Alabama Collection Camps, Forts, Emigrating Depots and Travel Routes Used During the

647 Pages·2010·35.23 MB·English

Alabama Collection Camps, Forts, Emigrating Depots
and Travel Routes Used During the
Cherokee Removal of 1838-1839
Lamar Marshall
Larry Smith
Michael Wren
Gail King
Project Director
Southeastern Anthropological Institute
Northwest Shoals Community College
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Funded by
The National Park Service Challenge Cost Share Program
First Draft April, 2007
Final Report March, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………….1
Chapter 2: Natural Setting of Cherokee Nation in Alabama…………………….7
Physical Divisions of Northern Alabama
Coosa Valley
Lookout Mountain
Wills Valley
Sand Mountain
Sequatchie Valley
Soil, Climate, and Forest
Soils of Alabama
Soil Associations
Climate
Forests
Settlement Patterns of the Cherokee
Subsistence Patterns of the Cherokee
References Cited
Chapter 3: Missionaries, Cherokee Removal, and The Trail of Tears…............29
Introduction
Moravians (Society of United Brethren)
Presbyterians
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM)
Baptists
Methodists
Missionaries and the Trail of Tears
References Cited
Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm Clouds of the Cherokee Forced Removal…..43
Historical Events Leading to Indian Removal
Shifting American Government Policies
President George Washington (1789-1797)
President John Adams (1797-1801)
President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
President James Madison (1809-1817)
President James Monroe (1817-1825)
President John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)
President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
President Martin Van Buren
War Department, Factories, and Indian Agents
The Cherokee Nation: One Nation Undivided
References Cited
Chapter 5: The Cherokee Holocaust………………………………………….......83
Introduction
The Relentless Pursuit for Evicting the Cherokee in Georgia
The Cherokee Phoenix: Freedom of the Press?
The Cherokee Nation Splits into Factions over Removal to the West
Alabama Laws Extended over the Cherokee Nation
The Removal Begins in Alabama
References Cited
Appendix A
Appendix B
Chapter 6: Spoliation Claims of Cherokees Residing in Alabama…………….137
Claims of Sundry Persons in Benge Detachment
Registration of Claims Within the State of Alabama
Tennessee Cherokee Collection
Miscellaneous Cherokee Manuscript Collection
Tennessee Cherokee Collection
Cherokee Nation Papers
John Ross Papers
Penelope Johnson Allen Collection
Tennessee Cherokee Collection
National Archives and Records Administration
Chapter 7: Posts, Cantonments, Depots, Encampments, and Forts Associated
With the Forced Removal of Cherokee Indians from Alabama…..169
Introduction
Gunter’s Landing
Rawlingsville
Camp Morrow
Fort Payne
Bellefonte
Fort Lovell
Fort Likens
Camp Watts
Fort Turkeytown
Benge Detachment Camps
The Camp Eight Miles Below Fort Payne
Camp on Tennessee River
Notes
References Cited
Chapter 8: Topography of the Removal Routes………………………………..229
Ferry Crossings on Major Rivers and Tributaries
Introduction
Coosa River
Ferries 1-9
Chattooga River
Ferries 1-5
Little River
Ferries 1-2
Tennessee River
Ferries 1-6
Miscellaneous Information
Appendix A
Chapter 9: Routes of the Cherokee Roundup in Alabama……………………..303
The Doorstep of the Cherokee
Gunter’s Landing via Rawlingsville to Ross’s Landing
Fort Lovell to Fort Likens
Fort Likens to LaFayette, Georgia (Ross’s Landing destination)
Fort Lovell to Fort Payne
Ross’s Landing to Fort Payne
Turkey Town to Fort Lovell
References Cited
Map List
Chapter 10: The Benge Detachment………………………………………………383
The Benge and Lowrey Families
The Benge and Lowrey Families Move from
their Reservations
Benge’s Reservation on Topographical Map
Lookout Valley Home and Mill – John Benge
Photo of Rising Fawn Church of God
Photo of Benge’s Field
LaTourette Map of 1837
J. Benge and G. Lowry
Politics of the Cherokee Nation
John Benge
George Lower y
Letters Describing Conditions in the Benge
Detachment
Confusing History of the Benge Detachment
Chart Comparing Thirteen Detachments of
the Forced Removal
Benge Detachment Timeline
Alphabetical Listing of Persons in Benge Detachment
Page Muster Roll
Muster Roll from John Ross Papers
Abstract of Provisions Issued
Provision Chart
Abstract of Forage Issued
Forage Chart
People Who Provided Services to Detachment
Hand-written document of Expenses of Removal
Signed by John Ross
Congressional Report # 288 - Expenses of Removal
The Benge Detachment Missing Persons
Appendix A – John Benge Property Valuations
Appendix B – Digitized 1841 Original Letter from
Captain John Page to John Bell, Secretary
of War
Chapter 11: Routes of the Benge Detachment and the Force Removal………...451
Fort Payne to Gunter’s Landing
Gunter’s Landing to Huntsville
Huntsville to Meridianville
Meridianville to Pulaski, Tennessee
Map List
Chapter 12: The Excavation at Fort Payne……………………………………....531
Interviews and Documents
The 2007 and 2008 Excavations at the Fort Payne Chimney/Cabin
Site (1Dk5)
Chapter 13: The Search for Alabama Removal Forts…………………………...545
Fort Lovell
Fort Turkeytown
Chapter 14: Summary and Conclusions………………………………………….645
Acknowledgements
This project was a team effort by several members of the Alabama Chapter of the
Trail of Tears Association under the direction of the Southeastern Anthropological
Institute. Without the technology of e-mail, it would have been impossible to confer
with each other as many times as was necessary to define our research roles, survey
primary source documents and data collected, and use them to fit the goals of the project.
Gail King and Marty King live in Sterrett, Alabama (southeast of Birmingham); Larry
Smith lives in Guntersville, Alabama; Mike Wren lives in Atlanta, Georgia; Lamar
Marshall lived in Moulton, Alabama, but has since moved to Franklin, North Carolina,
and Sharon Freeman lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is presently in graduate school at
the University of Memphis.
When spring 2008 arrived, we were all surprised, because the dreary months of
winter had flown by while working on this project. Acknowledgement of the research
team is certainly in order. Larry Smith drove to numerous locations searching for
primary source documents, and if he was unsuccessful the first time, he returned until he
found something. He spent days on end sorting through documents and writing. Mike
Wren could always find the answer to any question. Gail King and Mike spent hours at
microfilm readers in the National Archives research center in Morrow, Georgia, until
their eyesight dimmed. Mike volunteered to transcribe 27 pages of spoliation claims and
compile information on ferries that were possibly used by Cherokees being forced into
the roundup camps and the emigrating depots. Without Marty King’s computer
capabilities, we would have had a difficult time reading handwritten letters scanned from
microfilm. Marty’s photographs brought more depth and visual aspects to our research.
His expertise in placing maps and photos into the text of the report was invaluable. He
spent untold volunteer hours in working on the report. Lamar Marshall, another
volunteer, led us all on expeditions to find the old road beds described in the original
survey notes and shown on the plats maps of 1839-1840. When we found the 1830
roads, his remarks were “I told you they were here.” Lamar was able to master his new,
high-speed computer system, along with enduring several power outages while compiling
an amazing number of maps to identify routes and sites associated the Cherokee removal,
as well as the route taken by the Benge Detachment. His chapter became so huge and
detailed that it had to be separated into two chapters for the report. Yet another volunteer
Sharon Freeman organized three trips to the Fort Payne Chimney Site to conduct a Phase
I Archaeological Survey. Many members of the Alabama Chapter traveled quite long
distances to volunteer and help with the survey. The responsibility of editing, writing the
remaining chapters, and putting all of this massive research together in an organized form
fell to Gail King, the project director. Although she spent many hours beyond what was
initially proposed for the project, the outcome was well-worth the effort.
All of us, who have worked on the project, want to thank the National Park
Service for providing the opportunity to work on such an unclear and obscure part of
American history. We especially want to thank Aaron Mahr for traveling to Tuscumbia,
Alabama to meet with our research team on March 15th, 2007 and make sure we were
headed in the right direction.
We want to express our deep appreciation to the National Archives in Morrow,
Georgia. It is staffed by some of the most professional archivists and research assistants
in this country. Their staff members are always courteous and attentive to researchers
visiting their state-of-the art facility. There are few facilities that provide such easy
access to documents and have such extensive microfilm holdings with digital scanning
capabilities. Scanning of the microfilm to reproduce a copy digitally made it possible to
clean up the images from microfilm and produce clean copies of very important letters
relating to the Cherokee Removal in Alabama.
The staff of the Madison County Records Center in Huntsville, Alabama headed
by Rhonda Larkin, was most helpful in finding information about 1830 roads in the
Huntsville area. The staff not only located records for us, but spent their own time
looking for relative information in the early1800 records, newspaper articles, papers
collected by individuals, and family histories. Their calls to local historians were
immensely helpful in determining the route of the Benge Detachment across the
mountains east of Huntsville.
Additionally we wish to acknowledge the assistance of Larry Benefield, Jerry
Gunter, Ted Rumley, Cora Gamblin, Dr. Norwood Kerr of the Alabama Department of
Archives and History, Dr. Sarah Hill, Laurie Brockman, Jerry Clark of the National
Archives in Washington D.C., Patty Tucker, Patty Woodall, Dr. Stephan Brewer, David
Jones, Jerry Cornelius, Vicki Rozema, Jerry Jones, Chuck Burns, Elizabeth Dunham of
the University of Tennessee Hoskins Library Special Collections, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert
Stanley, and Mrs. Emma Jordan.
Chapter 1
Introduction
By: Gail ing
The goal of this project was to travel to multiple repositories, county courthouses,
and sites to research and document the Cherokee removal from their homes, collection
points, camps, removal forts, emigration depot(s), and associated travel routes located in
north Alabama during the forced Cherokee Removal. In order to gain a better
understanding of the forced removal, it was necessary to locate and access primary source
material which documented events through eye witness accounts of actions and
occurrences at the Cherokee encampments, in the forts, military posts, and supply depots.
Letters written between military officers provided invaluable information about numbers
of Cherokee at each location, as well as movement from one location to another.
The research locations which yielded the highest number of primary source
documents were the National Archives Southeast Region, Atlanta (Morrow, Georgia); the
National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C., the Special
Collections Library at the University of Tennessee, the Alabama Department of Archives
and History in Montgomery; and the Madison County Record Center in the Huntsville
Library. The microfilm collection at the Regional Archives (Morrow, GA) contained
numerous letters written between the United States military, the Alabama troops, and
other individuals involved in the removal of the Cherokee in Alabama. Their microfilm
digitizers gave a tremendous advantage in researching microfilm, because they had the
capability of downloading images of each frame onto a flash drive to be viewed in depth
later. The National Archives in Washington D.C. houses the collection of the
uartermaster’s documents relating to the Cherokee Removal. These were photographed
by a member of our research team. The Special Collections Library at the University of
Tennessee contained yet a different aspect of the removal in the Lenoir papers. These
papers contained chronological listings of construction supplies, furniture, and provisions
sent to Fort Lovell, which was located in the Cedar Bluff area of Alabama. The Alabama
Department of Archives and History in Montgomery had a microfilm collection of
governors’ letters written during the 1830s. The Madison County Records Room
contains a vast number of records concerning the development of the Huntsville,
Alabama area during the early 1800s. Road rder books for the 1830s gave an important
insight as to what roads would have been in existence when the Benge Detachment
traveled through Huntsville. A trip to the courthouses in counties along the Georgia-
Alabama state line yielded very little information pertaining to removal in Alabama
during the 1830s. Records in many of the courthouses have been lost due to fires or other
historical events, such as the Civil War and do not go back to the 1830s.
Researching extant land records pertaining to the State of Alabama is facilitated
by the fact that it is a public land state. Lands in many public land states were once
claimed by the thirteen original colonies, however in the early years of the United States
these lands were traded to the U.S. government by the colonies. In turn the U.S.
government would give up land claims within the colonies. As land was ceded by Indian
nations in Alabama, ownership went directly to the U.S. government. See Figure 1.1
below for Indian Land Cession map.
1
Figure 1.1. Map showing Cherokee Land Cessions in Alabama. No. 203 is the final land
cession, as mandated by the Treaty of New Echota, December 29, 1835. Eighteenth Annual
Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Part 2. 1899.
2
The benefit to the United States government was that the sale of lands in public
land states could be sold to raise money for the U.S. Treasury. The General Land ffice
(GL ) was established by Congress in 1812 under the direction of the Department of the
Treasury. The GL would oversee the disposition of Federal lands. In Alabama land
sales were sold through land offices located throughout the state. Before land could be
sold, a survey was conducted which divided the land in Alabama into a grid system, such
as seen on the map in Figure 1.1 above. This system of townships and ranges, with 3
sections to each township, is a tremendous asset to researchers in locating old roads,
archaeological sites, and simply keeping track of land records as far back as the 1840s.
(website www.blm.gov BLM and Its Predecessors)
The Bureau of Land Management website was extremely useful, because it
contains recently digitized 1839-1840 Plat Maps. Many of the plat maps show roads that
would have existed during the Cherokee Removal in Alabama. The General Land ffice
compiled survey notes and plat maps, which were recorded during the survey of the last
Cherokee land cession in Alabama. uite often the surveyors would record in their
survey notes and hand-drawn maps the name of the road as they crossed it while
surveying or at least record the name of the towns connected by the road. Historical
maps and USGS topographical maps from the personal collections of Lamar Marshall
and Gail King were digitized and used to plot the forced removal (roundup) routes and
the route taken by the Benge Detachment. Modern county highway maps were used as a
base map to overlay the roads as noted on the General Land ffice 1840 Survey Notes
and Plat Maps.
Field trips were taken by T TA Alabama Chapter member Lamar Marshall and
several other T TA Alabama Chapters members to GPS old road beds and associated
sites in order to compare GPS readings with the 1839 Survey Notes. The results were
phenomenal. We felt we were truly following the footsteps of the Cherokee during those
last days of what was known as the Cherokee Nation in Alabama. The field trips to
physically search for the 1838 roads included the following
Guntersville State Park.
Fort Payne, Alabama to Dade County, Georgia.
Barry Springs, Alabama to Summerville, Georgia.
Cedar Bluff Gaylesville area.
Coosa River archaeological site.
Fort Payne via Rawlingsville to Valley Head.
Fort Payne via Lebanon, Ten Broeck, Grove ak, Smith’s Gap to Guntersville
Lake where the old road disappeared into Guntersville Lake across from
Guntersville State Park.
Fort Payne to the Tennessee River crossing to Bellefonte.
Guntersville via New Hope and wens Cross Roads, over Blevins Gap to Huntsville.
An additional field trip was taken to Cedar Bluff, Alabama via Centre to cross the
Coosa River at the bridge where the most recent Pathkiller’s Ferry was located. From
there the Coosa River was followed going toward Gadsden, where it goes through the
town of Ball Play. Information collected from GPS readings during all of the field trips
listed above was used to compile GIS shape files in order to create a base map of the
3
forced Cherokee Removal (the roundup area and routes) and the route of the Benge
Detachment
Several trips were taken to talk to local people living in areas where there were
military forts associated with the removal. ne such interview, conducted by Larry
Smith, Marty King, and Gail King, was with Mr. Jim Cavin (who owns Barry Springs),
and his daughter, Becky. Important information as to the location of Fort Likens was
recorded during this interview. We were told that Fort Likens had been located on a
nearby hill. As Becky pointed to the hill while standing on the porch of her father’s
house, she offered to have one of their relatives take us to the exact location of Fort
Likens. This information was substantiated by the 1839 Survey Notes, where the
surveyors documented the exact location of the fort.
In an endeavor to locate Fort Turkeytown, several interviews were conducted with
people concerning the Turkey Town area. Patsy Hanvey, a Cherokee descendant who
lives in the Turkeytown area, was contacted. Jerry Jones, a local historian who lives in
Gadsden, Alabama was interviewed for his vast knowledge of the old site of
Turkeytown.. n December 1st, 2007 Mr. Jones and Danny Crownover, president of the
Etowah Historical Society, took several Alabama Chapter (Trail of Tears Association)
members on a tour of the area near Turkeytown Creek, a few miles northeast of Gadsden.
We were shown the site of the Turkeytown Council House and most importantly the site
of James Lasley’s house. U.S. troops, under the command of General Scott, took him
from his home, along with other Cherokees, on June 1st, 1838. They were “marched to
Fort Payne, a distance of about 35 miles” (Tennessee State Library and Archives 1842
Flint district Claim Book 4, 2).
Ted Rumley was interviewed during a field trip to Dade County, Georgia by
Larry Benefield, Larry Smith, Marty King, and Gail King.. His property is known to
have been the site of the Benge Mill. Mr. Rumley took us to several other locations
nearby, which were known to be connected with the John Benge family. ne location is
still known as Benge’s Field.
In an effort to document the removal site in Fort Payne, archaeologist and T TA
Alabama Chapter member, Sharon Freeman conducted three excavations during
December 2007, February 2008, and June 2008 at the Fort Payne Chimney site (1Dk5)
Fort Payne, Alabama. Numerous volunteers from our research team and the Alabama
Chapter, as well as local volunteers, showed up to man shovels and sifters. A well in
pristine condition was discovered. Refer to Chapter 11 to read what local oral history
stated about the well.
A tremendous amount of time was spent by T TA Alabama Chapter member
Mike Wren in extracting and transcribing documents pertaining to Cherokee Removal,
Property Valuations, and Spoliations Claims. He dedicated hours upon hours of time on
Saturdays researching records at the National Archives, Morrow, Georgia; the Georgia
State Archives, Emory University Library, and an asunder other locations.
During June 2008 Dr. Sarah Hill of the Georgia Chapter contacted members of
our research team, who are involved in this project, about records at the National
Archives in Washington, D.C. that were turning up during research being conducted by
Stephen Dennis. Mr. Dennis is a local Washington, D.C. attorney, who has family roots
in Lafayette, Georgia. He has been hired to write a history of Lafayette by the county
commissioner and a local committee of interested citizens. Since that time he has been in
4