Lyttelton's Expedition has left - Tricky Trader John Elliott's end

There were 3 expeditions threatening the Cherokee country. Each one was progressively worse for the Cherokees. The first one, run by SC Gov Lyttelton has just run out of steam. They were losing to disease and deserters and a deadline by their legistature of 1 Jan 1760 ending term of duty. So a treaty was signed 26 Dec 1759.

This is John Buxton's painting, titled Unknown Message. Touch or click picture to go to his gallery. For me it symbolizes the Cherokee reviewing the situation.

This Treaty gave Lyttelton cover to declare mission accomplished. This treaty also gave him cover to leave without everyone seeing it as a failure. No attacks were made. His army only came to the boundary of the confederation of the Cherokees. The treaty required the Cherokee to return 22 of those who murdered white settlers. The Cherokee had already returned 2 of the 24 accussed murderers. In exchange, Fort Prince George would release 22 left over Cherokee prisoners. Some of those prisoners were major leaders of the Cherokees.

They had come to Fort Loudoun Winchester VA in April 1757 to help the Virginia Regiment. One major leader was Wawhatchee among the 148 who had come to Fort Loudoun Winchester VA meeting with Captain George Mercer only to find out he had no presents for them as promised for their help.

Wawhatchee is now one of those prisoners held at the SC Fort Prince George. That fort was named after the future King George III.

That is the background. So when Lyttelton's army left in late Dec 1759, the Cherokee could not bring themselves to turn against their own people. They could not give up 22 of their warriors who had attacked white settlements. That was a righteous retailiation towards the whites encroaching on their land, hunting on their land, cheating them on trade, putting them in forever debt, and having sex with their wives while their men were on a hunt.

Lyttelton leaves Fort Prince George with those 22 Cherokee prisoner and 3 tons of black powder. The blackpowder embargo of 14 Aug 1759 had really hurt the Cherokee ability to hunt so they could get the deerskins to trade to the whites.The Cherokees will receive their people back and that blackpower if they turn in the 22 accused murderers.

They cannot do this. War starts. All the attacks by the Cherokees in Jan and Feb of 1760 beget the next cycle of white retaliation with Montgomery's Expedition and then Grant's punishing expedition.

We'll mention here one of those attacks

Tricky Trader Little John Elliott's End

He is tomahawked and killed by the Cherokee 19 Jan 1760. They had enough of him. He was a necessary evil for awhile because the Cherokee needed his supplies.

A few miles away [from the attack on Fort Prince George] Cherokees had already commenced the war [19 Jan 1760]. Before Serowah had reached the fort, thirty Indians had attacked Elliott's trading house at New Keowee.

Of the dozen whites about the place when the Estatoes struck, several fell in the first fire. Two or three were seized. Others, running, were shot down.

The hated Elliott, tomahawked, raced a mile before his pursuers felled him.

Ten others, including James May, the Joree trader, died. Serowah's men, returning, joined the looting and rum drinking at Elliott's.

Source:

Pages 192The Cherokee Frontier, Conflict and Survival 1740-1762, by David H Corkran, published by the University of Oklahoma Press 1962).

Thumb on the Scale

In the summer of 1757 Little Carpenter and others had complained that Little John Elliott's weights and measures were cheating the Cherokee out of payment for their furs and skins. Little Carpenter sent Oconostota to seize the absent Elliott's steelyards and measuring sticks and take them to [Captain Paul] Demere [of Fort Loudoun in today's Tennessee ], who, not disinterested, found the scales registered 2 pounds underweight and the measuring sticks several inches short.

Source:

Pages 133-134 The Cherokee Frontier, Conflict and Survival 1740-1762, by David H Corkran, published by the University of Oklahoma Press 1962).

That's it.

That's the lead story.

Compiled Oct Nov 2023, updated 12/7/2023, 12/22/2023, 1/2/2024, 1/14/2023

Background

All hell broke loose after the Treaty. That signing of the treaty gave Gov Lyttelton cover. Now he can say his mission was accomplished. The treaty stipulated that the Cherokee will give up their 24 accused murderers, and some land near Keowee. In return, the black powder embargo is lifted. Lyttelton left 2 tons of blackpowder at Fort Prince George located at Keowee. This allowed Lyttleton's faltering, diseased army to leave. He had no strong army to force his demands.

The Treaty meant nothing now.

This is John Buxton's painting, titled Unknown Message. Touch or click picture to go to his gallery. For me it symbolizes the Cherokee reviewing the situation.

And the situation is dire.

Now that the army has left, they can go after the hostages held in Fort Prince George, still taking on the risk that all those hostages will be killed by the whites.

How can they not try?

Those 28 hostages are mostly their head leaders.

And doing this peacefully by giving up the accused 24 killers to Lyttleton?

They cannot consider giving them up. Those accused did what was expected by the clans -- to seek revenge. It was revenger for the many Cherokee killed by whites in Virginia when returning from the Forbes Expedition.

But this Revenge never seemed to target the actual offender. The Cherokees mostly hit back at different whites who were available.

But the whites in Virginia claim the Cherokee were stealing their horses, and plundering other supplies.

The Whites sought retribution for every killing the Cherokees did. And so the Whites did the same thing. They went after any available Cherokee.

To which the Cherokee warned that receiving no presents for their service in the Forbes Expedition meant they had a right to take.