American Revolution Podcast

Sunday, September 19, 2021

ARP218 Onondaga Creek

In April of 1779, the Americans launched an offensive into the Onondaga villages of western New York. Before getting into the details of the attack, I thought it might be a good time to take a step back and go over the role of the Iroquois Confederacy in the war.

Iroquois Confederacy

The Confederacy dated back hundreds of years, possibly even before Columbus reached America. Initially, the Confederation consisted of five tribes, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. In the early 1700’s a sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, joined the Confederacy.

An Onondaga Village

As I’ve explained in earlier episodes, the Iroquois were a relatively small group of native tribes living in what is today upstate New York and southern Canada. Based on language, they are thought to have migrated to this area from the south, settling amongst much larger groups of Algonquin-speaking native groups within this region. The confederacy particularly found itself threatened after the French in Quebec allied with many of the Algonquin tribes that were the traditional enemies of the Iroquois.

The power and influence of the Iroquois really took off in the late 1600’s after the Iroquois began a trading relationship with the Dutch in the New Netherlands. After the British took control and changed the name to New York, the Iroquois continued the beneficial relationship with the British. Trade gave the Iroquois access to guns and other western technology that allowed them to extend their reach, as far south as the Carolinas, and as far west as the Mississippi River.

The Iroquois claimed authority over all the tribes living in those areas, including the Shawnee, Delaware, and Mingo tribes. It asserted authority to negotiate on their behalf, and enriched itself by selling large amounts of land belonging to these other tribes to the European colonists.

Although the Iroquois generally worked and traded with the British, the Confederacy made an effort to remain neutral in disputes between Britain and France. During the French and Indian War, when the Iroquois lands became a main point of contention between the two armies, Iroquois neutrality eventually gave way to backing the British, especially after the war seemed to be going in the favor of the British.

Much of this was due to the efforts of Sir William Johnson, a trader who became very influential among the Iroquois and received an appointment as British Indian agent for the Iroquois. The British made some efforts to protect Iroquois lands. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 prevented new settlements west of the Allegheny mountains. This Proclamation reserved most Iroquois lands for the Iroquois. In addition, to relieve pressure on its New York lands, the Iroquois sold most of the lands in what is today western Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio in order to direct western movement to those lands and away from the Iroquois homes in New York.

Iroquois Map

Despite the efforts of the Iroquois to redirect migration, the removal of the French threat, and the establishment of western New York as British lands encouraged a great western migration by colonists into much of upstate New York in the late 1760’s and early 1770’s.

When the Revolution began, the Confederacy at first tried to remain neutral. However, the easternmost tribe, the Mohawk ended up supporting the British and fighting with them. This was largely due to the efforts of Joseph Brant, who was closely aligned with the family of British agent Sir William Johnson. The western-most tribe, the Seneca, also joined with the Mohawk in backing the British and sending warriors to fight with them. The other tribes attempted to maintain their neutrality. But after Mohawk and Seneca warriors began marching through their lands with the British, the Oneida sided with the Americans, and the Tuscarora joined them. The other two tribes: the Cayuga and Onondaga continued to remain neutral, hoping this whole dispute would just go away.

By 1777 though, the war was raging in upstate New York. Neutrality was not really an option. Many Cayuga and Onondaga warriors joined with the British efforts, despite official tribal neutrality. In early 1779, about 40 Onondaga warriors joined the Oneida to fight on behalf of the Americans, the rest of the tribe threw in their lot with the British-aligned forces under Joseph Brant or simply held out hope that individual neutrality would protect them.

As I’ve covered over several earlier episodes, the Iroquois raised hundreds of warriors who fought with British and loyalist forces in the effort to return upstate New York to British control and to kill or remove anyone of the patriot population in that area. They fought under General St. Leger at Oriskany. After the British withdrew, the Iroquois continued to carry out additional raids throughout the region. These efforts led to many smaller attacks and massacres, as well as the more notable Cherry Valley Massacre in November 1778.

Patriot Response

The attacks had their intended effect. Many Americans fled their homes and farms in the areas subject to attack. Many others, afraid but with nowhere to go, demanded Continental protection from the Indian and Loyalist threat. New York leaders lobbied the Continental Congress, which passed a resolution on February 27, 1779, authorizing General Washington to take whatever measures he deemed necessary to remove this threat.

Phillip Schuyler

Washington reached out to General Philip Schuyler, who was from this area and was one of his most senior generals, to see if Schuyler would command the expedition. Schuyler begged off. He had just gotten through his court martial a few months earlier and was done with the army. He had already sent his resignation to Congress, although Congress had not accepted it yet. Washington hoped this new command could convince Schuyler to remain in the army and defend his home. Schuyler, however, was not interested.

Next, Washington turned to General Horatio Gates, who was still recovering from his alleged role in the Conway Cabal and not doing much of anything for a military command. Gates, however, also passed. He did not want to take on this new command, arguing that the campaign would be too rigorous for the 51 year old general. Instead, he passed Washington’s instructions to General John Sullivan, who was still in Rhode Island, following his failure to expel the British in late 1778.

Sullivan accepted the assignment, but it would take him several months to assemble the force that he would need to carry out the expedition. He would eventually be ready to move by summer, but that will have to be the topic of a future episode.

In March and April of 1779, the people in New York were demanding an immediate answer to this problem. As winter was turning to spring, everyone feared that the Iroquois warriors and loyalist regiments would resume their attacks on the people of western New York.

Goose Van Schaick

That spring, one of the largest Continental garrisons in the region was the Continental force stationed at Fort Stanwix, although it was called Fort Schuyler by the patriots at this time. Fort Stanwix was probably the most important fort in the area after the destruction of Fort Ticonderoga. It sat in the heart of Iroquois territory and had been the site of the treaty with the Iroquois many years earlier. The Americans had lost Fort Stanwix to the St. Leger expedition about a year earlier. General Benedict Arnold was able to retake the fort and reestablish control of the area.

NY Gov George Clinton

In early 1778, the fort had about two regiments of Continental soldiers under the overall command of Colonel Goose Van Schaick. Colonel Van Schaick was an experienced Continental officer. He came from an old Dutch family that had been among the first European settlers at Albany. His father had been mayor of Albany.

During the French and Indian War, the twenty year old Goose received a lieutenant’s commission in the New York militia. He was wounded in the 1758 assault on Fort Ticonderoga, the same assault that led to the death of General William Howe’s brother George. Goose received promotion to a captain, leading militia companies at the battles of Fort Frontenac and Fort Niagara. By the end of the French and Indian War, he had risen to major, and then lieutenant colonel during Pontiac’s Rebellion.

In the years leading up to the revolution, Van Schaick sided with the patriots, signing a protest against the Stamp Act. He later served on Albany’s Committee of Correspondence.

At the creation of the Continental Army in June 1775, Van Schaick raised the Second New York Regiment for the Continentals from those he commanded in the militia. He received a commission as colonel. Less than a year later, he took command of the First New York Regiment after Colonel Alexander McDougall received promotion to general.

Van Schaick served under General Arthur St. Clair for the defense of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777. He was wounded in the face a second time, nearly twenty years after the assault at Ticonderoga, Van Schaick received a wound during the American retreat from Ticonderoga.

After some recuperation, Van Schaick returned to the main army in time to spend the winter at Valley Forge, then command a brigade at the Battle of Monmouth. After Monmouth, Van Schaick returned to New York, where he took command of Fort Stanwix in November 1778.

Plan of Attack

The Continentals recognized that the loyalists and their Indian allies were engaged in a campaign to drive the Americans out of the region, not only by terrorizing the inhabitants, but also through a calculated policy of destroying property, burning homes, running off cattle, and destroying grain. Without sufficient food or shelter to get through the winter, the inhabitants would have to move elsewhere.

Iroquois Council

The Continental leadership, in cooperation with New York leaders, developed a plan to use the same strategy against the Iroquois who refused to ally themselves with the patriots. General Schuyler had written to Washington in March that the Iroquois could probably raise no more than 2000 warriors for battle. On the assumption that the British leadership in Quebec would not risk sending additional support to the Iroquois, if the Continentals could produce a larger force of about 3000, they could fend off any attack, and could use that force to go on a campaign of destruction against Iroquois villages and food stores. The largest threat came from the Seneca, which was the Iroquois tribe farthest to the west. The Mohawks in the eastern part of the Confederacy had already fled to Canada by this time. The next most eastern tribes, the Oneida and Tuscarora, had pretty firmly allied themselves with the Americans. That left the Onondaga and Cayuga tribes as problems.

Although the Seneca made up the bulk of the forces that could be arrayed against them, the Americans would have to go after the Onondaga and Cayuga tribes that were still claiming neutrality. Otherwise, the loyalist forces would be able to subsist on food and shelter that they could coerce from these neutral tribes. The Americans determined that they could not allow neutral tribes to remain in place. Any warriors who would not ally with the Americans would be treated as enemies.

The first step would be to take out the Onondaga who were immediately to the west of the Oneida. The Onondaga were probably the smallest of the Iroquois tribes at the time, with perhaps a few hundred members in total. After the forty warriors left to join with the Oneida, there were perhaps only about 120 warriors left in the tribe.

Despite the small size, the Continentals hoped to surprise the enemy so that they could not remove their supplies or call for reinforcements. There would be no further warnings that the Americans would treat all non-allies as enemies. The Americans wanted the element of surprise when they launched their first campaign. Washington also encouraged the use of Continentals rather than militia. The Continentals were more disciplined and reliable, meaning that a smaller group of soldiers would be more effective for the mission.

Van Schaick Expedition

In early April, Colonel Van Schaick made his way from Albany to Fort Stanwix, which sat in friendly Oneida territory. He outfitted a force of companies from various continental regiments, totaling just over 550 men, including one company of riflemen.

Marinus Willet

He selected Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willet and Major Robert Cochran as his field officers. When Van Schaick arrived at Fort Stanwix, he found a group of 63 Oneida warriors who were eager to join the campaign, without even knowing the details. Van Schaick did not want to reveal his plans to the Oneida. He wanted his attack to remain a surprise, and feared that the Oneida, who may still have friends among the Onondaga, might warn them of the attack. He was also concerned that the warriors might prove reluctant in the field toward wiping out their neighbors.

Instead Van Schaick denied that any expedition was planned. The warriors requested that they be given some mission, so Van Schaick deployed two companies of Continentals to march with the Oneida against Fort Oswegatchie to the north, on the St. Lawrence River. This sent the Oneida off in the opposite direction from where his expedition would be travelling and assured that they would be far away from the Onondaga during the expedition. The Oneida left on the afternoon of April 18, headed for Fort Oswegatchie.

That evening, Van Schaick began to march his own troops to the west. He deployed a fleet of 29 bateaux with eight days worth of food and other supplies, that would be floated down Woods Creek to Oneida Lake. The fleet would then cross the lake, whose western border began Onondaga territory. The boats were not large enough to carry all the men, so they marched overland, planning to meet up with their supplies when needed.

It took two days to march to the western end of the lake. The brigade was, at that point, only a few miles from their targeted Onondaga villages. The supply fleet had not yet reached the rendezvous point. Van Schaick opted to move inland without the supplies, rather than risk being discovered. That night, only a few miles from the villages, the men camped without fires to give way their positions. They slept on the snow-covered ground, eating only cold food that they brought with them.

The following morning, April 21, the advance guard captured one Indian who was out hunting, taking him prisoner. They next came across a small party with at least one woman and several children. One or two of the surprised Indians escaped and ran back to town to warn the village. As they did, the army deployed to surround the village. The settlements extended for about eight miles, meaning it took several hours to get the men into position.

The Onondaga were mostly alerted to the presence of the invaders. However, most only had time to flee into the woods, abandoning all of their possessions. The soldiers looted or destroyed whatever they could find. They plundered houses of all valuables, then set them on fire. The Indians, who were apparently mostly women, children, and elderly, did not put up resistance, but were mostly able to flee and escape the attackers.

By about 4:00 PM, the target villages and settlements had been destroyed. In his report, Colonel Van Schaick reported that his men killed twelve Indians, took three more as prisoners, as well as one white man living among the Onondaga. They burned at least fifty homes, killed horses and cattle, and destroyed tons of beans and corn. The attackers also captured at least 100 muskets and rifles, as well as more ammunition than the men could carry. In total the attackers returned with 34 prisoners, most of whom were a group of women who were caught by surprise while working in the fields.

As soon as the soldiers completed their destruction, the men began marching back toward Fort Stanwix. During the return march, they came under fire from about twenty Onondaga who had managed to catch up with the attackers and engage them in combat. The Continentals managed to kill one of the warriors before the rest fled into the woods. The remainder of the march was relatively uneventful. The brigade returned to Fort Stanwix by April 24.

The entire round trip march had covered over 180 miles and had taken just under six days to complete. Amazingly, the entire party managed to return without a single man killed.

The Continentals considered the raid to be a great success. Washington announced news of the successful raid in his general orders for May 8. Many of the Onondaga who had tried to remain neutral, following this attack, threw their support behind the British. The raid also created a rift between the Onondaga and the Oneida which never really healed. Most of the Onondaga abandoned their land and moved north into Canada where they could receive protection from the British.

There were some accusations that the attackers had killed women and children, and had raped some of the Onondaga women that they had captured. Despite the accusations Congress passed a resolution on May 10:

Resolved, that the thanks of Congress be presented to Colonel Van Schaick and the officers and soldiers under his command, for their activity and good conduct in the late expedition against the Onondagas.

Generally speaking the Americans viewed the attack as payback for the Cherry Valley Massacre, and the American leadership saw it as only the first step in what would become a much larger brutal campaign against the western Iroquois.

Next Week: Benedict Arnold makes contact with the British and begins taking steps toward betraying the patriot cause.

- - -

Next Episode 219 Turning General Arnold

Previous Episode 217 Spain Enters the War

Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132651894048271

American Revolution Podcast Merch!

T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, pillows, totes, notebooks, wall art, and more. Get your favorite American Revolution logo today. Help support this podcast. http://tee.pub/lic/AmRevPodcast

Click here to donate

DONATE

American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give. Make a one time donation through my PayPal account. You may also donate via Venmo (@Michael-Troy-20), Zelle, or popmoney (send to mtroy1@yahoo.com)

Click here to see my Patreon Page

You can support the American Revolution Podcast as a Patreon subscriber. This is an option making monthly pledges. Patreon support will give you access to Podcast extras and help make the podcast a sustainable project.

An alternative to Patreon is SubscribeStar. For anyone who has problems with Patreon, you can get the same benefits by subscribing at SubscribeStar.

Help Support this podcast on "BuyMeACoffee.com"

Visit the American Revolution Podcast Bookshop. Support local bookstores and this podcast!

https://bookshop.org/shop/ARP

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Sunday, September 12, 2021

ARP217 Spain Enters the War

In April 1779, France and Spain signed the Treaty of Aranjuez, which effectively drew Spain into the war with Britain. For the past couple of centuries, Spain had been France’s traditional ally and Britain’s traditional enemy. While Spain did not share France’s enthusiasm for American liberty, it did harbor grudges against Britain and welcomed an opportunity to settle some of them by entering the war.

Spanish Background

In the late 1700’s Spain was near the height of its worldwide empire. Spain, of course, had been the first European power to colonize the Americas following Christopher Columbus’ revelation that an entire western hemisphere existed and was available to be conquered.

Spanish Flag - Overseas Territories

After Columbus returned from his first voyage, Spain claimed sovereignty over the entire western hemisphere. It did so, even though Columbus only had limited information about a few islands in the Caribbean.

About a year after Columbus’ return, Spain and Portugal signed the treaty of Tordesillas, which essentially recognized Spain’s claims to all lands west of a vertical line drawn through the Atlantic Ocean. This treaty was designed to recognize Portugal’s claims to some islands in the Atlantic, while ceding to Spain all the unknown lands further west. In fact, unknown to both of the parties at the time, the line ceded what is today eastern Brazil to the Portuguese, which is why Brazil became a Portuguese colony.

In truth though, when the vast size of North and South America came to be understood, there was no way that Spain would be able to occupy or defend its vast claims to the hemisphere. Britain, France, the Netherlands, and other European powers were not parties to the treaty and did not recognize Spanish claims.

But Spain was the first to establish a colonial empire. For more than a century, Spain conquered most of South and Central America, as well as many Caribbean islands. It was not until the early 17th century that other European powers seriously began to consider American colonies of their own.

By that time, Spain had enslaved much of the native populations and was hauling gold and silver by the shipload back to Spain. The age of conquest and colonization could be an entire podcast by itself. Suffice it to say that Britain, France, the Netherlands, and a few other European powers, got into the game late, and had to settle for leftovers, mostly in North America, where Spain had not really established a presence yet.

Part of Spain’s problem during this era was that it was not really a well-organized nation-state. Rather, it was still a collection of kingdoms. A modern army and navy were not its top priorities. King Carlos III was beginning to change all of that, but it would take time.

Spain at this time was considered an enlightened absolute monarchy. That meant the country was open to some social and economic reforms such as encouraging more scientific learning and allowing the ownership of private property. But ceding political power was out of the question. The king controlled the government. Ideas about shared sovereignty, inalienable rights, or rule by consent of the governed were just not welcome in Spain.

When Britain saw the tons of gold and silver that Spanish mines in America were producing, it knew it had to establish its own colonies. Britain and France both invested in powerful navies in order to challenge Spanish claims in America. For the most part, Spain was having enough trouble controlling all the colonies it had already established by that time, and tolerated the colonization of North America by other European powers.

King Carlos III

There were, of course, disputes that sometimes resulted in war. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, European powers tried to take colonies from each other. Since Spain had originally claimed everything, it had nowhere to go but down. British naval power created problems for the Spanish Empire. Over time, it not only impacted their colonies in America, but elsewhere as well. At the end of the War of Spanish Succession in 1714, Spain not only had to cede the Mediterranean island of Menorca to the British, but also Gibraltar, which was on the Spanish mainland. Gibraltar was a key piece of land at the very southern tip of Spain, which controlled entry and exit to the Mediterranean Ocean. Spain also gave Florida to Britain after the Seven Years War, in exchange for getting back Cuba, which Britain had captured during the war.

Spain was eager to reclaim some of its lost territories from Britain, particularly Gibraltar. But as it had found over the years, wars were very costly, and could result in losing more territory than they won. Spain had proven effective conquering natives in America, but things seemed not to go as well when the Spanish tussled with other European powers. Spain had almost gone to war with Britain over the Falkland islands in 1770, but then conceded British control of the islands rather than risk another costly war.

As France moved toward war with Britain, it tried to drag along its traditional Spanish ally. With Britain relatively isolated and none of its European allies joining in the fight, and with Britain’s resources sapped putting down the rebellion in the North American colonies, this was a perfect time for France and Spain to gang up and take back some territory.

Spain, however, was not as enthusiastic as France. In 1776 and 1777, Spain was fighting a war with Portugal, primarily over the border in South America between the Portuguese colony of Brazil and the rest of Spanish-controlled South America. The main outcome of this war was to confirm that Uruguay would be under Spanish authority.

Spain had hoped that Britain would recognize its weakened position and would agree to return Gibraltar, Menorca, and the Floridas to Spain, and also give up its illegal colonies in Central America. Spain had provided some of the funds early in the war to provide covert military aid to America via Rodriguez Hortalez & Co. run by Silas Deane and Pierre Beaumarchais. Spain had also given cover to a few American privateers early in the war.

But even after France went to war in early 1778, Spain did not want to go to war until it gave Britain a chance to buy them off by ceding back the territories they wanted. It probably would have been happy just to regain Gibraltar. If Britain had ceded Gibraltar back to Spain, then Spain almost certainly would have stayed out of the war. Spain attempted these negotiations as the war progressed.

Treaty of Aranjuez

By 1779, it was clear that Britain was in trouble. It still had no interest in ceding territory back to Spain. It rejected the Spanish overtures over Gibraltar. France and Spain were traditional allies. The two Catholic countries were ruled by Bourbon kings whose families had closely intermarried.

French Foreign Minister, the Comte de Vergennes, had been working with Spanish Foreign Minister José Moñino y Redondo, Conde de Floridablanca to agree to terms that would entice Spain into joining the war.

Conde de Floridablanca

King Carlos III saw a real danger in supporting an American rebellion against a European king. All of Spanish America could use that precedent to overthrow Spanish rule throughout the Americas. Revolution is always a dangerous game for monarchs to play.

Beyond the concern of Spanish Revolutions, Spain feared that an independent America might soon threaten its Louisiana Territory. Spain had acquired Louisiana from France after the Seven Years War. Unrestricted Americans pushing westward might threaten those claims, and could lead to future wars. For Spanish interests, that cautioned against American independence. Like France, Spain was happy with an ongoing rebellion that would sap British resources and occupy its rival. But it really wasn’t looking forward to dealing with either party as the winner after the war concluded.

For a time, Spain held out the offer to Britain to mediate an end to the war. The price, of course, being Gibraltar. Spain really had no leverage over the American colonies. It’s main value to Britain probably would have been to take France back out of the war. But since there was not much realistic chance of that either, Britain did not accept the Spanish offer of mediation. With the lack of British interest, Spain could either remain neutral, or join the war with France.

Spain was in no hurry to join the war, while France really wanted the extra support in its war with Britain. The British Navy was still larger than the French Navy. But it was not larger than Spain and France combined. This meant that a Spanish alliance would help to protect French island colonies, and put British island colonies at risk. In short, France was desperate to bring Spain into the war in order to tip the balance of power.

The result was that France had to agree to Spanish demands in order to entice it into joining the war. The big issue was Gibraltar. France had to agree that it would continue the war until they had recovered Gibraltar for Spain. Since the Franco-American treaty committed the US to continue fighting until France concluded its peace, this treaty between France and Spain effectively committed the US to the recovery of Gibraltar as well. Spain also hoped to recover Menorca and the Floridas.

Spain had also pushed for some sort of joint French-Spanish control of the North American colonies once Britain ceded authority. Like France, Spain did not believe that the Americans could govern themselves and that they would eventually have to become part of a protectorate. France, however, realized that the Americans would not agree to this. While the Americans might someday appreciate the need for some royal authority to govern them, it was not possible to make such a proposal at this time. Therefore, the idea of a joint protectorate did not make its way into the treaty.

The treaty made clear that Spain did not recognize American Independence. This was a treaty with France only, to cooperate in the recovery of colonies. If the American rebellion aided in that process, great. But Spain was not committed to the establishment of an independent United States. Spanish forces would not assist in the ongoing struggle of the newly self-proclaimed United States. Rather, Spanish efforts in America would focus on shoring up control of Louisiana and reclaiming East and West Florida.

France, which had already been at war with Britain for over a year, asked for relatively little in the treaty, mostly support for its claim of a return of fishing rights from Britain off the coast of Newfoundland.

With the terms of the treaty resolved, France and Spain signed the treaty on April 12, 1779. The terms of the treaty were not made public. Spain declared war on Britain in June. Word reached America about Spain’s entry into the war. That news, of course, was met with great celebration. Regardless of Spain’s motives or interests, forcing Britain to spread its military resources even more thinly to deal with another enemy would only benefit the American cause.

The news, however, was slow to arrive. Even months after Spain’s declaration of war, the Americans were still unsure of Spain’s status. By late August, 1779, Washington was only writing that he had reason to believe Spain had entered the war, but could not say for certain, and, if they did, on what terms.

It was only in October that Washington and Congress received definitive word that Spain had entered the war.

Don Juan de Miralles

Because Spain still did not recognize the United States as an independent nation, it did not send an ambassador. However, Spain had sent an “observer” to Congress some time earlier.

Juan de Miralles

Don Juan de Miralles came from a relatively well-off family, but not aristocracy. His father was a Spanish officer and his mother was French. He was born in Spain, but moved to Havana, Cuba as a young man.

There, married the daughter of a successful Havana merchant and ran his own trading company. In search of markets, he began trading with the British colonies in North America. He spoke English and had made a number of contacts in St. Augustine, Charleston, and Philadelphia.

Of course, in the pre-war era, most trade between Spanish and British colonies at the time was illegal. But neither government was enforcing those rules very much, and trade flourished. Miralles established himself as a wealthy Havana merchant.

When the Revolution began, Spain remained officially neutral, but often did what it could to encourage the rebellion against British authorities. When American privateers began arriving in Havana with British prize vessels, Miralles made money buying the prizes, then reflagging them and selling the ships and cargo.

By 1777, Spanish officials in Madrid sent word to the Governor General of Cuba to send agents to various British colonies. Miralles’ brother-in-law was sent to Florida to stir up the natives against British rule. Another agent went to Jamaica. Miralles took the assignment to go to Philadelphia and maintain relations with the Continental Congress.

Getting to Philadelphia from Cuba was not easy. British naval traffic in the area was focused on keeping military supplies from the West Indies from reaching the rebels in North America. Miralles left aboard a Spanish ship purportedly bound for Cadiz, Spain. The captain of the ship had orders to put into Charleston, South Carolina, purportedly for emergency repairs. Miralles left the ship at Charleston in January, 1778.

While in Charleston, Miralles wrote to Spanish officials hoping to get some sort of commission for his new role. He did not know it, but about this same time, officials in Spain had appointed him as a commissioner. Since Spain did not have formal relations with the US, his role was more of an observer. There is some debate, both then and now, about his official status as a representative of the Spanish government. However, it was clear that he was effectively Spain’s representative to the Continental Congress.

Miralles took his time getting to Philadelphia. After arriving in Charleston in January, he met with Governor Edward Rutledge about plans to invade East Florida. He also purchased and outfitted a ship that would run trade between Charleston and Havana. Over the next few months, Miralles moved north, slowly, meeting with North Carolina Governor Abner Nash and Virginia Governor Patrick Henry. A topic of discussion was Spain’s interest in cooperating in the recovery of the Floridas.

This was the same winter that the British occupied Philadelphia. Washington was in Valley Forge, and the Congress was meeting in the small town of York. Miralles did not seem in any hurry to get there. However, shortly after the British evacuated Philadelphia in the spring of 1778, and Congress returned to the city, Miralles made his way to the American capital and began making contacts.

It was about this time that word of France’s entry into the war had arrived in America. Everyone expected Spain to follow soon, but Miralles could not give any assurances. Even so, Congress gave him the respect as the representative of a potential ally.

Robert Morris

Miralles also used this time to forge a partnership with Pennsylvania merchant, and delegate Robert Morris. The men acquired a small fleet of ships to begin trade between Philadelphia and Havana. When Washington returned to Philadelphia for an extended visit in late 1778 and early 1779, he and Miralles had a chance to get to know one another, and seemed to strike up a friendship of sorts. So Miralles was mixing politics and business, and his personal interests, as well of those of Spain, all together.

Morallis' planned trade in cooperation with Morris would have assisted the American cause. It also would have been extremely profitable to both men. It was also extremely risky. Running merchant ships past the British blockade of the North American coast created a high risk of loss. Miralles was putting his personal fortune at risk, in large part to win the good will of the American leadership, but also to make a lot of money. In addition to making money, the smuggling would bring in much-needed military supplies from Havana

As part of his political efforts, Miralles tried to establish an understanding with Congress. His pitch was pretty simple: Spain would enter the war, but would want assurance that the US would support its claims to East and West Florida. Of course, Miralles had no real authority to commit Spain to war. Congress was not prepared to cast off the Floridas based on some general promise that Spain might someday enter the war.

At the same time that Miralles was encouraging the Americans to concede Florida, he was also writing to leaders in Spain and Cuba to establish a formal alliance. His letters home make clear that the Americans had capable leaders and could be reliable allies. He strongly encouraged Spanish officials to enter the war and form an alliance with the Americans.

In May 1779, Miralles, along with French Minister Gerard, visited the Continental Army in northern New Jersey. They attended parades and feasts in their honor, and met extensively with General Washington. By this time, France and Spain had already signed the treaty committing Spain to war with Britain, but it was still a secret. Miralles himself did not know the state of negotiations, and could only say that he was hopeful of Spain’s entry at some time soon.

News of War

By August, word had arrived that Britain and Spain had both recalled their ambassadors and that Spain had deployed a fleet. There were also unofficial reports that King George had made an announcement to Parliament of hostilities with Spain.

In September, the Continental Congress finally took up the Spanish concern over the Floridas. In a divisive vote, Congress agreed to support Spanish claims over the Floridas, provided the Americans retained free travel up and down the Mississippi River. Many members of Congress were reluctant to cede their southern border to Spain. John Jay, who would soon be appointed ambassador to Spain, voted against it. It is likely due to the lobbying of Miralles, who convinced Washington to support the resolution, that it passed Congress at all.

By this time British and Spanish fighting had already broken out between the British in West Florida and the Spanish in New Orleans. A series of battles and skirmishes along the Gulf coast would tie up British forces and, as Congress hoped, force the British to focus their attention elsewhere.

Before the end of 1779, word arrived confirming that Spain was at war with Britain. The result was celebration that the American position was growing stronger and that Britain’s difficulties were only growing.

Next week, The Americans begin serious efforts against the Iroquois with the attack at Onondaga Creek.

- - -

Next Episode 218 Onondaga Creek

Previous Episode 216 Chickamauga Creek

Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132651894048271

American Revolution Podcast Merch!

T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, pillows, totes, notebooks, wall art, and more. Get your favorite American Revolution logo today. Help support this podcast. http://tee.pub/lic/AmRevPodcast

Click here to donate

DONATE

Click here to see my Patreon Page

An alternative to Patreon is SubscribeStar. For anyone who has problems with Patreon, you can get the same benefits by subscribing at SubscribeStar.

Help Support this podcast on "BuyMeACoffee.com"

Visit the American Revolution Podcast Bookshop. Support local bookstores and this podcast!

https://bookshop.org/shop/ARP

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Sunday, September 5, 2021

ARP216 Chickamauga Creek

Over the spring of 1779, the southern colonies were struggling to mount a defense against the British operating out of Savannah. The British had hoped to enlist a Tory army made up of loyalists in the southern colonies. Their efforts to date had proven disappointing. While the British had the advantage in the south, leaders knew that even if they took key cities like Savannah and Charleston, they could not maintain control over these colonies unless large numbers of loyalists backed them up. The British simply could not afford to keep large standing armies of regulars all over North America. It was simply too expensive.

In their search for allies, the British also focused on Indian tribes. Native tribes had long-running disputes with colonies that seemed to have an insatiable hunger for more and more western lands. British agents appealed to those tribes, arguing that the King had proclaimed western lands off limits to new settlements, but that the Americans were ignoring that proclamation. The only way for tribes to protect their land was to back the King in this rebellion.

Over past episodes I’ve talked about the Mohawk and other tribes in New York and Canada who backed the British. I’ve also discussed some of the Delaware, Mingo, Shawnee, and other mid-Atlantic tribes doing the same. Those cases led to mixed results. Usually, after a few massacres, the patriots sent out larger forces to crush and dispel the loyalist tribes and remove them as a threat to the region.

This week, we are going to look at the Cherokee who, at this time, lived in the areas to the west of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. I’ve already talked about two other Cherokee uprisings in the podcast. One occurred in 1760, near the end of the French and Indian War. That led to the destruction of a bunch of Cherokee villages and a treaty where the Cherokee were forced to cede much of their lands to North Carolina (see, Episode 15).

In the summer of 1776, the Cherokee rose up again at the instigation of British agents. The agents assured the Cherokee that, without British support, the colonists would be easier to defeat and they could recapture some of their tribal lands. The patriot governments, however, were able to lay waste to Cherokee lands. The Cherokee were forced to sign the Treaties of Long Island of Holston and Dewitt’s Corner, where they ceded millions more acres of territory to Virginia and the Carolinas (see, Episode 102).

Dragging Canoe

Many of the Cherokee warriors who had fought in 1776 were not happy with the treaties signed by other chiefs. Among them was a Cherokee chief whom I’ve mentioned before, by the name of Dragging Canoe, aka Tsiyu Gansini. As a young warrior from what is today southeastern Tennessee, Dragging Canoe fought in the Cherokee wars of 1760 and was unhappy with the appeasers who had given up lands to end that war.

Dragging Canoe

He fought as a leader in the 1776 uprising, but refused to endorse any of the treaties that ended that fighting and which ceded more land, even though his father, Attakullakulla ("Little Carpenter") another Cherokee Chief, agreed to the treaty.

Dragging Canoe broke away from the larger Cherokee tribe at that time. He formed what became known as the Chickamauga Cherokee who settled farther west along the Chickamauga Creek. Unlike the larger Cherokee tribe that accepted their losses and tried to maintain a peaceful coexistence with the settlers, the Chickamauga continued to raid frontier settlements and kill settlers in the years following. Among the settlers that the warriors killed in 1777 were David and Elizabeth Crocket. At the time, their son John Crocket was away on militia duty. John would go on to have a son of his own, named after John’s father. That grandson, Davy Crocket would become rather famous in his own right decades later at the Alamo.

As I said, with the continued low-level fighting, Dragging Canoe had to move west to keep the tribe’s women and children away from North Carolina settlers, moving about eighty miles west to an area known as Chickamauga Creek. There his people established new villages and tried to rebuild their lives. He still hoped that the Cherokee would recapture their old lands to the east when the opportunity arose.

When British Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton called on tribes along the western frontier to join in an effort to attack the patriots, Dragging Canoe and his Chickamauga Cherokee warriors answered the call. Hamilton, who I discussed a few weeks ago, was operating out of Detroit, but took responsibility for the entire western frontier, operating as far south as present day Tennessee. Over the winter, Hamilton had travelled down to Fort Vincennes, as part of his overall effort to exert British influence and encourage the native tribes to combine and fight against patriot settlements.

Dragging Canoe’s warriors were further south and did not participate in the fighting over Fort Vincennes. However, British agents had provided them with arms and supplies, most of which had been moved north from Pensacola in West Florida. By the spring of 1779, he had amassed a force of about 1000 warriors.

Living nearby was John McDonald, a Scotsman who had settled with his family on Chickamauga Creek years earlier. McDonald had immigrated to South Carolina and almost immediately began trading with the Cherokee. He married a woman who was half-Cherokee and received a commission as the British Assistant Superintendent for Indian Affairs. His trading post became a commissary for the local tribes and an outpost for the British government.

As Dragging Canoe prepared for a campaign against the patriots, McDonald became his chief supplier. British agents in Pensacola sent guns, ammunition, wagons, cattle, and other supplies for a military campaign. As the British in Savannah moved into the Carolinas along the coast, Dragging Canoe’s warriors could attack along the Carolina frontier.

Evan Shelby

Word of the potential Indian threat reached the patriots in early 1779. Another Scottish trader from the region, Ellis Harlan, heard rumors of Dragging Canoe’s plans and witnessed the warriors who were gathering around Chickamauga Creek. Harlan made his way to a frontier settlement on Holsten Creek, in what is today upper East Tennessee. There, he informed Colonel Even Shelby of the plans.

Chickamauga

Shelby was an experienced Indian fighter. As a boy, he had immigrated to America from Wales with his parents. They had settled on the Pennsylvania frontier. As an adult, Shelby established his own farm on the Maryland frontier, where he also served as a militia officer. He served as a scout for the Braddock Campaign, and later supervised the surveying and building of the Forbes Road, which allowed British forces to reach Fort Duquesne from Pennsylvania, a plan that a young Colonel George Washington had vehemently opposed.

Following the war, Shelby made a living as a fur trader. But the native uprising known as Pontiac’s War forced Shelby to suspend his business since traders could not operate in the area. He also lost his business records in a fire, thus making it impossible for him to collect on his business debts. Eventually, the situation forced him to sell his Maryland farm. Shelby then moved further south, to western lands along the Virginia-North Carolina border. There, he built a small fort and trading post which supplied colonists who were moving into western lands.

In 1774, Shelby served as a militia captain and helped organize the effort to put down another Indian uprising. He commanded troops at the Battle of Point Pleasant, in what became known as Lord Dunmore’s War.

Warning of Chickamauga

Shelby also took a leadership role in the patriot cause on the frontier. In January 1775 signed the "Fincastle Resolves," which supported the Continental Congress. He also served on a Committee of Safety to enforce boycotts against British goods.

When the war began, Shelby considered riding to Boston to join George Washington. The two men had known each other since their days on the Braddock Campaign. However, Governor Patrick Henry urged Shelby to remain in Virginia and to help organize Virginia’s frontier. He received a commission to the rank of major in 1776 and led militiamen against the Cherokee in the Tennessee Valley. That was the fighting that forced the Cherokee to cede even more land and which had set Dragging Canoe on the warpath.

In 1777 he was appointed a colonel and commanded militia against the Chickamauga tribe. For the next few years, Shelby remained active in the effort to suppress Indian raids in the region.

American Attack

After being alerted to the growing threat from Dragging Canoe, Shelby alerted Virginia Governor Patrick Henry and North Carolina governor Richard Caswell. Shelby also received intelligence from Captain James Robertson, who was the Indian agent for North Carolina and from Captain Joseph Martin, agent for Virginia.

At this time, Colonel Shelby served in the Virginia militia. A later survey would establish that his plantation was actually in North Carolina. But in 1779, he thought it was in Virginia, and served under that state’s militia. In fact, the area where he lived was so confused between Virginia and North Carolina that it was sometimes just called the “squabble state.” Many veterans of the fight in their pension claims state that they did not know whether they were serving in the Virginia or North Carolina militia. They state only that they knew the names of their local commanding officers. There was no real fight between the states at the time. There just wasn’t a good survey to confirm in which state they were located. Everyone just fought alongside their neighbors.

As I said, a later survey would confirm that the bulk of Shelby’s land was in North Carolina and he would later hold a commission in the North Carolina militia. That is why he is often held up as a North Carolina hero of the Revolution.

But in 1779, Virginia Colonel Shelby, alerted the governors of both states were alerted to the danger of a major Indian attack being organized. However, their focus was more on the impending British offensive into South Carolina They could not afford to provide any support in terms of men or money to suppress the imminent attack by Dragging Canoe.

Isaac Shelby

Instead, Colonel Shelby had to raise a force from the local militia and self-finance the campaign. Much of the finding came from Shelby’s son, Captain Isaac Shelby, who served as commissary officer for the campaign and used his personal funds to provide supplies for the militia army, hoping to be paid back after the campaign succeeded..

Colonel Shelby organized local meetings to discuss their options. He and his neighbors recognized the need to attack first, before the organized warriors went on the offensive against their towns and villages. Many of the local militia were already away in the Carolinas with General Benjamin Lincoln. But Shelby managed to scrape together a fighting force of about 350 men.

Shelby did manage to get some additional support. Militia Colonel John Montgomery was from the same area of the Virginia frontier. Montgomery came from an old Virginia family and had spent years exploring the backcountry. He was an ardent patriot who had signed the Fincastle Resolves, along with Shelby, back in 1775. The two men had worked together before.

Montgomery had left his home in the area the prior year as a militia captain. He led a company to fight under George Rogers Clark to capture Fort Vincennes and secure the Illinois territory for Virginia. Clark had promoted him to lieutenant colonel and gave him a larger command. After securing Fort Vincennes and capturing the British Governor Henry Hamilton in late February, Clark received Shelby’s call for support in his campaign against Dragging Canoe. Clark dispatched Montgomery with about 150 men to join Shelby.

With Montgomery’s men joining with Shelby’s, they had assembled a total force of around 500. Shelby called on his militia to rally at a point on Big Creek, near modern day Rogersville, Tennessee. The force gathered there on March 20. There his volunteers spent several weeks building canoes in order to make their way to the Cherokee village. By April 10, the fleet embarked down the Tennessee River, led by a local guide named John Hudson.

Cherokee Country

The force made good time paddling downriver, making the 180 mile journey in about three days. The men moved down the Tennessee River to the mouth of Chickamauga Creek. There, the force captured an Indian who they forced to guide them to the main village.

The force managed to surprise the Indians, who had not expected an attack. According to at least one account, Dragging Canoe was not even present for the fighting. He was likely out on a recruiting mission in preparation for the offensive planned for later in the spring. A great many of the 1000 warriors who were expected to gather were not there yet either. The villages were largely populated by women and children, along with the British supplies that were intended for the spring offensive.

Most of the warriors who were in the area fled into the mountains without a fight. Shelby’s men discovered a trove of supplies that the British agents had gathered for a spring offensive. The Virginians were able to capture or destroy them, and also to destroy the villages along the creek. This included the destruction of McDonald’s trading post.

The militia continued its rampage, looting and burning eleven villages along Chickamauga Creek. The warriors were not ready for a fight and were in these villages with their women and children. For the most part, they focused on saving their families and did not engage in combat with the raiders. Shelby and his men went about their business, seizing and destroying tons of supplies. The raiders helped themselves to whatever they could carry, driving off hundreds of cattle and horses as well. They also captured large numbers of furs. It was later estimated that the militia returned with about £20,000-£25,000 worth of supplies. Whatever they could not take with them, they burned.

After spending about two weeks looting and destroying anything they could find, Shelby prepared to return home. Paddling downriver had been quick and easy. Taking all their captured supplies upriver would be more difficult. Shelby ordered the boats destroyed. His men would take the cattle, horses, and wagons overland on their journey home. The return trip took longer, and there are some reports that the men lacked enough provisions and grew hungry. Even so, the force made it back to their communities along the Holston without suffering any sort of counter-attack.

The march also allowed the men to get a look at the wilderness area that makes up much of modern day eastern Tennessee. With the Cherokee dispersed, many of the militiamen took advantage of the opportunity to move their families onto new farms in this area.

Aftermath

The Chickamauga expedition was considered an unqualified success for the Americans. The Continental Congress passed a resolution thanking Colonel Shelby for his efforts in commanding the successful campaign to end the Indian threat. Between Clark’s taking of Fort Vincennes a short time earlier, which led to the capture of British Governor Henry Hamilton, and Shelby’s Chickamauga Expedition, the Americans had effectively snuffed out any organized threat along the southern frontier.

While the campaign met its immediate goal, it did not destroy the larger Indian threat. Dragging Canoe and the other chiefs saw it as a setback. They did not see it as a reason to give up their fight. The warriors were not killed nor captured. Most were prepared to continue the fight.

McDonald reported personal losses of over 100 cattle and 150 horses, as well as over 20,000 bushels of grain. His trading post had been destroyed. Rather than rebuild at the current site, McDonald moved farther south down the Tennessee river to a new location, farther away from the settlers. Dragging Canoe and others, also moved further downriver. These new villages later became known as the five lower towns of the Cherokee. They remained in use well into the federal era.

Without the supplies needed for the offensive, Dragging Canoe and his warriors did not go on their planned attacks that spring. But neither did they cede anything or admit to defeat.

The warriors would spend most of the remainder of 1779 fighting off the stream of Virginia settlers who began moving into the Tennessee Valley. Dragging Canoe set up a blockage on the Tennessee River to prevent settlers from travelling inland by water. But his blockade had only limited success.

Some historians have argued that the Chickamauga Expedition does not get its just recognition because it was fought by militia, and that there are few written records of the actual events. The expedition was valuable, but mostly as a way of delaying any large organized attack by the Cherokee. However, the campaign also did not dissuade the Cherokee under Dragging Canoe from continued smaller attacks on frontier settlements in the region.

Next week, we head back to Europe. Britain’s situation grows even more desperate as Spain finally enters the war.

- - -

Next Episode 217 Spain Enters The War

Previous Episode 215 The Dunkirk Pirate

Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132651894048271

American Revolution Podcast Merch!

T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, pillows, totes, notebooks, wall art, and more. Get your favorite American Revolution logo today. Help support this podcast. http://tee.pub/lic/AmRevPodcast

Click here to donate

DONATE

Click here to see my Patreon Page

An alternative to Patreon is SubscribeStar. For anyone who has problems with Patreon, you can get the same benefits by subscribing at SubscribeStar.

Help Support this podcast on "BuyMeACoffee.com"

Visit the American Revolution Podcast Bookshop. Support local bookstores and this podcast!

https://bookshop.org/shop/ARP

American Revolution Podcast

Sunday, September 19, 2021

ARP218 Onondaga Creek

Iroquois Confederacy

Patriot Response

Goose Van Schaick

Plan of Attack

Van Schaick Expedition

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Sunday, September 12, 2021

ARP217 Spain Enters the War

Spanish Background

Treaty of Aranjuez

Don Juan de Miralles

News of War

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Sunday, September 5, 2021

ARP216 Chickamauga Creek

Dragging Canoe

Evan Shelby

American Attack

Aftermath

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Sunday, September 19, 2021

ARP218 Onondaga Creek

Iroquois Confederacy

Patriot Response

Goose Van Schaick

Plan of Attack

Van Schaick Expedition

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks(from archive.org unless noted)

Books Worth Buying(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Sunday, September 12, 2021

ARP217 Spain Enters the War

Spanish Background

Treaty of Aranjuez

Don Juan de Miralles

News of War

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks(from archive.org unless noted)

Books Worth Buying(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Sunday, September 5, 2021

ARP216 Chickamauga Creek

Dragging Canoe

Evan Shelby

American Attack

Aftermath

Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks(from archive.org unless noted)

(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)