes, provided, of
course, they would not make any further en
croachments.

This act of kindness on the part of the
Cherokees gave some relief to the settlers,
who were determined to remain in their cab
ins, for the hardships of the frontier-life did
not affect them as much as the acts of the
English authorities east of the Alleghanies.
Finally they decided to form a free govern
ment of their own, and in 1772 came to
gether to try their hands at commonwealth-
building. The meeting was held at Watauga.
They drew up and adopted the " Articles of
the Watauga Association," and formed the
first written constitution ever adopted by
American-born freemen. They incorporated
such of the laws of Virginia as they deemed
sufficient to carry on their little common
wealth successfully, and every man in the
little settlement signed the constitution. A
committee of thirteen was elected to make
such additional laws as the welfare of the
settlement required. This committee ap
pointed five commissioners from their own
number to settle disputes, punish offenders,

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 39

and perform the legal business common to
the courts. Thus law and order were es
tablished, and the people began to prosper
under their free government. A whipping
post was established for the punishment of
offenders, and graver offences were punished
by hanging. As an example of the prompt
action and unfaltering determination of
these pioneers in putting down crime, we find
on record the case of a horse-thief, who was
captured on Monday, given a fair trial on
Wednesday, and hanged on Friday of the
same week. It is to be regretted that the
articles of this association have not been pre
served. Doctor Ramsey claims that John
Sevier was elected by the Watauga settlers
as one of the thirteen commissioners ; he be
lieves, also, that Sevier was chosen as one
of the committee of five to act as a court.1
It is true that Sevier was at Watauga in
1772, the year the Watauga Association was
formed, but it seems rather strange that they
should choose him, as he was a stranger and
there on an exploring trip only. As Sevier
did not move into these settlements until De
cember 25, 1773, he certainly was not in a
position to render the Association any service
for more than a year.
1 Ramsey's " Annals of Tennessee," p. 107.

40 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

The people next turned their attention to
the question of leasing1 land from the Indians.
The king's proclamation prevented the pur
chase of land, but the pioneers reasoned that
if they only leased the lands for a specific
period of time that would not be in violation
of the king's proclamation and would suit
them much better than returning to the un
happy conditions in the States which they had
just left. John Boone and James Robertson
were selected by the settlers to negotiate with
the Indians. Many of the chiefs and war
riors assembled near Watauga and leased to
the white men for ten years all the lands on
the waters of the Watauga, the Indians re
ceiving for the lease five or six thousand dol
lars' worth of merchandise, including a few
muskets.

In the midst of the celebration which fol
lowed the successful negotiation of the lease,
there was an important occurrence that
came near being attended with serious con
sequences. Some lawless intruders upon the
settlements, men from Wolf Hills, Virginia,
it is supposed, killed one of the Indians who
was taking part in the sports held in celebra
tion of the cordial relations established be
tween the Indians and the white men. To
the Cherokees this seemed a serious breach

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 41

of faith. All their war spirit was aroused.
To the great alarm of the settlers, they im
mediately left the settlement with the mer
chandise assigned to them as consideration
for their lease, and showed every sign of
seeking revenge for the affront that had been
offered them in the slaying of one of their
number.

The occasion demanding immediate action
on the part of the settlers, James Robert
son went to the Indian towns; a distance of
one hundred and fifty miles, in order to pac
ify the warriors and again secure their friend
ship. Explaining to the head-men that the
crime was committed by an outlaw from Vir
ginia, and that the Wataugans intended to
punish the culprit if they could lay hands on
him, the chiefs and warriors were satisfied
and were again ready to smoke the pipe of
peace with their white brother. The journey
was an extremely hazardous one, but the
safety of the settlements demanded it. Rob
ertson was, therefore, ever afterwards held
in especial esteem for the noble service to his
fellow-settlers.

Sevier's life as a small merchant at New
Market and subsequently at Millerstown was
rather too monotonous for his active, restless
nature, and he longed for more stirring

42 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

scenes. He had listened eagerly to the
stories of the adventurers and settlers on the
Holston and the Watauga, he had heard
much of the rich soil of the well-watered
region, and he longed to visit the new set
tlements. So, arming himself and mounting
his favorite horse, he took leave of his family
at Millerstown and went out to Holston
River in 1771 on an exploring trip, passing
the mouth of the Watauga River.2 He was
so delighted with the country, the wild game,
and the rich soil that he came again in 1772.
This time he visited the settlers at Watauga,
probably about the time of the establishment
of the Watauga Association, and formed a
life-long friendship with Robertson, Bean,
Honeycut, and others of like prominence in
the settlement.

Having thus seen much of the frontier,
Sevier decided to settle at Holston, as that
settlement seemed to present the most favor
able prospects. He built his cabin about one
mile north of the Holston River and returned
to Virginia for his family. He carried the
news of his plan to his father and mother
and brothers and sisters, and all, without
hesitation, decided to move into the same
country with him. It is quite probable that
2 Draper MSS.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 43 •

John's brother, Valentine, was with him on
the former's first exploring trip, as he was
the first of the Sevier family to move to the
new settlements, having moved there with his
family in 1772.

In December, 1773, John Sevier, with his
own family, his parents, his three brothers,
Robert, Joseph, and Abraham — Valentine
having preceded them — and his two sisters,
Polly and Catherine, took his departure from
his Virginia home, from the hills and val
leys where the happiest part of his youth was
spent, and began the slow, fatiguing journey
towards his new home. He had certainly
not lost his interest in the mercantile business,
for he brought with him a store of goods
on pack-horses.

On Christmas day, 1773, the Seviers came
to the end of their journey, and each family
went to its own cabin. Seviers parents fin
ally settled upon a rich tract of land near
Watauga. His father's subsequent life was
one of great industry and influence. He
lived to the ripe old age of one hundred
years, dying in Carter's City on Friday, De
cember 30, i8o3-3

It has been a subject of speculation as to
Sevier's motive in removing to these extreme
3 Draper MSS.

44 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

frontier settlements. He had explored the
country before deciding to remove, and no
doubt foresaw the possibilities in the devel
opment of the great Southwest. He felt too,
perhaps, that there was promise of future
distinction for him in the new country.

A look into those western settlements will
show us many strange sights. The people
were hardy, resolute, fearless; they expected
to face dangers and endure hardships. The
cabins were very rude in appearance, com
fort being the chief aim of the builders.
Built of logs cut from the forests, these cab
ins were made strong to resist the sieges of
the Indians, having port-holes through which
the occupants could aim their flint-locks in
case of an attack. The planks for the doors
and floors were hewn with the broad-ax, the
windows had no glass and were fitted with
wooden shutters, the chimney was naturally
"stick and dirt," but was sometimes built of
rough stone, and the fire-place was wide and
held a great quantity of wood. Most of the
furniture was home-made, but sometimes a
chair, table, or stool imported from England
was brought into the settlement. Every
household had a spinning-wheel and a loom
which the women used very skilfully in the
manufacture of cloth. At night the cabin

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 45

was lighted by the candle. The men, return
ing from the fields or from the hunt, tired
and hungry, ate with thankful hearts the
plain healthful meals set before them. After
supper, the family spent the first hours of
the night in conversation and story-telling.
Sometimes, during the autumn months, they
spent the hours profitably by spinning thread,
weaving cloth, and making shoes to keep
themselves comfortable during the winter. If
there were no other amusements for the chil
dren, the grandfather or grandmother nar
rated interesting stories to them till bed-time.

The people were cheerful. The brisk, pure
air was Nature's tonic and they partook
freely. Their social gatherings kept them in
a pleasant humor towards each other. The
men and boys delighted in shooting-matches,
corn-huskings, horse-races, bear-hunts, and
deer-drives; the women often came together
at quilting bees and spent many a pleasant
hour together. Occasionally the young peo
ple met at night in social gatherings and en
joyed their games and sports, sometimes
dancing to the music of the fiddle.

Their style of dress is interesting. The
men and boys wore short pantaloons, leather
leggings reaching above the knees, and the
famous hunting-shirts. These hunting-shirts,

46 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

made sometimes of heavy cloth, but usually
of deer-skin, were worn over the other cloth
ing. They were cut and made like ordinary
shirts, but were open their entire length, and
were girt with belts, in which were carried
the hunting-knife and the tomahawk.

On his first appearance among the settlers
of North Holston and Watauga, Sevier at
tracted considerable attention on account of
his handsome face, manly bearing and re
markably winning manners. No man ever
had a more symmetrical, well-knit frame. He
was five feet nine inches in height and
weighed one hundred and ninety pounds.4
His complexion was ruddy, indicating his
perfect health; he had small, keen, dark-blue
eyes, expressive of vivacity and fearlessness;
his nose was prominent; his mouth and chin,
the model of firmness; his hair, fair, and his
face was expressive of sympathy for human
ity. His wonderful personal magnetism at
tracted the friendship of all.

Immigration continued to pour into the
new settlements, and business among the set
tlers gradually increased, and Sevier's little
store helped to supply the people with goods.
The peltries he bartered were sent on pack-
horses to eastern markets and exchanged for
* Draper MSS.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 47

goods for his store. He was scarcely settled
in his mercantile business, however, when in
1774 a quarrel arose between Lord Dunmore
and the Shawnees. Thus far Sevier had not
distinguished himself as a warrior among the
western settlers. He was better known as a
useful citizen and business man, but his fame
as an Indian fighter in his younger days on
the Virginia frontiers had doubtless reached
the Wataugans. Indeed he was not unknown
to Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Vir
ginia, who was so impressed with his bravery
that he appointed him captain in the Vir
ginia line, at the outbreak of the war with
the Shawnees.

CHAPTER IV

THE FIGHTING HEROES OF WATAUGA

THE battle of the great Kanawha, fought
October loth, 1774, was one of the most
sanguinary and hotly contested battles in the
annals of Indian warfare; and it is especially
interesting to us because in it the Wataugans
first showed to the world their wonderful
skill in battle.

The Shawnees, becoming greatly enraged
at the surveyors sent out from Virginia to
mark out lands given under royal grants and
military warrants, murdered several of them.
Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Vir
ginia, at once declared war against the Shaw
nees. Hence the war is sometimes known, as
Lord Dunmore's War.

Open hostilities had already begun in Octo
ber, 1773, when a war-party of Indians at
tacked Boone and his companions, who were
enroute to Kentucky in search of homes. Be
fore this time no wonien and children of the
white race had ever crossed the Cumberland
48

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 49

Mountains. Boone had induced several fam
ilies to join in the journey with him and his
family, and the party was moving on slowly
towards the Cumberland Gap. \Yhen they
reached Powell's Valley, they were joined by
forty bold hunters. The company, now eighty
in all, moved onward, wending their way
through the rugged mountain passes with a
feeling of greater safety, but on October 5th,
while passing through a narrow, rocky defile,
they were assaulted by a band of Indians ly
ing in ambush. At the flash of the Indians'
first fire, six white men fell and a seventh was
wounded. Among the killed was a son of
Boone, about twenty years of age. Some of
the hunters hurried to the rescue of the
women and children ; the others quickly put
the Indians to flight. Boone and his party
then fell back to Watauga, where they re
mained till the close of the war. They then
pushed on into Kentucky and made their set
tlements.

Almost daily deeds of violence were com
mitted. Murder followed murder, and doubt
less wrongs were committed on both sides,
through misunderstandings or otherwise.
Butler, a trader with the Indians, was robbed
of his peltries by the Cherokees. He sent two
friendly Shawnees to recover his peltries, but

50 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

they were ambushed and killed by white men,
probably through a mistake, an outrage which
met with the severest disapproval of the better
class of pioneers.

A party of Indians, including the family of
Logan, a famous Iroquois warrior and chief,
noted especially for his friendliness to the
white men, crossed the river on a visit to Mr.
Greathouse. The simple-minded savages were
intoxicated with liquor and massacred by
Greathouse and others. The unfortunate
Logan, manly and dignified in appearance,
was a noted hunter and a skilful marksman.
On his face was stamped nobility of charac
ter. He was declared by one white hunter to
be the best specimen of humanity he ever met
with, either white or red. But the murder of
his kinsmen aroused the rage of Logan, and
led him to relinquish all love and friendship
for the white men, and to do all he could to
destroy them.

The acts committed against the Indians by
a few unprincipled white men were often un
just, but the Indians committed graver crimes
by murdering helpless women and children,
and certainly deserved the fate they met in
Dunmore's War. Several other tribes joined
the Shawnees in their awful deeds of slaugh
ter, and the war extended the length of the

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 51

frontier. The pioneers rushed eagerly to
Dunmore's army for the protection of their
homes.

The army of the white men marched in
two wings, the right wing being commanded
by Dunmore himself, and the left by General
Andrew Lewis. The two wings were to unite
at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River.

Dunmore led his wing to Fort Pitt, where
he foolishly changed his plans, abandoning the
scheme agreed upon by him and Lewis, and
took his army down the Ohio in boats and
canoes to the mouth of the Hockhocking.
Thence he went to the Scioto and fortified
himself. Lewis met his men at the levels of
the Greenbrier. Each had done what he
could in this hasty preparation for war.

Impatient for action, General Lewis did
not wait for all his men to arrive, but marched
on to the mouth of Elk Creek, which empties
into the Great Kanawha, and set to work mak
ing dug-out canoes to descend that river.

Meanwhile John Sevier had not been idle.
He was one of the most active in raising men,
provisions, arms, and ammunition for the
war, but he thought it wise to remain at Wa-
tauga to defend the settlers against any In
dian attack that might be made in the ab
sence of the volunteers. Captain Shelby

52 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

commanded the company of fifty or more
brave men, among whom was Valentine Se-
vier, raised at Watauga. He joined the
regiment of Colonel Christian on New River;
and outtraveling the regiment, hastened on
with his company to the army of General
Lewis on the Great Kanawha.

By the first of October, the army of Gen
eral Lewis began to move down the river. A
part of the soldiers descended the river in
canoes, while the other division went by land,
all reaching the mouth of the river on the
6th of October. Though in good spirits and
anxious for battle, some of the soldiers were
not satisfied with their rations, claiming that
favoritism was shown in the issue of beef;
and select parties of hunters went into the
woods each day to kill game for meat.

Affairs in camp went on wrell for awhile,
but, on the Qth, Simon Girty arrived with a
message from Dunmore, ordering Lewis to
break up camp and join him near Pickaway
Plains. General Lewis was not pleased with
the change, but decided to comply with the
order next morning. That night, while the
soldiers slept, the old Shawnee Chief, Corn
stalk, was busy ferrying his men over the
river on rafts some six or eight miles above
them, coming to make an attack upon Lewis.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 53

On the morning of the loth, small parties
went out to hunt game for breakfast, and two
men from Russell's company, breasting the
woods not far apart, came suddenly upon
Cornstalk's warriors, nearly a thousand
strong, marching in the direction of the camp
of General Lewis. Russell's men saw the
warriors first and fired. The Indians re
turned the fire, killing one of the men. The
other man ran into the camp. The echo of
the first fire had scarcely died away when
Valentine Sevier and James Robertson also
fired and fled to camp, reaching it about as
soon as the other refugee.

Drum-beats aroused the slumbering sol
diers. Two detachments, under command of
Colonel Charles Lewis and Colonel William
Fleming, were ordered out to check the ad
vancing foe. The two armies met in the
dense forest about sunrise, and battle ensued.
The wild war-whoops of the Indians and the
sharp cracks of the pioneers' rifles filled the
brisk morning air with a deafening noise
which convinced General Lewis that a strong
force of the enemy was at hand. He, there
fore, hurried Colonel Fields, with two hun
dred men, into the battle.

The contest lasted all day ; all day the armies
surged to and fro, the grim-visaged warriors

54 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

yelling themselves hoarse. The situation taxed
the genius of General Lewis, and the chance
of victory seemed uncertain. In the after
noon he ordered Captains Shelby, Stewart,
and Matthews to move their companies up
the Kanawha and fire upon the Indians
from the rear. As they were passing
along the bank of the river, they were
fired upon by some Indians concealed behind
a breast-work of logs and brush. The pas
sage was difficult on account of the wither
ing fire from the ambush, but John Sawyer,
one of Shelby's men, took a few riflemen and
made a gallant charge upon the Indians. The
warriors fled, and three pioneer companies
gained the rear and poured a shower of lead
into the ranks of the Indians, forcing them
into a hasty retreat. Again they halted in an
other position, sheltered by a dense under
growth, and kept up an occasional firing till
nightfall, when they recrossed the river and
hastened to their towns on the Scioto.

Thus ended the bloody battle. The Watau-
gans had behaved themselves well in the whole
engagement. It was their vigilance that dis
covered the advancing enemy and sounded the
alarm of danger, and it was the gallant charge
of Shelby's men that turned the tide of battle
and brought victory to the white men.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 55

Peace was established with the Shawnees,
but the brave Logan was absent from the
council at which the pipe of peace was smoked.
He was so hurt over the murder of his fam
ily and kin that he did not feel disposed to
attend, but he sent the following pathetic, yet
truly eloquent, message on paper to Lord
Dunmore :

" I appeal to any white man to say, if ever
he entered Logan's cabin hungry and he gave
him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked
and he clothed him not? During the course
of the last long and bloody war, Logan re
mained idle in his camp, an advocate for
peace. Such was my love for the whites that
my countrymen pointed as I passed and said,
* Logan is the friend of the white man.' I
had even thought to have lived with you but
for the injuries of one man, Colonel Cresap,
the last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked,
murdered all the relations of Logan, not even
sparing my women and children. There runs
not a drop of my blood in the veins of any
living creature. This called on me for re
venge. I have sought it. I have killed many.
I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my
country I rejoice at the beams of peace; but
do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy
of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not

56 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there
to mourn for Logan? Not one/'1

The Wataugans returned to their homes and
resumed their occupations. Having fought
heroically, they now rejoiced over the victory
and many a household was stirred by the
thrilling stories of the Kanawha.

The affairs in the settlements went on suc
cessfully. The population continued to in
crease, and the little cabins were hives of in
dustry. No drones were permitted among
them, and for a while after the battle of Kan
awha the settlers followed their pursuits in
peace. But again the dark clouds of war be
gan to rise in the East, and the affairs of the
Wataugans were again disturbed. The pow
der-horn and the flint-lock rifle were again
taken from the rack; the sword again drawn
from the scabbard; and the drum-beats for
war were heard. And every man of Anglo-
Saxon blood, born with the love of freedom
and unwilling to be fettered \vith the chain
of British tyranny, felt in every fiber the
wrong done him by the English king.

Within a little more than a century, twenty-
five Navigation Acts, acts unjust to the Amer
ican colonists, had been passed by the British
Parliament. The Colonists were compelled to

i " The Winning of the West," Vol. I. p. 288.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 57

ship their goods in English vessels to English
ports, and as this gave the English the monop
oly of the American trade, the Colonists soon
became resentful of such unjust legislation.
Consequently smuggling became so prevalent
in New England that " Writs of Assistance "
were issued by the courts of the king, giving
revenue officers the right to enter ware
houses and dwellings in search of smuggled
goods.

The continued slave-trade in the colonies
carried on entirely by England was a griev
ous annoyance to every loyal American. The
treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, gave England en
tire control of the American slave-trade; as
it was a profitable business, she would not al
low any laws to go into effect which were
made by her subjects to prohibit the importa
tion of slaves. The troubles with the Indians
had been caused by England's bad manage
ment or entire neglect. The inter-colonial
wars had heaped a heavy debt upon the Crown,
and now Parliament passed the Stamp Act
with the intention of forcing the Colonists to
help lift the debt, claiming as their justifica
tion that the Colonists reaped benefits from
the wars.

Opposition to British aggression arose on
every side, and remonstrances were heard

58 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

from every quarter. Everywhere the trum
pet-blasts of the Revolution were sounded by
noble patriots.

"English people cannot be taxed," said
Judge Drayton of South Carolina in charg
ing a grand-jury, " nay, they cannot be bound
by any law, unless by their consent, expressed
by themselves or by the representatives of
their own election. I charge you to do your
duty; to maintain the laws, the rights, the
constitution of your own country, even at the
hazard of your lives and fortunes. In my
judicial character I know no law; I am a
servant, not to the king, but to the constitu
tion."

Doctor Warren, one of the earliest martyrs
to the cause of liberty, said: " It is the united
vcuce of America to preserve their freedom
or lose their lives in the defence of it. Their
resolutions are not the effects of inconsiderate
rashness, but the sound result of sober inquiry
and deliberation. I am convinced that the
true spirit of liberty was never so universally
diffused through all ranks and orders of peo
ple in any country on the face of the earth,
as it now is through all North America."

Patrick Henry, as he stood before the Vir
ginia Convention, assembled in St. John's

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 59

Episcopal Church, Richmond, sounded the
voice of prophecy when he said, " The next
gale that sweeps from the North will bring
to our ears the clash of resounding arms."

That prophecy was fulfilled when, on the
1 9th of April, 1775, at Concord and Lexing
ton, Massachusetts, " the embattled farmers
stood, and fired the shot heard round the
world." The Revolution had begun. Pa
triots throughout the colonies enlisted in their
country's cause. The Continental Congress
proceeded to place the colonies upon a war
basis, and, by the election of General George
Washington as commander-in-chief of their
armies, gave definite form and organization
to their resistance to British aggression.

The patriots in North Carolina were neither
listless nor idle. As we have seen, the Regu
lators had resisted the aggressions of Gov
ernor Tryon; and, in the May following the
battles of Concord and Lexington, and be
fore the battle of Bunker Hill, the people of
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, meet
ing at Charlotte, the county seat, adopted cer
tain resolutions which were a vigorous pro
test against the British colonial policy as ex
hibited in North Carolina, and which were
couched in language subsequently claimed to

60 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

have been the original of the famous Declara
tion of Independence.2

A!s has been already noted, British aggres
sions in North Carolina had stimulated emi
gration to the settlements west of the moun
tains. A sturdy class of patriots, men who
preferred the hardships of the wilderness and
perils from the Indians to the sacrifice of their
freedom in the more favored eastern country,
moved to the new settlements. They built
their cabins in the shadows of the great moun
tains along the Holston, the Watauga, and
the Nolichucky, hoping that they would be
able to enjoy the freedom which is the in
heritance of every Anglo-Saxon.

But the Wataugans had no intention of en
joying their safety in their secluded frontier
homes regardless of the dangers encountered
by the Americans on the seaboard. They
fully recognized their close relationship to
the patriots of the colonies, and, when the first
clash of arms was heard from the North, they
espoused the cause of liberty and showed their
sympathy with that cause by naming their

2 The present writer has no intention of taking either
side in the controversy which has long been waged
over the so-called " Mecklenburg Declaration of In
dependence." Any discussion of the subject would be
out of place here. The reference is given solely to
show the temper of the North Carolinians at that time.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 61

country Washington District, in honor of the
new commander-in-chief. Their population
had grown to nearly six hundred, and they
began to feel strong enough to render assist
ance to the common cause. In order to put
themselves in a position to render greater
service to their country, they appealed to
North Carolina for recognition. The peti
tion proved successful; in the following year,
Washington District became Washington
County, and the laws of North Carolina were
extended to its courts.

John Sevier, who had already won the es
teem and respect of his neighbors, and two
other citizens from Watauga were chosen as
delegates to the Constitutional Convention
which met at Halifax, North Carolina, No
vember 12, 1776. In the Declaration of Rights
adopted by the Convention, we find, in the
clause defining the State limits, this sentence :
" That it shall not be so construed as to pre
vent the establishment of one or more govern
ments westward of this State, by consent of
the Legislature." This clause, introduced by
Sevier himself, shows clearly that he was thus
early musing a project for founding a com
monwealth in the great Mississippi Valley.

CHAPTER V

INDIAN DISTURBANCES

THE British Superintendent of Southern
Indian Affairs at this time was John Stuart,
a man well aware of the opposition to British
aggressions developing in the Watauga settle
ments and of the activity of the Wataugans
in their preparations for resistance. To de
feat these preparations, he conceived a plan
for a simultaneous attack of the British and
the Indians upon the Americans. According
to this plan, Sir Peter Parker was to capture
Charleston, South Carolina, with the king's
fleet, and land an army here under Sir^Htenry
Clinton, to sweep everything along the coast,
while the Indians were to fall upon the fron
tier settlements. The plan was laid before
the British Cabinet and was adopted by the
British Parliament despite the opposition of
Lord Chatham. Alexander Cameron, a
Scotchman, and a subordinate of John Stuart,
was sent among the Indians with such mer
chandise and trinkets as would appeal to them
in order to gain their sympathy and support.
62

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 63

News of the British war-plan reached the
ears of Nancy Ward, a Cherokee squaw, who
was well known to the settlers, and whose
home was at Echota, the chief village of the
Cherokees. This woman was the prophetess
of the Cherokees, but she always had a kindly
feeling for the white people and befriended
them in every way she could. Her father was
an English officer, and her mother was a sis
ter of the Indian chief, Atta-culla-culla. She
sent news of the intended attack to the white
men by her old friend Isaac Thomas, a trader,
and the settlers made hasty preparation for
defence.

Though most of the western settlers were
Whigs, patriots espousing the cause of the
colonists, it was rumored among the Watau-
gans that several Tories, as those in sympathy
with the British were called, were living at
Nolichucky. Without delay a large number
of men from Holston, Carter's Valley, and
Watauga went to Brown's store and forced
the suspected Tories to take the oath of al
legiance to the common cause. About this
time the murder of Boyd and Dogget, two
traders who were returning from the Indian
villages, served to inflame the people still
more and to hurry their defensive measures
to completion. Several forts were built, and

64 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

the people hurried into them for safety.
Everything in the Indian villages was astir
with the preparations for war. War-belts
were received from other tribes, and a con
certed movement was developing rapidly.
Early in July, 1776, messengers brought to
the Wataugans tidings of the Indians' ap
proach. John Sevier at once sent the follow
ing message to the Virginia Committee:

Fort Lee, July n, 1776.

Dear Gentlemen: Isaac Thomas, William Falling,
Jaret Williams, and one more, have this moment come
in by making their escape from the Indians, and say
six hundred Indians an$ whites were to start for this
fort, and intend to drive the country up to New River
before they return.

JOHN SEVIER.

•

The news of the intended invasion had been
imparted to Isaac Thomas by Nancy Ward
by night. Thomas in turn gave the informa
tion to Falling and Williams and the other
messenger, and they all set out for Watauga,
each by a different route to make sure the de
livery of the message. The other settlements
were informed of the coming danger. Spies
and scouts were kept in the woods to watch
for the Indians. The attack was to be made
all along the frontiers of the southern colo
nies. The Creeks were to fall upon Georgia;

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 65

the Shawnees, Mingoes, and Delawares, upon
Virginia; and seven hundred Cherokees and
Chickamaugas, upon the Watauga settlements.
The Cherokees were to advance upon the set
tlers in two divisions of equal numbers, to be
commanded respectively by Old Abraham and
Dragging Canoe. Old Abraham of Chilhowee
was to march along the foot of the mountains
and attack Watauga; Dragging Canoe was to
march upon Fort Heaton, which was between
the north and south branches of the Holston
River, about six miles from where they unite ;
and, after the destruction of these forts, they
were to invade the western settlements of Vir
ginia.

In answer to Sevier's message, five small
companies, made up largely of Virginians,
reached Fort Heaton, where they remained
two or three days to protect the people and
to find out, if possible, the designs of the
Indians. The corps in the fort consisted of
one hundred and seventy men, a very small
army to resist the vast Indian forces.

At last the scouts returned from the woods
with tidings that the Indians were near and
that they were marching directly upon Fort
Heaton. A council was held to determine
whether to wait in the fort for the Indians
to make the attack or to march out and meet

66 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

them in the woods. Some of the garrison pre
ferred to wait for them, but Captain Cocke
argued that the Indians would not attack the
fort, but would fall upon the settlements in
small parties and murder helpless women and
children who had not reached the fort. His
argument having prevailed, the little army
marched out towards Island Flats in two divi
sions, flankers on each side and scouts in
front.

The advance-guard of about twelve men
met a small band of Indians on Island Flats
and fired upon them. The Indians returned
the fire, but the fire from the white
men forced them to flee. Anticipating
a large force of Indians near at hand, a
halt was made, and as night was coming on,
it was decided best to return to the
fort. Before the soldiers had gone very
far, the Indians rushed upon their rear,
amid the din of war-whoops, yelling to their
comrades, " The Unacas are running ! Come
on and scalp them ! " Captain Thomas, the
chief officer, heading the left line, ordered the
right and left lines to face the enemy for
battle, and the conflict was on. When it was
discovered that the Indians were trying to out
flank them, Lieutenant Robert Davis took a
part of the right line and placed it across the

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 67

flats to a ridge, thus making it impossible for
the enemy to get around the flank, and Cap
tain James Shelby, stationed on a rise, pre
vented the Indians from surrounding them.
The fight now became general, the armies
meeting in a hand-to-hand conflict. Both of
ficers and privates fought heroically.

The most interesting scene during the con
flict was the fight between Lieutenant Moore
and a very large, strong Indian chief. Moore
fired at the chief, wounding him in the knee,
but not so badly as to prevent his standing,
then rushed towards him. The chief threw
his tomahawk at Moore, but missed him.
Then Moore assaulted him with a large
butcher-knife, the blade of which the chief
caught with his right hand, and then both men
clinched with their left hands. The old sav
age held the sharp blade of the knife so firmly
that his hand was almost severed from his
arm, the blood flowing in a stream. Moore,
still holding to the handle of his knife with his
right hand, managed to get his tomahawk
from his belt with his left hand and crush the
old chief's skull.

The death of their brave chief caused the
Indians to lose spirit and they retreated into
the woods, carrying off many of their wounded
as they retreated. In this regiarkable battle,

68 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

fought July 20, 1776, none of the white men
were killed, and only five were wounded.

This battle was followed by the attack upon
Fort Watauga. The fort was defended by
about forty men, with Captain James Robert
son first in command and Lieutenant John
Sevier second. A large number of women
and children had fled into the fort for pro
tection. Horses and cattle and such property
as could be easily moved were brought under
the protection of the guns of the fort.

Old Abraham, a cunning old chief noted
more for strategy than for bravery, marched
his army along the mountains, through the
Nolichucky settlements, hoping to massacre
the unprotected people before they learned
that he was on the war-path. The people had,
however, been warned of his coming in time
to get safely into Fort Watauga, but they left
their cabins and corn-fields to the mercy of
the Indians. The surly old warrior, reach
ing the Nolichucky settlements, was surprised
to find the cabins deserted. Presuming that
the settlers had just learned of his approach
and were fleeing through the forest to Wa
tauga, he ordered his disappointed warriors
to overtake them. Thus in his great anxiety
to find the settlers, he left the cabins and corn
fields unmoles^d. On the next day, after

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 69

the battle of Island Flats, Old Abraham
reached Watanga. He was greatly disap
pointed when he found out his mistake.

The people in the fort were not so fearful
of a sudden attack, as the Indians had been
defeated at Island Flats, and at day-break the
women were out milking. Suddenly a deaf
ening war-whoop came from the woods. The
frightened women saw the Indians coming
upon them at full speed, and ran screaming
into the fort. One beautiful dark-eyed girl
was cut off from the fort by her pursuers ; yet,
active and swift on foot as a frightened doe,
she ran with all her might, her dark-brown
hair streaming behind her, evaded her pur
suers at every turn, and reached the palisades
of the fort. The gates had been closed, but
she made a long leap for the top of the pali
sades. Having heard the screams of the flee
ing girl, the gallant Lieutenant Sevier leaped
to the top of the wall to help her over. With
one hand he shot down the foremost pursuer;
with the other, he assisted her in the long
leap over the wall. She fell into his arms
out of breath and nearly exhausted. This
heroine was Catherine Sherrill.

In this memorable siege of July 21, 1776,
the savages poured balls and arrows into the
fort till about 8 o'clock in the morning with-

70 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

out effect. The inmates of the fort returned
the fire with such deadly aim that many In
dian warriors were killed. A random firing
was kept up for some time without effect, but
the Indians retreated.

During the attack, a messenger escaped
from the fort and hurried off for reinforce
ments. One hundred Rangers came under
the command of Colonel William Russell,
but when Russell reached the fort he found
that the Indians had retreated.

During this attack at Watauga, James
Cooper and a boy, Samuel Moore, went out
after some boards to cover a hut. At the
mouth of Gap Creek, they were attacked by
a band of Indians. Cooper plunged into the
river and tried to escape by swimming and
diving, but the water became too shallow and
the Indians scalped him. The noise of the
guns and the screams of young Moore were
heard at the fort. Sevier attempted to go to
the rescue, but Robertson, believing the firing
and screaming to be a feint to draw his men
from the fort, prevented him from the at
tempt. The lad was taken to the Indian towns
up in the mountains and burnt at the stake.

Mrs. Bean was also captured by Old Abra
ham's warriors near Watauga. She had al
ways been so kind and friendly to the Indians

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 71

that she felt safe on the outside of the fort.
She was first carried to Old Abraham's sta
tion-camp on the Nolichucky. A white man
was also held a prisoner there, and he in
formed Mrs. Bean that she was to be mur
dered. At that moment a savage warrior
cocked his gun and moved towards her as if
he intended to shoot her. Then the chiefs,
through her fellow-prisoner, began to ask her
how many forts the whites had and how many
soldiers were at each, where they were, how
much powder they had, and if they could be
starved out. She answered their questions in
such a manner as to convince them that the
white men could not be conquered. Then the
chiefs requested the prisoner to tell Mrs. Bean
that her life would be spared, but that she
would be taken to the Indian towns to teach
their women how to make butter and cheese.
Later, she was taken to one of their villages
on the Tellico and condemned to die. She
was, therefore, taken to the top of a burial-
mound and tied to a stake, around which was
piled wood and brush. The flames were about
to be kindled when Nancy Ward interceded
and commanded the warriors to loose her
from the stake. Mrs. Bean's life was spared,
and she was finally sent under a safe escort to
her husband at Watauga.

72 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

The incursions of the Indians continued.
The chief Raven marched across the country
with the intention of surprising the people of
Carter's Valley, but when he got there he
found them in the forts. Disheartened by the
defeats of Old Abraham and Dragging Canoe,
he returned to his villages. A fourth party,
divided into small bands, carried the toma
hawk and scalping-knife to the people along
the Clinch River up as far as the Seven Mile
Ford, in Virginia. The Wolf Hills settle
ment was attacked. The Reverend Charles
Cummings and four others were fired upon
while on their way to work in a field. At the
first discharge of the Indians' guns, William
Creswell, who was driving a wagon, was
killed, and two other men were wounded. As
soon as the firing was heard in the fort, sev
eral men ran out to the assistance of Mr. Cum
mings and his servant, and drove the Indians
from their ambush and carried the dead and
wounded into the fort.

Two churches had been built in the vicin
ity of Wolf Hills about 1772, and Mr. Cum
mings preached regularly to the people. Every
man and every boy old enough to bear arms
carried his arms to church. On Sunday
morning Mr. Cummings, dressed in his neat
est clothes, put on his shot-pouch, shouldered

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 73

his rifle and rode to church. He walked
through his congregation with a grave, digni
fied bearing, placed his weapons within easy
reach, and began the solemn services. This
pious preacher carried the gospel of " peace
on earth, good will towards men," yet he
fought as desperately as any other man. Af
terwards, as chaplain, he accompanied Sevier
in a campaign against the Indians.

England's war-plan had now become well
known, and the southern colonies combined
against the brutal savages for revenge. Sev
eral armies went against the tribes of Indians
which had helped in the execution of the
plan.

Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, or
dered Colonel William Christian, of Virginia,
to collect the frontier soldiers and march to
Tellico and Chilhowee with fire and sword.
The gathering was at the Great Island in the
Holston, and by the first of August several
companies had assembled. This in-gathering
of soldiers drove away the Indians from the
settlements. Colonel Christian was reinforced
by three or four hundred militia from North
Carolina under the commands of Colonel
Love, Colonel Joseph Williams, and Major
Winston. Crossing the Holston at the Great
Island, the army marched to Double Springs

74 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

and waited for reinforcements from Wa-
tauga. James Robertson was at the head of
the Wataugans, and John Sevier had charge
of a select company of scouts. The whole
army, including the pack-horse men and the
cattle-drivers, was now eighteen hundred
strong and well armed. It was made up of
infantry, with the exception of one company
of light-horse. The old trader Isaac Thomas
acted as guide into the Indian country, a dis
tance of about two hundred miles, and Charles
Cummings was chaplain.

Sevier was making himself famous in these
eventful days. His bravery and presence of
mind at Watauga in repelling the attack of
Old Abraham and his gallant rescue of Cath
erine Sherrill, had endeared him to all the
community. In this invasion of the Indian
country, he gained distinction as a scout and
as an expert woodsman.

The Indians had declared that the white sol
diers should never cross the French Broad,
and they determined to defend it to the last
extremity. Being aware of this determina
tion, Colonel Christian sent Sevier with six
teen spies in advance of the main army to the
ford to locate the .enemy.

Slowly the army moved on through the
tangled woods and dense cane-brakes towards

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 75

the French Broad. Alexander Harlan came by
night into Colonel Christian's camp and told
him that a band of Indians, three thousand
strong, was stationed at the ford, where the
war-path crossed the French Broad, ready
to dispute the passage. Spies returned and
told Colonel Christian that the camps in the
bend of the Nolichucky were deserted; but
the signs were evidences of the large number
of warriors somewhere upon the war-path.
The army resumed its march very cautiously
and was soon afterwards met by a man bear
ing a white flag in his gun. His name was
Fallen, a trader. The Colonel gave orders
that no notice be taken of this man; he soon
departed, returning to the Indians and inform
ing them that the pale-faces marching to in
vade their country were as numerous as the
trees of the forests. The army finally reached
the French Broad, and Colonel Christian or
dered his soldiers to set up their tents and
kindle camp-fires, as if he intended to remain
there several days.

During the darkness of the following night,
Christian ordered a strong detachment from
his army to move down the bank to an island
and cross the river. The ford was deep, the
water sometimes reaching almost to the shoul
ders, and the current so swift that the soldiers

;6 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

had to wade four abreast to brace each other.
Next morning the main army forded, and
joined the detachment, the soldiers marching
in order for battle, expecting every moment
to be attacked. The Indians had a few days
before gathered a thousand strong at the ford,
and it was from this place that they had sent
Fallen to Colonel Christian with a message in
tended only to deceive. But after Fallen's
departure, Starr, another trader, made an
earnest talk to the Indians, showing the folly
of their attempt to resist the armies of the
white men. He told them that the white
man was made of white clay and the
red man of red clay, and that the Great
Spirit had ordained that the white man
would conquer the red man. He closed his
talk by telling the Indians they had better
escape to their mountain villages. This
harangue, together with the general feeling
of depression over the defeat of Old Abra
ham and Dragging Canoe, influenced them to
return to their mountain fastnesses.

Finding no enemy to fight, the army, hav
ing crossed the river, halted to dry their
clothes, baggage, and food, for everything, ex
cept their guns and powder, was wet. Then
the army marched on, meeting very little op
position, and came to Great Island Town,

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 77

which they took without hearing the twang
of a bow. The hungry soldiers feasted upon
the abundant supply of corn and potatoes
which the Indians had left behind and slept
in their wigwams at night. The main army
\vas divided into small divisions, and Tellico,
Chilhowee, and many other villages, were re
duced to ashes.

But the soldiers came to one village differ
ent from the rest. As they entered it, they
saw a circular tower about thirty feet in diam
eter and twenty feet high, covered with
dirt. It had but one door, a narrow entrance
covered with a curtain made of the skins of
animals, and no windows, no chimneys. In
it were seats, or places for lounging, made
of cane arranged around the wall. This
strange village was Echota, the home of
Nancy Ward, and the chief village of the
Qierokee nation. The round tower was used
for a council-house and for celebrating their
national ceremonials, such as the Green Corn
Dance. None of the soldiers dared or even
desired to set fire to this village. By such
acts Christian hoped to convince the Indians
that he wished to punish only the villages that
had been led to mistreat the white men
through the influence of the British. In a
few days Christian sent some of his men with

78 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

flags of truce to the hiding-places of the chiefs
and warriors, requesting them to come and
talk with him, and a few of them came in,
begging for peace. It was agreed that the
Indians assemble the following May at Long
Island and make a treaty by the voice of their
whole nation. It was further agreed that
war should not be waged against the Indians,
except those living high up in the mountain
towns where young Moore had been burnt at
the stake. Against these mountain warriors,
Lieutenant Sevier at a later date carried fire
and sword with such vengeance that their
power was broken.

Christian's army was marched back to Long
Island, where most of the troops were dis
banded. A new fort, called Fort Henry, was
built and garrisoned by a small army, for
Dragging Canoe, chief of the Chickamaugas,
was still burning for revenge and was likely
at any moment to go on the war-path again.
Not a man was lost during the three months'
campaign. The march, though difficult to
make, was one of pleasure to the soldiers, as
they were in a strange land, and seeing the
strange ways of a strange people. The fer
tile soil of this well-watered region, enclosed
by mountains grand and steep, influenced
many of the soldiers to decide, as they trudged

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 79

along, that they would one day make their
homes here. Many of them afterwards moved
into this fertile region with their families,
and helped to develop the beautiful Valley of
East Tennessee as we see it to-day.

These stirring times along the frontiers, and
the prospect of conflict with the British east
of the Alleghanies, caused Sevier to give up
his mercantile business at North Holston Set
tlement, and offer his services to his country.
After Christian's campaign, he removed to
Watauga, now the most important of the set
tlements, and continued fighting Indians in
his splendid way — a way which made him
famous as one of the greatest of all Indian
fighters.

According to promise, Oconostota, with
many of his chiefs and warriors, met the set
tlers at Watauga in the spring of 1777, to
make peace. But however desirous of peace
himself, he could not induce all the red men
to come with him to make the treaty. Drag
ging Canoe still fostered his passion for re
venge, and while Oconostota was at Watauga
arranging terms of peace, he thought it a
good time to strike a blow at his white brother.
He believed that the settlers would not ex
pect an attack at that time, and decided to
fall upon them while he had a chance. How-

80 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

ever, he changed his plan of attack. Reaching
the settlements, he divided his men into small
parties with orders to fall upon the exposed
settlers at midnight. One of his warriors
shot and scalped Frederick Calvert, one of the
settlers, but Calvert recovered from the
wound, only to meet a sadder fate in later
years. Old Dragging Canoe himself, with a
party of selected warriors, went to Robert
son's barn before daybreak and stole ten of
his finest horses. Robertson and a few men
followed the Indians and surprised them,
killing one of the warriors and recapturing all
the stolen horses. The old chief, not willing
to be outdone by so small a force of the white
men, got his braves together and pursued Rob
ertson, overtaking him near his home. They
fired a volley and wounded two of the white
men, but Robertson escaped with all his men
and horses.

This mode of warfare was kept up for a
long time, and the settlers formed themselves
into vigilance committees to baffle the designs
of the savages. Scouts searched the woods
day and night for signs of the Indians. One
of the most active leaders in the defence of
the settlements was John Sevier. He was
ever active, ever watchful, always in the sad
dle dashing through the woods with lightning

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 81

speed — always to be found wherever the great
est danger threatened. After the treaty at
Watauga, Robertson was sent to Echota with
the Indians to act as agent for North Caro
lina, and a greater weight of responsibility
fell upon Sevier. His personal magnetism,
his cool bravery and presence of mind, and
his sound judgment won the confidence and
admiration of his neighbors. At the head of
his men, he met the Indians almost daily, and
left them dead or dying upon the battlefield,
without the loss of any of his own men.

The Chickamaugas were perhaps the most
formidable of the southern Indians. They
dwelt along Chickamauga Creek, near Chat
tanooga, and on down the banks of the Ten
nessee, even below the mouth of the Nick-a-
jack Cave. This tribe was one of many
bloods, being a mixture of the Cherokee, the
Creek, and lawless thieves and cut-throats of
the white race who had escaped the laws of
civilized life and settled in these Indian towns
and adopted Indian customs, habits, and lan
guage. These Chickamauga warriors had the
sagacity of the white race and the cunning
bravery of the red race. They had built
their towns along the cliffs and in the caves
of the mountains along the Tennessee, and felt
that the white soldier could never reach them.

82 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Standing on the top of Lookout Mountain,
near Chattanooga, the observer gets a view of
the country once occupied by the Chickamau-
gas and beholds one of the most picturesque
views in America. The view extends into
several different States. The whole expanse,
lined with beautiful streams, is now dotted
with magnificent towns, making it a historical
region sought annually by pleasure-seekers
and lovers of the beautiful in nature. The
great river cuts through the mountains, mak
ing a narrow pass-way appropriately termed
the Southern Gate- way of the Alleghanies, and
winds its way along the foot of Lookout.
Here, looping itself into the shape of a moc
casin, it forms Moccasin Bend, then moves
along amid the beautiful mountain scenery,
past the Nick-a-jack to the Mussel Shoals.
Here it loses its calmer motion and dashes into
foaming roaring whirlpools too dangerous for
the canoe of the red man or the boats of the
white man.

Fearing the white men, the Chickamaugas
continued to leave their villages and move
down the river. They built up Running
Water, Nick-a-jack, Long Island Villages,
Crow Town, and Lookout, afterwards known
as the Five Lower Towns. Realizing the se
curity of these hiding-places of the Chickamau-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 83

gas and the ease with which they could make
a raid upon the white men and then get safely
into these fastnesses, Dragging Canoe con
tinued to stir up his warriors against the white
men. If the white men went down the river
to settle lands secured by land-warrants, the
Indians would attack and murder them. The
Nick-a-jack Cave, called by the Indians Te-
calla-see, was the greatest retreat and store
house for the Indians of the Lower Towns.

The Cherokees were held faithful to their
treaty by the presence of Robertson at Ech-
ota, who always kept his eyes open to all
movements of both the British and the In
dians ; but the Chickamaugas became so trou
blesome that Colonel Evan Shelby was sent
to destroy their towns. In the expedition,
Shelby commanded three hundred and fifty
men, and Colonel Montgomery, one hundred
and fifty. The armies constructed boats, and,
guided by Hudson, one of their number who
knew well the Indian country, they descended
the Holston and the Tennessee to the mouth
of Chickamauga Creek. Turning up this
stream, they captured an Indian whom they
forced to guide them to the Indian towns.
They waded through a cane-brake partly
sunk under the water and entered Chicka
mauga Town so suddenly that the Indians,

84 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

five hundred in number, fled into the moun
tains for safety without offering any resist
ance, During this invasion the troops de
stroyed eleven towns and twenty thousand
bushels of corn, drove away large herds of
cattle, and seized goods valued at £20,000.
These goods had been brought to the towns
by British agents, and were to be used to
bribe the Indians at a council to be held at
the mouth of the Tennessee. The object of
this council was to effect a cooperation of the
northern and the southern Indians with the
British. Thus a second time a simultaneous
front and rear attack by the British and In
dians was baffled by the hardy backwoodsmen.
The expedition quieted Dragging Canoe.

While these events were taking place, Se-
vier was busy with affairs in the settlements.
He sent men and supplies for the relief of
Captain Logan, who was besieged at Logan's
Station by northern Indians.

A wagon road had recently been opened
from Burke County, North Carolina, to the
Watauga settlements, and immigration was
augmented. The population grew so rapidly
that Washington County was divided, a part
being cut off and formed into Sullivan County.
The opportunities for Sevier gradually in
creased, and he watched the progress of events

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 85

so assiduously that he was prepared to act
promptly when the time came.

The years of 1778-9 were prolific of notable
events in th.e western settlements. Jonesboro,
the oldest town in Tennessee and county seat
of Washington County, was laid out, a court
house and a jail were erected, and the courts
of North Carolina were established. Isaac
Shelby was appointed coloneft of Sullivan
County, and John Sevier w^s soon afterwards
appointed to the same position in Washington
County.

The establishment of courts was, however,
ineffective in checking the depredations of
Tories who came to the western settlements.
But the frontiersmen arose with the dangers
and hardships that surrounded them and dealt
promptly with the disturbers of their rights
to life and property. They were, as a rule,
men of principle and religion; but, when the
safety of their country demanded it, they
could act with great sternness towards law
breakers. Kidnapping the patriotic Whigs
was of frequent occurrence. In one instance
a party of Tories carried a Watauga Whig
to a high bluff up the river and threatened to
throw him over if he did not give them all his
property. Rather than lose his life he yielded
to their demand. The leader of the kidnap-

86 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

pers on this occasion was Captain Grimes,
who was afterwards captured at King's Moun
tain and hanged.

Sevier was perhaps the most active and de
termined leader in putting down these lawless
acts. The measures he resorted to . were
harsh, but necessary; for otherwise the peace
and happiness of the settlements would have
been destroyed and the plan of the British
might have been carried out.

The history of the Watauga settlements
reads like fiction. The small number of peo
ple in the hands of Providence did wonders
for the cause of freedom, and very appropri
ately have they been called the " Rear-guard
of the Revolution."

Sevier had taken a fancy to the Nolichucky
Settlement and the fertile land along the Noli
chucky River. In 1778 he removed with his
family from Watauga and settled upon the
south bank of the Nolichucky, at a place called
Mount Pleasant. Here, on his rich plantation,
he began farming with slave labor, though
there were not many slaves in the settlements
at this time. Again Sevier was in a position
to indulge his fondness for horses and dogs.
As there was not quite so much disturbance
in the settlements, he was at liberty to attend
to his plantation with some interest.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 87

But day and night there was a feeling of
restlessness thrilling his ngjves, for he had
still to scout the woods to keep advised of the
movements of the Indians. The Indians, al
ways skilled in woodcraft, had learned so per
fectly to bleat like the fawn, hoot like the owl,
gobble like the turkey, and scream like the
wild-cat, that they could deceive the most
skilful hunter. Often an. unsuspecting settler,
hearing, a few yards distant in the woods, the
calls and gobbles of turkeys, would take his
rifle and creep cautiously through the under
growth to kill a turkey for food. But soon
the noise of his creeping among the leaves and
brush was heard and the gobbling ceased ; and,
as he crept on, the bullet of a rifle would strike
him lifeless to the ground. But the white
hunters and settlers became even more skil
ful than the Indians in such games of strategy,
and led many an Indian into the snare of
death.

Sevier's new l^utie in Mount Pleasant, .built
of huge, heavy logs, was made large and com
modious to accommodate his large family and
the friends who chanced to visit, him. In
spite of the constantly besetting dangers of the
frontier life, everything in this log mansion
upon the Nolichucky was peaceful and happy
till the early days of 1780. Then death came

88 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

into his home and took away his wife, who
had borne him ten children — Joseph; Jaftie^,
John, ValeatineT^Ricr^ird; §etse£/ Dolly,'
M*ary Ann, Nan^cy, and Rebecca.1 *
* Sevier's temperament would not allow him
to sit down and nurse sorrow, so he kept up
his scouting in the woods. The spring months
passed, and the summer, and he began to feel
sensibly the need of a wife to care for his
little ones at home. He fell in love with
Catherine Sherrill, whom he had rescued at
Watauga four years before. This young
woman, whom he playfully called his " Bonny
Kate," became his wife on the I4th of Au
gust, 1780, the marriage ceremony being per
formed by Joseph Wilson, a justice of the
peace.2 Her affection for Sevier was shown
in her saying, after her rescue at Watauga,
that she used to feel ready to have another
such race and leap over the pickets to enjoy
another such an introduction.3 " Bonny Kate "
bore to Colonel Sevier eiejto children — Rutji,
Catherine, George Washin^on, Joanna Goade,
Sarquel, Robert, Polly Preston, and "Elizafyetli
Conw-ay. Sevier was* a careful father in bring
ing up his children, and they made useful citi
zens.

1 Draper MSS. 2 Ibid.

3 Wheeler's " North Carolina," p. 450.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 89

It was while living on his plantation on the
Nolichucky that Sevier's successful scouting
and Indian fighting gained for him the nick
name of " Nolichucky Jack," or, as abbrevi
ated, " Chucky Jack."

CHAPTER VI

THE VOYAGE OF THE " ADVENTURE " AND
SKIRMISHES WITH THE BRITISH

AFTER the uprising of Dragging Canoe had
been quelled, Robertson returned home from
Echota. At that time affairs in the western
settlements seemed to be improving; families
of the best blood from the colonies continued
to swell the ranks of the settlers, and the
land, rich and very cheap, was eagerly sought
by the homeless and poor. The Reverend
Doctor Samuel Doak, a graduate of Prince
ton College, came over the mountain and es
tablished in Washington County the first in
stitution of learning in the Mississippi Val
ley. This was about 1780. He brought his
library with him, in sacks thrown across the
back of a pack-horse. This apostle of religion
and learning taught the sons of the pioneers
the more important branches of learning and
the principles of religion at a little school
building on his own farm. His school was
incorporated under the laws of North Caro-
90

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 91

lina as Martin Academy, and later it was
chartered as Washington College, and Doctor
Doak became its first president.

During the ten years of their existence, the
settlements had made some progress in civil
ization. The habits and customs of the settlers
were becoming more polished by the elevating
influences of education and religion. The
ministers of the various churches vied with
each other in the spread of their doctrines.
These educational and religious influences
among the strong-minded, brave-hearted
pioneers built up the powerful forces which
have produced so many great Tennesseeans.

Robertson next went into the region of the
Cumberland River, where Nashville now
stands, exploring in company with several
men. During the spring and summer this
company planted and raised a crop of corn,
and then, leaving three men to keep the buf
faloes off the unfenced fields, returned to Wa-
tauga for their families.

Sevier and Robertson had been as brothers
at Watauga, and it was a sad parting; but
Robertson, feeling that Sevier was able to
defend the people of the Watauga settlements,
determined to go, and set out over-land with
several men. Their route was through Cum
berland Gap and the southern part of Ken-

92 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

tucky. They went slowly with their droves
of cattle and loads of goods. The severe win
ter of 1779-80, ever since known as the
" cold winter," made their journey slow and
painful. When they reached the Cumberland
River, the stream was frozen over so solidly
that they drove their cattle over on the ice —
an unusual thing in that latitude.

In the meantime, John Donelson, with a few
armed men, was to take the women and chil
dren and what goods he could in boats from
Fort Patrick Henry, down the Holston and
Tennessee and up the Ohio and Cumberland
to French Lick, where he expected to meet
Robertson and his men. He sailed in his
own boat, which he called the Adventure, ac
companied by a fleet of such vessels.

The voyage was begun December 22,
1779. The weather was excessively cold, and
hard frosts added to the discomforts of the
•voyagers. During the voyage there were
many accidents and narrow escapes. After
sailing for some time the boats came to an
Indian village on the south bank. The In
dians showed signs of friendship, calling the
white men brothers, and inviting them ashore.
John Caffrey and Donelson's son got into a
canoe and paddled towards the village. They
were met by Coody, a half-breed, who ad vised

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 93

them to return to their boats. A large num
ber of Indian warriors, with their faces painted
red and black, were seen on the other shore
embarking in canoes and making warlike dem
onstrations. Seeing this, Coody urged the
white men to move off at once for their safety.
He sailed with them a short distance, then,
telling them that they had passed all the vil
lages and were out of danger, he returned to
his village.

But the boatmen soon came to another vil
lage and were again shown signs of friend
ship and invited ashore. Some of the voy
agers, sailing too near the opposite bank in an
effort to get out of danger, were attacked by
some Indians in ambush, and one man was
killed.

Among the voyagers was a man named
Stewart, whose family was ill with small
pox. His boat was kept at some distance in
the rear of the others, in order to prevent the
spread of the disease. The Indians, observ
ing a boat so far separated from the others,
fell upon it and murdered the occupants,
twenty-eight in all. The cries of the victims
were heard by the other voyagers, but they
were prevented from going to the rescue.

The Indians continued to march down the
river. Finally the boats sailed out of view

94 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

of the Indians and the vigilant voyagers felt
that they were out of danger. But by this
time the little fleet had sailed into the Nar
rows below Chattanooga, and one of the
boats was capsized. While trying to rescue
the lost goods and restore the boat, the boat
men were fired upon by the Indians who sud
denly appeared on the opposite cliff. Every
body retreated hastily to the boats and rowed
away as fast as possible. After they had
passed out of the reach of danger, they missed
the boat containing a man named Jennings
and his family, which consisted of his wife
and son, a negro man and woman, and a
white man. It appeared that in trying to
make their escape their boat had run upon a
rock and had become partially submerged.
What had become of its occupants could not
be learned, until one morning, about 4 o'clock,
a voice was heard up the river calling, " Help
poor Jennings!" It wa,s Jennings himself.
After he was landed, he told the story of his
narrow escape. He said that the Indians
turned their 'whole fire upon him when they
saw he was in distress, and while he returned
the fire upon the Indians, he ordered those
who were with him to cast the goods over
board and get the boat off the rock. The
firing from the Indians became so hot that

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 95

the son, the young man, and the negro man
deserted the boat. Despite the shower of
bullets falling around them, Mrs. Jennings
and the colored woman succeeded in empty
ing the boat, and Mrs. Jennings shoved the
boat off so suddenly that she came near being
left on shore to the mercy of the Indians.
The negro man was drowned, and the two
young men swam to a canoe and floated down
the river. They were met next day by five
canoes of Indians, taken prisoners, and car
ried to Chickamauga, where the young man
was burned at the stake, it was afterwards
learned. Young Jennings was spared through
the intervention of an Indian trader named
Rogers who had been released from Indian
captivity by Sevier only a short time before.

Again the voyagers moved their boats out
into the current. After rowing a few miles,
the crowing of cocks was heard in another
Indian village. Again they were fired upon
by the Indians as they passed, but this time
without injury.

The next danger to face was the Mussel
Shoals in the southern bend of the Tennessee.
The boats were landed at the upper end of
the Shoals to see if Robertson had left any
sign for them, as he had promised to leave
a sign in case it was safe for them to leave

96 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

their boats and go through by land. Find
ing no sign, they decided to continue their
journey by water. The boats were put in the
best possible condition, and the voyage was
resumed. The Shoals were very dangerous
and their roaring noise added the more dread
to the voyagers as they approached them.
Gurgling, boiling, dashing into foam and
spray, the angry waters roared so loudly that
they could be heard for miles away. At
times the boats would drag on the rocks,
again they would ride the angry waves like
ships in a storm. They were three hours in
passing over the Shoals and reached the lower
end before night.

Below the Shoals the river again widens
and the current is not so swift, and here the
men were able to take a much-needed rest
after laboring so valiantly at the oars. Float
ing down the stream quietly for some time,
two boats advancing too near the shore were
fired upon by a party of Indians, and five of
the boatmen were wounded. Reaching the
mouth of the creek, the company landed to
camp on its banks. After the camp-fires were
kindled, the dogs began to bark as if danger
were near. Presuming that a band of In
dians was coming upon them, the company
fled to their boats, leaving behind their cook-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 97

ing utensils. They dropped down the river
about a mile and encamped on the opposite
shore. Next morning Caffrey and Donelson's
son crossed the river in a canoe and returned
to the deserted camp-fires to see what had
happened. They found the negro left behind
the evening before sound asleep by the camp
fires. Finding no danger of an attack, the
voyagers recrossed the river for their utensils,
then sailed to the mouth of the Tennessee
without further encounters \vith the sav
ages.

The voyagers were here made sad by the
separation of some of their companions,
some to descend the Ohio and the Mississippi
to Natchez, others bound for Illinois. The
rest of the people had much to cast a gloom
over their spirits, for they were without food,
worn out by the voyage, and they had yet to
stem the Ohio to the Cumberland, then row
up that stream to French Lick.

But they never lost courage, and now
pushed onward. When they reached the
mouth of the Cumberland, it seemed so small
that they did not believe it to be the river
they were seeking; but, after going a short
distance up its current, they were convinced
that they were on the right stream. Some of
their men had to hunt game for food, and

98 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

they gathered from the swamps an herb which
they called Shawnee salad. At one place some
of the hunters found a pair of hand-mill stones
set up ready for grinding, but the mill had not
been in use for a long time, a fact which con
vinced them that no Indians were in that
region.

The company was rejoiced over meeting
with Colonel Richard Henderson several
miles below French Lick, for he gave them
much information that they were anxious to
obtain. Colonel Henderson was surveying the
line between Virginia and North Carolina. He
informed Donelson that a large quantity of
corn had been bought for the Cumberland
settlers. The company reached the end of
their journey on April 2, 1780, and found
Robertson and his men anxiously awaiting
their arrival. The tired and hungry voyagers
went to their little homes built upon the bluff,
where they were rested and refreshed with
such food as was common to the pioneer
homes.

Thus ended this remarkable voyage. It
may be of interest to remark here that the
future wife of Andrew Jackson, the daughter
of John Donelson, was with her father on
this voyage.

Here we leave Captain Robertson, the

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 99

loved and faithful friend of the Wataugans,
to found and develop a new settlement, while
his friend Sevier manages the affairs at Wa-
tauga and takes an active part in the resistance
to British tyranny.

While Robertson was exploring upon the
Cumberland, and making the settlements, the
thunderbolt of the Revolution fell upon the
South. In 1779 the royal army took Savan
nah and overran Georgia. The Americans,
under General Lincoln, assisted by the French
fleet under Count D'Estaing, tried to recap
ture Savannah, but were unsuccessful. Then
Sir Henry Clinton sailed from New York
and assisted in taking Charleston, the fall of
which fixed the fate of South Carolina.

Clinton sent out three expeditions through
the country to complete the subjugation of
the people. One, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Brown, was to occupy Augusta and supply
the Indians with guns and ammunition for
another uprising; another, under Lieutenant-
Colonel Cruger, was to subdue the country
around Ninety-six; the third and largest
force, under Lord Cornwallis, was to move
northward, subjugating and plundering the
colonies as it proceeded; then, the three
armies were to unite their forces to subdue
North Carolina and Virginia. Clinton felt

ioo THE LIFE OF SEVIER

that his services were no longer needed in the
South, and so, leaving the military affairs in
the hands of the above-named officers, he set
sail for New York.

The country was full of Tories. These
now flocked to the royal standard and swelled
the ranks of the British, carrying destruc
tion wherever they went. They left no
homes, no food for the widows and orphans.
Women, children, and aged men often hid
their scanty supply of food in caves.

The whole of South Carolina seemed to
be in the hands of the British; but Colonel
Charles McDowell, of Quaker Meadows,
Burke County, North Carolina, had a very
small, but invincible, force of mounted militia
at Cherokee Ford, on Broad River. With
him was the brave Elijah Clarke, of Georgia,
and Colonel James Williams, of South Car
olina, each with a small body of brave men
ready to die in the defence of their country
and of their rights.

On account of the intense summer heat,
Cornwallis decided to wait awhile before tak
ing up his northward march, and, in the
meantime, he busied himself supplying the
Indians west of the mountains with the ma
terials of war, and in enlisting the Tories.
He sent Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Fergu-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 101

son to the mountain counties to win and
enlist the Tories there in his army, for Fer
guson was very active and loyal to his maj
esty's cause. He had winning manners which
made him a skilful organizer among the
Tories, he was an expert rifleman, and he
understood well the arts of war.

McDowell soon discovered the plan of
Cornwallis and sent dispatches to Shelby
and Sevier for help. The fame of these two
men had rapidly spread to the seaboard. As
the Wataugans were expecting an invasion
from the Indians, who were being armed by
the British, Sevier did not deem it prudent
to leave Watauga, but he at once collected
two hundred mounted riflemen and placed
them under the command of Major Charles
Robertson and hastened them to South Caro
lina to McDowell's assistance. A like num
ber under Colonel Isaac Shelby was also sent
without delay.

The valiant mountain men added much
strength to the little army of McDowell.
Together the combined forces now pursued
a guerilla warfare. They were few in num
bers at all times, but they were like a moun
tain torrent dashing down the rugged rapids
right into British ranks. Every Wataugan
had learned Sevier's mode of warfare, and

102 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

when the order for battle was given each
gave the famous war-whoop and mowed
down the enemy with the Deckard. It was
the policy of the little army to change camp
often and to swoop down upon the enemy
like an eagle upon his prey, then dash into
the swamps, riding day and night, if neces
sary, to evade or avoid the pursuing troops
of the enemy.

At Thickety Fort, on the Pacolet River in
South Carolina, some twenty miles from Mc
Dowell's camp at Cherokee Ford, on Broad
River, Patrick Moore, a Tory colonel, was
organizing and drilling a force of loyalists
to be joined to Ferguson's army. Moore's
men became so cruel in plundering the help
less that McDowell determined to capture
them before they could join Ferguson, and
accordingly he sent Shelby with his Wa-
taugans, and Clarke of Georgia with his
small force, about six hundred in all, to at
tack Moore. The little army mounted their
horses about dusk and by dawn of next day
surrounded the fort. Shelby sent in a de
mand for surrender, but Moore would not at
first yield ; he, however, finally surrendered
and the garrison wras paroled not to serve
again during the \var. The fort could have
been defended easily, but terror seized Moore

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 103

when such a bold demand from Shelby was
made.

Ferguson, hearing of the bold movements
of Shelby, determined to catch him and cut
his army to pieces. He at once sent a de
tachment of several hundred soldiers to force
him to battle. Shelby and Clarke, learning
of his desire, stationed themselves at a point
not far from Spartanburg, South Carolina,
and prepared for battle. The British advance
under Dunlap came up, and a sharp skirmish
of about half an hour followed. The Ameri
cans fired their loaded pieces ; and then, when
charged, fought with knives, swords, and the
butts of their guns till their faces were so
cut and covered with smoke and blood that
it was difficult for the men themselves to dis
tinguish each other from the enemy. The
battle was hard fought. Sometimes one
American engaged two British at once in a
hand-to-hand fight. Soon the first advance
of the British was put to flight; but, on
Ferguson's coming up with his reserves, the
Americans retired from the field with twenty
prisoners, including two British officers.

McDowell now moved his camp to Smith's
Ford on Broad River. As soon as Shelby
and Clarke had reached his camp and rested
their men a little, they were sent with Colonel

104 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Williams of South Carolina, and other re
inforcements, among whom was Valentine
Sevier, brother of John Sevier, to Musgrove's
Mill, on the south side of the Enoree River,
a distance of forty miles, to rout a large
band of Tories stationed there. They took
up the line of march before sundown and
traveled through the woods till dark, then
took a road leaving Ferguson's camp only a
short distance to the left and marched all
night. Next morning at dawn they met a
patrol party, and after a brief skirmish the
enemy fled to their camps, which were about
half a mile away.

Just then a man who lived in the vicinity
approached Shelby's men with an import
ant message. He informed Shelby that the
Tories had, the evening before, been re
inforced with six hundred regulars under
Colonel Ennes. The presence of the riflemen
was now known to the enemy, their number
small, their men and horses much fatigued
with the night's ride, and retreat before a
large force of rested men and horses was im
possible. Shelby was a man of iron will and
quick decision. He decided to meet the
enemy in battle. A breast-work was made
of logs and brush. In a short time the scouts
reported the advance of the enemy. Captain

THE LIFE OF SEVlER log

Inman was sent to skirmish with the enemy
as soon as they had crossed over the Enoree,
and instructed to retreat in the direction of the
breast-work. The British came on. Captain
Inman's men fired and retreated as ordered.
The British rushed after them in disorder,
believing that the entire American force was
retreating. They galloped at full speed till
they were within seventy yards of Shelby's
army. Then the war-whoop was sounded,
and a shower of lead was poured into the
faces of the British. They staggered, but
rallied again, and the soldiers on both sides
fought like tigers for more than an hour.
The Americans yielded at a few points along
the breast-works; but they finally wounded
the British commander, Colonel Ennes, killed
or wounded all his subalterns, and hurled the
broken forces into rapid retreat. The gallant
Americans pursued them hotly, driving them
across the river. In the pursuit of the enemy
Captain Inman was killed, and the hard-
fought battle of Musgrove's Mill was ended.
After the battle, the Americans returned to
their horses tethered in the woods, for Shelby
was determined to be at Ninety-six before
night. Just after the men had mounted their
horses, a messenger from McDowell galloped
up and presented a letter from Governor

io6 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Caswell, announcing that the American
army under General Gates had been defeated
at Camden, and advising McDowell to get
out of the enemy's way the best he could.
Shelby knew the hand- writing of the Gover
nor, and there could be no question as to the
authenticity of the letter. He ordered his
men to the mountains, and all day and all
night and all the next day they pressed on
with as much speed as tired horses can
make. For forty-eight hours the men sat in
their saddles without a halt till they were far
away in the mountains. The men could
scarcely be recognized, for their eyes were red
and swollen from loss of sleep and exposure
to heat and dust. The poor horses had eaten
nothing, except what they could nibble from
the undergrowth as they hastened along. It
was fortunate that they had traveled even so
rapidly, for they had been hotly pursued by
a strong British force till late in the after
noon of the second day. They now halted
for a rest. They were at home in the rugged
fastnesses of the great mountains and they
did not fear for their safety. They could
easily defend themselves in the midst of these
bold cliffs.

The little army was now divided. Shelby

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 107

went back to Watauga ; Williams carried
the prisoners to a place of safe keeping, and
Clarke, with one hundred men, went south,
determined, if possible, to wrest Augusta
from the hands of the British captors.

CHAPTER VII

THE UPRISING OF THE WATAUGANS

McDowELL and his men, chased by Fergu
son, later crossed the mountain and took
refuge among the Wataugans. Ferguson,
giving up the fruitless chase, stationed him
self at Gilbert Town, North Carolina, and
sent an insolent message to the Wataugans
by Samuel Philips, a paroled prisoner, threat
ening to march his army over the mountains,
to burn their cabins, to lay their country
waste, and to hang their leaders if they did
not cease their opposition to the British. In
his army were a few Tories from Watauga
who were familiar with the rough passes
across the mountains. These men agreed to
guide his soldiers to the over-mountain
country. Some of them, too, were well
acquainted with Colonel Sevier and were
eager to betray him into the hands of the
enemy.

The message reached Shelby about the last
of August, 1780. As soon as he had read
it, he mounted his horse and rode to Sevier
108

THE LIFE OF SEVIER io0

on the Nolichucky, a distance of fifty or sixty
miles. When he dashed up to Sevier's home,
his poor horse flecked with foam, to his sur
prise he found feasting and merry-making
going on. Sevier was giving a great bar
becue, and a horse-race was to be run. Many
people wrere there enjoying the hospitality
of the kind-hearted, great-souled colonel, but
the people saw in the stern face of Shelby
that some portentous event was impending.

Sevier took no further part in the merry
making. In two days he and Shelby dis
cussed the state of affairs and carefully laid
their plans, for there were many things to
think about and many plans to consider. The
question was whether or not it would be ad
visable to fortify themselves at home and
wait for Ferguson's visit. To this plan there
was objection, as they were also expecting an
invasion from the Indians which might take
place at the same time they were repelling
Ferguson. Besides, this plan was too slow for
Sevier. His idea was to pounce upon the
enemy, dart swiftly away, and get ready for
another sudden attack, just as the smaller birds
drive the hawks from their nests. This mode
he had often used against the Indians. It was
now decided by the two colonels that it would
be the best plan, therefore, to collect all the

no THE LIFE OF SEVIER

riflemen they could and hasten across the
mountains and cripple or overwhelm Fergu
son before he could either reach their humble
cabins or join the army of Cornwallis. They
decided to sound the alarm and call upon the
brave pioneers to rendezvous at the Syca
more Shoals on the 25th of September, ready
to defend their homes. The two men then
separated, Shelby returning to his home to
gather his rifle rangers and secure the as
sistance of the Virginia militia of the upper
Holston region, while Sevier was to collect
his riflemen and secure the aid of McDowell
and his refugees, who were still in the west
ern settlements.

Colonel Shelby sent his brother Moses with
a letter to Colonel William Campbell, stating
the critical condition and urging him to unite
his force with the Wataugans in their efforts
to crush Ferguson. To Shelby's disappoint
ment Colonel Campbell did not at first ap
prove of the plan and refused to cooperate
with him and Sevier. Shelby at once sent
another letter urging more earnestly his as
sistance. This time the brave old Virginian
yielded and brought four hundred of his best
riflemen to the rendezvous. Shelby collected
two hundred and forty men in Sullivan
County, and Sevier the same number in

THE LIFE OF SEVIER in

Washington County. To these were added
the refugee Whigs of McDowell.

This ingathering of the western settlers for
the defence of their country presents an in
teresting picture. They were a handful of
militia, not a thousand strong, unknown to
the world, but they were brave and thor
oughly determined to fight Ferguson. The
men, women, and children of the whole set
tlement were at the rendezvous at Sycamore
Shoals to bid a loving farewell to those they
loved, for it was not certain that the soldiers
would ever return from the expedition. Pro
visions for the march had been collected from
the little farms. Every boy able to bear a rifle
was there, eager to go to war. It was an
odd-looking little army. Officers and sol
diers were clad only in their hunting-shirts,
but they were well armed with tomahawks,
butcher-knives, and Deckard rifles. Some of
them had never seen war, but many of them
had grappled with the Indian warriors, and
some had measured swords with the British
in Shelby's campaigns, a short time before.
Campbell, stern and dignified; Shelby, taci
turn and determined; McDowell, easy, digni
fied and courageous; Sevier, vivacious, ener
getic and gallant, moved about among their
soldiers like gentlemen at a social gathering.

ii2 THE LIFE OF SEVlER

Everybody felt at ease, yet all caught the spirit
which thrilled the nerves of the commanders.
None feared the British.

It was decided to leave the old men to de
fend the women ,and : children against any
Indian attack that might be made while they
were away. The younger fathers and older
sons were to go upon the march. One of
Sevier's sons was chosen to go with the
army, and a younger one, not yet sixteen,
wanted to go with his father and brother and
begged his mother so earnestly that she called
to Sevier, saying, " Here, Mr. Sevier, is an
other of our boys that wants to go with his
father and brother to war; but we have no
horse for him, and, poor fellow, it is a great
distance to walk." A horse was secured for
the little soldier boy, and he went to war
and afterwards fought like a little hero.

Old and young came together, eager for
war; but who was to defray the expenses of
the expedition? Every dollar had been spent
in taking up public lands and was then in the
hands of the entry-taker. Sevier tried to bor
row the money on his own credit, but he
could not find a dollar. He went to John
Adair, the entry-taker, and told him that the
expedition was about to prove a failure for
the lack of money to pay the expenses and

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 113

suggested that the public money be used for
that purpose.

" Colonel Sevier," said Mr. Adair, " I have
no authority by law to make that disposition
of this money. It belongs to the impover
ished treasury of North Carolina, and I dare
not appropriate a cent of it to any purpose.
But if the country is overrun by the British,
liberty is gone. Let the money go too. Take
it. If the enemy, by its use, is driven from
the country, I can trust that country to
justify and vindicate my conduct. Take
it."

On the morning after the ingathering at
Sycamore Shoals, the soldiers arose long be
fore sunrise and began the preparation for
the march. While the loving house-wives
and daughters prepared breakfast, the men
fed their horses. The sound of voices was
everywhere heard, the grim war-worn com
manders planning the march, the fond wives
talking over the affairs of the homes now to
be left to their care, the children playing with
each other, little thinking of the long absence
of their fathers and brothers. The breakfast
was served hastily, the horses were saddled,
and every soldier made ready for the march.
But, before the march was begun, all the
armed soldiers assembled and stood with

H4 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

bowed heads while the Reverend Doctor Doak,
with uplifted hands, invoked the blessings of
Heaven upon them and besought God to fight
their battles. The spirit of war thrilled the
bosom of every brave soldier leaning in rev
erence on his long rifle as the grave old min
ister called on them to be brave in battle and
to smite their enemy with the sword of the
Lord and of Gideon.

Then 'the little army took up the line of
march. No drum beat the advance, no mar
tial music stirred their brave souls. Only
love of home, liberty, and country prompted
them to face the dangers and hazards of war.
There was no chaplain, no physician, none of
the accommodations of modern warfare. "A
shot-pouch, a tomahawk, a knife, a knapsack
and a blanket, composed the soldier's outfit.
At night, the earth afforded him a bed and
the heavens a covering; the mountain stream
quenched his thirst; while his provision was
procured from supplies acquired on the
march by his gun."

A few cattle for beef were driven in the
rear of the army for a while, but their prog
ress was so slow that they had to be left
behind.

The little army, marching up Doe River,
soon reached the mountains. Here they en-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 115

camped. Next morning, traveling up the
pass between Roane and Yellow mountains,
after hard marching, they reached the top.
The bald table-land was covered with snow,
and the air was brisk and cool.

At roll-call it was found that two men
from Sevier's command, who were undoubt
edly Tories, had deserted, and were then, it
was thought, hurrying to Ferguson's camp
to warn him of the coming danger The
situation was taxing to the genius of the
commanders, but they turned quickly to the
left of the usual road and went down untrod
den passes, than which no more difficult ways
were ever followed by an army of horsemen.
They descended the mountain into a wild
region and crossed the Blue Ridge at Gil-
lespie's Gap. From this place they beheld,
in the region of the upper Catawba, the scat
tered cabins of the settlements which had been
made by the Carolinians in the shadows of
the mountains. From here they pushed
boldly down the river to Quaker Meadows,
the home of McDowell. Here they fell in
with three hundred and fifty militia under
Colonel Cleveland and Colonel Winston.
Other recruits eager for war were added to
their ranks from day to day.

But they had no chief commander, and

n6 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

the officers met in council to determine who
should be their leader. Some feared that the
command would fall upon Colonel McDowell,
who was too old and inactive for the place.
To quiet their fears, Shelby told them that
the enemy would likely soon be encountered
and that something must at once be done.
Accordingly, he suggested that Colonel
Campbell be chosen their commander, as he
had the largest regiment and was a strong
man, every way worthy of the position.
Furthermore, it was agreed that Colonel Mc
Dowell go in person to General Gates and
apply for an officer to be assigned to the com
mand of the little army. No officer from
Gates' army ever came, but the riflemen
marched on after Ferguson. The several
officers met in council each night to decide
upon the action for the following day.

The two deserters succeeded in reaching
Ferguson's camp, and so, when the riflemen
arrived at Gilbert Town, they found that
Ferguson had fled. His army at this time
was somewhat reduced, a part having been
sent towards Augusta in pursuit of Elijah
Clark; others being off on furloughs to visit
their families. Ferguson was a brave man,
but he had a dread of these Watauga sol
diers, and could not remain inactive at Gil-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 117

bert Town and await the return of his men.
He broke up camp and retreated through
the woods and swamps towards Cornwallis,
calling upon the loyalists all along the line of
march to hurry to his assistance. But they
did not rush rapidly to his standard, for many
of them seemed to realize that it was useless.
As he hastened along, he sent out a circular
letter containing this appeal: "If you wish
to live and bear the name of men, grasp your
arms in a moment and run into camp. The
Backwater men have crossed the mountain;
McDowell, Hampton, Shelby, and Cleveland
are at their head, so that you knowr what to
depend upon. If you choose to be degraded
forever and ever by a set of mongrels, say so
at once, and let your women turn their backs
upon you, and look out for real men to pro
tect them."

Ferguson sent runners to Lord Cornwallis,
informing him of the critical situation and
begging him for reinforcements. At the
same time he was marching in the direction
of Cornwallis.

The riflemen, however, had gained a more
exact knowledge of Ferguson's route and
moved on in haste to the Cowpens, where
they were joined by a few men under Colonel
Williams, Major Chronicle, and Colonel

n8 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Hampbright. The sun had already sunk be
hind the hills when the soldiers arrived, and
being very hungry, they fell to skinning
beeves and roasting the flesh on the blazing
camp-fires for their supper. Both men and
horses feasted upon the sweet juicy ears of
a fifty-acre corn-field which belonged to the
rich old Tory who owned the Cowpens.

While here the crippled spy, Joseph Kerr,
came into camp with tidings that Ferguson
was within six miles of King's Mountain. It
was deemed proper, however, to obtain more
exact information of his position. So, Major
Chronicle suggested Enoch Gilmer as the
most suitable man in the army, " for " said
he, " Gilmer can assume any character that
occasion may require; he can cry and laugh
in the same breath, and all who saw it would
believe he was in earnest; he could act the
part of a lunatic so well that no one could
discover him; above all, he was a stranger to
fear/' Gilmer accepted the commission and
at once set out on his journey. Within a
few miles of the Cowpens, he entered the
house of a Tory, and told his host he was a
loyalist seeking Ferguson's headquarters.
Gilmer drew from the old Tory the exact
movements of Ferguson and the communica
tion he was carrying on with Cornwallis. A

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 119

few hours later, Gilmer was back in camp
relating the facts he had gathered.

After supper, a council of officers was held
in which it was decided to choose the freshest
soldiers, the swiftest horses, and the surest
rifles, and fall upon Ferguson before he could
flee to Cornwallis or be reinforced. The
choice was soon made, and nine hundred and
ten expert riflemen mounted the refreshed
horses a little after 9 o'clock, and plunged
into the wilderness in pursuit of Ferguson.
A few eager footmen followed close on the
heels of the horsemen and reached the bat
tlefield in time to do their share of the fight
ing. The other less able men and horses fol
lowed more leisurely.

On October 6, Ferguson reached King's
Mountain and pitched camp on a rocky, half-
isolated spur of the main mountain. The
summit of the ridge is about five hundred
yards in length, from seventy to eighty yards
in width, and not more than sixty feet above
the surrounding country. Here he felt safe
from danger and decided to wait for rein
forcements.

After leaving the blazing camp-fires at
Cowpens, the backwoodsmen had a hard
night, for it was dark and drizzling. It was
so dark and foggy that many of the riflemen

120 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

got scattered in the woods, but fortunately
reached their ranks next day. That very
night Ferguson and his men lay quietly slum
bering in their tents on King's Moun
tain.

In the morning, just before the break of
day, Gilmer was sent to the crossing of Broad
River to reconnoiter. As the soldiers ap
proached the river, they heard him singing
" Barney Linn," a popular song of that day.
They knew now that the way was safe. About
sunrise the little army forded Broad River
at Cherokee Ford. At the outset they had
learned that about six hundred Tories had
assembled at Major Gibbs', only four miles
to their right, and were arranging to join
Ferguson next day. Some of the officers
desired to destroy them before finding Fergu
son, but to this Shelby and Sevier would not
consent. They had conceived the plan for
catching Ferguson and they were determined
to carry it out.

The clouds turned into a drenching rain ;
and, during the forenoon of the 7th, the sol
diers could keep their guns and powder dry
only by wrapping them in their sacks, blan
kets, and hunting-shirts. The roads became
so muddy that some of the horses gave out.
But Ferguson's trail became fresher and

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 121

fresher, and the little army, both horse and
foot, pushed eagerly onward in the rain.

At Ferguson's former camping place the
soldiers halted in the pouring rain long
enough to eat some roasted beef for breakfast;
then they pushed forward again. Gilmer had
been sent on ahead to secure what information
he could. The patriots now came within view
of King's Mountain. Halting at a house by
the roadside, Campbell learned that Fergu
son's camp was only nine miles distant. As
he was riding off in full gallop, Campbell
heard the voice of a girl calling him.

"How many of you are there?" asked the
girl.

" Enough to whip Ferguson if we can find
him," answered the Colonel.

Pointing her finger at King's Mountain,
she said, with a smile, " He is on that
mountain." And he was.

The fresher the scent of the fox, the more
eagerly the hounds pursue, so the riflemen
pushed onward with greater speed. A few
miles farther on, Campbell halted at the house
of a Tory. Entering, he found Gilmer din
ing and hurrahing for King George, wrhile an
old woman and her two daughters were wait
ing upon him. To have some fun, Campbell,
in a stern voice, ordered a rope put around

122 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

the spy's neck and commanded that he be
hanged a short distance up the road. The
girls wept bitterly and begged earnestly for
his life.

After getting out of sight, Gilmer began
to laugh heartily and said to Shelby, " Col
onel, I found them such loyal friends I
couldn't help, from pure sympathy, giving
both the girls a smack." Gilmer had obtained
all the information about Ferguson's position
and forces the officers desired, and a short
halt was called to plan the attack.

Some of the riflemen had hunted deer in
the region around King's Mountain, and dur
ing the previous fall some of them had
camped on the spot where Ferguson's army
was now perched, hence they were perfectly
familiar with the region. From the informa
tion they furnished, it was decided to sur
round the hill and hold the enemy on top and
destroy them by pouring into their 'ranks,
from all sides at once, a deadly fire. There
could be no danger of shooting each other,
as they would all fire up hill and the British
would most likely overshoot them.

Before the march was again resumed, a
messenger galloped hurriedly up to the army
to inform Colonel William Graham that his
wife was at the point of death. By Camp-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 123

bell's advice and consent Graham left to at
tend her bedside.

Orders having been given to march, the
soldiers again put spurs to their horses. When
within two miles of Ferguson's camp, John
Ponder, a man whom Colonel Hampbright
well knew to be a Tory, was captured. Search
ing him, they found a dispatch from Fer
guson to Cornwallis explaining his dangerous
situation and begging for help. On being
questioned about the British commander, the
youthful messenger said that Ferguson was
dressed in a full uniform, but wore a check
ered shirt over it. At this information the
Dutch commander, Colonel Hampbright,
burst out with a hearty laugh and exclaimed,
" Poys, hear dot? Shoot for the man mid
the pig shirt!"

Laughing at the Dutchman's \vords, the
jaded soldiers pressed onward with lighter
hearts into the very shadow of the mountain.
Here they met Henry Watkins, a Whig
prisoner just released by Ferguson, from
whom they gained exact details of the British
fortifications and strength. The soldiers were
at once drawn up in two lines to surround
the hill, the right line being led by Colonel
Campbell, the left by Colonel Cleveland.
Then "they moved up a branch and ravine,

124 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

between the rocky knobs, beyond which the
enemy's camp was in full view, one hundred
poles in front of them," purposely to cut off
Ferguson's retreat if he should attempt re
treat.

CHAPTER VIII

THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN

IT WAS now 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
The rain had ceased, and the sun had dis
pelled the rain-clouds and thrown a glorious
light upon the battle-hill. The horses were
tethered in the woods, just after crossing
King's Creek. Every man was ordered to
" tie up his overcoat and blanket, throw the
priming out of his pan, pick his touch -hole,
prime anew, examine his bullets, and see that
everything was in readiness for battle." A
few men were detailed to take care of the
horses; but afterwards, when the battle
opened, they hurried up the hill to take part
in the struggle, leaving the horses to take
care of themselves.

Ferguson had not yet discovered the rifle
men. He was perched on the summit of the
mountain feeling as secure as an eagle in his
eyrie. A sentinel had just returned to his
camp and stated that there was no danger at
hand. His fighting force numbered a thou
sand, more or less, and was made up of New
125

126 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Jersey Volunteers, King's Rangers, Queen's
Rangers, and many Tories — all well armed
and well disciplined in the use of the rifle,
the sword, and the bayonet. At the foot of
the hill were the backwoodsmen, about nine
hundred and fifty strong, clad in their hunt
ing-shirts and skin-caps and armed with
Deckards, tomahawks, and long knives. They
had had no sleep for many hours and very
little rest or refreshment, but every man had
energy for a hard battle. The sides of the
battle-hill, steep and rugged, were covered with
trees and shrubs, making it difficult to climb.
On top it was level, but was well fortified with
rock-ledges and baggage-wagons.

All things now ready, the regiments of the
mountaineers began to move up and around
the hill. Orders had been given that when the
riflemen were ready to begin the attack they
should give the signal by raising the Indian
war-whoop. For a few minutes everything
was quiet, and the men made haste to encircle
the hill. The right column, however, while
passing through a gap just below the sum
mit, was discovered by a British sentinel, who
gave the alarm. Mounting his horse, Fer
guson sounded a silver whistle; drums beat
to arms; everything was astir in the British

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 127

camps; and the soldiers were soon at their
respective posts, ready for fighting.

Fire was opened on Shelby first. His men
begged to return the fire, but the Colonel said,
" Press on to your places and your fire will
not be lost." Onward they pressed amid the
whizzing bullets till they reached their places.
Then in thunder-tones Shelby shouted,
" Here they are, boys ! Shout like hell and
fight like devils!" Instantly the war-whoops
from every regiment around the hill rent the
mountain air; and, before the echo from the
distant hills could be heard, the sharp cracks
of Shelby's riflemen announced that the battle
was on. " These are the same yelling devils,"
said De Peyster to Ferguson, " that were at
Musgrove's Mill."

The British charged down upon Shelby's
men, backing them to the foot of the hill;
then, reloading their rifles, the riflemen drove
the British bayonets back to the top. Camp
bell, after some little delay caused by cross
ing a marshy swamp, got up into position on
the other side and poured a galling fire into
the backs of the British. The Rangers
charged desperately, forcing Shelby's men
down the hill, but the reloaded Deckards
belched fire and lead into Ranger ranks, hurl-

128 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

ing the men lifeless to the ground or sending
them headlong over their breastworks.

The firing now became general around the
hill; the whole mountain seemed volcanic.
Every time the Americans advanced to the
breastworks to pour into British ranks their
deadly volleys, the regulars leaped over with
fixed bayonets and dashed down the moun
tain sides with such an avalanche charge that
they forced the riflemen to the foot. But ev
ery time, in turn, the regulars, scarred and
bleeding from wounds, were forced to the
summit with their ranks thinned and broken.
The rocks and trees which obstructed the bay
onet charges furnished splendid protection for
the riflemen. The charges were frequent,
brave regulars dashing, scrambling, falling
headlong over rocks and rubbish in mighty
efforts to thrust their bayonets into the bosoms
of the riflemen. But these backwoodsmen
were fleet and active and generally avoided
the bayonets.

The battle's roar reached Colonel Graham
who was hurrying to the bedside of his dy
ing wife. He forgot his mission and turned
his horse at full speed towards the mountain
to take part in the battle, but he did not arrive
till the victory was won.

On every side men fought like tigers —

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 129

fought till their faces were black with smoke
and their hair was singed with fire. All
around the hill lay the dead and dying. The
great-hearted old Dutch commander, Colonel
Hampbright, received a ball through his
thigh, and the blood filled his boot leg. His
men besought him to retire. " No, poys,"
said he, " I vill stay as long as I can sit up."
Colonel Williams, pushing into the thickest
of the fight, received a wound and was borne
unconscious to the rear. Water was sprinkled
on his face to revive him. Gasping for breath
and looking at his men, he exclaimed, " For
God's sake, boys, don't give up the hill ! "

Ferguson's men were falling fast, and he
darted from place to place. When his men
staggered and faltered, he cheered them with
the shrill blasts of his silver whistle. The
riflemen drew the line of attack near the top.
The broken ranks of the regulars charged and
recharged, and the conflict was terrible.

Slowly the riflemen forced their way to the
summit. Sevier and his invincible Watau-
gans pressed against the enemy's center and
received a bayonet charge from the regulars.
The conflict here became so stubborn that the
regulars were compelled to concentrate their
forces in a mighty effort to cripple or destroy
Sevier's division. But the Wataugans did not

130 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

yield, and were the first to reach the summit
and hold their position. Captain Robert Se-
vier, brother of Colonel Sevier, was mortally
wounded in the abdomen and died two or
three days later.

As the riflemen closed in their forces on
Ferguson's thinned and crippled ranks, the
smoke became more stifling, the fighting more
stubborn, and the hoarse war-whoops more
deafening and frightful. The aim of the
backwoodsmen now became so deadly and the
British fell so fast that two white flags were
hoisted as a token of surrender. But Fergu
son dashed up to the flags and cut them down
with his sword, swearing that he would never
surrender to such banditti.

Captain De Peyster, second in command,
seeing the British troops huddled together and
shot down like cattle at a slaughter-pen, beg
ged Ferguson to surrender. Realizing that all
was lost, Ferguson, with a few chosen com
panions, made a desperate effort to break
through the American lines and escape. He
dashed his horse into Sevier's line, cutting and
slashing with his sword till it was broken off
at the hilt. Gilleland, one of Sevier's men,
first detected the man " mid the pig shirt." He
quickly aimed at him, but his powder only
flashed in the pan. Turning to one of his

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 131

comrades, Robert Young, he shouted, "There
goes Ferguson — shoot him ! " Several rifles
fired about the same time, and Ferguson,
pierced by six or eight balls, tumbled from
his saddle and lived only a few minutes. The
British broke and ran in among their baggage-
wagons for protection against the fatal balls
of the riflemen.

The command now fell upon De Peyster,
who soon hoisted the white flag for surren
der. Following his example, his men raised
their handkerchiefs. Most of the firing ceased
along the American line, but some of the young
men did not understand the meaning of the
white flag in battle and kept firing with fatal
aim. Others, who did understand the mean
ing, had seen two or three other flags hoisted
and cut down, and so they kept firing. One
of Sevier's sons, having heard of the fatal
wound of his uncle Robert, was so angered
that he kept firing into the ranks of the sur
rendering troops, until he was finally stopped.

De Peyster dismounted and handed his
sword to Colonel Campbell. The prisoners
laid down their arms and were placed under
a double guard. The battle was over. The
brave Colonel Williams lived to hear the
shouts of victory, then breathed his last with
perfect satisfaction. The victory was decisive.

132 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Sevier and Shelby with their over-mountain
men had come to capture or overwhelm Fer
guson ; now the brave Highlander lay cold and
silent at their feet. The Americans killed or
captured the whole of the British force, ex
cept a very few who escaped by wearing white
paper badges such as some of the Americans
used. The whole fight lasted about an hour.
The loss of the British in killed and wounded
probably amounted to more than three hun
dred, while that of the Americans was not
more than ninety.1

Thus ended the battle of King's Mountain,
fought October 7, 1780. General Bernard,
an aid-de-camp to Napoleon, on examining
this battle-ground at a later time, said : " The
Americans, by their victory in that engage
ment, erected a monument to perpetuate the
memory of the brave men who had fallen
there; and the shape of the hill itself would
be an eternal monument of the military genius
and skill of Colonel Ferguson, in selecting a
position so well adapted for defence; no other
plan of assault but that pursued by the moun
tain men, could have succeeded against him."

The Americans camped the following night
on the battle-hill. The next day was Sunday.
At early dawn the Americans buried the dead.

1 Schenck's " North Carolina," p. 174.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 133

Ferguson was buried in a shallow ditch near
where he fell. Tradition says that his burial
robe wras nothing more than a beef's hide. The
wolves in countless numbers later went among
the graves and scratched up some of the dead
soldiers. The place, therefore, became a great
center for wolf hunting.

Casting lots for Ferguson's personal effects
as souvenirs of the battle, Captain Joseph Mc
Dowell received his set of china dinner plates
and a small coffee cup and saucer; Colonel
Shelby got his silver whistle ; Colonel Camp
bell was allotted his papers and correspond
ence; Colonel Cleveland, who had lost his
horse in the battle, was awarded his white
horse, and his silken sash and his commission
as lieutenant-colonel fell into the hands of
Sevier.

After the burial of the dead and attention
to the wounded of both armies, the victorious
riflemen burnt the British tents and baggage-
wagons and began to march in the direction of
their homes. The prisoners trudged along on
foot, bearing their own arms, care being taken
to remove all the flints from the locks. They
were at all times kept under a close guard, but
they had been so cowed by their defeat that
they felt it useless to attempt to escape. The
victors pressed on as fast as possible, keeping

134 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

near the mountains, for they feared an attack
from Cornwallis. There was no danger, how
ever, for Cornwallis was then retreating from
Charlotte towards the coast. He had received
one of the messages from Ferguson and had
ordered Tarleton to go to his rescue; but,
when he heard of the defeat at King's Moun
tain and of the exaggerated number of the
mountain victors, he quickly recalled Tarle
ton and sought safety in retreat.

On October I4th a halt was called and a
court-martial held at Bickerstaff's Old Field in
Rutherford County to try some of the prison
ers for desertion and graver crimes. Some
of the soldiers and commanders, still remem
bering the unmerciful treatment which befell
the unfortunate Americans while the British
were in possession of the South, were burning
for revenge. Thirty of the prisoners were
brought under the gallows, and the work of
execution commenced. After nine of these
had been hanged, Sevier and Shelby inter
fered and saved the lives of the remainder.
Among the executed was Captain Grimes
from Watauga, who, as we have seen, was the
leader of a band of Tory kidnappers in the
western settlements.

/The army was now broken up. Nolichucky
Jack and his braves hurried across the moun-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 135

tains to their homes, for they were expecting
an Indian attack upon the Watauga settle
ments, and Campbell, Shelby, and Cleveland
carried the remaining prisoners to Virginia.
Passing through Hillsboro, they made an of
ficial report of the battle to General Gates,
who was there brooding over his own terrible
defeat at Camden. The report must have
cheered his broken spirit and animated his
shattered forces now idle in their tents.

On the arrival of the victorious riflemen at
Watauga, there was much rejoicing. We may
imagine the solemn mien of Doctor Doak as
he greeted them with his benediction, for his
earnest prayer had been fully answered in the
victory at King's Mountain, which was, in the
language of Thomas Jefferson, "the joyful
enunciation of that turn in the tide of success,
that terminated the Revolutionary War with
the seal of our independence."

CHAPTER IX

BATTLES WITH THE INDIANS

UPON his return from King's Mountain,
Colonel Sevier was not surprised to hear that
the Indians were upon the war-path. He had
not reached the settlements an hour too soon.
The old Indian trader, Isaac Thomas, and an
other trader, named Harlan, were there await
ing his return; for they had had a message
of warning from Nancy Ward. The country
was alarmed, and the people from the remote
cabins had left their homes and garnered crops,
and fled to the forts for protection. On the
march home, Colonel Sevier had sent Captain
Russell in advance to hold the Indians in check
in case they should attack the settlers before
his return. Russell hurried across the moun
tain and organized the militia to meet the ex
pected invasion.

Without a day's rest, Sevier again sprang
into his saddle to lead a campaign against the
Indians. He knew they had been armed by
British agents, so he proposed to lose no time
in discomfiting them. Notwithstanding the
136

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 137

fact that he had been in the saddle almost day
and night for more than three weeks, riding
among the craggy peaks and dismal swamps
without substantial food to eat, he started the
first week in December, 1780, upon a march
with over two hundred expert riflemen, ex
pecting to meet Colonel Arthur Campbell of
the Virginia border with his riflemen at the
French Broad.

On the second night of the march, he camped
at Long Creek, Captain Guess being sent
forward with scouts to look for Indians.
Ascending a small knoll, the scouts found
themselves face to face with a large band of
Indians only forty yards distant. They fired
upon the savages from their horses and gal
loped back to camp with the tidings. The In
dians returned the fire, but without effect. Se-
vier prepared to receive a night attack. His
soldiers lay on their arms, but were undis
turbed. During the night the riflemen were
joined by about seventy Wataugans who had
come up by forced marching. Next morning
the march was resumed, with spies in front,
the army pursuing the Indians very cautiously,
for fear of an ambush. They found the body
of an Indian killed by the scouts the evening
before. As it is the custom of the Indians to
bear off their dead and \vounded, the Wau-

138 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

taugans, were, therefore, fully convinced that
the Indians had made a rapid retreat, and they
pushed on with a more vigorous pursuit. They
reached the French Broad; but, not finding
Colonel Campbell as expected, crossed the
river at Big Island and camped at Boyd's
Creek.

Early next morning the advance-guard un
der Captain Stinson found, about three miles
away, the place where the Indians had recently
camped. Their camp-fires were still burning.
As soon as Colonel Sevier was informed of
the fact, he ordered his army to march to the
front in three divisions, the center commanded
by himself, the right wing by Major Jesse
Walton, and the left wing by Major Jonathan
Tipton. The scouts were ordered to fire upon
the Indians when they discovered them and
then retreat towards the main army to draw
the enemy into ambush. By and by the sol
diers, hearing vigorous firing in the distance,
quickly formed in a half moon and concealed
themselves in the grass and undergrowth. The
stratagem worked well. The Indians followed
the scouts furiously right into the center. Se-
vier's men lay quiet till they were close, then
broke their ranks with a destructive fire from
the fatal Deckards. Walton's wing fell heavily
upon the dusky fellows, but Tipton was too

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 139

slow, and the panic-stricken warriors fled
through the opening thus made to a dense
swamp, and escaped. Not one of the soldiers
was killed or even wounded, but several In
dians fell. Many weapons and all of their
plunder fell into the hands of the victors. Let
ters from Sir Henry Clinton and other British
officers were found in the captured bundles.
This battle has ever since been known as the
battle of Boyd's Creek.

After this battle, Colonel Sevier led his men
back to the French Broad and awaited the ar
rival of Colonel Campbell and his men. His
prompt action and swift movement had saved
the settlements from an invasion. Had he
waited for Colonel Campbell, the Indians by
this time would have been in the settlements
burning, slaying, and scalping.

The Indians now concentrated their forces
at the main ford of the Little Tennessee, one
mile below Chota, where they expected the
combined forces of the enemy would attempt
to cross. But the army crossed at the lower
ford. Climbing the opposite bank, one of the
horsemen saw a large party of Indians sta
tioned on a high place watching their move
ments. These soon retreated before the rifle
men and disappeared from view. The army,
after crossing the river, separated into two

140 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

divisions and burned Chota, Chilhowee, and
other towns along the streams. The Indians
fled before the cavalry, and the hungry troops
feasted upon the corn, beans, pumpkins, and
other things which the fleeing Indians had left.

While it was destroying the Indian wig
wams, Nancy Ward met the army with a mes
sage from Watts and Noonday, who begged
for peace. But Campbell and Sevier wished
first to reduce to ashes all the Hiawassee vil
lages. On their way to these villages, they
frequently skirmished with the Indians, sev
eral of whom were killed. In one skirmish
Captain Elliot was killed. His body was bur
ied at Tellico beneath a hut, which was burned
down over his grave to hide it from the In
dians. The Hiawassee villages were burned,
the cattle killed, and the grain supplies de
stroyed.

Although the Indian country had been laid
waste, their towns burned, their food supplies
destroyed, many of their braves killed, and
many of their wromen and children captured,
and although the old chiefs, John Watts and
Noon Day, had sued for peace, the young
warriors showed no disposition to discontinue
their warfare. Such stubborn conduct caused
Colonel Sevier, Colonel Campbell, and Joseph
Martin to send to the chiefs and warriors the

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 141

following appeal, signed at Kai-a-tee, January
4, 1871:

"Chiefs and warriors, we came into your
country to fight your young men. We have
killed many of them and destroyed your towns.
You know you began the war by listening to
the bad councils of the King of England and
the falsehoods told you by his agents. We are
now satisfied with what is done, as it may con
vince your nation that we can distress you
much at any time, when you are so foolish as
to engage in war against us. If you desire
peace, as we understand you do, we, out of
pity to your women and children, are disposed
to treat with you on that subject.

"We, therefore, send you this by one of
your young men, who is our prisoner, to tell
you, if you are disposed to make peace, six
of your head men must come to our agent,
Major Martin, at the Great Island, within two
moons, so as to give him time to meet them
with a flag-guard, on Holston River, at the
boundary line. To the wives and children of
those men of your nation who protested
against the war, if they are willing to take ref
uge at the Great Island until peace is restored,
\ve will give a supply of provisions to keep
them alive. Warriors, listen attentively! If
we receive no answer to this message until the

142 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

time already mentioned expires, we shall then
conclude that you intend to continue to be our
enemies. We will then be compelled to send
another strong force into your country, that
will come prepared to remain in it, to take
possession of it as a conquered country, with
out making you any compensation for it."

But the treaty was not made for some time
after the "two moons," and the Indians con
tinued to prowl and murder in the settlements.

Sevier felt that the warriors of the towns he
had just destroyed would not be so soon on
the war-path without the help of some other
tribe, and he suspected the Cherokees living
high up in the mountains to be the cause of
the continued hostilities, and at once resolved
to carry the war to their mountain towns.
The undertaking was hazardous. The distance
was about one hundred and fifty miles, and the
trail wound about through the deep, rugged
defiles and up the craggy peaks of the highest
mountains east of the Mississippi. Sevier se
lected about one hundred and thirty choice
riflemen and began the march. None of the
soldiers had ever been in the mountain towns.
The faithful old trader, Isaac Thomas, the
only man in the settlements who had ever been
among the towns of the mountain Indians,
acted as guide, but even he had never been

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 143

over the route they were to travel. He al
ways ascended the mountain from another
side. Indeed, it is doubtful if any white man
ever tried the region through which their
route ran. It was so exceedingly wild and
rugged that it had been secure from the in
vasion of the most adventurous hunter. The
mountain streams wrere apt to be swollen from
snow and rain at this season of the year.

Colonel Sevier followed the French Broad,
crossed the Ivy and the Swannanoa, two swift
streams dashing into the French Broad, and
climbed the mountain heights. The trail was
at times so steep and rugged that his men had
to dismount and help their horses up. By and
by the little army reached the neighborhood
of the Indians, and the old trader's services
were in requisition. He guided the army to
Tuckasejah, a village on the headwaters of
the Little Tennessee. Sevier fell upon this
village with his usual swift dashing charge and
soon reduced it to a heap of smoldering em
bers. He carried fire and sword to their other
villages with the same vigorous energy, spar
ing neither homes nor food, the Indians flee
ing panic-stricken. Many of their bravest war
riors were slain, and fifty women and children
were taken prisoners. His work now done,
Sevier resumed the line of march and disap-

144 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

peared in the mountains with his captives as
suddenly as he had appeared. Returning by
the same route by which they had come, the
little army reached their homes after an ab
sence of twenty-nine days, having accom
plished the most remarkable campaign in the
history of our Indian warfare. Colonel Se-
vier kept ten of the prisoners for three years
and then exchanged them for white prisoners.

Settlers had followed close on the heels of
Sevier's campaigns, and this enraged the In
dians and caused them very frequently to at
tack the cabins of the advanced settlers. Dur
ing the summer of 1781, a party of Cherokees
attacked the new settlement on Indian Creek.
Colonel Sevier took one hundred riflemen and
went down to put an end to the struggle. He
struck the trail of the Indians and managed
to surround them by his quick movements and,
without the loss of a single man, killed seven
teen of their braves and drove the remainder
into retreat.

Scarcely had the troops reached their homes
from the Indian campaign and disbanded,
when a messenger came to Sevier's home with
a dispatch from General Greene. The dispatch
was dated September 16, 1781, and urged
Sevier to cross the mountains and help cut off
the retreat of Cornwallis, in case he should

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 145

attempt to make his way back to Charleston.
The message had been a long time in reaching
its destination, and Sevier lost no time in re
sponding to its call. Collecting two hundred
mounted riflemen, he crossed the mountains
for another swoop upon the British. Reach
ing Charlotte, North Carolina, he learned of
the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, a
surrender which virtually closed the war.

General Greene now suggested that Sevier
join General Francis Marion in driving the
British general, Stuart, into Charleston. Al
ways eager for action, Sevier and his men
sprang into their saddles and were soon with
the " Swamp Fox " at Davis's Ferry, on the
Santee. The arrival of the over-mountain
men gave encouragement to General Marion
and swelled his little army into a splendid
body of cavalry with which he could now in
flict a blow upon the enemy.

Stuart was at a place called " Ferguson's
Swamp," on the public highway leading to
Charleston. Marion crossed over to the south
side of the Santee and advanced towards the
enemy. Having learned that several hundred
Hessian soldiers, stationed at Monk's Corner,
about ten miles beyond the camp of Stuart,
were in a state of mutiny, he sent a detach
ment of about five hundred of the best rifle-

146 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

men, among whom were Sevier and Shelby
with their best marksmen, under the com
mand of Colonel Mayhem to capture the Hes
sians.

Leaving the main army of the enemy a
short distance to the left, the riflemen in May
hem's charge pressed rapidly through the
woods and swamps, and on the evening of the
second day's ride got within about two miles
of Monk's Corner. The riflemen threw them
selves across the public road and slept on their
arms in order to cut off the retreat of the Hes
sians in case they should attempt in the night
to escape to Charleston. Early in the morn
ing, Mayhem sent in a demand for surrender,
but the British commander declared that he
would defend his post at all hazards, where
upon Shelby decided to take in person the sec
ond demand for surrender. So, taking his
flag of truce, he advanced to the fort and in
formed the commander that if he was so mad
as to allow his post to be stormed, every one
of his men would be put to the sword. He
further told him that several hundred of the
over-mountain riflemen were at hand and
would soon be upon them with tomahawks.
The British officer then asked if the riflemen
had any artillery? Shelby said, "We have
guns that will blow you to atoms in a minute ! "

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 147

In a calmer tone the British officer said, " I
suppose I must surrender," and threw open
the gate of the fort.

While taking charge of the prisoners at
Monk's Corner, the riflemen saw another
British post. It was a large brick house, five
or six hundred yards east of them, enclosed
within a strong abatis, and in it were about
one hundred soldiers and fifty dragoons, who
could have defended themselves easily. Re
sorting to strategy, some of the soldiers dis
mounted and marched in, as infantry, while
others, as a body of cavalry, rode boldly up to
the house and demanded surrender. The fort
was surrendered without the crack of a rifle;
and, in addition to the prisoners, three hun
dred stands of arms fell into the hands of the
riflemen. Ninety prisoners were carried be
hind the horsemen to Marion's camp, but the
officers and men who were unable to march |o
far were paroled.

Stuart tried to recapture the prisoners and
advanced to the outer edge of the swamp
which surrounded Marion's camp. Sevier and
Shelby were sent out to skirmish with him and
lure him into the swamp for a fight, but,
hearing that the over-mountain men were in
the swamp with Marion, he retreated in dis
order nearly to the gates of Charleston.

148 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

The British cooped up in Charleston, and
civil government once more restored to South
Carolina, Sevier and his men set out for their
homes west of the Alleghanies, for they knew
not at what hour the Indians would again be
upon the war-path. When they reached their
homes, they found affairs in a ferment. Some
Tories from the Carolinas had escaped the
vengeance of the Whigs, and were among the
Chickamaugas, inciting them to open hostili
ties. Settlers kept crossing the French Broad
and building cabins. The Indians had sent
complaints to Governor Martin, and he wrote
Sevier about the matter. " Sir," he wrote,
" I am distressed with the repeated complaints
of the Indians respecting the daily intrusions
of our people on their lands beyond the
French Broad. I beg you, sir, to prevent the
injuries these savages justly complain of, who
are constantly imploring the protection of the
State, and appealing to its justice in vain."

Another appeal was made to the Governor
by the old chief, Tassel. The appeal was as
follows, a "talk," full of pathos not common
to the Indians :

" Brother, I am now going to speak to you.
I hope you will listen to me. A string. I in
tended to come this fall and see you, but there
was such confusion in our country, I thought

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 149

it best for me to stay at home, and send my
talks by our friend Colonel Martin, who
promises to deliver them safe to you. We are
a poor, distressed people, in great trouble, and
\ve hope our elder brother will take pity on us
and do us justice. Your people from Noli-
chucky are daily pushing us out of our lands.
We have no place to hunt on. Your people
have built houses within one day's walk of
our towns. We don't want to quarrel with our
elder brothers; we, therefore, hope our elder
brother will not take our lands from us, that
the Great Man above gave us. He made you
and he made us ; we are all his children, and
we hope our elder brother will take pity on us,
and not take our lands from us because he is
stronger than we are. We are the first people
that ever lived on this land. It is ours, and
why will our elder brother take it from us?
It is true, some time past, the people over the
great water persuaded some of our young men
to do some mischief to our elder brother,
\vhich our principal men were sorry for. But
you, our elder brothers, came to our towns
and took satisfaction, and then sent for us to
come and treat with you, which we did. Then
our elder brother promised to have the line
run between us agreeably to the first treaty,
and all that should be found over the line

150 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

should be moved off. But it is not done yet.
We have done nothing to offend our elder
brother since the last treaty and why shcuM
our elder brother want to quarrel with us?
We have sent to the Governor of Virginia on
the same subject. We hope that, between you
both, you will take pity on your younger
brother, and send Colonel Sevier, who is a
good man, to have all your people moved off
our lands."

Old Tassel did not express the feelings of
the Cherokees and Chickamaugas as a whole.
At the very moment he was making his piteous
appeals to his "elder brother," the Chicka
maugas were raiding in the settlements as far
up as Virginia. Hence, instead of obeying
the Governor's order by pulling down the set
tlers' cabins, Sevier was again compelled to
take up arms against the Indians. He col
lected one hundred men from his county, and
was joined by nearly as many from Sullivan
County under Colonel Anderson. All the
troops came together at Big Island, on the
French Broad. After a few days' march
ing in the direction of the enemy, they
crossed the Tennessee at Citico, where they
met a large number of Indians, among whom
were Hanging Maw and John Watts. All the
chiefs and warriors in council agreed to re-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 151

main on friendly terms, and John Watts even
went with the riflemen to assist in peace nego
tiations with the whole nation.

After crossing the Hiawassee, the soldiers
entered the territory of the hostile Chicka-
matigas. They soon destroyed the Lookout
towns and pushed on to the Coosa River, burn
ing the towns and slaying the warriors. Then,
leaving the smoldering embers of the deso
lated country, the Wataugans set out for their
homes. At Chota they held another council
with the friendly Indians. After listening to
their peace talks and smoking the pipe of
peace with the chiefs and warriors, Sevier and
his army went quietly to their homes.

For a time the Wataugans engaged in peace
ful pursuits. Land offices were opened, and
immigrants of wealth and culture crossed the
mountains to seek new homes; the forts were
deserted, larger and more comfortable houses
were built for the settler, gristmills and saw
mills were built along the streams, and schools
and church buildings were erected wherever
the people had need of them. Jonesboro was
fast becoming a center of wealth and political
influence. A large log court-house twenty- four
feet square was built. With the increase of
population and the execution of the law, open
ings were made for the doctor and the lawyer.

152 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

For a while peace and happiness dwelt in the
rustic homes, and the people were free to en
gage in their sports of horse-racing, and to
attend their log-rollings and quilting-bees with
out fear of danger.

The war of the Revolution had closed with
the surrender of the British at Yorktown, fol
lowed by the Treaty of Paris, September 3,
1783, \vhereby England acknowledged the in
dependence of the colonies on the North
American continent. There was as yet no
" United States," but only a confederation of
States of which North Carolina was one, and
one having a poorly defined western border.

CHAPTER X

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN

IN June, 1784, the Legislature of North
Carolina passed an act ceding to the Continen
tal Congress all of what is now Tennessee. In
other words, the parent State was giving its
western lands to pay its share of the recent
war debts, which were very heavy. The rep
resentatives from the four western counties —
Washington, Sullivan, Greene, and Cumber
land — were present and voted for the cession.
Congress was given two years in which to ac
cept or reject the gift. During this time, how
ever, the jurisdiction of North Carolina was
to continue in force.

North Carolina had always neglected her
western citizens, and a general feeling now
prevailed that they would suffer greater neg
lect and would be exposed to lawlessness and
Indian depredations for two years. No offi
cers had been appointed to call out the militia
in time of danger, and the people felt that the
time had come for them to act upon their own
authority. So they assumed the task of devis-
153

154 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

ing a government of their own. Each military
company of the three eastern counties elected
two delegates to a convention which was to
adopt a plan for a new commonwealth. This
convention was held at Jonesboro, August 23,
1784. Sevier was chosen president. The
delegates were unanimously in favor of a sepa
ration from North Carolina, and passed a
resolution declaring themselves independent.
A- large crowd thronged the street in front of
the little building in which the convention was
sitting, anxiously awaiting the result of the
deliberations. As soon as the resolution was
passed, it was announced to the crowd and was
received with hearty applause. It was further
agreed that another convention be held at
Jonesboro September 16, for the purpose
of forming a constitution and giving a name
to the new State. This convention was made
up of five men elected from each of the same
three counties. For some reason the conven
tion did not meet until November, and by that
time two factions had arisen in the ranks of
the seceders. One faction wished to act at
once; the other was in favor of waiting awhile
longer in hopes that matters would right them
selves in the end. Sevier belonged to the latter
class. In the meantime, having heard of the
bold intention of the settlers, the Assembly of

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 155

North Carolina met at Newbern, October
22, 1784, and repealed the cession act, cre
ated the people a new judicial district, ap
pointed an assistant Judge and an Attorney-
General for the Supreme Court, formed the
militia into a brigade, and appointed Colonel
Sevier brigadier-general.

Sevier himself felt that there was now no
need of going further in the secession move
ment. On December 14, 1784, when the
people were assembled at Jonesboro, he made
a short speech on the action taken at New
bern by the Assembly. " Our grievances/' said
he, " are redressed, and we have nothing more
to complain of; my advice is to cease all ef
forts to separate from North Carolina, but
remain firm and faithful to her laws." But
the people were more determined on secession
than Sevier fancied, and on the very day he
made his address, the five delegates from each
county met in convention at Jonesboro. Se
vier was again chosen to preside over the con
vention. After he was conducted to the chair,
the Reverend Samuel Houston arose and
addressed the convention on the object of their
meeting, and offered a prayer that they might
receive counsel and wisdom from on high in
the undertakings in which they were then en
gaged. A constitution for a new State was

156 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

submitted and agreed upon, subject to the rati
fication of a convention to be chosen by the
people to meet at Greeneville November 14,
1785. Before adjourning, the convention took
action for the immediate election of all the
State officials as provided for in the constitu
tion.

Soon after the election, the Legislature met
and chose General Sevier Governor. Landon
Carter was chosen Speaker of the Senate and
Thomas Talbot, Clerk; William Cage was
chosen Speaker of the House of Commons
and Thomas Chapman, Clerk. David Camp
bell, who was elected Judge of the Supreme
Court, was to be aided in his courts by two as
sistant judges, Joshua Gist and John Ander
son. At this session of the Legislature, four
new counties were created, and many acts were
passed for the good of the country, among
which was one " for the promotion of learning
in the County of Washington." In accord
ance with this last act, Doctor Doak established
his school, the first academy founded in the
Mississippi Valley. Doak was a graduate of
Princeton College, as before stated, and he
became a famous teacher. • His school build
ing was a plain log house built upon his own
farm.

The currency was rudely fixed, the value of

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 157

the dollar being rated at six shillings. Money
was scarce, and a scale of prices was fixed
upon almost everything raised or manufactured
by the backwoodsmen. The skins of animals
constituted the common currency, and were
made a legal tender. The salaries of the State
officers, taxes, marriage licenses, in fact every
thing, could be paid in skins or the commod
ities rated by the Legislature.

Governor Sevier wrote the Governor of
North Carolina, informing him in a friendly
manner of the action of the western settlers
and giving all the reasons for such actions.
The Governor of North Carolina replied in a
public letter, using his strongest arguments to
refute Sevier's vindication of the secession.
He firmly declared that the revolting people
must return to the parent State, or be brought
back by force of arms. He further stated that
North Carolina would consent to the forming
of a new State at the proper time, but the
time, he argued, was not at hand for such an
undertaking.

The authorities of the new government next
sent a memorial to Congress by the Honor
able William Cocke, setting forth the condi
tion of the western people and asking to be re
ceived by the Federal Union as a State, but
Congress turned a deaf ear to their petition.

158 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

To make the situation more trying, an unfor
tunate incident occurred at this time in the
Indian country which exposed the people to
further Indian depredations and called forth
graver censure from North Carolina. An In
dian chief, Untoola, was killed by Col. James
Hubbard.

The circumstances of the homicide were
these: a large inflow of immigrants had con
sumed nearly all the corn of the settlements,
and Colonel Hubbard and a companion had
gone to the Indian country to buy corn.
Hubbard's parents and brothers and sisters
had all been murdered by a band of Shaw-
nees, and he had ever since been an enemy
to the Indian race. He had doubtless killed
more Cherokees than any other white man.
In one of these furious combats, he had
unhorsed the chief Untoola, better known
among the white men as Butler. Butler had
become so disgraced in his nation on account
of his defeat that he yearned to kill Hubbard.
So, as soon as he learned of the Colonel's visit
to his country, he took with him a warrior and
galloped off to meet Hubbard in the woods.
The warriors met Hubbard and his companion
walking and leading their horses. Butler rode
up and demanded the object of their visit.
" As the war is over," answered Hubbard,

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 159

"we have brought some clothing which we
desire to barter for corn." Then he showed
the Indians the contents of one sack and drew
out a bottle of whiskey, which he offered them.
To convince the Indians of his peaceable in
tentions, he had leaned his gun against a tree.
He then inquired about corn, but Butler gave
him no answer. The savage countenance of
the old warrior betrayed his wicked intentions.
He turned his horse about, as if he intended to
make a dash between Hubbard and his gun,
or else to get the white men in line so as to
kill them both at a single shot. But Hubbard's
eagle eyes were fixed upon the maneuvers of
the chief; he dared not take up his gun, as
that would be regarded as a breach of the
peace and renewal of war. However, he
reached his hand to the muzzle of his gun,
leaving the breach upon the ground, and
awaited the attack. Whirling his horse around,
Butler aimed a blow at Hubbard with his gun,
but missed him. Angered at his failure, the
chief then quickly fired at Hubbard, the ball
cutting off a thick lock of his hair and stun
ning him slightly. Both Indians retreated so
rapidly that they got eighty yards away be
fore Hubbard could recover himself and fire.
But he took sure aim, and at the crack of his
rifle, the old chief tumbled to the ground fa-

160 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

tally wounded. He begged to be let alone, but
allowed Hubbard to lift him up against a tree
so he could breathe easier. On being asked
if his nation was for peace, the old chief said,
" No. They are for war, and if you go any
further they will take your hair!" To this
Hubbard answered that the Indians would be
beaten if they again went to war with the
white men. " It is a lie, it is a lie," said the
chief. Hubbard then finished him with a blow
from his heavy rifle. Meanwhile, Hubbard's
companion had his attention so fixed on the
combat with the chief that he let the other In
dian escape. Hubbard highly censured him
for such conduct for he knew the fleeing In
dian would soon break the news of Butler's
death, and then the Indians would fall heavily
upon the settlers for revenge.

On being fully informed of the secession
movement at Watauga, the Governor of North
Carolina issued a manifesto to the western
counties, urging the people to return to the
parent State. Governor Sevier issued a coun
ter manifesto to his people, urging them to
stand their ground firmly. He endeavored to
refute every argument of Governor Martin's
manifesto. In November, 1785, the consti
tutional convention met at Greeneville as or
dered to ratify or reject the constitution which

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 161

had been submitted by Samuel Houston at
Jonesboro in November of the previous year.
The Commons met in the log court-house ; the
Senate, in a room of the town tavern. There
was bitter rivalry between the parties new
headed by Sevier and John Tipton. Tipton's
faction was in favor of the constitution sub
mitted by Houston. This constitution called
the new State " The Commonwealth of Frank
lin," and it provided that no person was eligi
ble to office, unless he believed in the Bible,
in the Trinity, and in heaven and hell. It
further provided that clergymen, doctors, and
lawyers should not be allowed to hold office.
This strange constitution was rejected, and,
on motion of Sevier, a constitution modeled
after that of North Carolina was adopted.
The new commonwealth was called " The State
of Franklin," in honor of Benjamin Franklin,
and Greeneville \vas made the capital.

The affairs of the new State ran well for
more than a year, but early in 1786 Tipton and
his party boldly espoused the cause of North
Carolina. They held elections for represen
tatives and local officers, and reestablished the
laws of the mother State. Grave were the con
ditions that followed. Both parties held
courts, and each was in turn broken up by
armed men of the other party. Often the men

1 62 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

fought each other savagely. On one occasion
Sevier and Tipton themselves engaged in a
fist fight, but their friends interfered and pre
vented any serious injuries. Matters grew
from bad to worse, and many people were
getting tired of such civil strife. The Legis
lature of North Carolina took advantage of
the situation and passed an act declaring that
the western counties would at the proper time
be erected into an independent State if they
would return to their allegiance and wait. A
free pardon was offered to all who would re
turn. Many did return, but the majority still
stood firm.

The neighboring States watched eagerly the
steps taken by the Franks, most of them hop
ing that their downfall might soon come, as
their success might encourage similar revolts
in their own western borders. Benjamin
Franklin had been informed of the movement,
and his advice was asked. He expressed his
appreciation of the honor conferred upon him
by naming the new State after him, but his ad
vice, like the oracles of the Greeks, was given
in vague terms. The old philosopher knew
very little of the real story of the western
region.

Learning of the wild confusion and the fre
quent combats between the two factions of

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 163

Franklin, Evan Shelby attempted to restore
quiet. Even his stern efforts brought no
change. He advised that North Carolina raise
one thousand militia to force the Franks into
submission, but the Governor of North Caro
lina opposed such a rash plan. Then Sevier
persuaded the Governor of Georgia to appeal
to the sympathies of the Executive of North
Carolina in behalf of the Franks, but these ef
forts accomplished nothing. The friendly
spirit evinced by a manifesto issued by Gov
ernor Caswell — successor of Martin — caused
the people one by one to return to the citizen
ship of North Carolina. The Legislature of
Franklin met for the last time in September,
1787. Matters had reached such a dangerous
condition that the citizens of Franklin could
not hold an election. It soon became evident
that nothing could be done except by force of
arms, and Governor Sevier had not the heart
to resort to arms. His term of office expired
in March, 1788, and with the expiration of his
office the ill-fated State of Franklin collapsed.
The state of affairs was a grievous one to
the brave Governor. At first he had advised
the people against the establishment of the
new State; but, upon finding them determined
to revolt, he had cast his lot with them and
determined to use his utmost energy for main-

164 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

taining an independent State. Upon the fall
of the little State of Franklin, he doubtless felt
that his dearest friends had forsaken him, but
they had not. The people probably thought
that, as he had advised them not to revolt in
the beginning, he would now return to his old
allegiance to North Carolina. But they were
certainly in error as to their notion of what he
would do.

North Carolina, regarding Governor Sevier
as guilty of treason, issued a writ against his
estate about the time his term of office expired.
His slaves on his farm at Nolichucky were
seized by the sheriff and carried to Tipton's
house on Sinking Creek for safe-keeping. Se
vier was at this time on the frontiers of Greene
County taking action for the defense of the
inhabitants against a threatened invasion of
the Indians. Hearing of the act, he at once
raised one hundred and fifty men, and with his
characteristic promptness marched to Tipton's
house to rescue his slaves. It was in the cold
winter days of February when he reached Tip-
ton's cluster of log buildings on Sinking Creek.
A few days before Tipton had sent a number
of his men to capture Sevier, and he had now
only time enough to call in about fifteen men
to guard his house and defend the slaves.

It was in the afternoon when Sevier halted

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 165

in a swamp two or three hundred yards from
the house. He had brought a small cannon
with him and this he planted in front of the
house. Having moved his force to this small
battery, he sent in a demand for surrender.
Doubtless preferring death to an honorable
surrender to Sevier, Tipton would not yield,
and sent back the reply, " Fire and be
damned ! " He was so angry he \vould per
mit no correspondence with Sevier.

The next day, the weather being rather icy,
Tipton's wrath cooled down a little, and he al
lowed one of his own men, Colonel Love, to
carry on a paper war writh Sevier. Love ad
dressed his letter to Colonel Sevier, carefully
ignoring General Sevier's official title. In re
ply, General Sevier stated that Colonel Sevier
was not in camp, meaning of course his brother
Valentine, who bore that title. Night com
ing on, the correspondence ended. Sevier's
men moved back to their camp-fires, and Tip-
ton hurried out messengers for help. Next day
some of Sevier's men stationed themselves
upon a bluff within shooting distance of the
house. During the day a few men joined
Tipton. The following night, Robert Love,
with a single companion, went to his own
neighborhood for help. On the way he met
his brother Thomas and about a dozen other

1 66 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

men on their way to join Tipton. He warned
them of the guard stationed on the bluff near
the road. Before it was yet daylight, Love
rode his horse ahead of his men, but was not
hailed. When he reached the bluff, he found
it unguarded. The night was excessively cold,
and the guards had gone to warm themselves
a few minutes by the camp-fires. Love hur
ried back to his men with the news and then,
raising a whoop wrhich rent the air, they dashed
with full speed to Tipton's house. Major
Elholm, second in command to General Se-
vier, proposed the erection of a light movable
battery, under cover of which the soldiers
could reach the walls of the house. In the
meantime, some of the soldiers fired upon the
men passing into and out of the house, killing
one and wounding another. At last the morn
ing of the 28th of February, 1788, began to
dawn. The weather was cold, and the snow
fell thick and fast. Several men under the
command of a man named Maxwell arrived
and marched cautiously within gunshot of Se-
vier's camp and waited for daylight.

Notwithstanding the fast falling snow and
the cold gales which swept from the north,
Sevier's men, at the break of day, filed out to
attack Tipton's men. Maxwell's troops fired
a volley and raised a deafening shout. The

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 167

men in the house, knowing that deliverance
was at hand, sent up another shout which filled
Sevier's shivering, half-clad troops with ter
ror, and caused them to flee pell-mell into the
woods. The sheriff of Washington County
was mortally wounded. The cannon of Se
vier's battery fell into the hands of Tipton,
and many of the Franks were taken prison
ers, among them two of Sevier's sons, James
and John. Tipton declared that he would
hang them both. Learning of Tipton's threat,
the two boys sent for Mr. Thomas and others
with whom they were on good terms, and
asked them to appease the wrath of Tipton
and save their lives. These men went at once
to Tipton and pleaded their cause well. They
pictured to him the wretchedness of his own
sons, whom he supposed to be in the hands of
Sevier and about to be hanged for deeds im
puted to himself, their father. With tears
streaming down his cheeks, Tipton declared
that he was too womanish for any manly of
fice, and refrained from carrying out his
threat.

Maxwell's men did not pursue Sevier's men
more than two hundred yards. It was indeed
a curious kind of warfare, not often met with
in history, and seems ludicrous though it is
significant of the conditions in those frontier

1 68 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

settlements. The casualties were probably the
result of accident. It was a sham battle in
which Sevier tried to regain his slaves from
Tipton. Although shamefully mistreated and
insulted by the acts of Tipton, Sevier did not
go there to shed blood. He could easily
have taken Tipton on the day of his arrival,
and his little battery could have blown the
houses to pieces. " We did not go there ta
fight," said Doctor Taylor, who was there
during the siege, " neither party intended to
do that. Many on both sides were unarmed,
and some who had guns did not even load
them. Most of us went to prevent mischief,
and did not intend to let the neighbors kill
one another. Our men shot into the air, and
Sevier's men into the corner of the house. As
to the storms of snow keeping the men from
taking sure aim, it is all a mistake. Both sides
had the best marksmen in the world, men who
had often killed a deer, and shot it in the head,
too, when a heavier snow was falling. The
men did not try to hit anybody. They could
easily have done so if they had been enemies."
Forebodings of this curious battle might
have been read in the face of John Sevier as
he had sat the previous night in grim silence
by his camp-fire. He had often drawn his
sword for his country and triumphed over his

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 169

enemy, but to draw his sword against his fel
low-citizens was more than he had a heart to
do. " The men under his command," says
Doctor Ramsey, "exhibited the same altered
behavior. In all their campaigns, order and
enthusiasm attended the march, care and vigi
lance the bivouac, the mirthful song and the
merry jests were heard in every tent. On
these occasions it was the custom of Sevier to
visit every mess and to participate in their
hilarity. He spoke of the enemies and dan
ger before, and friends and homes behind
them. He was the companion and friend and
idol of his soldiery. But now the camp of
the Governor of Franklin was dreary and
cheerless. No merry laugh was heard — nor
song — nor jest. Little care and less vigilance
was taken in placing out the sentinels. Sevier
was silent, appeared abstracted, thoughtful,
and, at this time only in his whole public life,
morose and ascetic. Elholm's vivacity failed
to arouse him. He communicated little to that
officer; he said nothing to his men. He took
no precaution, suggested no plan, either of at
tack or defence."

Had Tipton had the feeling of brotherly
love which throbbed in the sympathetic heart
of John Sevier, they could have met without
the flag of truce and grasped each other's

1 70 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

hands in mutual friendship, forgetting all the
struggles of the little State of Franklin. Tip-
ton was at first a strong advocate of the
Franklin movement, but, when he found that
Sevier was determined to cast his life and for
tune with the lot of his friends and com
rades, he espoused the cause of North Caro
lina, and did all in his power to undermine
Sevier and cause his downfall, for he knew
that Sevier was the idol of the people.

CHAPTER XI

UNHAPPY EVENTS ON THE WESTERN BORDER

SLOWLY, listlessly, and sadly, Sevier and his
men wended their way toward their homes as
if they were in a funeral procession. He
doubtless felt that as many of his best friends
had turned their backs upon the State of
Franklin, they had also lost their friendship
for him as well. In this, however, he was mis
taken, as we shall see. And then, too, he was
returning home without his slaves, which cir
cumstance bore heavily upon his melancholy
feelings. But while he trudged along, nurs
ing his grief, messengers from the border set
tlements rode up and apprised him of a re
cent uprising of the Indians, and urged him to
hurry to the defense of the settlers. The
weight of despondency at once fell from him.
" In a moment," says Doctor Ramsey, " Sevier
was himself again, elastic, brave, energetic,
daring, and patriotic. At the head of a body
of mounted riflemen he was at once upon the
frontier to guard and protect its most defence
less points."

171

172 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

While Sevier was on the border defending
the settlers, his enemies were accusing him of
deeds which he never committed, of crimes of
which he never dreamed, of intentions which
never entered his mind. These misrepresenta
tions, so numerous and base, were not long in
reaching Governor Johnson of North Caro
lina. He wrote to General Martin, an enemy
of Sevier's in the western settlements, these
words: "Sevier, from the state of his con
duct set forth in your letter, appears to be in
corrigible, and I fear we shall have no peace
in your quarter till he is proceeded against to
the last extremity." Governor Johnson was a
good man and supposed the news he was re
ceiving to be true.

But however he might be slandered, Sevier
was still popular among the western settlers
and their chief dependence in the hour of dan
ger. We see him now on the frontier calling
out the bordermen and leading them to battle
as one having authority. From Major Hous
ton's Station, he and James Hubbard issued
this address " to the inhabitants in general,"
on July 8th, 1788:

" Yesterday we crossed Tennessee with a
small party of men, and destroyed a town
called Toquo. On our return we discovered
large trails of Indians making their way to-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 173

wards the place. We are of the opinion their
numbers could not be less than five hundred.
We beg leave to recommend that every sta
tion be on their guard; that also, every good
man that can be spared will voluntarily turn
out and repair to this place, with the utmost
expedition, in order to tarry for a few days
in the neighborhood and repel the enemy, if
possible. We intend waiting at this place some
days with the few men now with us, as we
can not reconcile it to our own feelings to leave
a people who appear to be in such great dis
tress."

In the month of May the Indians massacred
John Kirk's family, which lived on the south
west side of Little River, twelve miles south
of Knoxville. Mr. Kirk was absent from his
home, and an Indian by the name of Slim
Tom, well known to the family, came into the
cabin and asked for food. Mrs. Kirk thought
the Indian was still friendly and gave him the
food and he departed. But he had come as a
spy. After a short time he returned with a
band of Indians who had been hiding in the
woods and massacred the whole family, eleven
in all, leaving their mangled bodies in the yard.
When Mr. Kirk and his eldest son returned,
they at once sounded the alarm in the neigh
borhood and the bordermen gathered quickly

174 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

to punish the Indians. At this time Joseph
Martin was living among the Cherokees. He
did not believe the Cherokees were responsi
ble for all the crimes committed against the
white men in the lower settlements. The
Creeks and the Chickamaugas were generally
the ones that stirred up the strife; but the
white men suspected, of course, that the Chero
kees were the guilty ones, as they lived clos
est to the settlements. A' council was held,
and the Cherokees stated that the Creeks kept
passing through their country to war on the
white men and swore that they were not guilty
of the crimes of which they had been accused.
The outrages continued. While passing
down the Tennessee, a large boat containing
forty white men was captured by the Chicka
maugas, and all but three of the white men
were murdered. Martin left Chota on the
24th of May and went to the French Broad
to prevent mischief. There he found the
militia gathered, with Sevier at their head,
ready to invade the Indian country. Seeing
this martial array, Martin deemed it useless
to attempt further to prevent war. So he
hurried back to Chota to look after his slaves
and other property. Then Sevier made a dash
through the Indian country with a hundred
mounted men, destroyed a town on the Hia-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 175

wassee, and killed many of the Indians. His
swift dashes carried the same work of destruc
tion to a few other towns.

But on one occasion the record of his brave
riflemen was stained with crime. Abraham,
a friendly Indian, and his son, remained in
their cabin on the north bank of the Tennes
see and openly declared that they would not
go to war against the white men. When the
troops came to the south bank, Hubbard sent
for Abraham to come over the river to the
troops. After he had crossed over, Hubbard
sent him back after Corn Tassel, and others,
stating that the white men wished to talk with
them. Flags were held out to lure the In
dians across. But, as soon as the Indians were
crossed over, they were thrust into a house;
and, during Sevier's absence, young Kirk, son
of John Kirk, whose family had been mur
dered by Slim Tom, entered the cabin and
slew all the Indians with his tomahawk. When
Sevier returned, he was enraged at this breach
of faith and rebuked young Kirk severely.
Kirk retorted that Sevier himself would have
done the same if his family had been mur
dered by the Indians. With no power as an
officer, except to lead to battle, Sevier was un
able to punish the boy. Most of the better
class of the bordermen disapproved of this

176 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

deed of Kirk, and some went so far as to for
sake Sevier temporarily. The terror arising
from Chucky Jack's raids and the news of the
murder of the chiefs on the Tennessee, created
such a panic among the Indians that many of
them fled across the mountains to North Caro
lina for food and protection. Some also
joined the Chickamaugas. As soon as a much
exaggerated report of the raid reached the
Governor of North Carolina, he ordered Judge
Campbell to issue a warrant for the arrest of
Sevier, but, being a true friend of Sevier's,
Campbell refused to issue the warrant.

The Indians, especially the Chickamaugas
and a few Cherokees, became desperately furi
ous in their rage after the murder of their
chiefs, and fell upon the frontier cabins. The
people ran into the forts and relied upon Se
vier to protect their lives and their homes.
Martin had succeeded Shelby as commander
of the militia and was the officer directed by
North Carolina to put down the Indian up
risings. But he was better with the use of his
tongue than with his sword, and tried to keep
the Indians quiet by talks. However, on one
occasion, he led a body of militia into the
Chickamauga country, near Chattanooga,
burning a town or two, but he was worsted in
a fight on Lookout Mountain. When he de-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 177

parted from the region, he was followed and
harassed for a great distance by the bold
Chickamaugas. Sevier was the only leader in
the Southwest who could successfully wage
war against these brutal savages. The other
officers were slow and depended too much upon
large forces. The Indians could commit their
murders and be in their hiding places before
their cumbrous armies could strike a blow.
With a hundred or two of his riflemen, Sevier
could dash through the forests with lightning
speed and strike the savages with such force
that they would flee in wild confusion in every
direction.

After quelling the Indians, Sevier decided
to return to his home. He had a true forgiv
ing spirit and surely fancied he would be for
given by a people he had so often saved from
ruin. But it was not so. Judge Spencer, one
of North Carolina's principal judges, who had
recently held court at Jonesboro, had already
ordered his arrest for high treason. Sevier
appeared freely in all public places. With a
few friends he entered Jonesboro. Here he
found that Martin had been holding a coun
cil with his militia officers, and that Tipton
was there. The council was just breaking up
as Sevier arrived. During the day he had an
altercation with one Caldwell. After leaving

178 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

the town, Sevier was followed by Caldwell,
Tipton, and eight or ten others of like char
acter. They went to the house where Colonel
Love lodged and got him to go with them to
Colonel Robertson's. Here Tipton had a close
search made, as he expected to find Sevier
concealed somewhere about the place. The
night was far spent; and, failing to find the
object of their search, they hurriedly set out
to Widow Brown's home, reaching her house
about sunrise. Mrs. Brown had just risen
when Tipton and his men galloped up to her
door. She knew Tipton well and doubtless an
ticipated the object of his visit, for she sat
down in the door-way to prevent his entering
the house. The bustle between her and Tip-
ton awoke Sevier, who slept near one end of
the house. He sprang from his bed and looked
through a key-hole in the door to see what the
trouble was about. At a glance he understood
it all. Seeing Colonel Love, he opened the
door and held out his hand, saying, " I sur
render to you," and Colonel Love led him to
the place where Tipton was contending with
Mrs. Brown for entrance into her house.

On seeing Sevier, Tipton swore that he
would hang him. Sevier was really afraid
that he would be shot on the spot by the mad
dened demagogue who held a pistol in his

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 179

hand. But he finally calmed down and ordered
Sevier to get his horse, for he was eager to
be off with his prisoner to Jonesboro. At Se
vier s request Colonel Love accompanied him
to Jonesboro. On the way he requested the
Colonel to use his influence to have him im
prisoned at Jonesboro, instead of being sent
so far across the mountains. Love did not ap
prove of this. " Tipton," said he, " will place
a strong guard around you there ; your friends
will attempt a rescue, and bloodshed will be
the result." Sevier assured Love that he
would dissuade his friends from rash meas
ures. It was a bitter trial to Sevier to be
taken from his family and friends, without a
just cause; but, under the circumstances, it
was impossible to prevail upon his captors to
yield to his request.

When they reached Jonesboro, Tipton or
dered hand-cuffs to be put on Sevier. This
being done, he went a short distance with his
prisoner and then left him in the custody of
the deputy sheriff and two other men, George
French and Gorley, with orders to carry him
to Morganton or lower down, if necessary, and
put him in jail.

Colonel Love traveled with Sevier till late
in the afternoon, then returned home. Before
his departure, Sevier requested him to send

i8o THE LIFE OF SEVIER

word of his capture and imprisonment to
"Bonny Kate," and to tell her to send him
some money and clothes. There is a tradi
tion that George French had orders from Tip-
ton to kill Sevier and that, while on Iron
Mountain, on their way to North Carolina,
Gorley revealed the f)lot. On learning the in
tentions of his captors, Sevier attempted to
escape, but during the flight his horse got
entangled in some trees and brush thrown
down by a recent storm and could get no far
ther. French pursued and fired his pistol in
Sevier's face, doing no harm, however, except
to burn his face with the powder. It appears
that the ball had dropped out of the pistol in
the pursuit.

The officers moved down the mountain and
in due time reached Morganton, where they
delivered their prisoner to William Morrison,
the sheriff of Burke County. Here Sevier
was met by twro of his old friends, Generals
Charles and Joseph McDowell, who became
his bondsmen for his appearance at court, and
he visited his brother-in-law, several miles
from town. He made his visit and returned
to the sheriff at Morganton on the second
day after leaving. Sheriff Morrison had had
the good fortune to share in the honors of
King's Mountain, and of course was as lenient

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 181

towards Sevier as he could be, consistent with
his duty.

The news of the capture and supposed im
prisonment of Sevier had by this time spread
among the western settlements, and the people
there were excited and angry. They were fully
determined to rescue him. They could see the
State of Franklin fall, but they could not stand
in silence and see such men as Tipton take
their friend and imprison him on false
charges.

The story of the rescue of Sevier has been
told in different ways, colored more or less by
tradition. One of them runs that he was res
cued during his trial in court by his friends
and sons who had brought his favorite race
horse. When he understood the plot, he es
caped from court, mounted his horse, and was
soon out of reach of danger. This tale, how
ever, is only romance, for there was no court
in Morganton at this time. Sevier's son John
was with the crowd that went to Morganton
to secure his father's release, and has left a
statement of the circumstances under which
he made his escape, which is here printed for
the first time :

" Immediately after the fall campaign of
1788, Colonel Sevier was arrested and taken
to North Carolina. Gourley and French

1 82 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

guarded him, and French shot at him. When
they delivered their prisoner to the jailer at
Morganton, who had fought at King's Moun
tain, he knocked off the irons from his hands
and told him to go where he pleased, not, how
ever, to leave the place. Joseph Sevier, the
Colonel's brother, John Sevier, Jr., (the in
formant), George North, Doctor James Cozby,
Jesse Green, and William Matlock went after
the Colonel ; when within a few miles of Mor
ganton, they stopped one night with Uriah
Sherrill, brother-in-law to Colonel Sevier.
from whom they learned that the Colonel was
not confined and \vas treated with great len
ity. Next morning they rode into town all to
gether, no court sitting, the sheriff absent, went
to a tavern, there found Colonel Sevier in
company writh Major Joseph McDowell; told
him frankly they had come for him and that
he must go. After tarrying an hour or two,
without any fear from the jailer or any one
else, Colonel Sevier ordered his horse and all
started off before noon, in the most open and
public manner, and returned home. They did
not know but the sheriff might possibly fol
low them, when he heard of Colonel Sevier's
return home, but he did not."

The backwoodsmen were much rejoiced
1 Draper MSS.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 183

over Sevier's return, and Tipton, aware of the
hostile feeling along the frontier over his act,
never again attempted to have him put in
irons.

It may be remarked here that Andrew Jack
son,2 then a young lawyer about twenty-one
years old, who had crossed the mountains
riding his race-horse, a pair of holsters buckled
across the front of his saddle, leading another
horse on whose back was a shot-gun and a
well filled pair of saddle-bags, and followed
by a large pack of hounds, was at Jonesboro,
just beginning his career. If he took any part
either for or against Sevier, no mention is
made of it in any of the records.

Sevier was still technically an outlaw, but
he was held in the highest esteem by all his
neighbors, and, at the very first election, he
was chosen to represent his district in the State
Senate of North Carolina. No man dared to
arrest him again for high treason, because all
feared the vengeance of the backwoodsmen.
In November, 1789, he went to Fayetteville,
then the State capital, to take his seat. At
first he was not allowed to take it, because the
act offering pardon and oblivion to the Franks
who returned as citizens of North Carolina ex
pressly stated that it " should not entitle John

2 Allison's " Dropped Stitches in Tennessee History."

1 84 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Sevier to the enjoyment of any office of profit,
of honor or trust, in the State of North Caro
lina." When Mr. Amy, from Hawkins
County, introduced a resolution to withdraw
the charges against Sevier, and to restore him
to the full rights of citizenship, Tipton, who
was also a member of the Legislature, opposed
it so strongly that a personal encounter with
Mr. Amy would have resulted had it not been
for the intervention of friends.

Colonel Roddy, from Greene County, cen
sured Mr. Amy for using words so sarcastic
as to offend Mr. Tipton, stating that he
should be cautious to use such language as
would " soothe his feelings." It was sug
gested, and finally agreed, that Colonel Roddy
continue the discussion the next day. But,
as the story goes, the Colonel had not been
upon the floor long till he had infuriated Tip-
ton, who instantly sprang from his seat and
seized him by the throat. Being amused at
the turn of affairs, Amy chuckled out,
" Soothe him, Colonel — soothe him ! " We can
only suppose that the Colonel did soothe him,
for the resolution was passed and Mr. Sevier
took his seat in the Senate of North Carolina.
From this time on, Tipton's name seems to
become less and less important, but that of
"Nolichucky Jack" rises higher and higher.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 185

As soon as North Carolina ratified the Federal
Constitution, in 1789, Sevier was elected to
the Federal Congress without opposition and
took his seat in the following June, as the first
representative in the National Congress from
the Mississippi Valley. While in Congress he
was a modest but faithful member and served
the best interests of his people and his country
in whatever capacities he chanced to be placed.

CHAPTER XII

THE TERRITORY SOUTH OF THE OHIO RIVER

THE citizens of the State of Franklin were
in no better condition when they came out of
the trouble occasioned by their secession from
North Carolina than when they went into
it. The people living south of the French
Broad and the Holston were left exposed to
the Indians. During the existence of the State
of Franklin, they had lived in an organized
county, but now North Carolina refused to
recognize them, claiming that they were in
truders upon Indian lands. They were trou
bled, furthermore, by lawless men who were
lurking about in the settlements and com
mitting frequent outrages. Fortunately the
Indians were at peace in their wigwams since
Nolichucky Jack had humbled their passion
for war. The exposed and neglected people
appealed to General Sevier for help, which
he promptly and cheerfully gave. By his help
they were organized into an association for
protection, and order was restored. The peo-
186

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 187

pie in this little republic, which we will desig
nate as the Settlement South of the Holston
and the French Broad, signed the Articles
of Association under which they continued to
live till February 25th, 1/90, when North
Carolina again ceded to Congress all her terri
tory west of the Alleghanies. The gift wras
accepted this time on April 2, and, by Au
gust 7, the land ceded was formed, with all
other lands south of the Ohio River, into the
"Territory Southwest of the River Ohio."

President Washington nominated Honor
able William Blount as Governor of the Ter
ritory, and the choice was a wise one. Mr.
Blount was a gentleman of Cavalier ancestry,
descended from a Royalist baronet, a man of
handsome presence, manly bearing, courtly
manners, eloquent address, — indeed, a man of
rich culture and commanding influence. He
was well known to Washington and was doubt
less appointed to the new position on account
of their friendly relations. As soon as Gov
ernor Blount arrived to fill his new position,
he made his residence at the home of William
Cobb, a wealthy farmer who had emigrated
from North Carolina. Mr. Cobb's backwoods
mansion was plain, but well supplied with such
furnishings as were common to the wealthy
pioneer homes. He kept his horses, dogs, and

1 88 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

rifles available for the use of his visitors. He
was himself rather courtly, in his rough way,
and his entertainment was just such as suited
the taste of Governor Blount.

David Campbell and Joseph Anderson were
appointed judges for the Territory. Wash
ington gave to John Sevier and James Robert
son each the rank of brigadier-general. Se
vier was to command the militia of Washing
ton District, and Robertson, that of Miro Dis
trict. All the powers of government were
thus held and administered by five officers, but
provision was made for a Legislative Coun
cil and a House of Representatives when the
number of adult free men should reach five
thousand. Provision had also been made to
admit the Territory into the Union as a State
when the census showed a total population of
sixty thousand white inhabitants.

Governor Blount entered at once upon the
active discharge of his duties. After appoint
ing the officers for Washington District, he
went to the Cumberland Settlement and ap
pointed the officers for Miro District. Ev
erywhere he won the esteem and confidence of
the people by his honesty of purpose and
courteous manners.

At New York, Washington had made a
treaty with the Creek Nation, the famous

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 189

chief, McGillivray, being the most prominent
Indian present. In order to dispel the clouds
of war which continually hung over the set
tlers south of the Holston and the French
Broad, it was necessary to obtain from the In
dians all the lands upon which the wrhite men
had settled. Governor Blount sent a messen
ger to Echota inviting the Cherokees to a coun
cil to be held in the month of May at White's
Fort on the Holston River.

White's Fort was on the spot where the
beautiful city of Knoxville now stands. The
place was first visited in the summer of 1787
by two soldiers of the Revolution, James Con
nor and James White, from Iredell County,
North Carolina. These old soldiers held land-
warrants as pay for their services in the Revo
lution and were exploring to find a place suita
ble for their future homes. The fertile soil,
the noble hills, the good supply of water, the
stately trees of the ancient forest, at once led
these old heroes to build White's Fort, clear
the forest for cornfields, and return for their
families and friends. This furnished the nu
cleus of an important settlement which grew,
in time, to be a handsome city. When the
month of May came, the Indians failed to
meet Governor Blount in council. Some men
had spread the rumor among them that the

190 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Governor intended to draw them into a treaty
and award them the same fate that had be
fallen Old Tassel. To convince the Indians
of the falsity of this rumor, Robertson rode
from Nashville to Echota to talk with them.
They still had the utmost confidence in Rob
ertson and, after hearing his talk, decided to
attend the council at a later date.

It was, consequently, late in June when the
Cherokees assembled at White's Fort for the
council. The weather was fair, and fully
twelve hundred Indians came with the chiefs.
Even several squaws, with their papooses, were
there. The treaty-ground was at the foot of
what is now Water Street, Knoxville, under
the tall trees shading the banks of the Holston.
Here, tradition tells us, the Governor, in full
military dress, with his three-cornered hat and
gold-mounted sword, met the Indians and was
introduced to the chiefs. Many white people
\vere gathered in groups on the ground to be
hold the council. None came armed. The
white men gave way to the custom of the In
dian council house. The Indians sat upon the
ground in a circle around the speaker, listen
ing in silence with fixed attention to what was
said. The warriors were decorated with
eagles' feathers. Governor Blount sat near his
tent, and his civil and military officers stood

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 191

near him with their hats off in token of re
spect to the Governor and the chiefs and war
riors. In the midst of the officials stood a
gallant hero whom every Indian there loved
and feared. This hero was the famous Noli-
chucky Jack. They gazed with interest upon
this man, who had so often scattered their
savage forces to the winds by his lightning
dashes, and they must have been surprised to
see so great a soldier now with such a quiet,
modest bearing.

On July 2nd, a treaty was signed and the
pipe of peace was smoked. By this treaty the
\vhite people got from the Indians the lands
upon which the settlements had been made.
The white men then returned to their planta
tions to engage in the various pursuits of farm
life; the Indians, to their wigwams to brood
over what had been done. In this treaty the
Indians acknowledged themselves under the
sole protection of the United States and agreed
to a perpetual friendship with its citizens. All
prisoners were to be exchanged. The citizens
of the United States were to have free naviga
tion of the Tennessee River and the undis
turbed use of a road from Washington County
to Miro District. For the lands secured, the
Indians were given presents and valuable goods
and an annuity of one thousand dollars. Af-

192 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

terwards five hundred dollars more were added
to the annuity.

"Soon after the treaty, White's Fort settle
ment grew larger. Many of the people who
had attended the treaty were impressed with
the fertile soil and the favorable location of
the growing settlement, and moved their fam
ilies there. The population increased so rapidly
that a large settlement was formed along the
banks of the Holston, and Governor Blount
established the capital of the Territory there.
James White, the venerable proprietor, laid
out a town and called it Knoxville in honor of
General Knox, who was then Secretary of
War. A court-house and a jail were built of
heavy hewn logs.

Negotiation with Spain for the free naviga
tion of the Mississippi was still pending, and
the United States desired to maintain friendly
relations with the Spaniards, who had worked
themselves into the good graces of most of the
Creeks and Cherokees. The Spaniards traded
with the Indians freely and told them that the
king of Spain would protect them against the
encroachments of the Americans on their hunt
ing-grounds. They thus made a cat's paw of
the Indians, working out their own selfish
policy in trying to force the western people
to secede from the United States, in order that

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 193

they might get for Spain all the rich land
within the present limits of Tennessee. The
officers of the Territory treated the Spaniards
with courtesy, and were commanded to act only
on the defensive against the Indians. This
policy seemed good and wise, as one rash act
might cause the balance of friendship to trem
ble. But the Spanish traders and agents in
the Indian towns soon caused the faithless
warriors to forget the pledges made at White's
Fort. Hostilities broke out on the frontiers,
and the settlers were again threatened with
depredations from the Indians. Sevier could
not use his former tactics against the foe, for
he had to act strictly on the defensive. He
built a chain of blockhouses along the frontier
and moved his family to his own station, which
was about five miles south of Knoxville. His
log residence was large and comfortable and
strongly built to resist the attacks of the In
dians. For nearly three years of Blount's ad
ministration Sevier was kept busy ranging the
woods in search of the Indian depredators or
marching into their country burning their vil
lages and destroying their crops. He did not
adhere solely to defensive tactics; indeed he
could not, as we shall soon discover.

After Sevier had moved to his new home,
Governor Blount moved with his family to

194 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Knoxville, the new capital. At first he lived
in a plain log-house, but later built a large
frame house on the slope between the fort and
the river. The new mansion was surrounded
by a large yard which Lady Blount kept well
adorned with rare flowers. The Governor
was ever ready to entertain strangers as well
as friends, giving a cordial welcome to the
rich and poor alike.

In 1792 Governor Blount met the Indians
in council at Coyatee. When he and his es
cort arrived they saw the American flag wav
ing in the air and two thousand Indians drawn
up in two columns ready to receive them. The
Indians fired several salutes. They were re
joiced because the Governor had come to dis
tribute their goods and pay their annuity. The
Governor, after the distribution of the goods,
took advantage of the occasion to remind the
chiefs of their frequent violations of their
treaty. John Watts, Hanging Maw, and the
Breath of Nickajack assured the Governor that
their people were for peace. Under a strong
guard, Blount then went to Nashville and
made a treaty with the Chickasaws and Choc-
taws, distributing among them their goods and
receiving assurance of renewed friendship.

But the Indians, unchecked by their chiefs,

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 195

were upon the warpath day and night. They
soon learned the tactics the officers were or
dered to follow and became very bold in their
attacks. They fell upon the settlers with
shocking barbarity, then hurried beyond the
frontiers without fear of being pursued and
punished for their crimes. No man under
stood the Indian's character better than Noli-
chucky Jack, who was thoroughly convinced
that the final peace with the dusky fellows
must be achieved by fire and sword, and that
it would take battle after battle and expedi
tion after expedition to subdue their passion
for warring against the citizens of the Terri
tory. After the Indians had stormed and de
stroyed Fort Gillespie, it was impossible to
repress the citizens of the Territory any longer.
Rumors were in air that a large force of In
dians intended to strike a heavy blow at the
people all along the frontier, and that they
were already on the war-path. It was thought
that they intended to fall upon Knoxville es
pecially and to seize the arms and ammunition
which they knew to be stored there.

Captain Harrison's light-horse had scouted
through the country in every direction, but had
seen no sign of the Indians. But that very
day the chiefs, John Watts and Double Head,

196 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

led a band of a thousand warriors across the
Tennessee below the mouth of the Holston
and marched all night in the direction of
Knoxville. Seven hundred Creeks were in
the band, and one hundred of their number
were mounted on fleet horses. They intended
to reach Knoxville by daylight, but were de
layed in crossing the river and by the bitter
rivalry between the two chiefs, Double Head
and Van, each of whom aspired to be the
leader of the invasion. The chiefs were un
able to decide whether they should massacre
all the inhabitants in Knoxville, or the men
only. Van desired to spare the women and
children, but Double Head wished to put all
alike to the tomahawk and scalping-knife. In
their haste to reach Knoxville, the Indians
passed Campbell's Station (in which were
twenty families) undisturbed. Onward they
rushed, but as they rode out of a valley to the
top of a hill, just at sunrise, they heard the
roar of a cannon. It was the sunrise gun of
the United States troops stationed at Knox
ville. This caused the Indians to believe their
attack was expected and threw them into con
fusion and caused them to give up their plan.
Near them and in sight was Cavet's Station
in which were only three armed men and Mr.
Cavet's family. Mortified over the failure of

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 197

their plans, the Indians attacked this station.
The armed men returned the fire and held the
warriors at bay for a while. A half-breed
Creek who spoke English was sent to Cavet's
Station to tell the men that if they would sur
render they would be spared and exchanged
for Indian prisoners. They yielded, but had
scarcely left their door when Double Head
and his party fell upon them and murdered
them all, save one whose life was spared by
Watts. Cavet was afterwards found dead in
his garden with seven bullets in his mouth.
He had put the bullets there so that he could
reload his rifle quickly.

News of the disaster at Cavet's Station was
not long in finding its way to Knoxville. Here
the fighting force was only forty armed men.
They believed the Indians were then march
ing to attack their fort and resolved to de
fend themselves or die in the attempt. Leav
ing two of the oldest men to mould bullets
and look to the loading of the guns in the fort,
the remainder of the men marched out to a
ridge a little more than a mile from Knoxville
and stationed themselves about twenty yards
apart on the side next to town. On the ap
proach of the Indians, each man was to fire
with sure aim and then retreat to the fort and
make a final desperate stand. But the Indians

198 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

never came, and the men returned quietly to
their stronghold.

Upon receiving news of the disaster at
Cavet's Station, General Sevier, at Ish's Sta
tion, hurried out reinforcements. In the mean
time, not knowing where the Indians would
make the next attack, he sent Captain Harri
son across the Holston with his light-horse to
discover their movements. The Captain went
to the smoldering heap at Cavet's Station and,
following the trail of the warriors for some
distance, soon found that they had gone south.

In the absence of Blount, Daniel Smith, act
ing governor of the Territory, gave Governor
Sevier permission to follow his favorite mode
of fighting the Indians, and Sevier was himself
again. Receiving reinforcements he advanced
immediately upon the Indians. Crossing the
Little Tennessee, he destroyed Estimaula, one
of their largest villages, and that night he
camped on the banks of the Estimaula River,
the horses being hidden in the woods near the
camp. His army was very close to the fleeing
warriors and he expected them to attempt a
night attack. The woods echoed with noises
which convinced the General that danger was
near. The sentinels were doubled and the
troops slept on their arms. Late in the night
the warriors came stealthily creeping through

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 199

the high sedge-grass so near that the sentinels
heard them cock their guns. The soldiers fired,
the warriors returned the fire, then retired.
Next night the camp-fires were left blazing,
but the troops camped some distance away.
Again the Indians came and fired, but this time
into the deserted camping-ground. Seeing
their mistake, they again took flight. Next
morning General Sevier dashed onward like
a hurricane through the choicest part of the
Indian country. He even pushed on to the
Creek country, leaving only flames and smoke
behind. At Etowah, on October I7th, he
found the combined forces of the Creeks and
Cherokees drawn up ready to dispute the pas
sage of the High Tower River. The General
himself tells the story of the battle that fol
lowed in these words :

" On the I7th inst., in the afternoon, we
arrived at the forks of Coosa and High Tower
rivers. Colonel Kelley was ordered, with a
part of his Knox regiment, to endeavor to
cross the High Tower. The Creeks and a
number of Cherokees had entrenched them
selves to obstruct the passage. Colonel Kelly
and his party passed down the river, half a
mile below the ford, and began to cross at a
private place, where there was no ford. Him
self and a few others swam over the river.

200 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

The Indians, discovering this movement, im
mediately left their intrenchments, and ran
down the river to oppose their passage, ex
pecting, as I suppose, the whole intended
crossing at the lower place. Captain Evans
immediately, with a company of mounted in
fantry, strained their horses back to the upper
ford and began to cross the river. Very
few had got to the south bank before the
Indians, who had discovered their mistake,
returned and received them furiously at
the rising of the bank. An engagement in
stantly took place, and became very warm, and,
notwithstanding the enemy were at least four
to one in numbers, besides [having] the ad
vantage of the situation, Captain Evans, with
his heroic company, put them entirely to flight.
They left several dead on the ground, and
were seen to carry others off both on foot and
horse. . . . Trails of blood from the
wounded were to be seen in every quarter.
Their encampment fell into our hands, with
a number of their guns, many of which were
of the Spanish sort. . . . The party
flogged at High Tower were those which had
been out with Watts. . . . We took and
destroyed near three hundred beeves, many of
which were of the best and largest kind. Of
course, their losing so much provisions must

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 201

distress them very much. Many women and
children might have been taken ; but, from mo
tives of humanity, I did not encourage it to
be done, and several taken were suffered to
make their escape. Your excellency knows
the disposition of many who were out on this
expedition, and can readily account for this
conduct." *

Thus ended the last military service of Gen
eral Sevier. For nearly twenty years he had
been constantly engaged in expensive expedi
tions against the enemy, yet he never received
pay from the government for any of them,
except this Etowah campaign. In this last
campaign he was serving as an officer of the
United States, hence the reason for his re
ceiving pay for himself and his soldiers this
time. In thirty-five battles he had wielded his
sword and swept the enemy from the battle
field, and so careful was he in all his plans
of assault that he lost in all his engagements
only fifty-six men. Every time he charged,
the ranks of the enemy were broken and vic
tory was his. By his vigilance and swift cam
paigns with fire and sword, he broke the power
of the Creeks and Cherokees and forced them
to bury their tomahawks, which they never
again dug up to wield against his people.

1 Ramsey's " Annals of Tennessee," p. 587.

202 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

About this time the Indians of the lower
towns along the Tennessee \vere giving great
distress to the settlers along the Cumberland
at Nashville. Sevier, now no longer acting
upon the defensive, the crippled warriors
turned their forces against Robertson, who
was still careful to use the defensive tactics.
He feared that one battle with the Indians or
the death of a Spanish trader might destroy
the friendly relations with Spain and put an
end to the negotiations for the free navigation
of the Mississippi River. One campaign against
the towns would break the power of these In
dians, and the people clamored to storm them
and teach them the lesson that Sevier had
taught them at Etowah, but Robertson would
not yet consent. Scarcely a week passed for
nearly four years without the murder of some
settler. The three sons of Valentine Sevier
were killed, and Robertson himself was
wounded.

Every day the feeling of indignation among
the people grew stronger, and Robertson finally
decided to follow the example set by Sevier at
Etowah. Soon an opportunity came. The
Creeks had been stirred up by one of their
chiefs, who had falsely reported Robertson as
having said, " There has been a great deal of
blood spilt in our settlement, and I will come

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 203

and sweep it clean with your blood." This
report caused a general uprising of the Creeks.
A force of six hundred Indians invaded the
Cumberland Settlement and attacked Buch
anan's Station, which was defended by only
fifteen men, but by their almost superhuman
efforts the Indians were repulsed with heavy
loss. A succession of fights followed and the
white men determined to give the Lower
Towns their Etowah. The Nick-a-jack expe
dition resulted.

While raising troops for the expedition, the
question came, "Who is to be our guide?"
and Joseph Brown was selected as the most
suitable man. This man's life was an inter
esting one. When he was only a boy, his
father, Colonel James Brown, an officer in the
American Revolution, undertook a voyage
down the Tennessee to settle upon the Cum
berland. He took with him his family, sev
eral negroes, and five young men. His boat,
built on the Holston, was walled around above
the gunwales \vith oak planks two inches thick.
Port holes were made in the sides, and a swivel
was placed in the stern for a defence. As
soon as they had passed the Chickamauga
towns, Indian runners were sent across the
mountains to warn the \varriors at Nick-a-jack
and Running Water of the coming of the boat.

204 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

The Indians paddled up the river in their
canoes to meet the boat. They held up white
flags, but this was a ruse, for their guns and
tomahawks were concealed in the bottom of
their canoes. Brown wheeled his boat and
faced them with the swivel, ordering them
not to come near. But Van, one of their num
ber, came on board to talk with him, stating
that his men only wanted to see where he was
going and to trade with him. Accordingly
Brown ordered his men not to fire. The In
dians then moved up to the boat and began
to rob it. Brown asked Van to prevent the
mischief, but Van only stated that the head
man was then away and that as soon as he
returned the goods would all be restored.
Then a dirty, black-looking savage with a
sword in his hand took young Joseph by the
arm and was about to kill him, when Mr.
Brown interfered. Joseph was released, and
Mr. Brown turned to see what else was being
done. As soon as Brown's back was turned,
the brutal savage drew his sword and cut his
head nearly half off, and another Indian threw
him overboard. Poor little Joseph saw his un
fortunate father thrown overboard and ran
to tell his brothers. The scene that followed
was horrible. Little Joseph, his poor mother,
and the rest of the family left alive, were

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 205

taken prisoners and scattered among the
Creek and Cherokee towns as slaves.

Little Joseph expected to be murdered. The
Indians really intended to kill him and had
stripped off his clothes when an old French
woman begged them not to kill him there nor
along the road she had to pass in carrying her
water from the spring. While they were mut
tering and stripping him of his clothes, the
poor lad fell upon his knees and cried, like the
dying Saint Stephen, " Lord Jesus, into thy
hands I commend my spirit." He was spared,
but had a hard life among the Indians. Holes
were bored in his ears, and his hair was cut
short, leaving only a scalp-lock. He was com
pelled to wear Indian clothing which exposed
his body to the burning sun; and he was sent
to hoe corn in the hot sun till he was blistered
with the heat. He at first became sick and
faint and would have perished had it not been
for the approach of a rain cloud which drove
the laborers from the field. After several
years of slavery and untold hardships, the lad
and his mother and sisters were rescued by
General Sevier.

But Joseph had learned well the locations
of the lower towns, and after a lapse of a
few years he was employed as a guide of an
army which was determined to crush the

206 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

power of the warriors who had killed his
father and enslaved his mother.

Brown found a route from Nashville to the
Indian towns, and Major Ore began the march.
Crossing Duck River below the Old Stone
Fort, an Indian monument of some archaeolog
ical interest, belo\v Manchester, Tennessee,
the army pushed across the Cumberland
Mountain and reached the Tennessee, near the
mouth of the Sequatchie. Here the soldiers
constructed rafts and canoes and crossed the
Tennessee in the rear of the town. The troops
were formed into two divisions, one to go
above Nick-a-jack, the other below, to make a
simultaneous attack. The Indians felt so se
cure that they had no sentinels posted. There
was only one way for them to escape to the
river and this was by a small creek that
emptied into it below the town. All
this Brown carefully explained to the sol
diers.

At the first fire of the soldiers, the Indians
took alarm and made a sudden rush for the
river. As they huddled together, the soldiers
poured streams of lead into their crowded
ranks and but few escaped. Running Water
next fell, and the power of the Indians was
completely broken. Thus ended the last
struggle between the Indians and the white

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 207

settlers for the possession of this fertile re
gion.

A quiet, peaceable, liberty-loving, indus
trious, God-fearing people now bore the ban
ners of civilization through the western wil
derness and converted the forests into waving
fields of golden grain. Their example was
slowly followed by the Indians. They aban
doned to a great extent the arts of war and
began to till the soil.

From this time till 1796, the population in
creased with wonderful rapidity. Scarcely a
day passed without the arrival of families of
immigrants. The towns grew as if by magic.
In the older settlements more stately man
sions were built, and the manner of living be
came more refined. Post offices were estab
lished and mail was regularly received from
the seaboard, but it took a long time to get a
reply to a letter addressed to any one living
east of the Alleghanies, as the carrier was
many days in making his trip. Besides, the
postage rates were so high that very few let
ters were written. When a letter was re
ceived at the post office, it often passed through
many hands before it reached its owner.

On November 5th, 1791, a newspaper was
published by Mr. George Roulston, first at
Rogersville, and soon afterwards moved to

208 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Knoxville, where it took the name of " The
Knoxville Gazette." It was the first news
paper west of the Alleghanies.

Everywhere the people manifested a fresh
religious zeal and enthusiasm, and the churches
vied with each other in spreading the doctrines
of their faiths. The Methodists began to hold
their conferences in the troublous times of the
State of Franklin and their " circuit riders "
did much for the spiritual welfare of the pio
neers and much to make them better citizens.
The Baptists and the Presbyterians were
equally zealous in their services. The people
were careful in their attendance at church, of
ten going a distance of fifteen miles to attend
services.

In the older settlements, the schools were
growing better, and more interest was being
shown in education. The example and efforts
of Doctor Doak were an inspiration to the
citizens. General Sevier took an active part
in establishing Washington College and Blount
College, the latter of which has grown into the
University of Tennessee, one of the best in
the South. There was set in motion at this
time that interest in education which is to
day the life of Tennessee.

The sports and pastimes of the people were
about the same as in earlier days. Log-roll-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 209

ings, quilting-bees, corn-huskings, shooting-
matches, hunting-trips, and horse-racing were
time-honored sports which brought the people
together on many an occasion. A wedding
was an event of importance. The cere
mony, very simple in kind, was performed
sometimes at church, but more often at
the bride's home. Sometimes a bounti
ful supper was served, followed by a social
gathering of relatives and friends. There
were no buggies and carriages to accommo
date the happy pair ; when they took a wedding
trip, it was on horseback. It frequently hap
pened that the young husband had only a sin
gle horse, and in such case he would take his
young wife up behind him.

This was nearly a century before the tele
phone, yet it is astonishing to observe how
rapidly news traveled through the country.
Every family was careful to entertain
strangers. The larger and wealthier families
living near the road would often send a cour
teous old slave to invite traveling strangers to
stay all night and tell them the news. Many
a night they would sit up till late hours telling
thrilling tales, perchance of some ancestor's
voyage, beset with storms and shipwrecks, or
of the swift campaigns of Nolichucky Jack
against the Indians.

210 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

Such was the life among the people of the
Territory. The men were honest and lived
by the sweat of the brow. Their labor in the
out-door air gave them strong, healthful
bodies, and it was not an uncommon thing for
a man to live to the ripe old age of one hun
dred years. From this sturdy, honest people
many prominent Americans have sprung, men
whose names adorn the pages of our nation's
history.

Everywhere the hardy settlers were blessed
with peace and plenty. It was an Arcadia
with its barns filled with plenty, the schools
flourishing, religion prevailing, and the peo
ple happy. There was marrying and giving in
marriage, and the growth of the population
was so rapid that the census of 1795 showed
that there were more than sixty thousand
white people in the Territory, — more than the
required number to entitle the Territory to
become a State.

CHAPTER XIII

THE CLOSING DAYS

THE proposition of creating a new State out
of the Territory was left by Congress to a vote
of the people. The era of good feeling that
had existed under the Territory caused many
people to oppose the formation of a new State,
but the wiser everywhere were enthusiastic
for the change. The reason was obvious.
They loved Governor Blount, but they did not
like to live under even good laws and the best
of rulers in the selection of which they had
no voice. As it was, they had no voice in
making the laws and no vote in the Presiden
tial elections.

On January nth, 1796, a convention met
at Knoxville to form a constitution. There
were by this time eleven counties in the Terri
tory, and each of these counties furnished five
men to the convention. On the first day of
the meeting, Governor William Blount was
chosen president of the convention, and the
other officers were elected. The next day the

211

212 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

actual work of the convention began with a
prayer and a sermon delivered by Reverend
Samuel Carrick. Perfect harmony prevailed
among the members. It was proposed by An
drew Jackson that the new State be named af
ter the magnificent river which winds across
the Territory. This river was first called the
Cherokee, but gradually become known as the
Tenasee, or Tennessee. From the convention,
a committee of two members from each county
was selected to draw up a bill of rights and a
constitution for the State. So well did this
committee do its work that Mr. Jefferson de
clared it to be " the least imperfect and most
republican " constitution among the States.
The whole session lasted only twenty-seven
days, and it was marked throughout by rigid
economy on the part of the members. They
were paid $1.50 a day for their services and
3^ cents a mile for traveling expenses; they
paid the clerks $2.50 a day, and the door
keeper $2.00 a day, and the entire incidental
expenses amounted to only $12.62.

A'fter the work of the convention was fin
ished, Governor Blount issued an order for
the election of Governor and members of the
Legislature for the new State. The people
responded to the order, and the first Legisla
ture of Tennessee met at Knoxville, the first

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 213

capital of Tennessee, March 28th, 1796. The
election returns, examined by the Legislature,
showed that John Sevier was elected Governor
without opposition.

On March 3Oth, 1796, Mr. Sevier was
sworn into office in the presence of both houses
of the Legislature, by Judge Joseph Anderson.
The Legislature then elected William Maclin,
Secretary of State ; Landon Carter, Treasurer
of Washington and Hamilton Districts; Wil
liam Black, Treasurer of Miro District ; John
McNairy, William Blount, and Archibald
Roane, Judges of the Supreme Court ; Hop
kins Lacy, John Lowry, and Howell Tatum,
Attorneys for the State; William Blount and
W7illiam Cooke, Senators in Congress.

In Congress there was much opposition to
the admission of the Territory. It was
claimed by some that the people of the Terri
tory could not take the census themselves, but
that it must be done by an act of Congress.
It was suspected that the friends of Mr. Jef
ferson desired the admission of Tennessee
that its vote might be cast for him to succeed
Mr. Adams as President. But the bill finally
passed the Senate. On June ist, 1796, Presi
dent Washington signed the act of Congress
that created the State of Tennessee, which, on
account of the vast number of volunteers in

2i4 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

war, has been very appropriately called the
Volunteer State. The Senators were re-
elected in August, and Andrew Jackson was
elected the first Representative in Congress
from Tennessee. Jackson was a man of iron
and an ardent supporter of Mr. Jefferson's
party. In fact the majority of the people in
the State were of this party.

The first message sent by Governor Sevier
to the Legislature was brief:

" Gentlemen of the Senate and House of
Representatives: The high and honorable
appointment conferred upon me by the free
suffrage of my countrymen fills my breast
with gratitude, which, I trust, my future life
will manifest. I take this early opportunity
to express, through you, my thanks in the
strongest terms of acknowledgment. I shall
labor to discharge with fidelity the trust re
posed in me; and, if such my exertions should
prove satisfactory, the first wish of my heart'
will be gratified.

" Gentlemen, accept of my best wishes for
your individual and public happiness; and, re
lying upon your wisdom and patriotism, I
have no doubt but the result of your delibera
tions will give permanency and success to our
new system of government, so wisely calcu
lated to secure the liberty and advance the

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 215

happiness and prosperity of our fellow-
citizens."

By a wise stroke of policy, Governor Sevier ^
began to reconcile his enemies by bestowing"""
favors upon them. Among the first officers
appointed was John Tipton, his bitterest
enemy. The new Governor ordered a seal
for the State. In this seal, the cotton-plant,
the sheaf of wheat, the plow and the sailing
vessel were adopted as emblems of the great
resources of Tennessee. He secured compen
sation from the United States government for
the soldiers who had fought in the Etowah
campaign.

The white men were encroaching daily upon
the Indians' lands, and the relations between
the Indians and the white men were again
becoming sorely strained. The treaty be
tween the United States and Spain, in the
previous year, had secured the free naviga
tion of the Mississippi River and put an end
to Spanish intrigues; and the Governor, by
the help of Congress, settled the difficulty
without bloodshed.

After his election to the Senate, William
Blount was accused of having entered into a
conspiracy with the British to draw Tennessee
out of the Union and help England organize
an empire in the great Southwest. On this

216 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

charge he was expelled from the Senate, July
8th, 1797. An officer of the United States
was sent to Knoxville to arrest him and take
him to Philadelphia for trial. Blotint refused
to go; the officer himself could not take him,
and the men summoned to help arrest him
absolutely refused to do so. So the matter
ended. An investigation proved to the Sen
ate that no case could be sustained against
Mr. Blount. He was at once elected to the
State Senate and was made Speaker of that
body. He died at Knoxville, March 2ist,
1800, and was buried in the yard of the First
Presbyterian Church in that city.

In 1798 Sevier was re-elected Governor
without opposition. These years of the Gov
ernor were busy and full of care for the wel
fare of the new commonwealth. He en
couraged manufacturing and commerce, for
he knew that the wealth of a country de
pends upon its skilful laborers and its trade
relations. There were no railroads, of course,
to carry on trade with other States, but boats
went down the Tennessee and the Mississippi
to New Orleans with heavy cargoes, and
wagon trains went regularly to the eastern
cities with loads of farm products and bought
goods and articles of every kind to supply the
wants of the people. Schools were growing

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 217

better everywhere, books were more plentiful,
and the people read more than they had for
merly done.

In the midst of peace and prosperity,
Sevier's second term of office expired in 1799;
and the people elected him again. His third
term was characterized by the same degree of
prosperity. Three times in succession had he
been elected Governor without opposition,
and now, according to the constitution, he was
ineligible till some other man had served a
term. So, in the election that followed,
Archibald Roane was elected.

Governor Sevier now retired to his farm
south of Knoxville, where he remained for
two years in the enjoyments of his home. He
lived the life of a plain country gentleman.
He went to church regularly. His farm was
tilled by his slaves, and it was his chief voca
tion to superintend their work. As he rode
among them, his slaves greeted him cour
teously, for they had a deep affection for him.
Scarcely a day passed at his hospitable home
without the entertainment of some friend.
Sometimes it \vas an Indian chief or a dusky
warrior against whom he had drawn his
sword in a more evil time ; but the Indians
ever remembered Nolichucky Jack as a good
man. But it was more generally the battle-

218 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

scarred veterans who had come to visit their
old general, whom they had never forgotten to
love. Many a night did they sit before the
roaring fire in the huge fireplace, recounting
the exploits of Sevier's thirty-five battles and
thirty-five victories.

At the expiration of Roane's term of of
fice, the people again called for the re-election
of Sevier. Again the "Good Old Governor"
was elected and again he assumed the weight
of responsibility as the chief magistrate of
the State.

Although Sevier was elected by the popular
vote, there were those who, jealous of his
popularity, tried to destroy his political favor
by circulating false reports about him. They
accused him of speculation in land-warrants
and even of forgery. John Tipton, a member
of the Legislature at the time, made strenu
ous exertions for his downfall. These re
ports caused a committee of investigation to
be appointed to look into the matter. This
committee found the charges to be without
foundation. Sevier's popularity seems not to
have been affected by these efforts to injure his
reputation. But his indignation was aroused
against Andrew Jackson, whom he had ap
pointed Judge of the Superior Court. Jackson
was of a very different temper from Sevier.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 219

Sevier's temper was fiery, but he was ever
ready and eager to atone for any wrong he
had done, while, on the other hand, Jackson
rarely forgave an enemy.

Jackson was so bold in his attacks upon
Sevier's character that the old Governor be
came deeply angered and used some abusive
language in his speeches about Jackson. Not
long after the State election, Sevier and Jack
son met on the public square in Knoxville,
where Jackson was holding court. A quarrel
ensued and Sevier accused Jackson of having
been the prime-mover of the attacks upon his
reputation, and further made a reference to an
incident in Jackson's domestic life, upon which
point Jackson was very sensitive. Jackson
tried to attack Sevier on the spot, but was
restrained through the intervention of his
friends. The next day Jackson challenged
Sevier to fight a duel.

Dueling was a somewhat common practice
of those early days. When a challenge was
received, it was considered unmanly and
even cowardly to refuse to accept it. Each
of the incensed men selected some favorite
friend for his second, and the time and place
for the duel were arranged by these seconds.
Everything being in readiness, the duelists,
accompanied by their respective seconds, met

220 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

upon the selected ground. Men were sure
marksmen in those days. Previous to the day
set for the duel, the antagonists often spent
much time at practicing with their pistols.
When the hour came, each man took his place
at a specified distance apart from the other.
Here they stood, their pistols pointing towards
the ground. There was silence for a moment ;
then the silence was broken by the order,
" Fire ! " Such was the duel as understood
by both Sevier and Jackson. But Sevier
wrote in a firm hand the following reply to
Jackson's challenge :

KNOXVILLE, Oct. 2, 1803.

"Sir, your to-day, by Andrew Whithe, Esq., I have
received, and am pleased with the contents, so far as
respects a personal interview.

" Your ungentlemanly and gasconading conduct of
yesterday, and, indeed, at all other times heretofore,
have unmasked you to me and to the world. The
voice of the Assembly has made you a Judge, and this
alone renders you worthy of my notice, or that of any
other gentleman. To the office I have respect, and this
only makes you worthy of notice.

" I shall wait on you with pleasure at any time and
place not within the State of Tennessee, attended by
my friend, wih pistols, presuming you know nothing
about the use of any other arms. Georgia, Virginia,
and North Carolina are in our vicinity, and we can
easily repair to either of those places and conveniently
retire into the inoffending government. You cannot
mistake me or my meaning.

" Yours, etc., etc.,

" Hon. A. Jackson." " JOHN SEVIER.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 221

Jackson insisted upon fighting the duel
near Knoxville, and, of course, was not
pleased with Sevier's reply. But Sevier
would not consent to violate the laws of his
State and again wrote Jackson: "An inter
view within the State you know I have denied.
Anywhere outside, you have nothing to do
but to name the place and I will the time. I
have some regard for the laws of the State
over which I have the honor to preside, al
though you, a Judge, appear to have none."

It seemed that a duel was inevitable; but,
through negotiations of friends on both sides,
matters were finally adjusted, and the two
heroes were induced to join hands in friend
ship.

During his first succession of terms of
office, Governor Sevier undertook to huild
in Knoxville a brick mansion for his resi
dence. After the walls had been raised above
the basement, he gave up the plan and sold
his property ; it was too expensive for his in
come. The building was finished by the pur
chaser and is standing to-day in sight of St.
John's Episcopal Church, Knoxville.

Sevier continued to live on his plantation,
and his friends, rich and poor, continued to
share his bountiful hospitality. Distinguished
visitors to this country from abroad were

222 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

sometimes hospitably entertained at his simple
country home. On one occasion, three sons
of the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe and
two brothers, were entertained by Governor
and Mrs. Sevier. In fact, it took about all
his salary, in addition to the resources of his
plantation, to enable him to keep up his un
limited hospitality and expensive entertain
ments of all who chose to lodge with him.
Is it a wonder, then, that he was always
poor P1

Governor Sevier, with his family, attended
church at Lebanon, about four miles east of
Knoxville. Reverend Samuel Carrick was
the pastor. On such occasions Sevier laid
aside his military uniform, wearing his three-
cornered hat and citizen's clothes. At church
he had his usual cordial greetings for his
friends and always listened to the sermon

1 The following, given to Doctor Draper in 1844
by George Washington Sevier, son of John Sevier,
shows another cause of the General's straightened
circumstances: "Notwithstanding he had settled in
Tennessee at an early day and had much of the fine
lands in the country, yet he died comparatively poor.
From his natural, obliging way, he had become secur
ity for friends and had many thousand dollars to pay
of security debts, and in order to meet them sold sev
eral thousand acres of his choicest lands for 40 cents
an acre that have since commanded well-nigh as many
dollars."— Draper MSS.

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 223

with a grave, reverential demeanor, for he
held the most sacred regard for everything
moral and religious. But he never became a
member of any church, as he did not approve
of the doctrinal opinions which he had thus
far been taught. In his old age, when flat
tered by friends on his useful career and great
achievements for western civilization, he in
formed them that he was only an instrument
in the hands of Providence and was always
led and guided by His Infinite Goodness.

In 1805 and again in 1807 he was re-
elected, and so six more years of his life
were spent in the gubernatorial office. Again
he became ineligible and sought the retire
ment of the quiet country life. But his
friends, feeling grateful for the great services
he had rendered to the State and to America
in his earlier years, wished to bestow other
honors upon him. So, in 1811, they elected
him to Congress, and again in 1813, and
1815.

While he was in Congress, the War of
1812 was declared and waged. During this
time he was usually a silent worker, but ac
complished much. From his long experience
in the tactics of war, he was placed on the
Committee of Military Affairs and rendered
valuable services to the nation during the

224 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

whole war. President Madison offered him a
generalship in the army, but Sevier declined
to accept it.

In 1815, the year of the battle of New
Orleans, President Madison appointed Sevier
a commissioner to run the boundary line of
the lands which the Creeks had just ceded to
the United States. In June, he left his Bonny
Kate, never again to see her. He was in his
seventy-first year, and his body was weak
ened by his lifetime of struggles and hard
ships. While at work in the Creek country,
he contracted a fever.

During the time of his illness he lay in his
tent near Fort Decatur, Alabama, and Bonny
Kate knew nothing of his confinement and
suffering. For fifteen days he suffered with
the fortitude of a Christian hero; then, on
September 24, 1815, surrounded by anxious,
watchful friends, he drew his last breath.

He was buried with the honors of war, by
the troops commanded by Captain William
Walker, on the east bank of the Tallapoosa
River, at an Indian village called Tuckabat-
chee, near Fort Decatur, Alabama. His
grave was subsequently marked by a simple
grave-stone on which was carved, " John
Sevier."

Unaware of Sevier's illness at Fort Deca-

THE LIFE OF SEVIER 225

tur, the Tennesseeans had a few weeks before
re-elected him to Congress without opposition.
At the news of his death the whole State
mourned. The Legislature of Tennessee
passed a resolution that each of the State
officials wear for thirty days a badge of
mourning out of respect for his memory.

Strange to say, the citizens of Tennessee
neglected the grave of John Sevier for many
years. Not until 1889 was the body of the
first governor of the State brought back to
Tennessee. In June of that year the body
was interred in the court-house yard at Knox-
ville with imposing ceremonies. To-day a
beautiful marble monument towers above his
grave, bearing the following inscriptions :
"John Sevier, Nolichucky Jack, September
23d, 1744; September 24th, 1815; pioneer,
soldier, statesman, and one of the founders
of the republic; Governor of the State of
Franklin; six terms Governor of Tennessee;
four times elected to Congress; the typical
pioneer who conquered the wilderness and
fashioned the State; a projector and hero of
King's Mountain; thirty-five battles, thirty-
five victories ; his Indian war-cry, ' Here they
are ! come on, boys, come on ! '

Mankind delights to honor with monu
ments, busts, statues, and paintings, the he-

226 THE LIFE OF SEVIER

roes whom the world has learned to love ; but
the most intrinsic mementos to the world are
the noble deeds of the heroes themselves. But
let the world sing its paeans of praises; for
they are grand and glorious to hear. The
painter, the poet, and the sculptor have built
beautiful memorials to these great and good
heroes. May the day come when they shall
adorn the Hall of Fame with a fitting memor
ial to that good man, that true hero, that un
selfish statesman, " Nolichucky Jack " !

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
BERKELEY

Return to desk from which borrowed.
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.

.- us £ APR 8 1977

OCT 24 1961

13Dee'62WW 3

1962

DEC 1*
REC'D

LOAN DEPT.

LI) 21-100m-ll,'49(B7146sl6)476

MAR 7 1983

OF WUF.. BERK.
SENT ON ILL

JUl 1 6 1993

U. C. BERKELEY

JUL 0 8 1995

CIRCULATION DE

184

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY