Revolutionary War Article from the "Herald" about Montgomery, Alabama Participation

One Revolutionary War Campaign Launched
at Present Site of Court Square

Few Americans know that during our War for Independence more than 200 years ago there were 14 British colonies, not 13, within the United States' present boundaries. The 14th, West Florida, en- compassed the Florida panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, Louisiana east of the Mississippi River except for New Orleans, and the southern halves of Mississippi and Alabama, including the future site of the City of Montgomery. There was also a 15th colony, East Florida, but it was virtually uninhabited and played little part in the American Revolution.

Why did not West Florida join the 13 in their struggle for independence? Her settlements were remote from the Eastern Seaboard, the Province was thinly populated, the people expressed no grievances toward the Mother Country, influential local officials were loyal to the Crown, and a militarily weak colony relied upon British troops for defense against the Indians and the Spanish then ruling Louisiana and Cuba. Also, after the American Revolution broke out, King George III proclaimed both Floridas a haven for Loyalist refugees, who began fleeing into both.

The only Patriot move on the 14th Colony came in 1778, when Captain James Willing's freebooting expedition floated down the Mississippi, pillaging the Natchez country and alienating its settlers. Next, Spain declared war on Great Britain, and in 1779 and 1780, Don Bernardo Gaivez, Spanish Governor of Louisiana, captured successively the British settlements on the Lower Mississippi River, including Natchez and Baton Rouge, and those on the Gulf Coast; Mobile and Pensacola.

Meanwhile, Creek Indians from the interior of the Southeast, including this area, joined the British in fighting both the Spanish and the American rebels against the Crown. About 1,000 Creek braves served under Brigadier General William Campbell in West Florida against Gaivez, and 300 more served with Lord Cornwallis in the Carolinas. Also, Creek war chiefs launched hundreds of raids against American frontier settlements in the Southeast, stemming the frontier's westward march until after the war.

One of the largest of these Creek Revolutionary War campaigns began on the site of Montgomery. The last British Commissary, or Crown Agent, to the Creek Nation was Colonel John Tait, an army officer. Stationed at the Hickory Ground, below Wetumpka, Colonel Tait enjoyed great prestige among the Creeks. He took to wife Sehoy, a half-breed Tuskegee Indian descended from the powerful Creek Clan of the Wind. Sehoy was a sister of the great Creek leader, Alexander McGillivray. Later she would become the mother of Red Eagle, Chief William Weatherford.

By this time, British General "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne had been forced to surrender at Saratoga, New York, and his Convention Army marched off to a POW camp at Charlottesville, Virginia. The British had to abandon their campaign to crush the rebellion in the Northern colonies, but carried the war to the South and effectively reconquered Georgia, where there was much Tory sentiment. Augusta, at that time a frontier settlement, was taken and garrisoned by Tory militia under a Colonel Grierson. Patriot militia under Georgia's Colonel Elijah Clarke besieged this important Loyalist stronghold to try to wipe it out.

Thereupon, Colonel John Tate assembled and trained a force of 500 pro-British Creek warriors here at Ecanchata, the High Red Bluff of the great bend in the Alabama River, to march to Grierson's relief and raise the Whig siege of Augusta. However, enroute, Colonel Tate came down with fever and became deranged at Upatoy Creek near old Fort Perry between the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers in Georgia. His Indian allies bore him back to old Cusseta, the site of Fort Benning, Georgia, where he died and was buried on a high hill east of the Indian town. Tate's death effectively ended the attempted relief expedition. Most of the Creeks returned to their homes, except for the Tuckabatchee Indians who were headed by Dog Warrior. They accompanied the Chattahoochee Indians, who were headed by Little Prince, to Augusta, where they harassed the Patriot besiegers. Later, in 1781, "Light Horse Harry" Lee, Robert E. Lee's father, took his Legion of Continental regulars to aid Clarke and his backwoods militia, and they captured Au-gusta. Grierson surrendered but was murdered by Georgia militia Captain Samuel Alexander.

Thus, British Colonel John Tate's abortive expedition, launched from the future site of Court Square, is the one Revolutionary War operation by either side that involves Montgomery.

By Lt. Col. John H. Napier, U.S.A.F., Retired. Col. Napier is a local historian and author of several published works.

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	One Revolutionary War Campaign Launched at Present Site of Court Square Few Americans know that during our War for Independence more than 200 years ago there were 14 British colonies, not 13, within the United States' present boundaries. The 14th, West Florida, en- compassed the Florida panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, Louisiana east of the Mississippi River except for New Orleans, and the southern halves of Mississippi and Alabama, including the future site of the City of Montgomery. There was also a 15th colony, East Florida, but it was virtually uninhabited and played little part in the American Revolution. Why did not West Florida join the 13 in their struggle for independence? Her settlements were remote from the Eastern Seaboard, the Province was thinly populated, the people expressed no grievances toward the Mother Country, influential local officials were loyal to the Crown, and a militarily weak colony relied upon British troops for defense against the Indians and the Spanish then ruling Louisiana and Cuba. Also, after the American Revolution broke out, King George III proclaimed both Floridas a haven for Loyalist refugees, who began fleeing into both. The only Patriot move on the 14th Colony came in 1778, when Captain James Willing's freebooting expedition floated down the Mississippi, pillaging the Natchez country and alienating its settlers. Next, Spain declared war on Great Britain, and in 1779 and 1780, Don Bernardo Gaivez, Spanish Governor of Louisiana, captured successively the British settlements on the Lower Mississippi River, including Natchez and Baton Rouge, and those on the Gulf Coast; Mobile and Pensacola. Meanwhile, Creek Indians from the interior of the Southeast, including this area, joined the British in fighting both the Spanish and the American rebels against the Crown. About 1,000 Creek braves served under Brigadier General William Campbell in West Florida against Gaivez, and 300 more served with Lord Cornwallis in the Carolinas. Also, Creek war chiefs launched hundreds of raids against American frontier settlements in the Southeast, stemming the frontier's westward march until after the war. One of the largest of these Creek Revolutionary War campaigns began on the site of Montgomery. The last British Commissary, or Crown Agent, to the Creek Nation was Colonel John Tait, an army officer. Stationed at the Hickory Ground, below Wetumpka, Colonel Tait enjoyed great prestige among the Creeks. He took to wife Sehoy, a half-breed Tuskegee Indian descended from the powerful Creek Clan of the Wind. Sehoy was a sister of the great Creek leader, Alexander McGillivray. Later she would become the mother of Red Eagle, Chief William Weatherford. By this time, British General "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne had been forced to surrender at Saratoga, New York, and his Convention Army marched off to a POW camp at Charlottesville, Virginia. The British had to abandon their campaign to crush the rebellion in the Northern colonies, but carried the war to the South and effectively reconquered Georgia, where there was much Tory sentiment. Augusta, at that time a frontier settlement, was taken and garrisoned by Tory militia under a Colonel Grierson. Patriot militia under Georgia's Colonel Elijah Clarke besieged this important Loyalist stronghold to try to wipe it out. Thereupon, Colonel John Tate assembled and trained a force of 500 pro-British Creek warriors here at Ecanchata, the High Red Bluff of the great bend in the Alabama River, to march to Grierson's relief and raise the Whig siege of Augusta. However, enroute, Colonel Tate came down with fever and became deranged at Upatoy Creek near old Fort Perry between the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers in Georgia. His Indian allies bore him back to old Cusseta, the site of Fort Benning, Georgia, where he died and was buried on a high hill east of the Indian town. Tate's death effectively ended the attempted relief expedition. Most of the Creeks returned to their homes, except for the Tuckabatchee Indians who were headed by Dog Warrior. They accompanied the Chattahoochee Indians, who were headed by Little Prince, to Augusta, where they harassed the Patriot besiegers. Later, in 1781, "Light Horse Harry" Lee, Robert E. Lee's father, took his Legion of Continental regulars to aid Clarke and his backwoods militia, and they captured Au-gusta. Grierson surrendered but was murdered by Georgia militia Captain Samuel Alexander. Thus, British Colonel John Tate's abortive expedition, launched from the future site of Court Square, is the one Revolutionary War operation by either side that involves Montgomery. By Lt. Col. John H. Napier, U.S.A.F., Retired. Col. Napier is a local historian and author of several published works. Return to Choice of Articles
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