The Treaty of Colerain was signed at St. Marys, Georgia in Camden County, Georgia, by

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 ...

George Clymer George Clymer (March 16, 1739January 23, 1813) was an American politician, abolitionist and Founding Father of the United States, one of only six founders who signed both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. He was among the e ...

, and Andrew Pickens for the

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 territori ...

and representatives of 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 ...

, for whom Indian trader Langley Bryant served as an interpreter, on June 29, 1796, proclaimed on March 18, 1797, and codified as {{USStat, 7, 56. Colerain was a small community and the site of a U.S. Indian

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

founded by

James Seagrove James Seagrove was an ambassador for the United States to the Creek Nation and merchant who lived in southern Georgia. Early career as a merchant and trader Although Seagrove's early life is obscure, he was probably born in southern Ireland in 17 ...

. This treaty affirmed the binding of the Treaty of New York (1790). The Treaties of Hopewell and the

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 ...

(1791) established boundary lines between the Choctaws,

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 classif ...

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 ...

, and the U.S. The Treaty of Colerain bound the

to acknowledge the boundaries established in those treaties. It also established the boundary line between the Creek Nation and the United States. At the time of this treaty, the boundaries between Spanish Florida and the U.S. had not yet been established. This treaty formally allowed the Creek chiefs to acknowledge the negotiation for delineating the Georgia-Florida boundary with Spain. The treaty contained a provision that the President of the U.S. may establish a

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

military outpost A military outpost is detachment of troops stationed at a distance from the main force or formation, usually at a station in a remote or sparsely populated location, positioned to stand guard against unauthorized intrusions and surprise attac ...

. The United States demanded that the Creeks give up their American prisoners and also return all "citizens, white inhabitants, negroes and property" taken by the Creeks. The treaty describes when it would take effect. After the treaty had been signed but not yet promulgated, the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

requested modification of two articles of the treaty. The first modification stipulated that the military or trading posts would be under the control of the United States. The second modification stipulated that if the U.S. no longer required the use of those posts, the locations would revert to the Creek people.

External links

* Text of the 1796 Treaty

* Online copy of the War Department Paper

* Journal of the Conference at Coleraine

Treaty of Coleraine historical marker
1797 treaties Colerain 1796 in the United States

See also

External links