David Brydie Mitchell (October 22, 1766 – April 22, 1837) was an American politician in Georgia who was elected in 1809 as governor of the state, serving two terms. He was elected again in 1815 for one term. Mitchell moved to Georgia at the age of 24. He had earlier been elected as mayor of Savannah and was appointed as

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...

. He also served three terms in the Georgia General Assembly, two in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and one in the Senate. Mitchell resigned from the governorship in 1817 to accept an appointment by President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

as United States

Indian Agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government. Background The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...

to the

Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

in their lands in present-day Georgia and Alabama. He followed the more than two-decade tenure of

Benjamin Hawkins Benjamin Hawkins (August 15, 1754June 6, 1816) was an American planter, statesman and a U.S. Indian agent He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite ...

. In 1820 he was prosecuted for being involved in smuggling of American slaves from Spanish Florida. He was replaced in 1821 by President Monroe, who appointed John Crowell.

Early life

Mitchell was born in

Muthill Muthill, pronounced , is a village in Perth and Kinross, Perthshire, Scotland. The name derives from scottish gaelic Maothail meaning “soft-ground”. The village lies south of Crieff, just west of the former railway line connecting Crief ...

, Perthshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, on October 22, 1766. As a young man, he inherited land in Georgia from his late uncle. He moved to Georgia in 1782 after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

to claim it."David Brydie Mitchell," ''This Day in Georgia History: April 22''
Ed Jackson and Charly Pou, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia, accessed February 14, 2012 Enthusiastic about the new country, Mitchell read the law with established attorneys and passed the bar. He was elected as mayor of Savannah (1801–1802) and made connections statewide. Mitchell married Jane Mills in 1792, and according to family records the couple had six children: William, John, Sara, Edward, Mary, and David II.

Political career

Mitchell was appointed as Attorney General of Georgia (1796–1806). He moved to Mount Nebo Plantation, near the state capital of Milledgeville. He served three terms in the Georgia General Assembly, two as a

representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

and one in the Senate. Mitchell was elected to two consecutive two-year terms as the 27th Governor of Georgia (1809–1813) and a third non-consecutive term from 1815 to 1817. He resigned from his third term as governor to accept appointment by President

as the

U.S. agent U.S. Agent (John Walker) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually those starring Captain America and the Avengers (comics), Avengers. He first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Capta ...

to the Creek Indians. One of Mitchell's responsibilities was the negotiation of the Treaty of the Creek Agency (1818), by which the Creek ceded land to the United States. He was accused in the American Importation Case of 1820 of smuggling slaves into Creek and US territory, in violation of the 1808 law against the American slave trade. While his direct responsibility remains controversial, Mitchell allowed those engaged in this illegal activity to seek refuge for their captives at the agency he supervised along the Flint River. The incident resulted in a major inquiry and his dismissal by President James Monroe in 1821. Beginning in 1828, Mitchell was appointed to serve as the inferior court judge of

Baldwin County, Georgia Baldwin County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,799. The county seat is Milledgeville, which was developed along the Oconee River. Baldwin County is part ...

. He was later elected as Baldwin County's State Senator in 1836.

Legacy and honors

*Fort Mitchell in eastern Alabama was built by the Georgia militia in 1813 on land he donated, and it was named for him. *1987, Fort Mitchell National Cemetery was named for him and opened in Phenix City, Alabama.

Death and legacy

Mitchell died at Mount Nebo Plantation, his home in Milledgeville, on April 22, 1837. He is buried at Memory Hill Cemetery of the same city.

References

External links

"David Brydie Mitchell"
Portrait and Bio, Georgia Secretary of State site

Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

Georgia state government
Behind the Names: Part 1
U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs website]
"Historical Information"
Fort Mitchell National Cemetery
David Byrdie Mitchell Papers
a
Newberry Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, David Brydie 1760 births 1837 deaths Politicians from Richmond, Virginia Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Attorneys General Mayors of Savannah, Georgia People from Perth and Kinross United States Indian agents Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic-Republicans Burials at Memory Hill Cemetery Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States