Josiah Francis, also called Francis the Prophet, native name Hillis Hadjo ("crazy-brave medicine") (c. 1770–1818), was "a charismatic religious leader" of the

Red Stick Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs), the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creeks—refers to an early 19th-century traditionalist faction of these people in the American Southeast. Made u ...

Creek Indian The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southe ...

s. According to the historian Frank Owsley, he became "the most ardent advocate of war against the white man, as he believed in the supremacy of the Creek culture over that of the whites". He traveled to London as a representative of several related tribal groups, unsuccessfully seeking British support against the expansionism of the United States, then was captured and hanged by General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

shortly after his return to Spanish Florida.

Name

His native name has been written with a variety of spellings in English: Hilis, Hildis, and Hidlis. His last name is found as Hadgo, Hadsho, and Haya. There are also combined forms found, such as Hillishago and Hillishager. "The English always referred to him as Hidlis Hadjo." In a letter,

called him "Hillishageer". In traditional Creek orthography, his name would be ''Heles-haco'' /hilis-hatʃo/ “Crazy Medicine” composed of the medicinal prefix ''heles-'' and the war title ''haco'' “crazy”.

Parents and early life

Francis was the son of a Muscogee Creek mother and a father of European descent. Since Muscogee Creeks were matrilineal and matrilocal, Francise inherited his clan from his mother and was a citizen of the Muscogee Confederacy. Francis and others like him became military leaders, passionate defenders of the Creek cause, apparently to demonstrate their legitimacy to the full-blooded Creek. Francis refused to wear white man's clothing during his visit to New Orleans. He was a trader and metal artisan, the latter skill learned from his father, David Francis, a South Carolina frontier blacksmith and silversmith. He "lived among the

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

and

Coushatta The Coushatta ( cku, Koasati, Kowassaati or Kowassa:ti) are a Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territor ...

people near the point where the Cousa and Tallapoosa Rivers joined to form the

", near modern Montgomery, Alabama. Little is known about his mother or his childhood. Francis married Hannah Moniac (Muscogee), half-sister of

William Weatherford William Weatherford, also known after his death as Red Eagle (ca. 1765 – March 24, 1824), was a Creek chief of the Upper Creek towns who led many of the Red Sticks actions in the Creek War (1813–1814) against Lower Creek towns and against a ...

and aunt of David Moniac, the first Native American to graduate from the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. David's father and Hannah's half-brother was "the prosperous and well-known Creek businessman

Samuel Moniac Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

. She was a relative of Muscogee leader

Alexander McGillivray Alexander McGillivray, also known as ''Hoboi-Hili-Miko'' (December 15, 1750February 17, 1793), was a Muscogee (Creek) leader. The son of a Muscogee mother and a Scottish father, he had skills no other Creek of his day had: he was not only liter ...

," who led the faction of "southern" Muscogee Creeks that were more receptive to assimilation into American society as a survival technique.

Influence of Tecumseh and Seekaboo

Tecumseh, a leader from further north, in 1811 traveled throughout the lands west of the Appalachian mountains; settlement by whites was just beginning. With some encouragement from the British, with whom he had contact in Canada, he attempted to create a pan-Indian confederation, from north to south, that could force the new Americans to remain east of the mountains. His greatest success was among the Creeks, to whom he may have been linked through one or both of his parents. (His tribal origins are not known with certainty.) His credibility was enhanced by the

New Madrid earthquakes New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and the

Great Comet of 1811 The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, the longest recorded period of visibility until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. In October 1811, at its brighte ...

. Among the Creeks, his greatest influence was on Francis. Although Tecumseh's visit was brief, and he was widely credited later with incendiary speeches now believed to be forgeries by whites, he left behind his partner the prophet Seekaboo (also spelled Sukaboo). One source says that he was a Shawnee, another that he was probably a Creek. Francis had extensive conversations with him. "The first recorded public fact of his life is being created a prophet, which was about the latter part of 1812. It took Sukaboo, the great Shawnee prophet, ten days' work to endow Francis with prophetic powers. When that was completed, Francis was considered the greatest prophet in the Creek Nation. He himself now assumed the role of prophet-maker, ndmade many prophets."

Red Stick leader

Francis, as Prophet, was a leader of the

("northern") faction of the

Creek Indians The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands He "hated the white man and his culture." He particularly disapproved of the husbandry of domestic animals, to the point of slaughtering his own (and burning his house) when he decided, about 1812, to give up the ways of whites. He began to have visions "and began to preach with the fervor of a new convert." He founded a new village, Holy Ground, on a

bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...

above the

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka. The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it ...

. Opposition by the "Lower", or southern, Creeks, who favored accommodation to the whites led to civil war, without a clear victor. Francis, who was called later "the principal instigator of this Creek war", led the attack on Fort Sinquefield, killing at least 13, two days after his Red Stick allies Peter McQueen and

attacked Fort Mims in which over 250 men, women, and children were slain. The U.S. response did not take long in arriving, additional troops having been assembled. The U.S won a decisive victory over the Creeks in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814). Francis and some 1000 other Red Sticks and their allies fled to northern Florida, into the semi-wilderness of the Florida panhandle, where they soon aligned with British forces, which openly recruited Indian allies, and became known as Seminoles. At the center of the wilderness was the strong new fort at Prospect Bluff, where Francis and Peter McQueen both wore British uniforms. It was built by the British after their defeats at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

and the Battle of Pensacola (1814) and intended as a base for operations against the southern United States. There were so many Creek refugees there ("virtually the entire surviving population of Redsticks") that famine was a real concern; the British were unprepared for that number of refugees. No food was available for purchase, and crops couldn't be raised without months of delay. Food had to be brought in from other British posts.

Trip to England

When Colonel Edward Nicolls, the commander at Prospect Bluff, was returning to England, after the end of the War of 1812 in February 1815, he took Francis with him, as Francis insisted on (and Nicolls discouraged). Before leaving, Francis disposed of the eight slaves he had, probably the same eight his daughter later claimed. The purpose was to get British agreement to the Treaty of Nicolls' Outpost, which Nicolls, on his own initiative and without authorization (in fact, the British knew nothing of it until Nicolls and Francis arrived in England), had negotiated between the Creek Indians and the British Crown. The Treaty recognized the Native Americans as subjects of the Crown, that is, as British citizens. Francis took his son Earle with him, hoping the son could stay and get some education. A fascinating document that has just come to light (a listing of crown expenditures on Francis's behalf) reveals that besides his son, he was accompanied by a servant and an interpreter. (This conflicts with reports elsewhere that Francis was fluent in English and Spanish, as well as "

" and " Muscogee".) Arriving in England on August 14, 1815, he stayed with Colonel Nicolls at his home near

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of E ...

, Kent (near London). "Nicolls found it necessary to support the Indians rancis and his son Earlefrom his own funds, even to the point of buying them winter clothes." Francis was forbidden from travelling back to Florida until December 30, 1816, which was ordered by

Earl Bathurst Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family ma ...

to prevent the visit from causing tensions with the United States after the Treaty of Ghent. Earle remained in England, and Col. Nicolls made several requests for a subsidy for the boy's keep and education, but his requests were to no avail. There is no record as to what ultimately happened to the boy. The government representative in charge of American policy, Earl Bathurst, refused to see him until a year had gone by, and the meeting was to tell Francis the Creeks should make peace with the Americans, as he could give no support if another war between the two parties occurred in the future . Nicolls was chastised for exceeding his authority; he was posted, apparently as punishment, to remote

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of ...

, and later to Fernando Po. Bathurst gave Francis "a brace of pistols", a commission as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

, and sent him home but not without Francis meeting several prominent people, the story of which has not been written. A hint of it is in this report in the American press: His shoulder bag is in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

. Also in the British Museum are "a long hunting shirt of deer skin,

moccasins A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel o ...

leggings Leggings are several types of leg attire that have varied through the years. Modern usage from the 1960s onwards has come to refer to elastic close-fitting high-rise garments worn over the legs typically by women, such as leg warmers or tights ...

and a belt". The following spring he received £200 of "clothing and agricultural implements" of which a list has survived.

Hanging by Andrew Jackson

Francis arrived at Nassau, Bahamas in January 1817, where the governor, by order of Lord Bathurst, gave him another £100 in cash. He returned to Florida in 1817 to settle at his new home on the Wakulla River, near the fort San Marcos de Apalache (modern

St. Marks, Florida St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. The population was 293 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 319. Geography St. Mar ...

). His daughter

Milly Francis Milly Francis (c. 1803–1848), daughter of Creek leader Josiah Francis (Francis the Prophet), was born near what is today Montgomery, Alabama, about 1803. Her name is sometimes thought to be an Anglicization of the Creek name "Malee", but the mos ...

in 1818 famously rescued a U.S. soldier, Douglas McCrimmon, who had been captured by the Indians, a story that received national newspaper publicity. After his release, McCrimmon told General

in person (Jackson was on a ship off St. Marks) that Francis, the leader of the Sinquefield massacre, was nearby. Jackson lured Francis aboard the U.S. schooner ''Thomas Shields'' by falsely flying a British flag. He was placed in irons and immediately hanged at St. Marks by Jackson, without a court-martial or any other legal proceeding, in sharp contrast with the "court of inquiry" he set up in the Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident. His daughter witnessed his hanging, and later turned down McCrimmon's offer of marriage, possibly as a result of the capture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Joseph (Hillis Hadjo) Native American leaders Muscogee slave owners Seminole Wars Pre-statehood history of Florida Native American history of Florida Native Americans in the War of 1812 Spanish Florida Seminole people 1770 births 1818 deaths Executed Native American people People from Wakulla County, Florida People from Montgomery County, Alabama Native Americans of the Seminole Wars People of the Creek War