Tennessee BEFORE the Revolutionary War (8.19)
TENNESSEE HISTORY
•Tennessee BEFORE the Revolutionary War (8.19)
•The Tennessee frontier was a battleground during the French & Indian War.
•Europeans settlers and the Cherokee in the are feared attacks by French forces to the west.
•Watch a about 4 minutes of video on on Fort Loudoun.
Fort Loudoun
•To secure the frontier, South Carolina colony in 1756 built Fort Loudoun and stationed soldiers there.
•Good relations between settlers and Cherokee, however, were soon replaced by conflict.
•In 1760, Cherokee warriors laid siege to Fort Loudoun for several months. The fort’s commander finally surrendered in return for Cherokee protection.
•BUT…
•Angry about the killing of Cherokee at another location, the Cherokee instead ambushed the group departing the fort.
•In response, South Carolina forces attacked Cherokee towns, which then pleaded for peace.
•Abandoned, Fort Loudoun was forgotten until its story was recovered in the 1900’s.
•1600-1700
•During the 1600-1700’s, colonial settlements struggled to expand because of the Atlantic Ocean on the east the Appalachian Mountains on the west.
1750-Dr Thomas Walker (8.20)
•He explored the Cumberland Gap (a steep, rough trail through the Appalachian mountains) with a group of companions.
•At first, they settled near West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
•Longhunters
•They were fur trappers and traders with the Indians.
•They got their name from the long time they spent away from home, weeks or even months, on hunts in the wilderness living off the land.
•They used the Cumberland Gap trial and traded with the Indians west of the Appalachians.
•Watch some of the video on showing the Cumberland Gap.
1769
•William Bean and his wife Lydia, pioneers from Virginia, became the first European Americans to settle permanently in the Tennessee area.
•Settled near the Watauga River near Johnson City, TN.
•Russell Bean was the first child of permanent European-American settlers born in Tennessee.
1771-War of Regulation (8.21)
•Western North Carolina farmers known as Regulators armed themselves to fight high taxes collected by the colonial government.
•A small war broke out that became known as “The War of Regulation”.
•Soldiers crushed the Regulator uprising at the Battle of Alamance.
Watauga Settlement
•After their defeat, many Regulators moved farther west into Tennessee.
•One settlement was along Tennessee’s Watauga River on land gotten from the Cherokee by pioneer James Robertson.
•Watauga Association
•A group of five commissioners served as the Watauga Association’s government in 1772.
•This was the first government west of the Appalachian Mountains.
•They began to buy the land permanently from the Cherokee and this agreement with LittleCarpenter was called the Watauga Purchase.
Richard Henderson
•Responsible for purchasing large tracts of land in Kentucky and Tennessee.
•Hired Daniel Boone to form the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap.
1775
•Richard Henderson’s company called the Transylvania Company bought land from the Cherokee Indians.
•In 1775, Daniel Boone led several colonists through the Cumberland Gap on the Wilderness Road through the Appalachian Mountains.
Daniel Boone
•Boone is quoted as saying, “A good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.”
Thomas Sharpe Spencer
•One of the original settlers in Middle Tennessee near Nashville.
•Built cabins & planted crops
•Rumored to have the strength of a lion!
1777
•Watauga Association become part of colonial North Carolina.
•North Carolina would rename Watauga Association-WashingtonDistrict-which included parts of Tennessee.
•During the Revolutionary War
•Fearing attacks from Cherokee, Wataugans sent out petitions for help.
•North Carolina responded by creating the Washington District to bring settlers under protection.
Nancy Ward
•As fighting neared, Nancy Ward, a Cherokee woman, warned the Wataugans of Cherokee plans.
•The Wataugans were able to throw back the Cherokee, who agreed to give up land claims
During the Revolutionary War
•Watauga settlers backed the Patriots during the Revolutionary War.
•Some Cherokee, including war chief Dragging Canoe and his father Little Carpenter, sided with the British in hopes of retaking their lands.
Cherokee Wars
•Nancy Ward encouraged the Cherokee to stop selling land to the settlers.
•The Revolutionary War would eventually lead to the Cherokee Wars.
•These were conflicts between the settlers in Watauga Association and the Native Americans during the Revolutionary War.
1779
•Settlers created different forts and settlements in different parts of Tennessee.
•One of the most popular was French Licke(where animals could lick salt & other minerals) would later become Nashville.
•Native Americans were upset by the increasing number of white settlers.
1779
•Richard Henderson had James Robertson & JohnDonelson lead 2 groups of settlers into the Cumberland River area.
•During the nearly 1,000 mile voyage,Donelson’s 300 travelers bravely faced winter cold, swift currents, hunger, and attacks.
•33 settlers died of either cold conditions or Native American attacks
Cumberland Settlement
•Settlers set up 7 forts along the Cumberland River to protect themselves.
•Built Fort Nashborough(now Nashville)
•John Donelson & James Robertson decide to unify under 1 government.
•May 1, 1780, 250 men sign the Cumberland Compact.
Dragging Canoe
•Cherokee Warrior, Dragging Canoe, began to lead Cherokee & Chickamaugas in attacks against forts because he was opposed to the land deals.
Battle of the Bluffs
•After signing the Cumberland Compact, Native Americans increased their attacks on the new settlement.
•Many settlers were kidnapped or attacked if they left the forts.
•The largest battle was known as the Battle of the Bluffs in 1781.
•The settlers won securing their presence in the Cumberland River area.