On the evening of September 24, 1793, John Watts, at the head of a large body of Indians, estimated at a thousand warriors or more, composed of Cherokees and Creeks, crossed the Tennessee River below the mouth of Holston, and marched all night in the direction of Knoxville. They avoided Campbell's Station, passed within three miles of Ish's, and daylight found them in sight of Cavett's Station, eight miles west of Knoxville.

When intelligence of the approaching Indians reached Knoxville, its men, under the leadership of Colonel James White, determined to meet them on the ridge, a mile and a quarter west of the town, rather than await them in the blockhouse. Among the brave men who shouldered their rifles and marched out to meet the enemy was the Reverend Samuel Carrick, whose wife lay dead in his house, and her body was left to be committed to the grave by female hands.3 Colonel White skillfully planned his defense, carefully placed his men in ambush, and patiently awaited the enemy, but they

never came.

312

Colonel Watts had with him some of the most intractable chiefs of the nation, particularly Doublehead. I have already mentioned the difficulty of controlling large bodies of Indians, and expressed the opinion that Watts did not have the force of character to compel obedience to his will. On this occasion the chiefs disputed the question, whether they should press on to Knoxville at once, or stop and destroy every cabin on their way. Doublehead favored the latter. Then the question arose whether they should massacre all the inhabitants of Knoxville, or only the men. Doublehead insisted on

the former. The altercation between Doublehead and Vann was long and heated. Vann had a little boy, a captive, riding behind him. Doublehead became so infuriated that he killed Vann's little boy. The result was that, after a march, which for celerity and silence was quite remarkable, they found themselves eight miles from Knoxville at daylight, the hour at which their attack on that town was to have been made.

But they were in sight of Cavett's Station, a blockhouse in which Alexander Cavett and his family of thirteen people resided, only three of whom were gun-men. They abandoned Knoxville and assaulted Cavett's. The three men made a brave resistance. Alexander Cavett, the father, died with bullets in his mouth, which he had placed there to facilitate loading. Five Indians fell, dead or wounded, before their rifles. This checked the assailants and brought on a parley. The Bench,

312Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 3, p. 434.

Watts' nephew, who spoke English, agreed with the besieged that if they would surrender their lives should be spared, and that they should be exchanged for a like number of Indian prisoners. These terms were accepted and the little garrison surrendered. As soon as they left the blockhouse Doublehead and his party fell upon them and put them all to death in the most barbarous manner, except Alexander Cavett, Jr., who was saved by the interposition of Colonel Watts, though he was afterwards killed in the Creek towns. It is but just to add that the Bench, who arranged the terms of capitulation, pleaded, though in vain, for the lives of the captives.

The house was then plundered and burned, and the Indians disappeared.313 General Sevier, who then lay at Ish's with four hundred men, was ordered out by Secretary Smith, to pursue the Indians. Being reinforced until his whole army numbered about seven hundred men, General Sevier took the field and marched rapidly southward until October 14, 1793, when he reached the beloved town of Estanaula. The town was deserted, but as it contained abundant provisions, General Sevier halted here and rested his men. The Indians undertook to surprise his camp at night, but their attack was unsuccessful. From some Cherokee prisoners taken at Estanaula it was learned that the main body of the enemy, composed of Cherokees and Creeks, had passed that place a few days previously, and were making for a town at the mouth of the Etowah River. After refreshing his troops, General Sevier followed the enemy, reaching the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah rivers on the evening of the 17th.

The Creeks and a number of the Cherokees had entrenched themselves on the opposite bank of the Etowah, to obstruct its passage. A happy mistake on the part of the guides, Cary and Findleston, saved the day for the whites. They carried Colonel Kelly's forces half a mile below the ford, where he and a few others immediately swam the river. The Indians, discovering this movement, abandoned their entrenchments and rushed down the river to oppose Colonel Kelly. Captain Evans, discovering the error, wheeled, and, straining his horse's back to the ford, dashed into the river. The Indians at the ford, who were under the command of the King Fisher, a Cherokee chief of the first consequence, saw their mistake, and returning received Captain Evans' company furiously at the rising of the bank. The engagement was hot and spirited. The King Fisher made a daring sally within a few yards of Hugh Lawson

Southwestern Monthly, Vol. 2, pp. 330-332; Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 580-581.

White, afterwards the distinguished jurist and statesman. He and some of his comrades discharged their rifles, the King Fisher fell, and his warriors abandoned the field. The whites lost three men in this engagement.314

This campaign ended the war, and closed the military careers of both Colonel Watts and General Sevier.

314

Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 584-589; American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. 1, p. 469.

HISTORICAL NOTES AND NEWS.

The following historical statement has been sent to us with the appended inquiry:

During the Revolutionary War, about 1777, Major James Johnson was killed by Tories while bathing in the Clinch River in Hawkins County, Tenn. His wife was ill in bed with a young baby and saw through the window the killing of her husband. Later, after her husband's death, she married Thomas Murrill of Hawkins County. A greatgrandson of this Major Johnson was named Ichabod Mitchell (b. Sept. 27, 1822; d. Jan. 18, 1917, at Combstown, Tenn.). Two of the Johnson family, Martin and William, married Sallie and Tisha Combs.

It is particularly desired, if possible, to ascertain the exact date and location of this tragedy. Tradition says that Major Johnson had gone home on a furlough and had resigned or was about to resign his commission at the time of his death.

Perhaps members of our society in the eastern part of the State can find for us the desired data.

The September number of the Indiana Magazine of History will be found unusually interesting to students of Civil War history, giving most valuable data and interesting history of certain secret political societies in the North during the Civil War period, viz:

The Knights of the Golden Circle, Knights and Sons of Liberty, the Northwest Confederacy of 1864, Treason Trials in Indiana and The Camp Douglass Conspiracy.

A valuable contribution to Tennessee history in the early French and Indian period of which we know so little, is to be found in the June number of the Mississippi Historical Review for 1916, by Verner W. Crane, entitled "The Tennessee River as the Road to Carolina," a study of early exploration and fur trade.

Our readers who have been following the interesting continued story of the Southern Indians will be appreciative of the additional article printed in this number by Mr. Goodpasture with its reproduction of the rare picture of Judge Friend. Friend."

Those interested in De Soto literature will find helpful articles in Americana for July, "De Soto's Route in Arkansas,' and in Vol. II of Centenary Series of the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, "Did De Soto Discover the Mississippi River in Tunica County, Mississippi?" (two chapters), by Dunbar Rowland, and "De Soto at Chickasaw Bluffs," by J. P. Young.