Selocta Chinnabby (also Shelocta, ''Se-loc-ta'', Chinnabee, or Apuckshunubee) (c. 1765—October 15, 1834 or February 10, 1835) was a Muskogee Creek and

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

chief from present-day Talladega County,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. He allied himself with the

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 ...

in fighting the

Red Sticks 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 ...

in the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

, which was part of the larger

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Family

Chinnabby was possibly born in 1765 near

Choccolocco Creek The Choccolocco Creek is one of two main tributaries of the Coosa River in central Alabama. The watershed of the creek comprises 246,000 acres (376 mi2) of drainage area. The waterway runs through the Choccolocco State Forest,Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

chief, Moss Micco Chinnabby, and a Creek mother. After the

Natchez revolt The Natchez revolt, or the Natchez massacre, was an attack by the Natchez Native American people on French colonists near present-day Natchez, Mississippi, on November 29, 1729. The Natchez and French had lived alongside each other in the ...

, a portion of the Natchez moved to central Alabama and settled in an abandoned village near the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 ...

on Tallaseehatchee Creek. This new village was known as Natchee or Natchez Town. Chinnabby's father accompanied

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to participate in the signing of the 1790 Treaty of New York. Chinnabby had a brother whose name was Salarta/Salarto Fixico (General Coffee).

Adult life

During the Creek War, Chinnabby sided with the United States in fighting the Red Sticks. In 1813, a defensive stockade named Fort Chinnabee was built three miles north of Chinnabby's village, which was on the north shore of Choccolocco Creek near the influx of Wolfskull Creek. Chinnabby fought in a number of battles, including the

Battle of Talladega The Battle of Talladega was fought between the Tennessee Militia and the Red Stick Creek Indians during the Creek War, in the vicinity of the present-day county and city of Talladega, Alabama, in the United States. Background When General Joh ...

Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek The battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek (or Enotachopco Creek) were part of Andrew Jackson's campaign in the Creek War. They took place in January 1814, approximately northeast of Horseshoe Bend. Background After Talladega, Jackson was ...

, and

Battle of Horseshoe Bend The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as ''Tohopeka'', ''Cholocco Litabixbee'', or ''The Horseshoe''), was fought during the War of 1812 in the Mississippi Territory, now central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian a ...

. Prior to the

, it was reported that Chinnabby escaped

Fort Leslie Fort Leslie (also known as Fort Lashley or Fort Talladega) was a stockade fort built in present-day Talladega County, Alabama in 1813 during the Creek War. After the Creek War began, protective stockades were built by settlers and Creeks who were ...

covered in the skin of a

wild hog The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral p ...

and was able to warn Jackson at

Fort Strother Fort Strother was a stockade fort at Ten Islands in the Mississippi Territory, in what is today St. Clair County, Alabama. It was located on a bluff of the Coosa River, near the modern Neely Henry Dam in Ragland, Alabama. The fort was built by G ...

that Fort Leslie was under siege by Red Stick warriors. Prior to the Battle of Emuckfaw Creek, Chinnabby led warriors allied with the United States in an attack on a

Hillabee Hillabee was an important Muscogee (Creek) town in east central Alabama before the Indian Removals of the 1830s. Hillabee was the center of a cluster of towns and villages, known as the Hillabee complex or, simply, Hillabee. The people living in t ...

village. Chinnabby's brother was killed in this attack. Chinnabby was present at the signing of the

Treaty of Fort Jackson The Treaty of Fort Jackson (also known as the Treaty with the Creeks, 1814) was signed on August 9, 1814 at Fort Jackson near Wetumpka, Alabama following the defeat of the Red Stick (Upper Creek) resistance by United States allied forces at t ...

. He supported yielding Creek lands along 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 un ...

in exchange for keeping land west of the Coosa River in Creek possession. Jackson did not agree with this arrangement, as he felt this allowed

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

a connection to supply inland Native Americans in their continued conflicts with the United States.However, Chinnabby later pleaded with Jackson that the ones who helped him should keep their land. He died just before the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

. Chinnabby also fought with Jackson in the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

. Chinnabby also controlled bands of

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 ...

, who called him Apuckshunubee, as well as

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

that had previously been under the rule of his brother, Taski Etoka. Chinnabby signed the 1826 Treaty of Washington, along with

Opothleyahola Opothleyahola, also spelled Opothle Yohola, Opothleyoholo, Hu-pui-hilth Yahola, Hopoeitheyohola, and Hopere Yahvlv (c. 1778 – March 22, 1863) was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted as a brilliant orator. He was a Speaker of the Upper Cre ...

and

Menawa Menawa, first called ''Hothlepoya'' (c. 1765 – c. 1836-40), was a Muscogee (Creek) chief and military leader. He was of mixed race, with a Creek mother and a fur trader father of mostly Scots ancestry. As the Creek had a matrilineal syst ...

. After signing the treaty, he was given a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

by President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

Death and burial

One early source recounted that Chinnabby was killed after he was participating in a horse race and rode headfirst into a tree while intoxicated. Other sources indicate Chinnabby was traveling to Mardisville on October 15, 1834 to purchase supplies prior to his death. His death has also been recorded as occurring on February 10, 1835. He was buried with his silver medal near the community of Munford, and his cabin was ceremonially burned. Chinnabby's grave marker is located at .

Legacy

The Chinnabee community in Talladega County is named for Chinnabby. The Lake Chinnabee Recreation Area, located inside the

Talladega National Forest The Talladega National Forest is located in the U.S. state of Alabama and covers 392,567 acres (613.39 sq mi, or 1,588.66 km2) at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Before it was bought by the federal government in the 1930s, th ...

, is named for Chinnabby. The recreation area includes the Chinnabee Silent Trail, which was constructed by a

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

troop from the

Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) is the world’s most comprehensive education, rehabilitation and service program serving individuals of all ages who are deaf, blind, deafblind and multidisabled. It is operated by the U.S. state ...

. A waterfall along the trail is named Chinaabaee.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinnabby, Selocta Muscogee people People of the Creek War People from Talladega County, Alabama Accidental deaths in Alabama Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States Year of death uncertain