The Columbian Highway: A military history of the Natchez Trace - part 3

Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country — Horace Greely

As the 18th century faded into history, into old Southwest began a steady stream of settlers originating from the eastern southern states.  Tennessee, originally considered as part of North Carolina, was opened up to settlement for the country’s war veterans of the Revolution.    Likewise, the Georgia frontier became the Mississippi Territory for the same purpose.  Having no means of rewarding the soldiers who actually established the nation, those seeking such, could obtain land as their reward for service to their country.  Westward was the natural route of migration largely due to the fact that, as English colonies, the boundary of the British American Empire extended from the Eastern Seaboard all the way to the Mississippi River.  Beyond that lay the possessions of his most Catholic Majesty the King of France.  To the south, the Floridas, East and West,  were the dominion of the King of Spain.

 An Uneasy Peace

Period satire showing the sentiment of the national

consciousness regarding the proxy-war that was being

waged against Americans by European enemies.

 

As the population of Anglo-Americans began pushing westward, ancient rivals saw little difference between these new Americans or the English from which they came.  Both France and Spain had been ancient enemies and bitter rivals of Great Britain for the New World and neither wanted to accept that England had won that contest.  Equally hard for the English to accept was the fact that they too ultimately had lost that fight  to Brother Jonathan after suffering defeat in the American Revolution.  Whether the goal was to contain American expansion as with the French and Spanish, or set the stage to ultimately repossess it’s former North American colonies as with the English, all antagonists waged a silent war by the same strategy, employ America’s native population to do the fighting for them.  Such had been the case since the 1600’s along the East Coast.  Now, that tactic would be employed all throughout the south.

  

‘God willing and the Creek don’t rise.’ - Benjamin Hawkins

An illustration from the Colonial conflicts, this scene is reminiscent

of the horror experienced by Mrs. Manley and Mrs. Crawley when

their farmstead on the Duck River was savagely attacked by Little

Warrior and his followers.  

 

In May of 1812, John Crawley and Jesse Manley had been away from their homes together on a journey to obtain corn for the planting season.  Upon returning to their homes along the Duck River, they soon discovered life as they knew it had ended in an afternoon of horror that would eventually lead to the complete expulsion of native people from Tennessee.  A war party of Creek Indians led by the reprobate Little Warrior had attacked and brutally murdered members of Crawley’s and Manley’s families including several children.  Little Warrior was a willing disciple of the great Shawnee Chief Tecumseh as well as a vocal advocate of Tecumseh’s proposed Indian Confederacy that would restore the Indian nations to their former glory.  The previous year of  1811 saw Tecumseh on a pilgrimage among the Five Civilized Tribes of the South.  At the village of Tuckaubatchee in present day Alabama Tecumseh stirred the soul of a warrior nation...

The Muscogee was once a mighty people. The Georgians trembled at your war-whoop, and the maidens of my tribe, on the distant lakes, sung the prowess of your warriors and sighed for their embraces...Oh! Muscogees, brethren of my mother, brush from your eyelids the sleep of slavery; once more strike for vengeance; once more for your country...War now! War forever! War upon the living! War upon the dead! Dig their very corpses from the grave. Our country must give no rest to a white man's bones. This is the will of the Great Spirit, revealed to my brother, his familiar, the Prophet of the Lakes. He sends me to you. All the tribes of the north are dancing the war-dance. Two mighty warriors across the seas will send us arms. Tecumseh will soon return to his country. My prophets shall tarry with you.  They will  stand between you and the bullets of your enemies.  When the white men approach you the yawning earth shall swallow them up.  Soon shall you see my arm of fire stretched athwart the sky. I will stamp my foot at Tippecanoe, and the very earth shall shake.  

A Creek Warrior, ca. 1812

Whether or not Little Warrior was in attendance at Tecumseh’s speech is unknown.  What is known is that Little Warrior was returning from a great council of war in the north called by Tecumseh when he and his warriors fell upon their hapless victims along the banks of the Duck River in Tennessee.  The Creek warriors had drawn first blood in the prelude to what would become all out war the following year. Tecumseh’s call for blood in the south had gone forth.  Now the men of South would answer.

 

 

 

 

 

Belle Meade, Sept 26-27, 2014

Volunteers to New Orleans!

The last week of September, 2014 the Columbia Light Infantry in conjunction with the

John Harding's Plantation Belle Meade
was the earlier site of Dunham's Stand
at the northern end of the Natchez Trace.

Natchez Trace Parkway Association held a Living History event on the grounds of Belle Meade to commemorate the mustering in of Tennessee Militia into the service of the United States in the fall of 1814.  Turnout among the troops was much lighter than anticipated but, as with any volunteer effort, things get in the way.  Still, the weather and the setting were beautiful and spirits high among those who made the event. 

Rick worked the cooking fires constantly.
He does a great job and is an excellent open
fire cook.

A definite highlight was the culinary skills of our company cook Mr. Rick Pennington.  What a change from having to “rough it” on your own with the typical folding skillet and smoky fire.  Rick is a blessing to the unit and a huge asset.  He will be providing fodder for the entire unit for the duration of the upcoming campaign to Louisiana. 

A lot of canvas!

 

Spacing not quite right but
we're working on it.

A salute to President of the Natchez Trace Parkway Association Bryant Boswell for being instrumental in obtaining the tentage needed to recreate a von Steuben company sized layout.  The design is taken directly from the Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States written by Baron von Steuben.  The camp has of course had to be "modified" for the purposes of Living History but still definitely gives the military air that would be recognizable if someone from 200 years ago walked into our camp today.

 

Teaching the men to march.

Right Wheel,  March!

 The order of the day was drill.  Living History is very different from an actual battle reenactment so the men must be prepared to load, fire, master the manual of arms, all while maneuvering on the field.  Although it is "play" it can be dangerous play.  In the heat of the moment and the excitement which surrounds even a mock battle, it is easy for a gentleman to be unaware he has double or triple loaded his musket.  When it does finally ignite, someone could get hurt as a result.  Yes sir, even at play our drill must be executed with early 19th century precision.  The problem is, most of us only do this a couple of times a year.  As such, it is only natural that we remain in a constant state as armatures. One lofty project for the area along the Natchez Trace would be an annual Camp of Instruction where reenactors from all over the area could actually attend a three-day "boot camp" for the late 18th, early 19th century soldier.  We'll see what the future holds.  Till then, we'll have to make the best of our situation when we can.  With only three months to go, New Orleans is fast approaching.  Time to organize your personal kit and polish your historic impression.



 

 

The Columbian Highway: A military history of the Natchez Trace - part 2

A Federal Road

Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796 and became the nation’s 16th state.  Almost immediately the center of culture, society, wealth, and commerce shifted from Knoxville in the east to Nashville in the middle of the state also known as the western or Mero District.  Nashville was the furthest extent of civilization in the new state of Tennessee at the close of the 18th century and mainly owed it’s growing influence to two main factors. First, it was situated on the Cumberland River which provided a method of transporting goods to market in Natchez, the furthest extent of civilization in Tennessee’s neighbor to the south, the Mississippi Territory.  Second, there was a direct overland route from Natchez back to Nashville, the old Indian trail known as The Natchez Trace.

Thomas Jefferson, President of the
United States 1801 to 1809

Enemies...Foreign and Domestic


When the United States Army was ordered toward Tennessee’s Duck River in 1801, it was mainly for the purpose of developing the Natchez Trace into a Federal Road.  Natchez was an important military and economic site in the early 1800's.  Throughout the administration of President Adams, war with France seemed a certainty.  Though actions flared at sea with the capture of 20 French ships during the Quasi-War, formal hostilities never made it to land before the danger passed with the signing of  the Treaty of Mortefontaine on September 30, 1800.  However, one development that did result from the brief undeclared war was a national realization of the need to establish lines of communication between the seat of Federal government in Washington and the outlying settlements of the nation no matter how remote.   In the Presidential election of 1800, Adam’s Federalist Party was swept from power by the new Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson.  Whether owing to Providential inspiration or just a shrewd eye to the future, one of the first tasks of the new administration was to begin development of the Natchez Trace from an Indian trail into a Federal Road.  After negotiation to allow passage through Chickasaw land, the Columbian Highway, as it was officially christened, became the lifeline to the farthest reaches of the southern frontier.  Along it’s path travelled the commerce, settlers, governance, and military of the United States seeking to establish itself and secure it borders.  The Natchez Trace had become of vital importance to the immediate future of the country.  It was down this artery of transportation the military advanced to ensure the  firm transfer of the Louisiana Territory sold by Napoleonic France to the United States in 1803.  The area, and the sale, was disputed by Spain who had a military presence there and the Jeffersonian government felt it best to confirm the transfer of ownership by a show of force.  The Natchez Trace had now become a Military Road.

U.S. Army Infantry
ca. 1802


The following is a brief excerpt from the October 1801 Treaty between the United States and the Chickasaw Nation…

The President of the United States of America, by James Wilkinson brigadier general in the service of the United States, Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina and Andrew Pickens, of South Carolina, commissioners of the United States, who are vested with full powers, and the Mingco, principle men and warriors of the Chickasaw nation, have agreed to the following articles.


Period drawing of a
Chickasaw Warrior.

ART. I.  The Mingco, principle men and warriors of the Chickasaw nation of the Indians, give leave and permission to the President of the United States of America, to lay out, open and make a convenient wagon road through their land between the settlements of Mero District in the state of Tennessee, and those of Natchez in the Mississippi Territory, in such way and manner as he may deem proper; and the same shall be a high way for the citizens of the United States, and the Chickasaws.

 

  

 

 

The Columbian Highway: A military history of the Natchez Trace - part 1

An Uncertain Beginning

In the last years of the 18th century, the fledgling United States of America found itself in the unenviable position of trying to establish notoriety on the world stage while at the same time guarding against growing unrest along a frontier that stretched from the Great Lakes in the Old Northwest to Natchez in the southern Mississippi Territory.   Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was unable to levy taxes and had no independent method of raising revenue.  As such, Congress could not pay it’s domestic or foreign debts.  Such a sad state financially and an intrinsic mistrust for a standing military force, were both contributing factors in the disbanding of the Continental Army shortly after the official end of the Revolutionary War in 1783.  At it’s start, the United States of America possessed neither riches nor the means to defend them.  However, the one thing that the young nation did possess as enshrined in the Treaty of Paris between England and the United States was land.

 

Early Americans pushed westward carving out their homes on

land opened up to settlement by the Northwest Ordinances. 

The resulting clash of arms between Indians and Whites would

last  for 30 years

In 1784, and subsequently in 1785, and 1787, the government issued a series of ordinances that opened up the Northwest Territory for settlement and laid the foundation for the method of growth for the nation, westward expansion fueled by the government sell of seemingly boundless stretches of untamed land.









 “Too few to fight and too many to die.”  

Beginning with the formation of the tiny standing army of the United States, occurred a series of events that would haunt the nation and shape it’s development for the next one hundred years.  The First American Regiment and the United States Constabulary Force of 1,000 men was the sole regular military maintained by the government in the 1780’s.  The task it was given, pacification of a wild and vast frontier, coupled with the resources it lacked, set the stage of what would become the worst disaster in the history of the U.S. Army.  After suffering a series of defeats under General Josiah Harmar in the Autumn of 1790, a second military push into the Northwest Territory under General Arthur St. Clair came to a bloody halt a year later along the banks of the Wabash River in present day Ohio.  There on November 4, 1791, a confederation of Miami, Shawnee, and Lenape Indians attacked and overwhelmed St. Clair’s force of roughly 1,000 men of which only 24 escaped unhurt.  The casualty rate of over 97% in St. Clair’s  army still remains the highest rate ever suffered by the United States Army on campaign in any single action.  The Indian victory was complete but short-lived.  Federal troops returned just over two years later.  In August of 1794 soldiers of the United States Legion under the command of General Anthony Wayne soundly defeated the Northwest Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers near present day Toledo, Ohio.  The subsequent signing of the treaty of Greenville ensured two things to the participants in those early years of our nations founding.  At least for the present, the Northwest Territory would be pacified and as a result, the attention was now shifted toward present day Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama collectively know then as the Southwest Territory.