John Watts (or'' Kunokeski ''), also known as Young Tassel, was one of the leaders of the
Chickamauga Cherokee
The Chickamauga Cherokee refers to a group that separated from the greater body of the Cherokee during the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the Cherokee people wished to make peace with the Americans near the end of 1776, following se ...
(or "Lower Cherokee") during the
Cherokee-American wars. Watts became particularly active in the fighting after frontiersmen murdered his uncle,
Old Tassel Carpenter 1708-1788, in 1788, while he traveled with Cherokee delegates to a peace conference.
Family life
John Watts 1746-1808 was the "mixed-blood", or
mixed-race
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
son of British trader John Watts 1704-1779 and a Cherokee mother, Oousta White Owl Carpenter 1722-1768. The senior Watts, father of Young Tassell, served as the official
British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
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, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
interpreter for the area until his death in 1779. Watts's mother, Oousta, was a sister of Cherokee chiefs Attakullkulla Carpenter 1702-1777 and Old Tassel - Great Eagle Carpenter 1702-1777, father to Chief DoubleHead, Hanging Maw and Pumpkin Boy, . The young Watts was raised in Cherokee culture. Watts' parents resided in the
Overhill Towns along the
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portio ...
. Wurteh "Betsy" Watts,was the mother of Chief John Jolly, Chief Robert Benge, Tahlonteeskee Bloody Fellow and Sequoyah. Their brother John Watts Bowles 1756-1839 was Chief of the Arkansas Cherokee, leading a contingency of Chickamauga west of the Mississippi into Spanish Territory present day St. Francis River, Parkin, Arkansas in 1794. A passport was required from Spanish Governor in Mexico City. Young Tassell married and had children with Mary Johnson (children John and Margaret Watts documented, others possible); Wurteagua Carpenter (Mink, John, Soup and Fish Tail, possible others); Oousta White Owl Hanging Maw (Thomas Rattling Gourd Watts, Two Wood, PeachEater, Elizabeth, Jacob Oostooli Z Watts, Councilor John J); and Tsiyugi (Rachel, John and Mary Polly) - each of these have been documented.
Separation from the Overhill Towns
Although Watts withdrew from the Overhill Towns along with
Dragging Canoe
Dragging Canoe (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ, pronounced ''Tsiyu Gansini'', "he is dragging his canoe") (c. 1738 – February 29, 1792) was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee warriors who resisted colonists and United States settlers in the ...
's band, at first he was minimally involved in the raiding they made against American settlers during and after the Revolutionary War. Watts moved with the band downriver to
Running Water
Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
Town, still in Tennessee but further from the frontier. Later they moved to
Willstown, in what is now Alabama.
Warrior
Watts led his first major action of the
Cherokee-American wars in 1786 against the forces of the
State of Franklin
The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland)Landrum, refers to the proposed state as "the proposed republic of Franklin; while Wheeler has it as ''Frankland''." In ''That's Not in My American History Boo ...
over their incursions into the territory of the
Overhill Cherokee
Overhill Cherokee was the term for the Cherokee people located in their historic settlements in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee in the Southeastern United States, on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. This name was used by 1 ...
. Warriors from the Valley Towns in North Carolina also joined in the attacks.
In October 1788, following the murder of his uncle Old Tassel by frontiersmen, Watts led a large war party into North Carolina's
Washington District
The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg. Most of the line was originally built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and ...
(now
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
). The band included the young man
The Ridge (known as ''Nunnehidihi'', or ''Ganundalegi'') going into his first battle. They captured and burned
Gillespie's Station, killing its defenders and taking several prisoners. The
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
warriors proceeded against
White's Fort
James White's Fort, also known as White's Fort, was an 18th-century settlement that became Knoxville, Tennessee, in the United States. The name also refers to the fort, itself.
The settlement of White's Fort began in 1786 by James White, a mil ...
(modern day
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
), where they were repulsed. Afterward, the group made a semi-permanent camp along
Flint Creek (in the area of the future
Unicoi County, Tennessee
Unicoi County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,313. Its county seat is Erwin. ''Unicoi'' is a Cherokee word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped," and refers to t ...
), harassing, raiding, and attacking white settlers in the surrounding countryside.
Watts signed the 1791
Treaty of Holston
The Treaty of Holston (or Treaty of the Holston) was a treaty between the United States government and the Cherokee signed on July 2, 1791, and proclaimed on February 7, 1792. It was negotiated and signed by William Blount, governor of the South ...
, along with fellow war leaders:
Doublehead
Doublehead (1744–1807) or Incalatanga (''Tal-tsu'tsa'', ᏔᎵᏧᏍᎦ in Cherokee), was one of the most feared warriors of the Cherokee during the Cherokee–American wars. Following the peace treaty at the Tellico Blockhouse in 1794, he serv ...
, Bloody Fellow,
Black Fox (a future
chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
of the
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...
), The Badger (Dragging Canoe's brother), and Rising Fawn.
War chief of the Lower Cherokee
In 1792, Dragging Canoe died suddenly on March 1, 1792, but he had earlier said he wanted Watts to succeed him. Watts, was then living again in the Overhill area. He became war council head, or "''
skiagusta
A skiagusta (ᎠᏍᎦᏯᎬᏍᏔ, also ''asgayagvsta'', also ''skyagunsta'', also ''skayagusta''), (ᎠᏍᎦᏯᎬᏍᏔ, ''asgayagvsta''), also spelled ''skyagusta'', ''skiagunsta'', ''skyagunsta'', ''skayagunsta'', ''skygusta'', ''askayagust ...
''," of the Lower Cherokee.
[''Chronicles of Oklahoma''](_blank)
; article; Brown, John P.; "Eastern Cherokee Chiefs" (Volume 16, Number 1); March 1938; retrieved July 2013.
First actions
Watts, along with Bloody Fellow, Doublehead, and "Young Dragging Canoe" (''Tsula''), continued to encourage Indian unity in resistance to European-American settlers. He honored the agreement with McGillivray, of the Upper Muscogee, to build blockhouses (from which warriors of both tribes could operate) at Running Water,
Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...
, and at the junction of the Tennessee and
Clinch
Clinch may refer to:
* Nail (fastener) or device to hold in this way
* Clinching, in metalworking
* Clinch fighting or the clinch, a grappling position in boxing or wrestling, a stand-up embrace
* Clinch County, Georgia, USA
* Clinch River, near T ...
rivers in Alabama.
Watts also traveled to
Pensacola
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
to conclude a treaty with the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
governor of
West Florida
West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...
,
Arturo O'Neill
Arturo O'Neill de Tyrone y O'Kelly (January 8, 1736 – December 9, 1814) was an Irish-born Spanish colonel who served the Spanish crown as governor of several places in New Spain. He came from a lineage that occupied prominent European posi ...
. Under that treaty, the Spanish would provide arms and supplies to the Native Americans to carry on their war against the US. At about this time, Watts moved his base of operations to
Willstown (Cherokee town)
Willstown (sometimes Wattstown, or ''Titsohili'', as it sounded in Cherokee) was an important Cherokee town of the late 18th and early 19th century, located in the southwesternmost part of the Cherokee Nation, in what is now DeKalb County, Alabama. ...
, in what is now Alabama. This put the Cherokee closer to their Muscogee allies while shielding them from the westward expansion of the new
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
In September 1792, Watts assembled a large gathering of Cherokee and Muscogee warriors (which included some cavalry). He planned to lead a campaign into the
Cumberland region of
Appalachia
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
. It was to be a three-pronged attack:
''Tahlonteeskee'' (aka ''Ataluntiski'') would lead a force to ambush the Kentucky road; Middle Striker would take the Walton road; and Watts would lead the main army of 280 Cherokee, Shawnee, and Muscogee warriors against
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
(it was then the capital of the Miro District of the new
Southwest Territory
The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States a ...
).
On the way to Nashville, the army encountered and attacked a settlement known as
Buchanan's Station
Buchanan's Station was a fortified stockade featuring a bunkhouse, a way station, and a surrounding settlement established about 1784 in Davidson County on Mill Creek by Major John Buchanan in what is today the Donelson neighborhood of Nashv ...
but suffered serious casualties. Watts was seriously wounded, and ''Siksika'' (known as "The Shawnee Warrior," and an older brother of
Tecumseh
Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...
));
''Tahlonteeskee'' (also called ''Talotiskee'' of the Broken Arrow, a Muscogee warrior); Little Owl (a brother of Dragging Canoe); and Pumpkin Boy (a brother of Doublehead), all died in the encounter.
Last campaign
Later in 1793, Watts sent envoys to Knoxville, which was at the time the capital of the
Southwest Territory
The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States a ...
, to meet with Governor
Blount to discuss terms for a lasting peace. The peace party included Bob McLemore,
Tahlonteeskee, Captain Charley of Running Water, and Doublehead, as well as the white delegates. Along the way, the group was attacked by a militant group of frontiersmen during a stop at the Overhill town of Coyatee.
Hanging Maw
Hanging Maw, or ''Uskwa'li-gu'ta'' in Cherokee, was the leading chief of the Overhill Cherokee from 1788 to 1794. They were located in present-day southeastern Tennessee. He became chief following the death of Old Tassel, and the abandonment of ...
was wounded, while his wife and daughter (along with several other Indians and one of the white delegates), were killed. The Cherokee people, along with Watts' Chickmauga warriors, agreed to await the outcome of the subsequent trial. In large part because the man responsible (who had lost his family in an Indian raid) was a close friend of John Sevier, the trial proved to be a farce.
Watts responded by invading the Holston area with more than 1,000 Cherokee, Muscogee, and Shawnee warriors, one of the largest Indian forces seen in the region. He intended to attack Knoxville. On the way, the Cherokee leaders were discussing among themselves whether to kill all the residents of the settlement, or just the men. Doublehead argued for the former, while
James Vann
James Vann (c. 1762–64 – February 19, 1809) was an influential Cherokee leader, one of the triumvirate with Major Ridge and Charles R. Hicks, who led the Upper Towns of East Tennessee and North Georgia as part of the ᎤᏪᏘ ᏣᎳᎩ Ꭰ ...
advocated the latter.
On the way to Knoxville, the war party encountered the small settlement of
Cavett's Station. After they had surrounded the place,
Bob Benge
Robert "Bob" Benge (c. 1762–1794), also known as Captain Benge (or "The Bench" to frontiersmen), was a Cherokee leader in the Upper Towns, in present-day far Southwest Virginia during the Cherokee–American wars (1783–1794).
Early life
He w ...
negotiated with the inhabitants, agreeing that if they surrendered, their lives would be spared. However, after the settlers had walked out, Doublehead's group and his Muscogee allies attacked and killed them. Vann grabbed one small boy and pulled him onto his saddle, but Doublehead killed the boy with an axe. Watts intervened and saved another young boy, handing him to Vann, who put the boy behind him on his horse and later handed him over to three of the Muscogee for safe-keeping. One of the Muscogee killed and scalped the boy a few days later.
Final peace
With the defeat of the
Western Confederacy
The Northwestern Confederacy, or Northwestern Indian Confederacy, was a loose confederacy of Native Americans in the Great Lakes region of the United States created after the American Revolutionary War. Formally, the confederacy referred to it ...
at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States ...
by the United States, and the destruction of
Nickajack Town and Running Water Town in September 1794, the leaders of the Lower Cherokee became convinced that continuing the war was futile. The council signed the Treaty of
Tellico Blockhouse
The Tellico Blockhouse was an early American outpost located along the Little Tennessee River in what developed as Vonore, Monroe County, Tennessee. Completed in 1794, the blockhouse was a US military outpost that operated until 1807; the garrison ...
in November, officially ending hostilities with the US.
Although the Cherokee elected a "national" government in 1794, complete with a Principal Chief and National Council, it had no real power. The individual regional councils for each of the major Cherokee geographic divisions still dominated decisions in their relative areas. Watts spurned any "national office." He served as a chief of the Lower Cherokee until his death in 1802. He was succeeded by Doublehead.
References
Sources
*''American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. 1, 1789-1813'', Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, 1831-1861.
*Brown, John P. ''Old Frontiers: The Story of the Cherokee Indians from Earliest Times to the Date of Their Removal to the West, 1838''. (Kingsport: Southern Publishers, 1938).
*Evans, E. Raymond. "Notable Persons in Cherokee History: Bob Benge". ''Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2'', pp. 98–106. (Cherokee: Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 1976).
*Evans, E. Raymond. "Notable Persons in Cherokee History: Dragging Canoe". ''Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2'', pp. 176–189. (Cherokee: Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 1977).
*Haywood, W.H. ''The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from its Earliest Settlement up to the Year 1796''. (Nashville: Methodist Episcopal Publishing House, 1891).
*Klink, Karl, and James Talman, ed. ''The Journal of Major John Norton''. (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1970).
*
McLoughlin, William G. ''Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic''. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992).
*
Mooney, James. ''Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee''. (Nashville: Charles and Randy Elder-Booksellers, 1982).
*Moore, John Trotwood and Austin P. Foster. ''Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769–1923, Vol. 1''. (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923).
*Ramsey, James Gettys McGregor. ''The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century''. (Chattanooga: Judge David Campbell, 1926).
*Cruse Hardion, Freda. '' Birth of the Ozarks 1794-1839 Trail of Tears''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, John
1802 deaths
18th-century Cherokee people
Chickamauga Cherokee
Native American leaders
Year of birth unknown
18th-century Native Americans
Cherokee Nation people (1794–1907)