Ta'gwadihi ("Catawba-killer"), also known as Thomas Glass or simply the Glass, at least in correspondence with American officials, was a leading chief of 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 ...
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, eventually becoming the last
principal chief of the
Chickamauga Chickamauga may refer to:
Entertainment
* "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce
* "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe
* "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne (album), Ano ...
(or Lower Cherokee).
Early life
The Glass was the son of an adopted
Wyandot
Wyandot may refer to:
Native American ethnography
* Wyandot people, also known as the Huron
* Wyandot language
* Wyandot religion
Places
* Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Wyandot County, Ohio
* Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...
. He first rose to prominence during the
Cherokee–American wars
The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles in the Old Southwest from 1776 to 1794 between the Cherokee and American se ...
, after having left the
Overhill Towns along with
Dragging Canoe's band in 1777.
Leadership in war
Living at Nickajack Town (of the Five Lower Towns) after 1782, he remained one of the chief leaders of the Chickamauga throughout the Cherokee–American wars. The Glass led raids and war parties—often with Dick Justice of Lookout Mountain Town—at least as late as 1792.
In the journal of his travels in the South, particularly among the Chickamauga,
John Norton reported several encounters with the Glass. Norton wrote that a few years after the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Tr ...
in 1783, the old warrior traveled up to the North country among the Iroquois and became friends with
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...
, the
Mohawk, who was the head chief of the
Six Nations and had the same year as the treaty initiated the formation of the
Western Confederacy to resist American incursions into the
Old Northwest. Norton was Brandt's adopted son. The resulting
Northwest Indian War
The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...
(1785-1795) included the great victory of the Western Confederacy at the
Battle of the Wabash in 1791 and the American victory at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1795, which ended the distant war.
After war prominence
After the Treaty of Tellico Blockhouse in 1794, the Glass remained prominent among the Lower Cherokee and in
The Cherokee Nation as well, eventually becoming assistant principal chief to
Black Fox. By the beginning of the 19th century, the Glass owned a ferry across Lookout Creek operating at the foot of
Lookout Mountain
Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-centu ...
, near present-day
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
. He also partly owned (along with a fellow former war leader, Dick Justice) a nearby mill.
In the revolt of a group of the younger chiefs of the Upper Towns, in 1808, against the domination of national affairs by the older chiefs of the Lower Towns, both the Glass and Black Fox were deposed from their positions in the National Council. However, they were returned to their seats on the council two years later. Although Black Fox again became principal chief of the nation, the Glass did not return as his assistant. Following the assassination of
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 ...
in 1809, the Glass succeeded him as head of the Lower Towns' council and was considered their principal chief. Because Black Fox was acknowledged to be the lawful principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, the local position, along with the Lower Towns' council, was disbanded the next year. This took place at the council in
Willstown, in 1810, which abolished separate councils for each of the Cherokee divisions (Upper, Lower, Hill, and Valley Towns) as well as the practice of clan
blood revenge
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...
.
[McLoughlin, pp. 109-127]
References
Sources
*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).
*Klink, Karl, and James Talman, ed. ''The Journal of Major John Norton''. (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1970).
* Lowrie, Walter, and Matthew St. Clair Clarke, ed. ''American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, commencing March 3, 1789, and ending March 3, 1815''. (Washington: Giles and Seaton, 1832).
*
McLoughlin, William G. ''Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic''. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992).
*Moore, John Trotwood and Austin P. Foster. ''Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923, Vol. 1''. (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923).
*Wilkins, Thurman. ''Cherokee Tragedy: The Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People''. (New York: Macmillan Company, 1970).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagwadihi
Chickamauga Cherokee
Year of death unknown
Year of birth unknown
Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)
Native American leaders
18th-century Native Americans
19th-century Native Americans
Native American people from Tennessee