Jacksonland: A Great American Land Grab

by Steve Inskeep

  “nine pounds of nails for each person in the state” There were 7,270,825 pounds of nails produced, 810,000 people. Coxe, Statement of the Arts and Manufactures of the United States, p. xxxi.

  “the most considerable of our manufactures … family looms” Ibid., p. xxviii.

  more than three and a half gallons for every man … “moralizing” and “salubrious” Author’s calculation, based on population of 7.2 million. Ibid., pp. xl–xlii.

  mix a little gin with the water he was drinking Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 548.

  Jackson sent a bottle of wine Ibid., p. 300.

  “ardent spirits have been banished from among us” Niles’ Weekly Register, November 28, 1829, vol. 37, p. 213.

  Jefferson urged state governors to crack down Jefferson to governors, December 31, 1808, Prucha, Documents of United States Indian Policy, pp. 24–25.

  “almost entirely inhabited … duplicity and overreaching” Levasseur, Lafayette in America, vol. 2, p. 81.

  “is generally well-clothed, healthy … depraved wretches on earth” Harrison writing in 1801, quoted in Adams, Formative Years, vol. 2, p. 673.

  treaties in 1804, 1805, and 1809Ibid., pp. 674–76.

  “it was easier to begin a war than to end one” His statement is reported in Stiggins, Creek Indian History, p. 86.

  “ascend to the top of a mountain” Ibid., p. 86.

  “about one hundred slave … men … clear blue eyes” All quotes from Miss Austill are from Austill, “Memories of Journeying through Creek Country,” pages unnumbered.

  Red Sticks, apparently because of the red war clubs held by their prophets Braund, “Red Sticks,” in Braund, ed., Tohopeka, p. 86.

  “fanatical riots of shaving their heads” Stiggins, Creek Indian History, p. 103.

  “civil war … the Superior force of the rebels” Ross to Meigs, July 30, 1813. Moulton, Papers of Chief John Ross, vol. 1, p. 19.

  Some … were traveling to Spanish-controlled Florida One such journey is described in Stiggins, Creek Indian History, p. 85.

  “One morning … mother, sister and myself” Miss Austill’s quotes are from Austill, “Memories of Journeying through Creek Country,” pages unnumbered.

  Considerably modifying his instructions, Jackson kept his unit together Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, pp. 377–83.

  he was in bed with a lead ball in his shoulder Parton finds him dismissing his injury as a brief “indisposition,” though he had difficulty moving for many weeks after the shooting. Ibid., p. 423.

  he had to be helped onto his horse at the appointed time Ibid., p. 425.

  “with his arm in a sling looking pale and emaciated” Ellen Call Long to her son Richard Call Long, August 16, 1853. The writer describes her memories of Richard Keith Call, “your grandfather.” Ellen Call Long, Call and Brevard Family Papers, box 5, folder 19, item 1. Digitally posted by Florida Library and Information Services: http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/180858?id=1.

  Chapter Four: It Was Dark Before We Finished Killing Them

  “taking revenge for the blood of the innocent” Ross to Return J. Meigs, March 2, 1814, Moulton, Papers of Chief John Ross, vol. 1, pp. 19–20.

  The commander did not believe slaves in nearby fields Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 413.

  726 men Stiggins, Creek Indian History, p. 108.

  could even hear the white men talking Ibid., pp. 109–10.

  Weatherford’s brother-in-law Historian George Stiggins is so identified in ibid., p. 17.

  Weatherford who persuaded a Red Stick council Ibid., p. 106.

  under orders to race across the surrounding fields Ibid., pp. 110–11.

  spiritual leader … 202 Creeks were killed Ibid., pp. 113–14.

  “Indians, negroes, white men, women and children … permit me to describe” Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 418.

  “horrid butcheries” with a “spirit of revenge” Ibid., p. 423.

  “she and our little children would be left … war could bring it right again” Crockett, Narrative, pp. 72–74.

  mounted volunteers Ibid., p. 74.

  “I burnt three towns but never saw an Indian” John to Mary Coffee, October 24, 1813, Sioussat, “Letters of General John Coffee to His Wife,” p. 275.

  hungry troops … “burned the town to ashes” Crockett, Narrative, p. 84.

  retreated into a single house … “burned it up with the forty-six warriors in it” Ibid., p. 88.

  “a small scirmish with the Indians” John to Mary Coffee, November 4, 1813, Sioussat, “Letters of General John Coffee to His Wife,” p. 276.

  “It was, somehow or other, found out” Crockett, Narrative, pp. 89–90.

  “When I reflect” Jackson to Rachel, November 4, 1813, cited in Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, p. 193.

  “I send on a little Indian boy for Andrew … All his family is destroyed” Brands, Andrew Jackson, p. 198.

  the Cherokee Regiment … first engagement in the fall of 1813 Ross was present according to Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, p. 11.

  “Nature furnishes … artfully arranged” Jackson to Governor Blount, reprinted in newspaper The War, vol. 2, no. 46, May 5, 1814.

  two rows of heavy logs, placed about four feet apart … packed clay Dickens, Archaeological Investigations at Horseshoe Bend, diagrams and maps, pp. 44–45.

  hill, just 125 yards from the nearest portion of the wall Ibid.

  “gun parts and ammunition … ceramics and glass” Ibid., p. 198.

  “destitute condition of a people whose homes had been recently burned” Ibid.

  Three Cherokees, led by a man known as the Whale The story is recounted in “Restoration of a Rifle to a Cherokee Warrior,” Harrisburg Democratic Union, September 6, 1843, p. 1.

  the party is known to have included Major Ridge Wilkins, Cherokee Tragedy, p. 76.

  “when I found those engaged in the interior of the bend” Jackson to Rachel, March 28, 1814, Owsley et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 3, p. 54.

  Houston compelled a comrade Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 518.

  their second line of defense, a tangle of felled trees This line of defense is identified on the battlefield today.

  set fire to the underbrush Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 519.

  “unfortunate and deluded red foe … tested and correctly judged” Ross to Jackson, March 28, 1834, Moulton, Papers of Chief John Ross, vol. 1, pp. 282–84.

  “It was dark before we finished” Jackson to Rachel, March 28, 1814, Owsley et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 3, p. 54.

  “buried in their watry grave” Ibid.

  “River of blood,” “very perceptably bloody” “10 O’clock at night”Lt. Alexander McCulloch to Frances L. McCulloch, April 1, 1814, transcript of letter in Horseshoe Bend National Military Park files.

  “Capt. Jno. Speirs Severely … The Seed sleightly” Undated, about April 1814, Moulton, Papers of Chief John Ross, vol. 1, pp. 20–21.

  26 killed, and up to 107 wounded, depending on the count Coffee said 106 wounded, John to Mary Coffee, April 1, 1814, Sioussat, “Letters of General John Coffee to His Wife,” p. 283; Jackson said 107 wounded, Jackson letter from National Intelligencer, April 25, 1814, reprinted in “Jackson’s Victory,” in the newspaper The War, May 5, 1814.

  “Having now nearly compleated our business” John to Mary Coffee, April 1, 1814, Sioussat, “Letters of General John Coffee to His Wife,” p. 283.

  “many of the Tennessee soldiers” Ball and Halbert, Creek War of 1813 and 1814, pp. 276–77.

  “when the Horse Shoe village was set on fire … killed an Indian” Ibid., p. 277.

  “would have become an Indian some day” Ibid.

  “I did believe … fell in Battle” Jackson to George Graham, July 9, 1817, Owsley et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 3, p. 125.

  Three hundred eleven heads of families took the offer McLoughlin, �
�Experiment in Cherokee Citizenship, 1817–1829,” p. 4.

  “cut to pieces … appropriate punishment” Jackson letter from National Intelligencer, April 25, 1814, reprinted in “Jackson’s Victory,” in the newspaper The War, May 5, 1814.

  Jackson … let Weatherford go free Brands, Andrew Jackson, p. 222.

  “I made this war” Drake, Biography and History of the Indians of North America, p. 69.

  “Brothers … friends will sign the treaty” Jackson to Big Warrior, August 10, 1814, Owsley et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 3, pp. 109–10.

  friends in Nashville, who appealed to a bank for $50,000 Andrew Jackson to James Jackson, August 28, 1814, Moser et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, reel 4.

  Part Two: Origins, 1767–1814

  Chapter Five: Send a Few Late Newspapers by the Bearer

  “whiteside” Ross to Jackson, June 19, 1820, Moulton, Papers of Chief John Ross, vol. 1, p. 41.

  Born October 3, 1790, he spent his early years Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, p. 5.

  She let him change into traditional Indian dress Ibid., p. 6.

  Kooweskoowe There are other spellings, such as Guwisguwi; Kooweskoowe is how Ross spelled it in a letter on October 18, 1837. Moulton, Papers of Chief John Ross, vol. 1, p. 526.

  Cherokee Bird Clan Anderson et al., Payne-Butrick Papers, vols. 4–6, p. 454.

  Ghigooie Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, p. 2.

  a quarter-million people, a migration that played an enormous role Fischer, Albion’s Seed, p. 606.

  Enrolled as a British soldier Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, p. 4.

  Andrew Jackson himself took a secret oath The written and signed oath is transcribed in Remini, “Andrew Jackson Takes an Oath of Allegiance to Spain,” p. 9.

  he went on the Spanish payroll Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, pp. 4–5.

  Of their nine children, John Ross was the third Ibid., p. 5.

  the most recent newspapers available on the frontier Ibid., p. 6.

  “send a few late newspapers by the bearer” Ross to Meigs, July 30, 1813, Moulton, Papers of Chief John Ross, vol. 1, p. 19.

  boots and a jacket … broad-brimmed, flat-crowned planter’s hat Woodward, The Cherokees, p. 157.

  purchasing remote tracts in hopes Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, pp. 21–22, 202.

  “My grandfather, father and Auntie were bought by John Ross” Miles, Ties That Bind, p. 85.

  Ross wasn’t a true Indian, they charged The state of Georgia study investigated Ross’s ancestry in 1831 and made this allegation. Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, pp. 46–47.

  Ross himself was granted 640 acres The treaty of 1819 ceded substantial land to the federal government, but allowed some Cherokee residents to keep their home plots, and also recognized properties claimed by various leading Cherokees, including “John Ross, six hundred and forty acres, to be laid off so as to include the Big Island in Tennessee river, being the first below Tellico.” Charles J. Kappler, ed., “Treaty with the Cherokees, 1819,” in Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, vol. 2, Treaties, 1778–1883, p. 178.

  Chapter Six: I Am Fond of Hearing That There Is a Peace

  had been driven by some calamity into the mountains Woodward, The Cherokees, pp. 18–19.

  “persons, customs, &c. are not singular” Adair, History of the American Indians, p. 11.

  population … may have been cut in half Ibid., p. 232.

  In 1711 the colonists of Charles Towne supplied guns to the Cherokees Woodward, The Cherokees, p. 57.

  “The Cherokees are of a middle stature” King, Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake, p. 24.

  town house for public meetings Woodward, The Cherokees, pp. 43–46.

  “mixed aristocracy and democracy … ancient bards did in Britain” King, Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake, p. 36.

  The chief encountered four strange men of an unknown tribe The story is reported in the Cherokee Phoenix, November 26, 1828, pp. 3–4.

  “Their alliance with the French seems equal” King, Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake, p. 37.

  only other Indians could defeat them. He urged Virginia Ellis, His Excellency, p. 25.

  “We shall push our trading houses” Jefferson to William Henry Harrison, February 27, 1803, Prucha, Documents of United States Indian Policy, p. 22.

  “the wisdom of exchanging what they can spare” Thomas Jefferson’s message on Indian trade, January 18, 1803, ibid., p. 21.

  “incorporate with us as citizens of the United States” Jefferson to William Henry Harrison, February 27, 1803, ibid., p. 22.

  “conjure men” Author interview with Freeman Owle, Cherokee, NC, June 21, 2014.

  he joined a church in 1829 Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, p. 7

  Charles Hicks was providing Ross with tutorials on tribal history Ibid., p. 31.

  “warwomen … as famous in war, as powerful in the council” King, Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake. p. 36.

  “I am fond of hearing that there is a Peace”Gazette of the United States, July 25, 1789, p. 1.

  “beloved woman” Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee, p. 204.

  program altered the status of some women, and certainly the elites Scholars debate how widely these cultural changes spread beyond the elites. Perdue, Cherokee Women, p. 10.

  customs of inheritance … seemed problematic McLoughlin, Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic, pp. 294–95.

  “white or striped homespun” Duncan, Cherokee Clothing in the 1700’s, chap. 12.

  “I can only say that their domestic cloths are preferred by us” Ibid.

  “The Good Woman,” who according to a modern scholar were men Names from transcript of Cherokee Muster Roll, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park. The modern scholar is Dr. Susan Abram, author of a forthcoming book on the Creek War. Sue Abram, in correspondence, December 1, 2014.

  Chapter Seven: Every Thing That Was Dear to Me

  Many were poor, proud, and seeking to make a slightly better living They sought “material betterment,” and in some cases “famine and starvation” were among their motivations for leaving. Fischer, Albion’s Seed, p. 611.

  “hoosiers,” or rough backwoodsmen This definition may surprise those who know “Hoosier” as a name for people from Indiana. David Hackett Fischer reports that “hoosier,” like “cracker” and “redneck,” was a widely used term for the “backcountry underclass,” and that it originated in northern Britain, from where the backwoodsmen’s ancestors came. Albion’s Seed, pp. 756–58. Today “hoosier” is still sometimes used in St. Louis as a term for a low-class or disreputable person, but Indiana people took ownership of the word, turning it into a term of pride so long ago that very few in the state today can explain the word’s meaning or origin.

  68 “The features and shape of [the] head of General Jackson” Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, pp. 47–48.

  “tough, vehement, good-hearted race … natural element of some of them” Ibid., p. 33.

  “I was born for a storm,” Jackson once said, “and calm does not suit me.” Meacham, American Lion, p. ix.

  she essentially became the housekeeper Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 58.

  declared that he was a prisoner of war Eaton and Reid, Life of Andrew Jackson, pp. 16–17.

  “The sword point reached my head … durable as the scull” Jackson to Amos Kendall, undated, Owsley et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 9.

  “the struggle for our liberties, in which I lost every thing that was dear to me” Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, vol. 1, p. 173.

  smashing their glasses and the furniture of the tavern Parton, Life of Andrew Jackon, vol. 1, p. 108.

  “Andrew Jackson Esquire” took possession of “a Negro Woman named Nancy” Washington County Court, November 17, 1788, Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, vol. 1, p. 15.

  “When a man’s feelings and charector are injured” To Waightstill Avery, Augu
st 12, 1788, ibid., p. 12.

  both men firing in the air Ibid., p. 39.

  he lived with Rachel in a two-story log house The house, later cut down to a single floor, remains today on the Hermitage grounds behind the mansion the Jacksons built after 1819.

  dry goods store and riverside boatyard … tavern and a racetrack Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, vol. 1, p. 132.

  Jackson let the other man shoot first A detailed account of the duel is in Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, pp. 289–306.

  together with Rachel for years before she completed her divorce Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, vol. 1, pp. 61–66.

  husband and wife from 1790 or 1791 onward Though Andrew maintained that he married Rachel in 1791, not realizing her divorce was incomplete, biographer Robert Remini finds evidence that they were together from 1790 onward, and finds no proof they married at that time. Ibid., pp. 63–67.

  They had to be remarried in 1794 to clear up doubts A bond affirming the legitimacy of the second marriage is in Owsley et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, p. 428.

  Jackson’s slave trading Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, reports Jackson trading and transporting slaves between Nashville and Natchez, vol. 1, pp. 50, 133. Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, recounts one of Jackson’s quarrels, which broke out on the Natchez Trace while Jackson was “deputed to take a number of negroes to the lower country for sale,” vol. 1, pp. 354.

  to support his personal land speculation Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, vol. 1, p. 51.

  the two men talked for days and Jackson sold boats Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, vol. 1, pp. 316–17.

  Part Three: Old Hickory, 1815–1818

  Chapter Eight: Address Their Fears and Indulge Their Avarice

  291 redcoats killed All Battle of New Orleans numbers according to the U.S. Army Center for Military History.

  “some pretext or color of fraud about you” Coffee to Jackson, December 27, 1815, Jackson, Andrew Jackson Papers, 1775–1874, reel 20.

  “It is evidence of such wanton wickedness … such a man”Jackson to Coffee, February 2, 1816, Owsley et al., Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 4, p. 7.

  Each … blamed the other” Coffee to Jackson, December 27, 1815, Jackson, Andrew Jackson Papers, 1775–1874, reel 20.