Archaeological Survey of the Old Federal Road in Alabama

Table of ContentsList of Figures ............................................................................................................................ vList of Tables ........................................................................................................................... xAcknowledgments ................................................................................................................... xiChapter 1: Project Goals and Methods .................................................................................... 1Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1Brief Historical Background ............................................................................................... 3Project Activities ................................................................................................................. 4Private versus Public Ownership Concerns ........................................................................ 7Intended Use of These Research Findings .......................................................................... 7Historical Research Methodology ....................................................................................... 7Public Outreach ................................................................................................................... 10Chapter 2: Early History of the Old Federal Road .................................................................. 22Origins.................................................................................................................................. 22Building a Federal Road ....................................................................................................... 33Traveling the Federal Road, 1811-1814 ............................................................................... 37Traveling the Federal Road, 1814-1820 ............................................................................... 41Federal Involvement in the Federal Road ............................................................................. 46Later History of the Federal Road ........................................................................................ 47Chapter 3: Mobile and Washington Counties ............................................................................ 52Tracing the Old Federal Road .............................................................................................. 52Historic Sites in Mobile County ......................................................................................... 59Fort Stoddert ................................................................................................................... 59Mount Vernon Cantonment and Arsenal ......................................................................... 66Historic Sites in Washington County .................................................................................. 69Hollinger’s/Carson’s Ferry ............................................................................................. 69Chapter 4: Baldwin and Escambia Counties ............................................................................. 72Tracing the Old Federal Road ............................................................................................. 72Historic Sites in Baldwin County ........................................................................................ 83Fort Mims and Mims’s Ferry .......................................................................................... 83ii

Fort Peirce ....................................................................................................................... 85Fort Montgomery ............................................................................................................ 87Cantonment Montpelier, Tate Cemetery and the Tunstall House ................................... 92Montgomery Hill ............................................................................................................ 96Historic Sites in Escambia County ....................................................................................... 97Jack Springs .................................................................................................................... 97Chapter 5: Monroe and Conecuh Counties ............................................................................. 100Tracing the Old Federal Road .......................................................................................... 100Historic Sites in Monroe and Conecuh Counties ............................................................... 116C. Stewart and P. Downey Inn ...................................................................................... 116McMillan Inn ................................................................................................................ 117Burnt Corn Springs/James Cornell’s House ................................................................. 119Burnt Corn .................................................................................................................... 120Dr. Watkin’s House ...................................................................................................... 123Longmire’s Tavern/Fort Warren ................................................................................... 125Middleton Stage Stop and Cemetery ............................................................................ 127Holley’s Store ............................................................................................................... 128Anderson Stage Stop ..................................................................................................... 128Fort Claiborne and the Town of Claiborne ................................................................... 130Chapter 6: Butler County ....................................................................................................... 140Tracing the Old Federal Road ......................................................................................... 140Historic Sites in Butler County ...................................................................................... 147Poplar Springs/Ogly-Stroud Massacre Site .............................................................. 147The Palings Stage Stop ............................................................................................. 148Fort Dale and Fort Dale Cemetery ............................................................................... 149Chapter 7: Lowndes County .................................................................................................. 154Tracing the Old Federal Road .......................................................................................... 154Historic Sites in Lowndes County ..................................................................................... 164Fort Deposit .................................................................................................................. 164Weatherford’s Stand ..................................................................................................... 165James Spurlock Williamson House .............................................................................. 166iii

Chapter 8: Montgomery County ............................................................................................ 167Tracing the Old Federal Road .......................................................................................... 167Historic Sites in Montgomery County .................................................................................. 178Manack’s Store ................................................................................................................. 178Mount Meigs ..................................................................................................................... 187Milly’s Stand .................................................................................................................... 188Lucas’s Tavern .................................................................................................................. 188Chapter 9: Macon County ...................................................................................................... 193Tracing the Old Federal Road .......................................................................................... 193Historic Sites in Macon County ............................................................................................ 202Polecat Springs .................................................................................................................. 202Fort Hull/Battle of Calebee ............................................................................................... 205Warrior Stand and Creek Stand ........................................................................................ 209Chapter 10: Russell County ................................................................................................... 212Tracing the Old Federal Road .......................................................................................... 212Historic Sites in Russell County ........................................................................................... 222Fort Bainbridge and Lewis’s Tavern ................................................................................ 222Sand Fort and Royston’s Tavern ....................................................................................... 225Fort Mitchell, Creek Agency, and Anthony’s Tavern ...................................................... 226Chapter 11: Conclusions and Recommendations from the Old Federal Road Project ......... 231Landscape Archaeology and the Old Federal Road ......................................................... 231The Old Federal Road Route ................................................................................................ 232Conclusions and Recommendations ..................................................................................... 246Appendix 1: Extracts from Benjamin Hawkins’s “A Viatory” ................................................. 250Appendix 2: Lieutenant Luckett’s Notes of a Survey ................................................................ 255References .................................................................................................................................. 283Attachment: Old Federal Road Geographical Information System (GIS) Files (including routeshape files and georeferenced General Land Office plats) .......................... in back cover pocketiv

List of Figures1-1. The route of the Old Federal Road across Alabama, circa 1830 . ................................... 21-2. Robert Leslie Smith at his “North Latham Boat Works,” October 21, 2010 ................. 121-3. The Old Federal Road in Baldwin County ..................................................................... 121-4. Robert Slaughter on his fishing boat in the Alabama River ........................................... 131-5. Jeff Ross, Paul Merritt, and Ann Biggs-Williams in Escambia County ......................... 141-6. The Old Federal Road meeting in Monroeville, Monroe County .................................. 151-7. The Old Federal Road meeting in Greenville, Butler County ........................................ 161-8. Eric Cates, Annie Crenshaw, and Raven Christopher at Fort Dale Cemetery ............... 161-9. Joe Barganier and Bill Bates on the Old Federal Road in Lowndes County .................. 171-10. The Old Federal Road meeting at the Alabama Department of Archives and History .. 181-11. The Old Federal Road meeting at the Shorter Police Department, Macon County ....... 191-12. Wade Segrist in Shorter and Glenn Drummond at Fort Decatur monument .................. 191-13. Phyllis and Newell Floyd on the Old Federal Road, Russell County ............................. 202-1. Detail of Baron de Crenay’s 1733 map of French colonial Louisiana ........................... 222-2. Some trails through the southwestern part of the Creek Nation ..................................... 272-3. Detail from Abraham Bradley’s 1796 A Map of the United States ................................. 282-4. Detail from Abraham Bradley’s 1812 A Map of the United States ................................. 312-5. General Joseph Graham’s 1814 sketch of Fort Bainbridge ............................................. 422-6. Location of Samuel Moniac’s house (Manack’s Store) ................................................. 432-7. Detail from John Melish’s Map of Alabama ................................................................... 453-1. Map of Alabama highlighting Mobile and Washington Counties ................................... 523-2. Old Federal Road and ancillary roads in Mobile and Washington Counties .................. 533-3. Detail of Anonymous map of the “Tombeckby & Tensaw” settlements ........................ 543-4. Detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 Postal Route Map of the United States ................... 553-5. Detail of Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map .......................................................................... 563-6. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory ................................................ 563-7. Detail of William Darby’s 1824 map of Alabama ......................................................... 573-8. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama ........................................................ 573-9. Detail of Fletcher Hale’s Mobile County map, 1948 ...................................................... 593-10. Second issue of The Mobile Centinel .............................................................................. 623-11. The Fort Stoddert site on the Mobile River ..................................................................... 643-12. Buttons from the Fort Stoddert site, 1799-1814 .............................................................. 653-13. Artifacts from the Fort Stoddert site, 1799-1814 ............................................................ 653-14. Mount Vernon Arsenal Administration Building ............................................................ 673-15. Mount Vernon Arsenal Barracks ..................................................................................... 673-16. Mount Vernon Arsenal Administration Building Cell Door ........................................... 683-17. Mount Vernon Arsenal South Gate ................................................................................. 683-18. Detail of Thomas Freeman’s survey plat ........................................................................ 69v

4-1. Alabama county map highlighting Baldwin and Escambia counties ............................. 724-2. Old Federal Road in Baldwin and Escambia counties ................................................... 724-3. Lt. Luckett’s surveyed route ........................................................................................... 744-4. Detail of James Weakley’s 1848 resurvey ..................................................................... 754-5. James Weakley’s 1845 survey of George Weakley’s private claim .............................. 754-6. Fletcher Hale’s interpretation of the Federal Road in western Baldwin County ........... 764-7. Fletcher Hale’s interpretation of the Federal Road in eastern Baldwin County .............. 764-8. The Old Federal Road through Baldwin County, map 1 ................................................ 774-9. The Old Federal Road through Baldwin County, map 2 ................................................ 784-10. The Old Federal Road through Escambia County, map 1 .............................................. 794-11. The Old Federal Road through Escambia County, map 2 .............................................. 804-12. A possible remnant of the Old Federal Road on private property .................................. 814-13. Detail from Anonymous map of the “Tombeckby & Tensaw” settlements ................... 824-14. Fort Mims as depicted on the “Claiborne” map, 1813 ................................................... 834-15. Mims’ Ferry, as depicted on a detail of the “Claiborne” map ........................................ 844-16. View of the old Mims’s ferry landing from the Alabama River .................................... 854-17. Detail from Melish map of Alabama Territory, 1818 .................................................... 874-18. Artifacts from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819 .................................................... 894-19. Military pewter cockade eagle from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819 .................. 894-20. Military artifacts from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819 ....................................... 904-21. Military artifacts from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819 ........................................ 914-22. Graves of David Tate and his wife Louisa Randon Tate ................................................ 924-23. Tunstall house on Highway 59 at Montpelier ................................................................ 934-24. Detail of 1955 USDA aerial photograph, Blackser, Baldwin County ............................ 934-25. Sheet brass military artifacts from Cantonment Montpelier .......................................... 944-26. U.S. military buttons from the Cantonment Montpelier site .......................................... 954-27. Artifacts from the Cantonment Montpelier site .............................................................. 954-28. Montgomery Hill Baptist Church, Tensaw ..................................................................... 964-29. View of tavern site at Jack Springs, looking south ......................................................... 985-1. Map of Alabama highlighting Monroe and Conecuh counties ..................................... 1005-2. Old Federal Road, labeled “Georgia Road” ................................................................. 1015-3. Old Federal Road and other roads ................................................................................ 1025-4. Detail of Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map ....................................................................... 1035-5. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map ................................................................................ 1035-6. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map ............................................................ 1045-7. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map ........................................................................... 1045-8. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map ......................................................................... 1055-9. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road .............................................................. 1065-10. Fletcher Hale’s copy of page 1 of Rumbley and Straughn’s 1891 survey notes .......... 1075-11. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 1 ................................. 108vi

5-12. The Old Federal Road looking northwest ..................................................................... 1085-13. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 2 ................................. 1095-14. Grassy section of the Old Federal Road ....................................................................... 1095-15. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 3 ................................. 1105-16. Dirt section of Conecuh County 5 ................................................................................ 1115-17. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 4 ................................. 1115-18. The Old Federal Road through Burnt Corn .................................................................. 1125-19 The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 5 ................................. 1135-20. Remnants of an old bridge in Murder Creek ................................................................ 1135-21. The Old Federal Road enters Midway .......................................................................... 1145-22. West Sepulga River ...................................................................................................... 1145-23. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 6 ................................. 1155-24. The Old Federal Road at Middleton Cemetery ............................................................ 1165-25. Planted Pines at McMillan Tavern Site ........................................................................ 1185-26. McMillan Tavern Site Shovel Tests ............................................................................. 1195-27. Lowrey Store at Burnt Corn ......................................................................................... 1215-28. Barber Shop and Casket Room and Warehouse at Burnt Corn .................................... 1215-29. Historic Home on the Old Federal Road in Burnt Corn ............................................... 1225-30. Rally for the Good Roads Movement in Burnt Corn, Alabama, 1916 ......................... 1225-31. Dr. Watkins house, Burnt Corn, side and rear views ................................................... 1245-32. Dr. Watkins house, Burnt Corn, front and side views .................................................. 1245-33. Longmire Land and Tavern ........................................................................................... 1265-34. Gravestones of Elizabeth Stroud and Elizabeth Stroud ................................................ 1275-35. Anderson Stage Stop Front of House ............................................................................ 1295-36. Anderson Stage Stop Breezeway .................................................................................. 1305-37. Anderson Stage Stop Stairway ...................................................................................... 1305-38. Thomas Freeman’s ca. 1817 plat .................................................................................. 1325-39 Miltary buttons from the vicinity of Fort Claiborne ...................................................... 1345-40. U.S. 2nd Regiment Artillery cap plate, reworked 1812 design .................................... 1345-41. William Weakley’s 1848 plat ....................................................................................... 1355-42. General Lafayette at Claiborne, Alabama, in 1825 ...................................................... 1355-43. “Loading cotton onto the steamboat ‘Magnolia’ on the Alabama River” .................... 1365-44. William Barrett Travis house, Claiborne, Monroe County .......................................... 1375-45. Perdue Hill Masonic Hall, moved from Claiborne, Monroe County ........................... 1376-1. Map of Alabama, highlighting Butler County .............................................................. 1406-2. Thomas Freeman’s survey plat ..................................................................................... 1406-3. James Weakley’s 1847 survey plat ............................................................................... 1416-4. Butler County detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 postal route map ............................ 1426-5. Butler County detail of John Melish’s 1818 map ......................................................... 1426-6. Butler County detail of Henry Tanner’s 1823 map ...................................................... 143vii

6-7. Butler County detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map .................................................. 1436-8. Detail of Fletcher Hale’s 1947 map .............................................................................. 1446-9. The Old Federal Road in Butler County, map 1 ........................................................... 1446-10. The Old Federal Road in Butler County, map 2 ........................................................... 1456-11. Butler Massacre historical marker ................................................................................ 1466-12. The Old Federal Road in Butler County, map 3 ........................................................... 1466-13. Entrenched section of the Old Federal Road north of Fort Dale .................................. 1476-14. The Palings stage stop at Fort Dale, southeast view ..................................................... 1496-15. The Palings stage stop at Fort Dale, northeast view ..................................................... 1496-16. A barn constructed from half V-notched logs .............................................................. 1516-17. Modern home occupying the presumed site of Fort Dale ............................................. 1516-18. Grave shelters at Fort Dale Cemetery ........................................................................... 1526-19. Commemorative marker for the site of Fort Dale ........................................................ 1527-1. Map of Alabama, highlighting Lowndes County ......................................................... 1547-2. Federal Road on Thomas Freeman’s ca. 1820 survey plat ........................................... 1557-3. The Greenville branch on James Weakley’s 1846 survey plat ..................................... 1557-4. Lowndes County detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 postal route map ....................... 1567-5. Lowndes County detail of Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map ............................................ 1567-6. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory ............................................ 1577-7. Lowndes County detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama .......................... 1587-8. Fletcher Hale’s map depicting the Old Federal Road near Fort Deposit ...................... 1597-9. Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch through Lowndes County, map 1 ............... 1607-10. Joe Barganier, Sr., and Raven Christopher on a segment of the Old Federal Road ..... 1607-11. Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch through Lowndes County, map 2 ............... 1617-12. Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch through Lowndes County, map 3 ............... 1617-13. Bill Bates’s old turkey sheds in the roadbed of the Greenville Branch ........................ 1627-14. Entrenched section of roadbed on Bill Bates’s property .............................................. 1637-15. Joey Barganier, Jr., pointing out a section of the old Greenville Branch roadbed ....... 1637-16. Unpaved section of the Greenville Branch ................................................................... 1647-17. James Spurlock Williamson house .............................................................................. 1668-1. Map of Alabama, highlighting Montgomery County ................................................... 1678-2. Montgomery County showing the original Federal Road route ................................... 1688-3. Old Federal Road shown on Thomas Freeman’s undated survey plat ......................... 1688-4. Old Federal Road shown on James Weakley’s 1846 survey plat ................................. 1698-5. Montgomery County detail of the Old Federal Road ................................................... 1708-6. Detail of Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map ....................................................................... 1708-7. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map ................................................................................ 1718-8. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map ............................................................ 1718-9. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map ........................................................................... 1728-10. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1837 map ......................................................................... 172viii

8-11. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road .............................................................. 1738-12. Old Federal Road superimposed on 1950 aerial photograph of Snowdoun ................. 1738-13. The Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch in Montgomery County ....................... 1748-14. Section of the Old Federal Road south of Pintlala ....................................................... 1748-15. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch, map 2 ............................................. 1758-16. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch, map 3 ............................................. 1768-17. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch, map 4 ............................................. 1768-18. The Old Federal Road superimposed on a modern aerial photograph ......................... 1778-19. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch, map 5 ............................................. 1788-20. Thomas Freeman’s circa 1816-1817 survey plat .......................................................... 1848-21. Topographic map with archaeological test unit locations ............................................ 1848-22. Unit 2 chronologically diagnostic artifacts ................................................................... 1868-23. Lucas’s Tavern in the 1940s ......................................................................................... 1908-24. Lucas’s Tavern in Old Alabama Town, Montgomery, in 2011 .................................... 1919-1. Map of Alabama, highlighting Macon County ............................................................. 1939-2. Old Federal Road on James Weakley’s 1833 survey plat ............................................ 1949-3. Old Federal Road in Macon County ............................................................................. 1949-4. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory ............................................ 1959-5. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map ............................................................ 1969-6. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map of Georgia and Alabama ................................... 1969-7. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1837 map of Alabama ..................................................... 1979-8. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road near Warrior Stand .............................. 1979-9. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 1 ................................................ 1989-10. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 2 ................................................ 1999-11. Calebee Creek looking east, in vicinity of battlefield .................................................. 1999-12. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 3 ................................................ 2009-13. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 4 ................................................ 2019-14. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 5 ................................................ 2019-15. Dirt segment of Boromville Road near Fort Bainbridge .............................................. 2029-16. Pole Cat Springs, looking northeast ............................................................................. 2059-17. General Joseph Graham’s sketch of Fort Bainbridge ................................................... 2069-18. Fletcher Hale’s map showing the location of Fort Hull ............................................... 2079-19. Fletcher Hale’s map showing the location of Calebee Battle Site ............................... 2089-20. Creedstand, looking north ............................................................................................. 21010-1. Map of Alabama, highlighting Russell County ............................................................ 21210-2. Old Federal Road labeled as “United States Mail Road” .............................................. 21310-3. Detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 Postal Route Map ................................................. 21410-4. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map ................................................................................ 21410-5. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map ............................................................ 21510-6. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map of Georgia and Alabama ................................... 215ix

10-7. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1837 map of Alabama ..................................................... 21610-8. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road around Fort Mitchell ............................ 21610-9. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 1 ................................................ 21710-10. Old Federal Road on private property east of County Road 51 .................................. 21810-11. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 2 ............................................... 21910-12. Dirt section of Old Federal Road, on private property ................................................ 21910-13. Section of Old Federal Road on Sandfort Road .......................................................... 22010-14. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 3 ............................................... 22110-15. Section of Old Federal Road on Carden Road ............................................................. 22110-16. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 4 ............................................... 22210-17. Sketch of Fort Bainbridge from General Joseph Graham papers ................................ 22310-18. Description and sketch of Fort Bainbridge and draw bridge ........................................ 22310-19. Modern artist’s imaginative rendition of Lewis’s Tavern ........................................... 22410-20. Detail of a cartoon from a 1925 issue of the Montgomery Advertiser ........................ 22710-21. Reconstruction of 1813 Fort Mitchell at Fort Mitchell Park ....................................... 22810-22. Monument at Chattahoochee Heritage Center ............................................................. 22911-1. The route of the Old Federal Road and its major branches in Alabama ..................... 23211-2. The modern drivable route of the commemorative Old Federal Road in Alabama .... 23311-3. British copy on paper of a map drawn on deerskin ..................................................... 23511-4. Detail of the British copy of the Chickasaw deerskin map, 1723 ............................... 23611-5. A southern longleaf pine forest ................................................................................... 23811-6. Detail from David Taitt’s 1771 map of British West Florida ...................................... 240Table of Tables2-1. Isaac Briggs’s Latitude/Longitude calculations ............................................................ 322-2. Post Offices on the Federal Road in Alabama Territory, 1819 .................................... 46x

AcknowledgmentsIn 2007 the Alabama State Legislature formed the Old Federal Road Task Force to raise awarenessof the road through development of a web site, a visitors’ brochure, and historic signs to mark theroad’s path. The chairman of the task force, Representative Thad McClammy, deserves great credit forinspiring many projects, including this one, on the historic road. In 2010 the Old Federal Road was nameda “Place in Peril” by the Alabama Historical Commission and Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation.Its placement on the list of “Alabama’s Most Endangered Sites for 2010” highlighted the road as one ofAlabama’s most significant endangered historic places and raised awareness across the state.We are very grateful to Dewayne A. Hood (Division Transportation Administrator, SpecialProjects, Alabama Department of Transportation) and William Turner (ALDOT Archaeologist) for theiroversight and assistance with the implementation of this project. Support for this archaeology researchproject was provided the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, fromARRA Highway Infrastructure Investment funds for transportation enhancement apportioned to the Stateof Alabama, Department of Transportation, which granted the funds to the University of South Alabama.A great many individuals across the state of Alabama offered specific information and logisticalassistance throughout this project. Many are mentioned in Chapter 1, but several are singled out here fortheir general support and assistance throughout the project. Henry Deleon Southerland, Jr. (deceased), andJerry Elijah Brown deserve everyone’s gratitude for their wonderful pioneering volume on the OldFederal Road, published by the University of Alabama Press in 1989. Their book literally put the OldFederal Road back on the map of Alabama and sparked the modern wave of study and commemorationwe are experiencing today. Among our friends and colleagues, several deserve special thanks, includingKathryn Braund, Craig Sheldon, Sarah Mattics, and Tara Potts, all of whom contributed their time andthinking to help us survey the old road and create this report. Mark Dauber first showed one of us(Waselkov) a remarkable portion of the Old Federal Road near Pintlala in 2008, which got our projectstarted. Thank you, all!As reflected in our co-authorship of this report, we worked closely together on all aspects of theproject. This was truly a collaborative effort, with joint roles in fieldwork, documentary research, oralhistory, and public archaeology activities. For efficiency, we divided up report writing into different areasof responsibility, with Waselkov mainly handling Chapter 2 (early history) and Chapter 11 (conclusions),while Christopher’s realm included all of the route mapping and most of the historic sites research. Weacknowledge use of ERSI ArcMap software for creation of many of the maps in this report.xi

Chapter 1Project Goals and MethodsIntroductionSupport for this archaeological survey of the Old Federal Road was provided in 2009 by a twoyearTransportation Enhancement grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation, with fundingderived from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Our project met at least two criteria for aTransportation Enhancement Grant:• Activity No. 10, Archaeological Planning and Research, in this case involved researching theroute of the Old Federal Road across Alabama, carrying out field surveys to find and documentexisting segments of the old road and associated standing structures and archaeological sites, andproducing an interpretative report on archival and field findings.• Activity No. 4, Historic Highway Programs, involved providing communities, counties, and theState of Alabama with information via our report and website on the remains of the Old FederalRoad so they may develop the historic character of existing highways that follow or parallel theOld Federal Road, and to make the travel experience educational and attract tourists to localroads near or on the Old Federal Road.The Old Federal Road was the first modern transportation route across the southern half of thearea that would become the state of Alabama (Figure 1-1). This was the precursor to all later roads andmodern highways in the state. Interstate 65 roughly parallels the route of the Old Federal Road, andseveral state and county roads (for instance, Conecuh County Road 5) follow its precise path in places.Today’s travelers can follow the approximate route of the Old Federal Road by driving on secondaryroads through ten counties of central and south Alabama (Baldwin, Butler, Conecuh, Escambia, Lowndes,Macon, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, and Russell counties). Despite sustained interest in the locationand history of this historic road, it remains unmarked along much of its route, and the road’s considerabletourism potential remains unrealized. As a precursor to commemorating the roads two hundredthanniversary and a major effort to raise awareness of the Old Federal Road in Alabama, an archaeologicalsurvey of its entire length was accomplished in 2009-2011. The ultimate goal was to produce detaileddocumentation of the Old Federal Road’s actual path on the ground and its associated historical featuresthat can be used by planners to mark and interpret the route for historically-motivated tourists and foreducators intent on sparking the interests of students in Alabama’s fascinating early history.1

Figure 1-1. The route of the Old Federal Road across Alabama, circa 1830.2

Brief Historical BackgroundThe Old Federal Road formally began in 1805 as a post road across the Creek Indian Nation,between Milledgeville, Georgia and Fort Stoddert, Mississippi Territory. Most of this route falls withinmodern-day Alabama, between Fort Mitchell in Russell County and Mount Vernon in Mobile County.Between 1811 and 1836 the Old Federal Road was the principal transportation route between the easternseaboard states and Mobile, New Orleans, and points west. Dozens of forts, taverns, stands (the hotels offrontier America during the early Republic), post offices, and plantations grew up beside the road andmany important historical events occurred along the way, including the capture of Aaron Burr in 1807and several battles of the Redstick War of 1813-1814. With the removal of most American Indians fromthe region in the 1830s, the Old Federal Road remained the principal conduit for immigrants enteringAlabama and the lower South through the 1840s. Much of the Old Federal Road continued in use until the1930s, when modern highway and bridge construction finally left most of the original route behind.A determined explorer can still follow the general course of the Old Federal Road through someremarkable historical landscapes, but the path on the ground is largely unmarked and uninterpreted fortourists. This project has documented what is left of the Old Federal Road – the remnants of sunken roadbeds, standing structures that used to serve as taverns and stands along the road, and the archaeologicalremains of forts and stands and plantations and ghost towns that once lined its length – through historicaland archaeological research and field survey.Most of the Old Federal Road route remains rural today. In contrast to the mix of pine forests andurban interchanges seen from I-65, traveling the secondary roads that parallel (and in some cases runatop) the Old Federal Road takes one through dozens of small towns and many miles of farmland incentral and south Alabama, a countryside that tourists seldom visit. This is mostly the rolling hills of theAlabama coastal plain. Those who built the Old Federal Road tried to avoid river crossings by staying tothe high lands along the divide between the Alabama and Conecuh/Escambia river basins, but there aresome spectacular natural obstacles along the way, especially the great Opilthlocca Swamp south ofAuburn and the Mobile-Tensaw delta north of Mobile. Travelers interested in heritage tourism andhistorically-motivated ecotourism are increasingly coming to appreciate the scenic opportunities of ruralAlabama for the treasures it contains. Exploring the Old Federal Road offers an excellent new reason tovisit parts of Alabama that most state residents have never seen.Our long-term hope is to have a substantial and positive impact by making information on thehistoric Old Federal Road readily accessible to the people of Alabama via the Internet, and therebyincrease awareness of intact original road remnants and associated standing structures that can be seen3

and visited by the public. Very few of the thousands of people who travel on US 280, I-85, and I-65between Phenix City and Montgomery and Mobile on any given day have any notion of the nearby OldFederal Road and its rich history. Planners at all levels of government are encouraged to use the results ofthis study to develop publically accessible segments of the Old Federal Road route for interpretive andrecreational purposes by the creation of route maps and signage, and by linking existing parks andmuseums to the road’s history.A second intended impact is to encourage preservation of neglected or previously unrecognizedremnants of the road or associated standing structures and archaeological sites. By making state andcounty governments, county historical societies, and municipalities aware of historical resources in theirmidst, steps can be taken to preserve these treasures while simultaneously offering them to the public foreducational use and enjoyment. For those sites and buildings in private hands, owners have been informedof their historical significance and encouraged to preserve them for the future. Owners of historicbuildings may qualify for tax benefits if they preserve or restore the structures under certain state andfederal programs.Project ActivitiesProject activities included (1) archaeological and historical research, (2) archaeological survey,and (3) public dissemination of results, activities that ran concurrently throughout the project.Activity 1 of this project (archaeological and historical research) involved research on the routeof the Old Federal Road, a compilation of important historical events and long-term processes thatoccurred along the road, and gathering evidence on significant structures and communities that lay alongits path. Fortunately the Old Federal Road has long attracted the attention of historians, professionalresearchers as well as avocational historians who have accumulated vast amounts of information. Wecontacted many of these dedicated researchers who were eager to share their findings. Here is a summaryof the principal sources and contacts we consulted early in the project.Everyone with an interest in the Old Federal Road is indebted to Henry DeLeon Southerland, Jr.,and Jerry Elijah Brown for their excellent study, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation,and Alabama, 1806-1836, published in 1989 by the University of Alabama Press. We recommend thisexceptionally readable and well-researched volume for its overview of the road’s origins and impact onthe antebellum South. Southerland and Brown also first identified many important historical sources on4

the road, and surveyed the relevant literature found in traveler’s accounts, which offer many colorful,first-hand anecdotes of life on the Alabama frontier.Original land survey notes and plats (posted on the websites of the Alabama Secretary of State’sand the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office) comprise the earliest detailed maps of theOld Federal Road beginning in 1810. Printed and manuscript maps (such as Mississippi and AlabamaTerritorial maps of 1799 through 1820, as well as Alabama state maps of 1821 through the 1840s) containvaluable clues about changes in the route, which did not remain static throughout these decades. Alsoavailable is important research done by Peter Brannon in the 1920s and 1930s and by Fletcher Hale in the1930s and 1940s, preserved at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery.Perhaps most important to our survey were the studies conducted in recent years by interested andtalented individuals who live near the Old Federal Road and have successfully traced segments of it onthe ground. These local historians proved invaluable and we will remain immensely in their debt for theirgenerosity. The time they spent showing us road remnants and sites along the way, and the informationthey so freely shared with us throughout the project, has been inspiring. We highlight them at the end ofthis chapter and throughout this report, and we hope they feel we have done justice to their particularsections of the Old Federal Road.Historical societies active in the ten counties along the route were contacted for information onthe road and associated sites and standing structures. These include the Baldwin County Archives, ButlerCounty Historical and Genealogical Society, Canebrake Genealogical and Historical Society, EscambiaCounty Historical Society, Lowndes County Historical Society and Museum, Mount Vernon HistoricalSociety, Monroe County Heritage Museum, Montgomery County Historical Society, Pintlala HistoricalAssociation, Russell County Historical Commission, and the Historic Chattahoochee Commission.Activity 2 was the archaeological field survey. The authors, both University of South Alabamaarchaeologists, conducted a field survey of the entire Old Federal Road route, a corridor approximately250 miles in length. The team was equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to plotlocations deemed important from our historical and archaeological research or pointed out by our localguides. Because of the length of the survey route and the limited nature of grant resources, we endeavoredto enter the field well prepared and informed about the road route and associated structures and sites wewere searching for during the survey. However, our survey success depended as much upon theknowledge of our local guides as upon our ability to efficiently plan, schedule, and carry out fieldwork.5

Access to private lands along the route was requested when particularly important historical sitescould be pinpointed from historical records or other sources. When permission was granted, the surveyteam walked or drove the route indicated by historical research. This on-the-ground survey documentedthe presence of numerous intact sections of roadway still visible in forests, fields, and pastures. Historicstructures were recorded by photographs. For historic sites that no longer have standing structures,archaeological survey methods were employed when possible to find below-ground evidence of theirlocations, and sites were reported to the Alabama Archaeological Site File in Moundville. Our record ofobserved features of the Old Federal Road include field notes, sketch maps, digital photographs, andglobal positioning system (GPS) coordinates, as well as artifacts from tested sites. GPS informationenables precise relocation of features in the future, for preservation and interpretive purposes. It alsoprovides the basis for our retracing of the Old Federal Road for public use.As we researched and surveyed the road corridor, we also disseminated our research findings tothe public, Activity 3. This process continued throughout the project. Each public presentation led tomore information offered by audience members, which led to additional field survey and historicalresearch. The project team has prepared this report to document our research activities and findings, but itis very apparent to us that we have barely scratched the surface of this historic road’s research potential.Time and resource constraints have limited the number of historic sites we could test archaeologically,and many sections of the old road route still remain to be surveyed on the ground because access couldnot always be negotiated with private landowners. Nevertheless, much has been accomplished and isdocumented in this report.The full version of the report has been submitted to the Alabama Historical Commission for useby state, county, and municipal planners. Selected elements of this report, with sensitive archaeologicalsite locations and information on privately-owned features of the Old Federal Road deleted, is beingposted on a website hosted by Auburn University-Montgomery for the public. This web-based versioncompiles results from three different archaeological surveys of the Old Federal Road, including maps ofthe route showing modern public roads that coincide with or closely parallel the historic road. It will alsoincludes many photos of well-preserved segments of the road across the state, as well as publicallyaccessible standing structures and protected archaeological sites with important ties to the Old FederalRoad. The website (http://oldfederalroad.aum.edu/) encourages the citizens of Alabama, as well as othersbeyond the state’s borders with an interest in Alabama’s early history, to explore the Old Federal Road byvisiting the communities that today lay along its path.6

shown on historic maps, while many smaller structures, like inns, taverns and stores, churches, andhomesteads were identified by consulting travelers’ accounts, oral histories, and local history texts.Most important for determining the original routes of the Old Federal Road were the land surveyplats compiled by the General Land Office in the early nineteenth century. Thomas Freeman and JohnCoffee were Surveyors General for the Southern and Northern Districts of Mississippi Territory andAlabama Territory in the early 1800s. From 1833 to 1856, James Weakley served as Surveyor General forthe same region, which by that time had become the state of Alabama. When possible, the first-generationsurvey plats created by Freeman and Coffee were used for this research. Because a fire in 1821 destroyedmany of the original land survey field notes and plats, however, the later resurvey plats compiled byJames Weakley in the 1840s were the only land records available for some sections of the route. All platswere downloaded from the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records (GLO) website(http://www.glorecords.blm.gov), which contains a searchable map database of land surveys conductedacross the United States from the early years of the nineteenth century. Once downloaded, the plats wereconverted to JPG format, cropped, and uploaded into ArcMap. ArcMap is the central mapping applicationof the ESRI ArcGIS program. In ArcMap, the maps were georeferenced using section lines as referencepoints. Georeferencing defines the plat’s location by aligning it with coordinates of known points onmodern maps. This allows the researcher to compare the data on historic maps with contemporary maps.A shapefile was created of the route depicted on the survey plats and superimposed on modern maps.Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates were then obtained for point or segment of interest alongthe Federal Road. The coordinates were used in the field in conjunction with a hand-held GPS instrumentto locate the original route of the road on the ground.In addition to the invaluable land survey plats, we consulted Lt. James Luckett’s field notes fromhis original 1810 survey of the southern half of the Old Federal Road. We obtained the microfilm copy ofLuckett’s original journal deposited at Samford University Library by Southerland and Brown in 1989.Luckett’s 1810 survey covered the road’s original course from Fort Stoddert (now in Mobile County) toPintlala Creek (in Montgomery County). The overall quality of the microfilm is quite good, and the fewillegible entries could be read after digital enhancement. Luckett’s chained distances and compass bearingdata were transcribed to ArcMap, creating a shapefile of the original path. We could then compareLuckett’s mapped route with the road depicted on slightly later survey plats. This method proved useful inidentifying changes to the road over time.Freeman, Coffee, and Weakley’s survey plats were useful for identifying the location of the roaditself, but they do not – with a few important exceptions – show structures along the Federal Road. Other8

sources were consulted to identify location of forts, inns, stands, stores, churches and cemeteries thatdeveloped along the historic road. These sources included Fletcher Hale’s maps, Rumbley and Straughn’s1891 survey notes of the Monroe-Conecuh county line, travelers’ accounts, oral histories, local histories,and other books relevant to the historic road.Fletcher Hale served as County Engineer for Monroe County in the 1930s and 1940s. Using aerialphotographs from the 1920s through 1940s, Hale created plat maps depicting his estimate of the OldFederal Road route based on old roads visible on the photographs. Hale’s maps were scanned, uploaded,and georeferenced in the same manner as the GLO land survey plats. Many of the roads visible on theearly aerial photographs were not paved, and therefore were likely situated much as they were duringprevious decades. While the route segments identified by Hale are certainly old roads, we disagree innumerous instances with his assessment that they comprised the Old Federal Road route. In particular,Hale did not have access to Lt. Luckett’s survey, and, consequently, most of our route for the Old FederalRoad in northern Baldwin County differs dramatically from Hale’s route. Elsewhere, however, Hale’sassessment of the Old Federal Road seems both precise in detail and accurate in overall route. In MobileCounty, in particular, Hale provides our most reliable route reconstruction. In a surprising number oflocations, sections of entrenched roadbed are still visible today in the right-of-ways where slightrealignments of the road have occurred during paving, hill removal, and other modern modifications.Comparing Hale’s maps and the other historic sources with modern road maps allowed us to identifysome of these entrenched roadbeds with considerable confidence as remnants of the Old Federal Road.The survey notes of T. A. Rumbley and J. Straughn, Monroe and Conecuh county surveyors in1891, were useful for identifying structures possibly standing during the road’s active years for thesegment of the Old Federal Road that coincides with the Monroe-Conecuh county line. Fletcher Haleincorporated information from Rumbley and Straughn’s notes in his sectional survey maps, whichallowed us to estimate fairly accurately the locations of those structures in Monroe and Conecuh counties.Thomas D. Clark’s Travels in the Old South: A Bibliography and Jeffrey C. Benton’s The VeryWorst Road contain a wealth of travelers’ accounts relating to the Old Federal Road. Travels in the OldSouth is an extended bibliography that highlights the contents of a large selection of published traveleraccounts. The Very Worst Road is a compilation of excerpts from 1820 to 1847 accounts by travelerscrossing the portion of east-central Alabama that once comprised the Creek Nation. Full texts of indexedand excerpted historical sources are available online at http://www.archive.org/.The U.S. National Archives houses the returns of military posts from the early nineteenth centurythrough the early twentieth century. Army regulations required commanding officers of military posts,9

and other troop units to submit reports at specified intervals (most often monthly) to their commandingofficers or to the War Department. These reports generally described the units stationed at a post and theirstrength, the number of officers present or absent, the names and duties of the officers, a listing of officialcommunications received, and a list of notable events occurring since the last report. Relevant reports arepreserved on microfilm in Record Group 94 (Records of the Adjutant General’s Office) and RecordGroup 393 (Records of the United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1930). The NationalArchives website provides a PDF listing of all returns by location with the microfilm roll number(http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m617.pdf). For this project, microfilm reels for all fortsalong the Old Federal Road were reviewed.Public OutreachPerhaps the single greatest source of knowledge on the Old Federal Road is the people who grewup and live along its historic path. These men and women are not only well-informed, but remarkablyenthusiastic about sharing their information and eager to preserve and promote the historic sites in theirregions. We found that an effective approach to meet the locals was to organize county-wide meetings.These meetings served three primary objectives: (1) to gather additional historical resources regarding theOld Federal Road; (2) to meet knowledgeable locals who were interested in the Old Federal Road andcould potentially preserve sections of road or sites along the route; and (3) to tour the Old Federal Roadwith people familiar with the history of the county and surviving portions of the old road bed that deviatefrom modern roads. Without the assistance of the many people who attended these meetings and guidedus through their county, the field survey could not have been successful.Prior to each meeting, we reviewed our historical research conducted to identify points of interestfor that county in advance. These sites, along with the Old Federal Road route transcribed from early landplats and Fletcher Hale’s maps, were placed on topographic maps and brought to the meeting for reviewand discussion by attendees. After an initial exchange of information, a tour of the road generallyfollowed. A Garmin GPSmap60 was used to track our route and record coordinates of sites along the way.These data points were later uploaded into the GIS mapping program ArcMap and compared to the routesand sites identified during earlier research.The Mobile County meeting took place on March 21, 2011, at the Train Depot Museum in MountVernon. Our goal for the meeting was to gather information on the two main sites associated with the OldFederal Road in Mobile County, Fort Stoddert and the Mount Vernon Cantonment and Arsenal (now10

Searcy Hospital), and to gain access to both sites. Meeting attendees included a number of Mount VernonHistorical Society members, including Larry Simison and Verdell Trotter-Dees, Mount Vernon District#5 Councilwoman. Jim Todd, Auburn Extension administrator for Mobile County and Federal RoadInitiative Grant coordinator, was also in attendance. The goal of a Federal Road Initiative Grant to theMount Vernon Historical Society is to promote tourist activity in and around Mount Vernon related to theOld Federal Road and associated sites. The Mount Vernon Historical Society recently acquired the TrainDepot Museum from the city and plans to develop exhibits there that promote Mount Vernon’s uniqueand rich history. After the meeting, Larry Simison accompanied us to Searcy Hospital, formerly MountVernon Cantonment and Arsenal. While we were able to visit the Administration Building, access to thehospital grounds was not permitted due to the hospital’s strict visitor regulations. We also visited the FortStoddert area, but were unable to obtain permission from the limited liability company that owns the sitewhere the fort was situated. These two historic sites are among the most significant in Alabama and bothhave national importance. We and the members of the Mount Vernon Historical Society hope both caneventually be surveyed for archaeological remains and preserved in a way that benefits future generationsof Alabama residents.Meetings with Baldwin County residents occurred on three occasions; the first with RobertLeslie Smith in Latham on October 21, 2010, and a second meeting for Baldwin and Escambia countyresidents on December 15, 2010, at the Thomas E. McMillan Museum on Jefferson Davis CommunityCollege campus in Brewton (Figure 1-2). Robert Leslie Smith, a 93-year-old long-time resident of northBaldwin County, is very familiar with the local history and has written two books about his experiencesgrowing up in Baldwin County. Mr. Smith knew the routes of old roads prior to paving that first occurredin the 1930s, and he was able to point out several portions of old road bed in the woods adjacent tomodern roads. He was also familiar with several old homes, churches, and cemeteries dating to the OldFederal Road period. On June 24, 2011, we met Claudia Campbell and Robert Slaughter to locate asection of roadbed in the Tensaw and inspect the remarkably preserved remains of Mims’s Ferry atHolley Creek Landing, which Robert showed us from land and water (Figures 1-3 and 1-4)11

Figure 1-2. Robert Leslie Smith at his “North Latham Boat Works,” Baldwin County, October 21, 2010.Figure 1-3. William Slaughter, Claudia Campbell, Robert Slaughter, and Raven Christopher (L-R) at HolleyCreek Landing, Tensaw, Baldwin County, June 21, 2011.12

Figure 1-4. Robert Slaughter on his fishing boat in the Alabama River, offshore from the site of Mims’sFerry Landing, June 21, 2011.Due to the relatively small portion of the Old Federal Road in Escambia County (approximately15 miles), a meeting with local historians from both counties seemed appropriate. Jerry Simons (Directorof the Thomas E. McMillan Museum) coordinated the meeting. Several members of the Escambia CountyHistorical Society were in attendance, including Ann Biggs-William, Tom McMillan, and Paul Merritt.Baldwin County native Jeff Ross also participated. Mrs. Biggs-William’s provided us with WilliamLetford’s original 1970s research notes on the Old Federal Road, organized by county, which have provento be an invaluable resource. Letford’s notes were loaned to Mrs. Biggs-Williams by Fritz Currie, whoreceived them from his father, Floyd Currie, a former president of the Escambia County HistoricalSociety. Mr. McMillan is a descendent of Duncan McMillan, owner of a stage stop site we targeted forsurvey in Monroe County. He granted us full access to historical documents housed at the McMillan Trustin downtown Brewton.Jeff Ross, Paul Merritt, and Ann Biggs-Williams then led us on a tour of the Old Federal Road inEscambia and Baldwin counties (Figure 1-5). In addition to the route of the road and later branches usedfor stage coach travel, we visited Jack Springs, Lottie, Hadley Stage Stop, Montpelier, and WilliamWeatherford’s gravesite. Tom Bradley II and Tom Bradley III, owners of Montpelier in Baldwin County,were invited to the meeting, but were unable to attend.13

Figure 1-5. Jeff Ross, Paul Merritt, and Ann Biggs-Williams (L-R) on the Old Federal Road in Escambia andBaldwin counties, December 15, 2010.The Old Federal Road formed most of the boundary line between Monroe and Conecuh countiesever since the latter was created in 1818. During an initial drive of the road on November 11, 2010, wephotographed and recorded GPS coordinates for historic churches, cemeteries, and other structures. Ameeting for both counties occurred on December 3, 2010 at the Monroe County Public Library inMonroeville (Figure 1-6). Al Nettles, active member of the Monroe County Heritage Museum andnumerous genealogical societies, helped organize the meeting. Attendees included Monroe CountyHeritage Museum employee Wanda Green, long-time resident Rayford McNeil, and retired 911emergency manager Bob Steward. McNeil and Nettles led the tour of the road. McNeil owns an 1830sdogtrot frame house on the branch of the Old Federal Road from Burnt Corn to Claiborne. A wellpreservedentrenched section of the road is located adjacent to the house. After driving much of that roadbranch, we visited Burnt Corn and the home of Dr. Watkins.14

Figure 1-6. Greg Waselkov, Al Nettles, Bob Steward, and Dora Pelham (L-R) at meeting in Monroeville,and Rayford McNeil on the Old Federal Road in Monroe County, December 3, 2010.Annie Crenshaw and Barbara Middleton, Butler County natives, organized the Butler Countymeeting at the Greenville Library on November 17, 2010 (Figures 1-7 and 1-8). Several members of theButler County Historical Society attended and brought in various documents pertaining to the road,including a number of old newspaper articles on the Anderson Stage Stop. In a remarkable work ofprimary research, Barbara Middleton had transcribed the original Butler County tract books and created acolor-coded map depicting the sequence of early settlement (1817-1860) along the Old Federal Road.Annie Crenshaw, Al Middleton, and Gerald Johnson led us on a tour of the road. Al Middleton iscaretaker of Middleton Cemetery, located just south of the Butler/Monroe county line. The cemeterycontains the grave of Elizabeth Stroud, victim of a Creek Indian attack on the Ogle (or Ogly) house in1818. Mr. Middleton identified a section of the Old Federal Road roadbed adjacent to the modern road atthe entrance to the cemetery. A section of the old road bed was also visible running alongside the modernroad at the site of Old Salem Church and the Price Hotel (neither structure is presently standing).Eric Cates, 92-year-old long-time resident of Fort Dale, met us at the Fort Dale Cemetery andgave us a detailed tour of the road north of Fort Dale to the Lowndes County line. Mr. Cates is veryfamiliar with the route of the old road and where it deviates from the modern road, as well as the locationsof structures no longer standing that belonged to early settlers. At the end of the day, Gerald Johnsonshowed us a log barn owned by his cousin that is said to be built from logs salvaged from Fort Dale.Johnson also alerted us to the existence not far off the old road of a World War II prisoner-of-war campused to hold German Afrika Korps soldiers.15

Figure 1-7. Annie Crenshaw, Raven Christopher, and Barbara Middleton (L), and Barbara and AlMiddleton (R) at the Old Federal Road meeting in Greenville, Butler County, November 17, 2010.Figure 1-8. Eric Cates, Annie Crenshaw, and Raven Christopher (L) at Fort Dale Cemetery, and GeraldJohnson (R) at an entrenched segment of the Old Federal Road at Fort Dale, November 17, 2010.The original route of the Old Federal Road in Lowndes County was nearly abandoned by the1830s due to the emergence of Greenville and subsequent decline of Fort Dale. The new route offered amore direct trip to Greenville and is situated approximately three miles east of the original route. OnJanuary 20, 2011, Joe Barganier and his son Joe Barganier, Jr., descendents of one of the county’s earliestsettlers, escorted us on a tour of the road from the Butler County line to Fort Deposit and then along the16

later Greenville route (Figure 1-9). The road in this county has far more segments of entrenched road bedthan we have seen in any other county. We met several long-time residents along the way, including BillBates, patriarch of Bates Turkey Farm near Fort Deposit and Bates House of Turkey in Greenville, whoshowed us the old roadbed running through his property. The location of the fort at Fort Deposit isunknown and may be difficult to find due to extensive residential development in the area. Fort DepositCemetery is well cared for and contains the grave sites of some of the early settlers, including JesseBarganier. The older original route does not coincide with modern roads and is now in private hands; ithas not been surveyed, although it may be possible to find portions of the old road.Figure 1-9. Joe Barganier and Bill Bates on the Old Federal Road in Lowndes County, January 20, 2011.Gary Burton, President of the Pintlala Historical Association, helped organize a meeting for bothMontgomery and Lowndes county residents at the Alabama Department of Archives and History inMontgomery on February 3, 2011 (Figure 1-10). Prior to the meeting, and with support from a separategrant from the National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program, we conducted anarchaeological survey at a Pintlala location on the Old Federal Road identified from historic maps asManack’s Store (also known as Moniac’s stand or tavern). The artifacts recovered from that surveysupported the location as the tavern site. Jeff Benton, author of The Very Worst Road, was present at themeeting and offered his knowledge of the Old Federal Road through Montgomery County. Gunther Guy,17

newly appointed Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,owns a section of the Old Federal Road from Highway 31 to Interstate 65 and offered us access to theland to document that part of the route. Weather conditions prevented us from touring the road that day.We returned to Montgomery County several times to met with these individuals and others, includingMark Dauber, preeminent photographer of the Old Federal Road.Figure 1-10. Alice Carter, Vicky Wilsford, Tim Wilsford, Charles Murrell, Greg Waselkov, John Scott, JeffBenton, and Gary Burton at the Old Federal Road meeting at the Alabama Department of Archives andHistory, Montgomery County, February 3, 2011.The meeting with Macon County residents took place on January 27, 2011 at Shorter City Hall(Figures 1-11 and 1-12). Robert Bowden, local history enthusiast and owner of the historic post office inShorter, helped organize the meeting hosted by Chief Sandor Maloy at the Shorter Police Department.Bill Segrist and Wade Segrist are long-time residents of Macon County and descendents of men whohelped maintain the old road. Bill Segrist is an old acquaintance of the current landowner of PolecatSprings and was able to obtain access to the land and spring, which we visited as a group. Wade Segristowns an 1839 central hall frame home near the Old Federal Road, which he graciously invited us to tourand photograph. Glenn Drummond, Macon County historian, guided us to Calebee Creek, Fort Decatur,Fort Hull, Warrior Stand, Creek Stand, and the Key Cemetery at Fort Bainbridge. The Old Federal Roadis difficult to follow through parts of Macon County because it deviates greatly from modern roads andruns through multiple private properties.18

Figure 1-11. Chief Sandor Maloy and Robert Bowden (L); Maloy, Bowden, Wade Segrist, and Bill Segrist(R) at the Old Federal Road meeting at the Shorter Police Department, Macon County, January 27, 2011.Figure 1-12. Wade Segrist in Shorter (L), and Glenn Drummond (R) at Fort Decatur monument, MaconCounty, January 27, 2011.On January 28, 2011, we met with Glenn Drummond and Newell and Phyllis Floyd at the Floyds’home in Opelika (Figure 1-13). Newell Floyd is an avid map collector and has devoted an entire buildingon his property to house his collection, which ranges from historic charts to modern road maps. Mr. Floydhas created multiple overlays of maps depicting the route of the Old Federal Road, as determined from19

various historical sources. Phyllis Floyd is also very familiar with the road in Russell County andaccompanied Henry DeLeon Southerland, Jr., co-author of The Federal Road through Georgia, the CreekNation, and Alabama, 1806-1836, on a tour of the road in the 1980s. Most of the Old Federal Roadthrough Russell County follows existing roads and is easily accessible. We began our tour at FortMitchell Historic Site on the Chattahoochee River and headed west, stopping along the road at Sand Fortand Uchee, and ending at Fort Bainbridge, where the Floyds identified the remnants of a structure as theKey residence, believed to be built on the site of Fort Bainbridge.Figure 1-13. Phyllis and Newell Floyd on the Old Federal Road, Russell County, January 28, 2011.20

The fieldwork completed to date has allowed us to ground verify much of our historical research.With the active assistance of local historical society members and other knowledgeable citizens, we wereable to accurately record large portions of the road, as well as numerous associated structures and sites.Due to the large-scale nature of this project and the substantial number of sites identified that warrantfurther investigation, much additional fieldwork is needed and hopefully will continue well after thecompletion of this report.21

Chapter 2Early History of the Old Federal RoadOriginsFor many years – probably for centuries – a trail ran from the vicinity of modern Montgomery,Alabama, where the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa form the Alabama River, southwestwardtoward the mouth of the Alabama near modern Mobile. Over much of this distance, an ancient pathfollowed ridges dividing the valley of the Alabama to the west from the valleys of the Conecuh andEscambia to the east, giving travelers a path largely unimpeded by streams, swamps and other naturalobstacles. European explorers and colonists noted the presence of Indian trails on divides betweendrainages throughout eastern North America. Information on this particular trail is remarkably sparse. Thebest early depiction appears on a map drawn by Baron de Crenay in 1733 from his compilation of surveysmade by French military officers over the previous three decades (Figure 2-1).Figure 2-1. Detail of Baron de Crenay’s 1733 map of French colonial Louisiana, showing Indian trails (inred) in the area that would later become southwestern Alabama (courtesy of the Centre Historique desArchives Nationales, Paris).22

De Crenay’s map is unique for his inclusion of both river courses and land routes to the Indiannations of the interior Southeast and is exceptional in its accuracy. British mapmakers would not achievethis level of detail until the 1770s. Nevertheless, De Crenay’s river routes are more accurate than histrails. He essentially shows two major trails east of the Alabama River – one near the river and anotherone some distance farther east, with two short east-west paths connecting them. The trail of most concernto us is the easternmost one leading from Fort Toulouse (in modern-day Wetumpka, Alabama), nestledamong the western Upper Creek Indian towns occupied by the Koasatis, Taskigis, and other peoplescollectively known to the French as the Alibamons or Alabamas. At the southern end of that long pathwas a location labeled Toüachas, the village site of the Toasa Indians, which today corresponds to thespot where Interstate-10 hits the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, in Daphne, Alabama.The routes of Indian trails across eastern North America remain poorly known. William E. Myerdevoted many years to the study of Indian trails across the early historic Southeast; his results werepublished posthumously in 1928. That thirty-page article remains the one in-depth treatment of the topic,yet his research was far from comprehensive and much remains to be done. Only within the boundaries ofmodern Tennessee did Myer manage to document trails in detail. Much good information on the locationsof early historic Indian trails in Alabama could be gleaned from early survey records and other sources, ifa dedicated researcher would take up that worthy task. At this time, however, all we can do is followMyer’s lead and note that an eighteenth-century path he called the Alabama-Mobile Trail generallycorresponded to the later Federal Road and presumably was its precursor. 1There are sporadic mentions of this path in accounts written by eighteenth-century Europeantravelers. The French in Mobile called the path “chemin des Alibamons,” for the Alabama Indiansresiding at its far end. In 1749 the military surgeon François Melisan reportedly died and was buried onthe path, and in 1759 Captain Jean-Baptiste Benoist Aubert, the new but ailing commander of FortToulouse, chose a week on horseback on the road over a two-month-long bateaux ascent of the river. 2In historic times, as in the days before the arrival of European colonists to the region, the trailsconnecting towns of the southeastern Indians served many purposes. They were travelled by huntingparties going to and from traditional deer and bear hunting grounds; war parties used the paths of theirenemies in search of vengeance and captives; and trade goods moved great distances, at first on the backsof human bearers and later on packhorses. Literate Europeans and Americans took the most interest in, orhad the best opportunities to observe, trade activities, and that explains most early accounts of theAlabama-Mobile path. Ancient traders carried marine shell from the coast and salt processed at the salinesprings north of Mobile northward to interior towns, where they exchanged those commodities for fine-23

quality stones, copper and mica from the mountains, special woods for bows, and innumerable other itemsof symbolic and utilitarian value. Historic traders drove packhorses laden with deerskins and other hidesand pelts out of the interior and left behind cloth, firearms, knives, and other manufactured goods. Despitethe attention given this exchange of goods, the flow of information throughout the region was just asimportant. News travelled quickly by means of these trails, and the southeastern Indians remainedremarkably well-informed about distant events. When speed was paramount, the more astute Europeanand American officials employed native runners to carry important correspondence overland, instead ofrelying on their own ship-borne mail systems linking the colonial-era coastal towns. 3The best account of travel on the Alabama-Mobile path was written by William Bartram, aQuaker naturalist from Philadelphia, who rode this very trail during a plant collecting trip to the coast in1775. 4 Bartram accompanied a group of traders returning to Mobile from the Upper Creek towns. Theyobtained the services of a Creek guide, “to set us in the great trading path for West Florida,” and departedearly in the morning. The mild-mannered naturalist later described the “mad manner” of travel practicedby the colonial traders: “they start all at once, the horses having ranged themselves in regular Indian file,the veteran in the van, and the younger in the rear; then the chief drives with the crack of his whip, and awhoop or shriek, which rings through the forests and plains, speaks in Indian, commanding them toproceed, which is repeated by all the company, when we start at once, keeping up a brisk and constanttrot, which is incessantly urged and continued as long as the miserable creatures are able to moveforward.” 5The party crossed the area known today as the Black Belt, so-called for the black soils derivedfrom decomposing chalk bedrock. Bartram noted how a rain rendered the road “very slippery.” They thenentered “a vast open forest” that extended for seventy miles. 6 Bartram’s description indicates oneimportant fact about this stretch of country, which was part of the Creek Nation during the eighteenth andearly nineteenth centuries. While many Indians and colonists were very familiar with the trail and thelands it crossed – and, indeed, local guides were essential if visitors like Bartram hoped to avoidbecoming lost – oddly enough no one lived along the trail. Once travelers left the Upper Creek towns,they would find no local residents to provide food, shelter, a fresh horse, or other assistance until theyreached the native and colonial settlements ringing the Mobile-Tensaw delta, some 150 miles to thesouthwest. No wonder European traders traversed this land they deemed “wilderness” as quickly as theycould.While much of this path followed the high ridges between drainages, which eased travelimmeasurably and surely must account for the trail’s long popularity, there were some places where24

During this territorial period, the federal government tried to impose the rule of law on a frontierpopulated by former Loyalists with no love for the United States and large Indian nations increasinglybeset by land-hungry American settlers. In fact, because the movement of Americans across the CreekNation was a constant source of friction between the two peoples, the U.S. government made a seriouseffort to control travel from the eastern states through the Creek Nation, down the Alabama-Mobile pathtoward Fort Stoddert and Natchez. According to Article 7 of the 1790 Treaty between the United Statesand the Creek Indians, “No citizen or inhabitant of the United States shall … go into the Creek country,without a passport first obtained from the Governor of some one of the United States, or the officer of theTroops of the United States commanding at the nearest military post on the frontiers, or such other personas the President of the United States may, from time to time, authorize to grant the same.” Much of theburden of controlling travel by U.S. citizens to the southwest fell to Benjamin Hawkins, appointedprincipal U.S. agent to the southern tribes by President Washington in 1796. He oversaw federal Indianpolicy for the next twenty tumultuous years from his home in the Georgia portion of the Creek Nation,and issued passports to a steadily increasing tide of travelers. 10During his many tours of the Creek Nation, Hawkins kept a travel journal, a “viatory,” in whichhe jotted down brief descriptions of geographical features encountered on Indian paths. Several segmentsof his viatory describe paths that would become the Federal Road. For instance, over the course of fivedays in June 1799, Hawkins rode from John Randon’s plantation in the Tensaw to Sehoy Weatherford’strading house among the Alabama towns of the Upper Creeks. Along the way he kept track of hispredominant compass bearing and noted his riding time between features, particularly the locations ofstreams and paths he crossed. His journey’s notes begin as follows:N. 1.20 + c. l. 10/. Hollow Creek1. + c. l. 15/ Turkey CreekThomas Foster edited Hawkins’ viatory for publication and interpreted his method of notation. FollowingFoster’s lead, these entries can be decoded as follows:Bearing North. At one hour twenty minutes, crossed Hollow [Holley] Creek, 10 feet wide, flowing left.At one hour, crossed Turkey Creek, 15 feet wide, flowing left.This sort of log is clearly not equivalent to a measured survey, since Hawkins’s travel bearings aregeneralizations and correlating travel time to distance traveled would depend upon terrain, weather, andother factors. Hawkins’s rate of travel on this path averaged about 3 miles per hour over about 50 hours ofriding. Despite its lack of precision, Hawkins’s viatory is our earliest detailed account of the path that26

would become the southern portion of the Federal Road, and it provides many insights into the nature ofthe Indian path before major alterations by Americans (see Appendix 1). 11As in Bartram’s day, no one lived along the path, although Hawkins did intersect eight otherpaths, which hints at the complexity of the trail network that once crisscrossed this uninhabited region. Hementioned by name only the Wolf Trail, referring to a major branch toward Pensacola “three minutes”beyond Burnt Corn Springs, and the “trading road,” also known as the Tuckaubatchee path (Figure 2-2).Of the 34 creeks and branches encountered on the path, just three – Limestone, Pintlala, and Catoma –were so wide as to pose challenges to travelers. In fact Hawkins found many streams and branches dryduring his June traverse. Although only passable in 1799 by foot or on horseback, Hawkins consideredthe Alabama- Mobile path and others documented in his viatory to be prime candidates for developmentinto roads. And that, we can safely assume, was Hawkins’s motivation to create his viatory in the firstplace. As the ranking U.S. official in the Creek Nation, all of his actions were driven by his certainty thatthe burgeoning population of the eastern states would expand westward. What better basis for roadsthrough a “wilderness” than a network of pathways refined over the centuries?Figure 2-2. Some trails through the southwestern part of the Creek Nation.27

When the United States seized upon an unexpected opportunity early in 1803 to acquire NewOrleans and Louisiana Territory by purchase from France, President Jefferson and other American leadersimmediately recognized the need for better communications with that strategic old town near the mouthof the Mississippi River and the already sizeable American population in the Natchez area. Defense ofthose far-flung U.S. territories was also a concern, since Spain still controlled the Gulf coastal strip fromBaton Rouge to St. Augustine, and British imperial ambitions yet threatened U.S. independence.Furthermore, separating the new American outposts far to the southwest from the densely settled parts ofTennessee and Georgia were thousands of square miles of sovereign Indian lands, the nations of theCreeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Cherokees. So linking the westernmost parts of the country with theeast coast by an ambitious program of road building suddenly became a priority for U.S. governmentofficials (Figure 2-3). 12Figure 2-3. Detail from Abraham Bradley’s 1796 A Map of the United States, showing an absence of postroads in the southwest during the earliest years of the United States.The Jefferson administration immediately developed plans for a network of roads throughoutMississippi Territory and the Indian nations of the southwest that would bind the newly acquired lands tothe eastern states. Widely-traveled Benjamin Hawkins played a key role in those plans. He and Return J.28

Meigs (U.S. agent to the Cherokees) argued successfully for immediate development of a federal postalroad through the Creek and Cherokee nations, from Georgia to Tennessee. 13 Hawkins’s influence is alsoevident in an 1803 proposal for a mail route from Washington, DC, through the Creek Nation to NewOrleans, a route then estimated to be 500 miles shorter than the current route, which crossed theAppalachian Mountains to Nashville, then ran south via the Natchez Trace, some 1500 miles in all.Hawkins must have provided the details found in a House of Representatives resolution of December1803 that called for “a post road ... to pass through or near the Tuckaubatchee settlement, to theTombigbee settlement, in the Mississippi territory, and from thence to New Orleans; and also from thesaid Tombigbee settlement to Natchez.” 14The House resolution cited as a further advantage the proposed route’s passage “almost the wholeway through a country inhabited either by citizens of the United States, or friendly Indians.” In fact, assuggested by the restrictions on travel through their nation stipulated in the 1790 Treaty, there was littlesupport among the Creeks for easier access to their lands by Americans and their continued friendlinesscould not be assumed. Secretary of War Dearborn understood this impediment to a new road and inFebruary 1804 instructed Hawkins to raise the issue with Creek leaders. 15As those negotiations began, President Jefferson persuaded Isaac Briggs, recently appointedSurveyor General of Mississippi Territory, to return from Washington, DC, to his post near Natchez viathe Indian paths Hawkins had traveled a few years earlier. He would report to Jefferson on the true lengthof this potential mail route based on sound scientific measurements of important way points. Briggs was askilled surveyor and astronomer, a colleague of the eminent Andrew Ellicott, but he proved nofrontiersman. His journey across the Creek Nation nearly killed him. Nevertheless his reports to Jeffersonand his field notes reveal much about the difficulties of travel and surveying in that era.Briggs and his assistant Thomas Robertson entered the Creek Nation from Georgia on October 6,1804. They set off without a guide and immediately became lost, “wandering many miles astray in thewilderness” until coming upon the store of an Indian trader. In retrospect, Briggs wrote, “I had an ideathat I could pass through this country without a path or a guide, but when I mentioned it on the frontiersof Georgia it was scouted [that is, scornfully rejected] and laughed at.” Severe storms delayed the teamfor two days, during which “the ear could scarcely distinguish an interval between the sound of onefalling tree and that of another.” After failing, despite their best efforts, to procure a guide for the 60 milesto Hawkins’s Creek Agency, the hapless pair set out alone and again became lost. Briggs estimated theywandered at least 112 miles, “frequently climbing over precipices, wading through swamps, and crossingdeep and difficult water courses, many miles without a path, our horses greatly incommoded and fatigued29

y sensitive briers and other vines. Our provisions were soon wet and spoiled and we were in danger ofstarving, not having seen a human face except each other’s for more than four days. On the 15th wearrived at Col. Hawkins’s on Flint River.” 16After recuperating for five days, they set out with a packhorse, provisions and a guide (allprovided by Hawkins) and reached Point Comfort a week later, having covered just 120 miles “after ajourney the most laborious both to our horses and ourselves.” A heavy rain had swollen the rivers andstreams. “Our horses swam the Chattahoochee River from shore to shore, and six creeks between that andthis place. In short we arrived here much fatigued.” The surveyors rested a week at Point Comfort,Briggs’s name for one of Hawkins’s agency establishments south of Tuckaubatchee operated by hisassistant and interpreter, Alexander Cornells (Oche Haujo), the headman or mico of Tuckaubatchee.When asked about the efficacy of a road through the nation, Cornells “expressed a full concurrence withme in the opinion that facility of intercourse which such a road would occasion would be highlybeneficial to the red people as well as to the white,” certainly one of the few Creeks to hold that opinion.Continuing their journey on November 3, by the 9th they reached “the house of Nathaniel Christmas, onthe west side of Tombigbee River about two miles above its confluence with Alibama.” Of this laststretch, Briggs wrote: “From Point Comfort to Mobile river is (excepting a few swamps of no very greatextent, which must be causewayed) a fine, high, level, sandy ridge.” The pair delayed the last leg of theiradventure when news reached them from New Orleans of an outbreak of yellow fever that had taken thelife of Briggs’s younger brother. 17Considering the hardships Briggs and Robertson endured, their surveying accomplishmentsoffered a meager return. Their route map is no longer extant, but Abraham Bradley incorporated a sketchof the route into his 1812 map of post roads in the United States (Figure 2-4), based on SamuelBloomfield’s 1811 notes. These early maps were crude affairs, barely a step beyond the sort of mapHawkins could have made from his time and bearing log. Their major goal, at President Jefferson’sinsistence, had been to obtain accurate latitude and longitude calculations at a handful of points along theroute, so a precise distance between Washington, DC, and New Orleans could be calculated. Using theonly instrument available to him, a surveyor’s pocket sextant, Briggs calculated reasonableapproximations of latitude and longitude for three points along the paths that would become the FederalRoad – just three points! Briggs explained the difficulties of his task in a letter to Jefferson:When a single celestial object is observed with a large instrument, a small space of clearsky about that object, and for a moment, is sufficient. When two celestial objects arenecessary to the same observation (as for the longitude) both must be clearly seen at the30

same instant, and the chance of disappointment is more than fourfold: their altitudes mustbe taken as well as their distance, and when all must be done with one instrument, theserenity of atmosphere must be of some continuance. For taking an altitude on land, anartificial horizon, consisting of a reflecting fluid surface, is necessary; if this surface hasnot the protection (as mine had not) of a suitable transparent cover, a slight breeze willrender the whole observation abortive even in the clearest atmosphere. When theinstrument is small (as is that which I used) the operation in all its parts must be manytimes repeated for the greater certainty of a mean, which renders indispensable theconcurrence of all those favorable circumstances for at least an hour. Thus my chances ofdisappointment were multiplied almost beyond calculation. I was therefore soon reducedto the alternative of relinquishing the idea of ascertaining the position of any but the mostimportant places, or of protracting my report far beyond the proper period. I havefrequently sat nearly a whole night, exposed to a heavy dew, and in the day time forhours to a burning sun, in both cases without the protection of my hat, anxiouslywatching for a momentary interval of a little clear sky and calm atmosphere; and havebeen often at last disappointed. Considering these and many other exposures to heat, wet,cold, bad provisions, &c. it is a matter of wonder and of gratitude to a merciful God thatmy health was not sooner destroyed. 18Figure 2-4. Detail from Abraham Bradley’s 1812 A Map of the United States, showing the path across theCreek Nation derived from Samuel Bloomfield’s 1807-1811 notes (courtesy of David Rumsey HistoricalMap Collection).31

Briggs began at “the President’s House” (the White House) in Washington, DC, which hedetermined to be situated at 38˚ 53' 00" N Latitude, and for his survey purposes he established theLongitude there as 0° 00' 00" (corresponding to 77° 02' 12" W Longitude, by modern convention). Hiscalculations for Creek Nation landmarks yielded the following results:Hawkins’s agency on Flint River, GeorgiaPoint ComfortMouth of Alabama32° 39' 00" N Latitude, 07° 25' 11" W Longitude32° 23' 19" N Latitude, 09° 08' 38" W Longitude31° 06' 57" N Latitude, 11° 04' 48" W LongitudeThe Flint River Agency location, Hawkins’s gravesite, is well known and can serves as a checkfor us on Briggs’s calculations. The latter two are most important to us, since they fall along the FederalRoad in Alabama. Point Comfort’s location, however, is uncertain. Briggs offered ambiguousdescriptions of the place in his letters to Jefferson. On October 2, 1804 he described it as “About 2 milessouth of Tallapoosa river, and about 5 miles S.W. of the southeasternmost bend of the river,” laterbecoming the “southeasternmost projection of Tallapoosa River,” or “2 miles south of Tallapoosa River,and about 5 miles S.S.W. of the Town of Tookaubatchee.” 19 A few years later the Federal Road ran aboutsix miles south of the big bend of the Tallapoosa; Point Comfort might have been located near PolecatSprings, which is 6 miles south-southwest of the big bend and about 4 miles from the river. The 1812Bradley map that incorporates Briggs’s route unfortunately is no help in this regard, since it depicts PointComfort southeast of a clearly incorrect portrayal of the Tallapoosa River, although, perhaps significantly,Point Comfort is shown on the path and not on the river. As for the “Mouth of Alabama,” Briggs couldhave meant the Cut-off, where the Federal Road later crossed the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, but we assumehe meant the actual mouth of the river, about 4 miles northeast of Fort Stoddert. 20 If we convert Briggs’slongitudes to modern form, his calculations compare with modern locations as follows (Table 2-1).Table 2-1. Isaac Briggs’s latitude/longitude calculations (with longitudes corrected to modern values)compared with modern mapped locations.Briggs’s Surveyed Landmarks“the President’s House,” the White House(at 0° 00' 00" Longitude) in Washington, DC“Hawkins’s agency on Flint River, in Georgia”near Knoxville, Crawford County“Point Comfort” compared withPolecat Springs, Macon County, Alabama“Mouth of Alabama” River, at the confluencewith the Tombigbee RiverBriggs’s CalculatedLocations38˚ 53' 00" N Latitude[77° 2' 12" W Longitude]32° 39' 00" N Latitude[84° 27' 23" W Longitude]32° 23' 19" N Latitude[86° 10' 50" W Longitude]31° 6' 57" N Latitude[88° 7' 00" W Longitude]Modern MappedLocations38˚ 53' 52" N Latitude77° 2' 12" W Longitude32° 40' 00" N Latitude84° 05' 47" W Longitude32° 23' 40" N Latitude85° 53' 50" W Longitude31° 8' 21" N Latitude87° 56' 23" W Longitude32

In his latitude calculations Briggs came quite close to modern values, with a consistent southerlybias of generally less than 1 minute of latitude or about a mile. Surveyors in his day, however, had muchgreater difficulty determining longitude. Lacking better equipment, and in particular an accuratechronometer, surveyors like Briggs had to determine their position east-west by calculating GreenwichMean Time through astronomical observations. Attempting this famously difficult feat with a substandardinstrument introduced substantial error into Briggs’s longitude calculations, which were consistently tothe west by 11 to 21 minutes (and as many miles). In the end, Briggs’s principal accomplishment was hisdemonstration that a mail route across the Creek Nation would indeed shave off about 500 miles incomparison with the trans-Appalachian/Natchez Trace route then in use. Jefferson and others seem tohave discounted the difficulties Briggs encountered on his journey. Others would find the obstacles hedescribed in his travel across the Creek Nation to be quite real, the principal one being the Creeksthemselves. 21Building a Federal RoadBenjamin Hawkins and other U.S. officials recognized Indian objections to roads through theirlands and they worked assiduously to lay the groundwork for an expanded transportation network acrossMississippi Territory by negotiating new treaties with all of the southwestern Indian nations in 1805.Prominent among the treaty clauses were rights to establish “horse paths” across several of those nationsfor use by U.S. post riders, military troops, and other Americans. For example, Article 2 of the 1805Treaty with the Creek Indians reads as follows:It is hereby stipulated and agreed, on the part of the Creek nation that the government ofthe United States shall forever hereafter have a right to a horse path, through the Creekcountry, from the Ocmulgee to the Mobile, in such direction as shall, by the President ofthe United States, be considered most convenient, and to clear out the same, and lay logsover the creeks: And the citizens of said States, shall at all times have a right to passpeaceably on said path, under regulation and such restrictions, as the government of theUnited States shall from time to time direct; and the Creek chiefs will have boats kept atthe several rivers for the conveyance of men and horses, and houses of entertainmentestablished at suitable places on said path for the accommodation of travellers; and therespective ferriages and prices of entertainment for men and horses, shall be regulated bythe present agent, Col. Hawkins, or by his successor in office, or as is usual among whitepeople. 2233

Hawkins and the other American negotiators gained the assent of the Indian nations for these veryunpopular road clauses in the treaties by sweetening the deal for leaders who signed for their people. Bystipulating the chiefs as responsible for building and operating causeways, ferries, and “houses ofentertainment” along the horse paths, chiefs were sure to benefit handsomely from tolls, lodging fares,and tavern tabs. So great were expected profits that several Creek leaders tried to alter the route in placesto bring coveted traffic closer to their residences.While treaty language clearly anticipated eventual use of the “horse paths” by immigrants, forU.S. officials extending an efficient mail service into the southwestern territories was the most pressingneed. Dispatches sent between Washington, DC, and New Orleans by ship or overland by the long routethrough Tennessee and down the Natchez Trace routinely took a month or more in transit. The U.S. postalservice of this era depended upon private contractors for mail delivery. Therefore, in August 1806Postmaster General Gideon Granger contracted with Joseph Wheaton to establish a postal route betweenAthens, Georgia, and Fort Stoddert, Mississippi Territory, generally coinciding with the path followed foryears by travelers through the Creek Nation. Wheaton’s contract required him to open a 4-foot widebridle path or horse road, to span all swampy places with “causeways,” to fell trees as foot bridges acrossnarrow streams, and to encourage Indians to establish ferries at larger stream and river crossings. ByOctober his postal riders were expected to pick up the mail “from Coweta [on the Chattahoochee River]every Sunday at 2. AM & [have] delivered it at Fort Stoddert the next Tuesday by 10 P.M. in three daysnearly, to have left Fort Stoddert every Wednesday at 2 AM and delivered it at Coweta by next Friday at9 P.M.” 23 Contractor Wheaton soon found these tasks to be more difficult than either he or the PostmasterGeneral had imagined. Several separate parties of axe men cleared sections of the route in the fall of1806. At the north end, Wheaton and several of his men became seriously ill with fever and theyabandoned their clearing project after two weeks, without completing any bridges or causeways. Thisbrief experience in the wilderness seems to have discouraged Wheaton from further personal involvementin the project, and he determined to hire others to run the postal service. Zachariah McGirth, an Americanliving in the Creek Nation, momentarily agreed before realizing the impossibility of meeting the deliveryschedule. Wheaton then recruited another expatriate American, Samuel Bloomfield, to take thesubcontract. By mid-1807 an investigation by the Post Office Department concluded the “mail has in noinstance been carried in this time required by contract.” In fact, because Wheaton had offered his mailcarriers so little money to carry the mail through Indian country, “it was not even attempted.” 24 EvenPostmaster General Granger came to oppose additional “large expenditures in unsuccessful attempts to34

force rapid mail service through an immense wilderness filled with streams and marshes where nosustenance or aid can be given to either man or beast.” 25A regular mail route was eventually established through the Creek Nation due to the persistenceof Benjamin Hawkins. After Wheaton’s ineffectual effort to open a path, Hawkins worked with the U.S.military to make the route passable for horses, hired Creek Indians as post riders, and, most importantly,encouraged the Creeks to establish along the route those “houses of entertainment” called for in the treaty.Because the upper portion of the path passed close by existing native settlements, several prominentCreeks, such as William McIntosh at Coweta, took advantage of the business opportunities created by thenew road – just as U.S. treaty negotiators had hoped in 1805 – and opened their homes to travelers andpost riders. But the lower path toward Mobile had no permanent settlements. Hawkins, therefore,persuaded two wealthy Creeks to build houses along the path – Samuel Moniac at Pintlala and JamesCornells at Burnt Corn Springs – where post riders could at least rest under shelter and find fresh horses.Moniac’s place on the path, in particular, played a pivotal role in the history of the Federal Road and ofthe Creek Nation, so we will follow its story in some detail 26Samuel Moniac built a “place of entertainment” or “station” (using Hawkins’s terms) at a placecalled Pintlala in 1808 or 1809. 27 Its actual location was a few miles southwest of the Pintlala Creekcrossing, a short distance west of Pinchona or Pinchony Creek. Hawkins thought the primary function ofstations along the mail path should be to supply extra horses and fodder, which would enable riders toswitch to fresh mounts and keep the mail moving on its way. However, the incremental improvements tothe path accomplished on behalf of the Post Office Department made the route increasingly attractive tothe U.S. Army and to immigrants, a fact not lost on the Creek Indians. When Samuel Bloomfield, one ofWheaton’s former subcontractors, “entered with his waggon and team and commenced and built bridges”in 1810 on the upper path, the Creek National Council voiced a valid objection that the Treaty of 1805allowed only ferries across streams and logs over creeks, not bridges, which cut into the profits Indianscould derive themselves from ferry traffic and toll bridges along the path. 28The American military took the next provocative step toward road development in September of1810 when the regional military commander at Fort Stoddert conveyed an order from the Secretary ofWar to Lieutenant John R. N. Luckett to survey and clear the “Indian path East of Alabama to the forks ofCoosa and Tallapoosa,” purportedly so the government might acquire “a more correct knowledge of therivers and country than they have hitherto had.” 29 This detachment of a dozen or so soldiers from the 2ndU.S. Infantry Regiment wielded axes to clear the mail path once again, while Lt. Luckett used compassand surveyor’s chain to produce a bearing and distance survey, what Southerland and Brown called “the35

first simple, one-line or center-line survey for road construction in Alabama.” 30 A transcription ofLuckett’s journal is included in this report as Appendix 2.The lieutenant began his survey, not from Fort Stoddert, but at the mouth of Holly Creek, at aferry operated by Samuel Mims, whose house stood a few miles to the east. Luckett blazed trees withRoman numerals at the mile marks and noted the quality of soils and vegetation along the route, as well asthe locations and widths of streams and swamps. The need to constantly clear the same path will come asno surprise to anyone familiar with the undergrowth of southern forests, but it also suggests that traffic in1810 had declined from the levels witnessed by William Bartram at the height of the deerskin trade.Despite at least five years of use as a mail route, Luckett found the track difficult to follow; at one pointhe headed off on the wrong path for 17 miles before discovering his error and backtracking to Mile 10.On October 5th, the survey party’s 24th day on the job, near Mile 123 they crossed “a Road the Rightfrom my course leading to Maniac’s [sic] a wealthy half Breed.” Incidentally, Moniac’s house was notdirectly on Luckett’s path because the lieutenant had diverged westward from the Indian path at Mile 107,an innovation not followed by later road developers. Three miles further, just across the great “Palawla”[Pintlala] swamp, Lt. Luckett’s survey abruptly ended.Although the taciturn lieutenant’s journal entries simply stop without explanation, contemporaryaccounts reveal that his survey was halted prematurely by the Creek Indians. From his vantage point atthe Creek Agency in Georgia, Benjamin Hawkins learned on October 8th “that the party is coming onfrom Fort Stoddert with their compass and chain and the explanations they give not satisfactory to theIndians ... the whole of the upper towns are alarmed and probably will stop the detachment.” 32 A newsaccount published in the Georgia Journal a few days later reported Luckett’s party “arrested nearMannacs, (a half breed) by a party of 300 or more Indians.” 33In a meeting of Creek leaders hurriedly convened at Tuckaubatchee on October 23rd, Hawkinsand Luckett were told “the measuring and marking their country should be stoped for the present.”Another survey party led by Captain Edmund P. Gaines, who was mapping another route through thewestern part of the Creek Nation, was disarmed at about the same time and both detachments wereescorted back to Fort Stoddert. By the following October Hawkins managed to persuade the CreekNational Council to permit units of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Regiment to expand the horse path into a trueroad, widening and bridging and causewaying at a rate of about 5 miles per day. The two detachments,one working from the east, the other from the west, met near Moniac’s place on November 30, 1811, atwhich date the Federal Road finally became a reality. The ancient Indian path had been transformed. 343136

Traveling the Federal Road, 1811-1814From this time forward, civilian traffic on the Federal Road increased markedly. Hawkinsreported over 3,700 immigrants with 120 wagons, 80 carts, and 30 “chairs” moving west on the roadthrough the Creek Nation between October 1811 and March 1812. 35 The itinerant Methodist ministerLorenzo Dow and his wife Peggy Dow rode east that winter, and Peggy’s journal entries give us a raredescription of travel on the road in its earliest days.We were now in the bounds of the Creek nation: we were still without anycompany.—This day we struck the road that had been cut out by the order of thePresident, from the state of Georgia, to Fort Stoddard. This made it more pleasant fortravelling, and then we frequently met people removing from the States to the Tombigby,and other parts of the Mississippi territory.We travelled betwixt thirty and forty miles that day, and came to a creek, calledMurder creek: it got this name in consequence of a man having been murdered there. Thiscircumstance made it appear very gloomy to me. But we made the necessary preparationsfor the night, and lay down to rest: although I was so much afraid, I got so weary at timesthat I could not help sleeping. About twelve o’clock it began to rain so fast, that it waslike to put out our fire, and we were under the necessity of getting our horses and starting,as we had nothing to screen us from the rain. The road having been newly cut out, thefresh marked trees served for a guide—there was a moon, but it was shut in by clouds.However, we travelled on ten or twelve miles and it ceased raining: I was very wet andcold, and felt the need of a fire, more perhaps than I had ever done in my life before!...We came across a family who were moving to the Mississippi—they had a number ofsmall children; and although they had something to cover them like a tent, yet theysuffered considerably from the rain the night before: and to add to that, the woman toldme they had left an aged father at a man’s house by the name of Manack, one or two daysbefore, and that she expected he was dead perhaps by that time. They were as blackalmost as the natives, and the woman seemed very much disturbed at their situation. I feltpity for her—I thought her burthen was really heavier than mine. We kept on, and aboutthe middle of the day we got to the house where the poor man had been left with his wife,son, and daughter. A few hours before we got there, he had closed his eyes in death—they had lain him out, and expected to bury him that evening; but they could not get anything to make a coffin of, only split stuff to make a kind of box, and so put him in theground!...37

We stayed but a short time and continued on our journey. There we got a supply ofbread, such as it was; and there we met with three men that were travelling our road, thefirst company that we had found since we had left the Mississippi, being now not morethan one-third of the way through the Creek nation. 36The Dows reached Milledgeville, Georgia, a few weeks later and Peggy noted in herjournal “while we were here the earthquakes began, which alarmed the people very much.”These were the first of the New Madrid earthquakes, the most powerful tremors to strike theeastern United States in historic times. They began on December 16, 1811, which helps us datePeggy Dow’s visit to Moniac’s house on the Federal Road. Her account also suggests how basicwere the amenities available to travelers at this station – “bread, such as it was”; no sawn planksfor a coffin. 37Travelling the Federal Road in these early days entailed accepting a certain amount ofrisk. There were always chances of accident, drowning, snakebite, illness – and the rarerpossibility of injury inflicted by others. In 1805 a post rider named Webb, while “walking afterhis horse” along the path “in an open plain with a cluster of plumb trees only near him ... wasfired on from behind the plumb trees” about four miles from Catoma, not far from Pintlala. “Hesaw no one; as soon as he was wounded he fell down and fainted.... His saddle bags and bag ofcorn were left untouched where he got on his horse. The mails were gone and the staples of thesaddle drawn to which they were attached.” 38 Webb recovered, but mail riders were often thetarget of thieves, and seemingly random attacks on others occurred now and then as well.On March 26, 1812, Thomas Meredith, “a respectable old man traveling with his familyto Mississippi Territory was murdered on the post road at Kettoma,” one of several murders byCreeks of Americans travelling through Indian country that spring.39 Over the years, as the horsepath for mail riders had been widened and improved for the increasing stream of Americanimmigrants moving through the Creek Nation, opposition to the Federal Road had steadilyincreased among the Creeks. Now with war imminent between the United States and Britain,many Indian peoples felt the time was fast approaching for decisive action against theAmericans and against the Indian headmen who had signed treaties allowing road constructionand otherwise abetted American interference in Indian sovereignty. The murder of ThomasMeredith became a high-profile violent symbol of the growing rift between the United Statesand the Native American nations within its borders, and a significant cause of the Creek War of1813-1814.38

According to Hawkins, “Thomas Meredith, son of the deceased, who was an eye witnesssays ‘There was murder commited on the body of Thomas Meredith Senior at Kettoma [actually,Pinchona] Creek by Maumouth and others who appeared to be in Liquor, that is Maumouthhimself but not the others. The company was all on the other side of the Creek except my fatherand an other old man. They fell on him without interruption and killed him dead as he was tryingto make his escape in a canoe, and sorely wounded the other with knives & sticks so much that Ifear we shall have to bury him on the way.’” Hawkins added that “Sam Macnac a half breed oflarge property who keep entertainment on the road, at whose house Meredith is buried, calls it an‘accident.’” 40The Creeks at that time generally considered violent acts carried out while under theinfluence of alcohol to be accidents, not intentional crimes. However, by 1812 the CreekNational Council was being pressured by the U.S. government, through its agent BenjaminHawkins, to accept American legal norms, which held a murderer responsible for a murder,whether drunk or sober. And in fact the National Council had Maumouth and his friendsexecuted for their attack on Meredith and his companion. As historian Gary Burton explains,“perhaps Moniac felt some degree of responsibility for Meredith’s death because Maumouth andhis party had acquired their liquor from his tavern.... [Moniac] had every reason to suggest thatthe Meredith atrocity was accidental because he knew that an investigation of the incident,followed by friendly Creeks pursuing, apprehending, and executing other Creeks, would deepenthe internal divisions and put him at risk. Ultimately, the labeling of the killing as a murdercould result in the loss of everything Moniac had accumulated and could lead to the decrease inhis standing within the Creek nation itself. Of course Moniac’s fears would eventually becomereality.” 41Despite the notoriety of the Meredith murder, it had little immediate impact on travelalong the Federal Road. Ten days afterwards, Hawkins reported “our road is crowded withtravelers, six waggons, 4 carts, 12 chairs and 90 persons passed here today.” 42 Over the course ofthe next year, however, discontent with the Americans and a religious revival among the Creeksknown as the Redstick movement led to a civil war in the Creek Nation. By June 1813,Americans living on the borders of the Creek Nation feared the Redstick uprising would turninto a general war along the entire western frontier. On June 2nd, General James Wilkinson ofthe U.S. Army was traveling to Georgia on the Federal Road with his family when he stopped“near Macnac’s” to compose a quick note to be conveyed to Hawkins by post rider. Wilkinsonhad received disturbing news from the Speaker of the Creek National Council, who was39

esieged by Redsticks at Tuckaubatchee and requested assistance from the Americans. Thegeneral and his party made it safely through the nation to Georgia, but they must have beenamong the last travelers to stop at Moniac’s house on the road. 43Soon afterwards Moniac, as he later recalled, “went up to my house on the road, and found someindians camped near it, who I tried to avoid but could not. An Indian came to me who goes by the nameof High Headed Jim.... He shook hands with me & immediately began to tremble & jerk in every part ofhis frame, and the very calves of his legs would be convulsed.” 44 High Headed Jim was an adherent of thenew Redstick religious movement who thought they could discern unbelievers, like Samuel Moniac, bythis violent reaction to their touch. Within days of the encounter, Moniac’s plantation on the AlabamaRiver and his house on the Federal Road lay in ashes, destroyed by Redstick Creeks, who included hisbrother, sister, and brother-in-law. 45Historical sources and archaeological investigation of Samuel Moniac’s place on the FederalRoad gives us some clues as to it appearance and the nature of accommodations at that early era. 46Because he participated actively alongside the American army in the ensuing Redstick War against manyof his relatives and countrymen, Moniac successfully petitioned Congress for compensation for propertyhe lost during that conflict. His “Statement of property destroyed” by the Redstick Creeks includes hisplantation on the river and his house along the Federal Road. Moniac was one of the wealthiest Creeks ofhis era, and his river plantation was among the largest in the Creek Nation. Yet he did not liveostentatiously and most of his stated wealth consisted of his investments in livestock and enslavedAfricans. Unfortunately for our purposes, this inventory of his material possessions does not distinguishbetween the two locations. River plantation and Federal Road house furnishings and equipment areintermingled in a single list. However, we can surmise some of his large quantities of coffee, sugar, andwhiskey were lost at the house on the road. The lists of cooking utensils (10 iron pots, 2 Dutch ovens, 4tin kettles) and food serving vessels (2 dozen earthen plates, 2 dozen cups and saucers, half dozentumblers, half dozen tin cups) are surprisingly sparse, considering the size of his plantation household,with over thirty slaves, plus relatives, employees, and travelers stopping nightly along the road. Themention of just one bedstead and two feather beds suggests that travelers had to carry their own bedding.The meager collection of artifacts found during archaeological excavations at the Federal Road residenceincluded small quantities of pottery – some made by Creek Indian women, but most imported fromEngland – a few unclenched nails, and some cast iron kettle parts, all consistent with spartanaccommodations for travelers.40

Moniac’s “Statement of property destroyed” does tell us something more. His “Dwelling House,”valued at $230, was evidently his principal residence located at the river plantation, where he had $190 incash and where his cotton gin house and machinery, worth $220, were burned. Far down the inventory,with a $6 barrel of salt and two corkscrews worth 50 cents, was his “House on the Federal Road” valuedat $30. Judging by its low worth, this was, almost certainly, a notched log building, probably a dogtrotstylelog house so popular at that era in the region among Creeks as well as Americans. The unavailabilityof planks at the Federal Road house to construct a coffin, noted by Peggy Dow in 1811, and thearchaeological find of unclenched nails strengthens the impression of a simple log structure.One historical reference indicates that Moniac had a cowpens in the vicinity of his house on theFederal Road. Creek-owned cattle usually roamed free in the woods, foraging at will for much of the year.Because unfenced cattle would damage crops, most wealthy Creeks kept their cattle at some considerabledistance from the major settlements, which probably partially explains the isolated locations of both ofMoniac’s residences. Cowpens were small fenced enclosures where the normally free-ranging cattle couldbe rounded up as needed. Thomas Woodward, in a reminiscence written in 1858, recalled Moniac havinga cowpens “on the Pinchong creek,” referring to Pinchona Creek, immediately northeast of Moniac’shouse on the Federal Road. Woodward, Moniac, William Weatherford and some others went on a cowhunt there in the summer of 1814, just after the collapse of Redstick resistance, to find food for thedestitute and starving Upper Creeks. 47Traveling the Federal Road, 1814-1820With the defeat in March 1814 of a large Redstick force at Tohopeka, Horseshoe Bend, by anAmerican army led by Andrew Jackson, the Creek War ended except for continued skirmishing near thecoast by a few hundred recalcitrant Redsticks. During the war, civilian travel on the U.S. mail route andwagon road essentially came to a halt. Apart from a few intrepid dispatch riders (including ZachariahMcGirth, who had briefly considered contracting with Joseph Wheaton to carry the mail back in 1807),few Americans risked their lives to cross the Creek Nation during wartime. The road mainly functioned asa conduit for American armies marching into the nation. Samuel Moniac guided General Claiborne’sforces up the road to attack the Redstick stronghold of Holy Ground in December 1813. General Floyd’sGeorgia militiamen made two forays along the road from the east in November 1813 and January 1814,followed by a Carolina militia army in mid-April. Those invading American forces built forts –Claiborneand Deposit in the south and Mitchell, Hull, Bainbridge (Figure 2-5), Burrows, and Decatur in the east –that remained important landmarks for years to come. With the formal conclusion of hostilities by theTreaty of Fort Jackson, signed August 9, 1814, the Creek Nation ceded 21,086,793 acres of land to the41

Americans, retaining only that portion of the Federal Road from Fort Mitchell on the ChattahoocheeRiver westward to Line Creek (the modern boundary between Macon and Montgomery counties). Abouthalf of the area that would become Alabama suddenly opened for settlement. With the Federal Road againsafe for travel by Americans, immigration soared. 48Figure 2-5. General Joseph Graham’s 1814 sketch of Fort Bainbridge on the Federal Road (at bottom)(courtesy of Graham Papers, North Carolina Department of Archives and History).Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Margaret Eades Austill, who had been a young girlduring the Creek War, reminisced about those heady days of her childhood, to the “last of [Eighteen]Fourteen” when “all the people were gay, money was plenty, and the people were pouring in by thethousands.” The land rush that ensued over the next five years came to be known as “Alabama Fever,” ascramble for land, newly acquired by the U.S. government, that was to be surveyed and sold toprospective farmers, or in many cases to speculators, as quickly as possible to pay for the debt incurred bythe country during the War of 1812. A key figure during the period was Thomas Freeman, U.S. SurveyorGeneral for this region of Mississippi Territory, and for Alabama Territory from 1817 to 1819. Freemandirected a team of assistants in laying out the townships, ranges, and mile-square sections in the initialsurvey of public lands, which included all of the lands recently ceded by the Creeks. The township platsfrom this first official public land survey – which we refer to as the Freeman plats – provide an invaluableand accurate description of the landscape, including in many cases the route of the Federal Road, on theeve of American settlement in central and southwestern Alabama. Freeman plats covering most of the42

Federal Road west of Line Creek are held by the General Land Office, but unfortunately theaccompanying field notes are no longer extant, having been lost in a fire in 1822. We have georeferencedthe Freeman plats to modern topographic maps using the Geographical Information System (GIS)program ArcMap, and will refer to them throughout this report. 49Soon after the war, Samuel Moniac rebuilt his house on the Federal Road, although preciselywhen remains uncertain, as is the duration of his re-occupation. Historian Karl Davis thought Moniac losthis place on the road “in 1816 in part because of anti-Indian attitudes prevailing in the area”. 50 TheFreeman survey plat showing “Manack’s Store” was drawn in 1816 or 1817 (Figure 2-6), and Moniacapparently still owned his place there in 1818 when he brought “twenty or more” Creek hunters to the aidof state militia gathering at Burnt Corn Springs to defend American settlements against the depredationsof Savannah Jack, a renegade who was committing murders along the Federal Road. There is also amention of the “path from Manacs” at that time. Maxmillian C. Armstrong’s service as postmaster of thelocal post office at “Manacks” late in 1818 suggests the name by then referred to an American settlementthat had formed around the old Federal Road station. The departure of Moniac and his family hadcertainly occurred by early 1819, when death threats against all Creeks living on ceded lands promptedthe state militia to escort frightened Creeks into the Nation. 51Figure 2-6. Location of Samuel Moniac’s house (Manack’s Store) on U.S. Surveyor General ThomasFreeman’s circa 1816-1817 plat for Township 14 N, Range 17 E (courtesy of the General Land Officewebsite: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov).43

By the time Adam Hodgson, an English traveler, passed through on his way south to Mobile in1820, he made no mention of Moniac or his house of entertainment, which had featured so prominently inearlier letters and travelers’ journals. Hodgson’s account does provide a good description of the originalprairie environment and sticky chalk soils of the Pintlala area. “We soon opened on some of the beautifulprairies which you have frequently seen described, and which, as they were not large, reminded me of ourmeadows in the well wooded parts of England. As travelers, however, we paid dearly for the advantagesoffered to the landholders by the rich soil over which we were passing. Our road, which had hitherto beengenerally excellent for travelling on horseback, became as wretchedly bad; and we passed through threeswamps, which I feared would ruin our horses…. These swamps are ten times more formidable than eventhe flooded creeks, over two of which, in less than three miles, we had this day to have our horses swumby Indians, whose agility in the water is beautiful. The traveler himself is either conveyed over in a boat,or, if the creek is very narrow, crosses it on a large tree, which has been so dexterously felled as to fallacross and form a tolerable bridge. We slept that night at a poor cabin just erected....” 52Immense changes to the cultural landscape occurred along the Federal Road during the periodfrom 1814 to 1820. One direct consequence of the Creek War and the War of 1812 was a militarization ofthe Gulf coast region. The Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812 failed to resolve many of the war’scauses and tensions ran high along the Canadian border as well as in the south. Specifically, Floridaremained in Spanish hands, where numerous Creeks and Seminoles found refuge and remained activelyopposed to the United States. Continued British efforts to support their former Indian allies in Floridaraised concerns in the U.S. that the British invasion repelled at New Orleans in 1815 had not extinguishedBritish aspirations for the Gulf coast. In response, the Americans concentrated one-quarter of their postwararmy in just two locations, on the New York-Ontario border and immediately adjacent to the borderof Spanish Florida, north and west of Pensacola.In 1814, as General Jackson prepared for an invasion of Spanish Florida, the U.S. militaryabandoned Fort Stoddert and established Fort Montgomery east of the Mobile-Tensaw delta, about 2miles from the site of ill-fated Fort Mims (Figure 2-7). The 39th U.S. Infantry Regiment, commanded byLt. Col. Thomas Hart Benton, began construction in August of a stockade fort on Holmes’s Hill “as ameans of giving greater security to the settlers on the East side of the Mobile & alabama rivers,”according to Jackson topographical engineer, Major Howell Tatum. By the end of October Jackson hadassembled his army of 4,400 men there for his march on Pensacola, which he besieged and captured.Although political exigencies forced his withdrawal, the U.S. Army retained a significant presence at FortMontgomery until 1818, and from 1817 until 1820 at Cantonment Montpelier, a few miles up the FederalRoad. 5344

Figure 2-7. Detail from John Melish’s Map of Alabama Constructed from the Surveys in the General LandOffice and Other Documents (Philadelphia: 1818), showing Forts Stoddert, Mims, Montgomery, andClaiborne in relation to the “Federal Road to Georgia” (courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives andHistory, Montgomery).Besides the perceived geopolitical threat posed by a foreign-held colony on the southern U.S.border, sporadic hostilities continued for some years in the southern reaches of the Federal Road thatjustified a continued strong American military presence. From the American perspective, these events aregenerally characterized as murders of settlers by small roving bands of Creek Indians. In February 1816two settlers named Johnson and Magasky were killed near Fort Claiborne; in July 1817 a man called Mr.Glass was murdered at Burnt Corn Springs; and, most famously, many members of the Ogle and Stroudfamilies were murdered in 1818. All were attributed to renegade bands of Creeks. After each event, thegovernor called out the state militia, which attempted to capture or kill the perpetrators who kept thefrontier in turmoil. After the last of these outrages, Colonel Sam Dale constructed a small stockade withtwo blockhouses around a settler’s cabin at a place thereafter called Fort Dale, just northwest of moderndayGreenville. In July of that year, citizens of Alabama Territory seized and hung five captive Creeks(including the famous Paddy Welch) being transferred from Fort Claiborne to Fort Montgomery via theFederal Road; those deaths caused most Creeks remaining in the ceded lands to flee to the Nation. 5445

Federal Involvement in the Federal RoadPostal service, the delivery of U.S. mail, was of course the original motivation for creation of theFederal Road, and it provided a means, however imperfect, for transmission of the mail from the earliestdays of the horse path starting at least by 1805. As we have already seen, creating a dependable and rapidmail system remained an elusive goal in the pre-war years. After the Creek War, however, mail servicequickly became routine. A “Poastal-Route Advertisement” dated June 20, 1818, lists two routes (229 and231) on the original Federal Road, as well several others on popular branches off the road to FortClaiborne, St. Stephens, and Blakeley. Route 229 ran “from Coweta, by Fort Bainbridge, Fort Hull,Tuckabatchy, Lime Creek, Pleasant Level, Philadelphia and Manacs, Whetstone Hill, 141 miles, twice aweek,” leaving Coweta on the Chattahoochee at 2 PM every Tuesday and Friday and arriving atWhetstone Hill by 6 PM on Friday and Monday. This was a much more relaxed schedule than PostmasterGeneral Granger had envisioned in 1805, but it better suited the conditions of this particular post road.The normalization of mail service in Alabama Territory is reflected in the establishment of eight postoffices along the Federal Road and its major branches by 1819 (Table 2-2); in 1805 there had been justtwo, at St. Stephens and Fort Stoddert. 55 By 1828 additional post offices operated at Bainbridge, CreekPath, Greenville, Longmire’s Store, Suggsville, and Tensaw, while Manacks had moved to Pintlala. 56Table 2-2. Post Offices on the Federal Road in Alabama Territory, 1819 (listed from north to south).Post Office Postmaster First ReturnLine Creek James Abercrombie July 17, 1819Manacks Maxmillian C. Armstrong Aug. 21, 1818Fort Dale John Herbert Oct. 12, 1818Burnt Corn Springs William James Oct. 26, 1817Fort Claiborne John Watkins July 2, 1818St. Stephens John G. Lyon Nov. 1, 1816Fort Stoddert Harry Toulmin Feb. 1, 1819Blakely Samuel Haines April 21, 1818Despite the name “Federal Road,” maintenance costs for the road remained the responsibility ofthe federal government only through the territorial period. Between 1806 and 1809, creation of a horsepath had cost the United States $5,500 of the $13,800 appropriated by Congress, but of course that initialeffort was a failure. 57 Figures for the U.S. Army’s costs to convert the horse path to a wagon road in 181046

and 1811 have not been found. In 1817, the Secretary of War directed $5,000 to David Mitchell,Benjamin Hawkins’s replacement at the Creek Agency for building and keeping in repair the road andbridges between Fort Hawkins in Georgia and old Fort Stoddert, and an equal amount was allocated toprivate contractors. U.S. Army troops were tasked with road building, when other means provedineffective. State and federal officials also considered plans to improve the route by shortening thedistance or shifting the road to avoid swamps and major river crossings. But none of this happened andeven simple bridge building proved nearly impossible to accomplish, because, according to Mitchell, “thepeople in that quarter are so much engaged in clearing land and making Plantations that they will not forany reasonable compensation detach their hands from that object.”No wonder Israel Pickens wrote homefrom St. Stephens in 1818 that he had just endured “a tedious and unpleasant journey with my family overthe almost impassable road which leads from Georgia here.” 58Once Alabama achieved statehood in 1819, most expenditures for maintenance of the FederalRoad fell to state and county officials. An early act of the Alabama legislature specified how public roadswere to be maintained.Chapter 5: An Act to reduce into one the several Acts concerning Roads, Bridges,Ferries, and Highways. – Passed December 21, 1820.Sec. 1. Be it enacted ... That all public roads and highways in the several countiesof this state, that have been laid out or appointed by virtue of any act of the generalassembly heretofore made, or by virtue of any act of court, are hereby declared to bepublic roads; ...Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That all free white male persons, between eighteenand forty-five years of age, and all male slaves, and other persons of colour over eighteenand under fifty years of age, shall be liable, and it is hereby made their duty to work on,clear out, and repair the public roads of this state, under such provisions and regulationsas are herein after made: Provided nevertheless, That no licensed ministers of the gospel,or instructors of public and private schools, shall be liable to work on public roads. 59Enforcement of these and later provisions became the purview of county road commissions by the 1830s.Later History of the Federal RoadHistory is still being made along the Federal Road, which remains in use today in many locationsacross central and southern Alabama. As the following chapters demonstrate, the Federal Road has alasting importance today in the memories of those who grew up and lived along it. For a fascinating47

overview of the road and those who traveled it in the nineteenth century, we refer you to two fine booksby Henry DeLeon Southerland, Jr., and Jerry Elijah Brown’s The Federal Road through Georgia, theCreek Nation, and Alabama, 1806-1836 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1989) and Jeffrey C.Benton’s The Very Worst Road: Travellers’ Accounts of Crossing Alabama’s Old Creek Indian Territory,1820-1847 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2009). The rest of this report includes detaileddescriptions of the path of the original Federal Road and its major branches, brief histories of some of thesignificant historical and archaeological sites and structures along the route of the Federal Road, as wellas anecdotes recalled by some modern day inhabitants of the communities that still line the route of theold “horse path.”1 William E. Myer, “Indian Trails of the Southeast,” in Bureau of American Ethnology, Forty-second AnnualReport, 1924-1925 (Washington, DC; Government Printing Office, 1928); see, in particular, 748 and Trail 125 onPlate 15. For a more recent overview of the subject, see Helen Hornbeck Tanner, “The Land and WaterCommunication Systems of the Southeastern Indians,” in Powhatan’s Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast,revised edition, edited by Gregory A. Waselkov, Peter H. Wood, and Tom Hatley (Lincoln, NE: University ofNebraska Press, 2006).2 Peter J. Hamilton, Colonial Mobile, revised 1910 edition, edited by Charles G. Summersell (Tuscaloosa, AL;University of Alabama Press, 1976), 192.3 Benjamin Hawkins hired Indians runners to carry letters across the Creek Nation to Andrew Ellicott in 1799,paying them 25 cents per day; C.L. Grant, editor, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, two volumes(Savannah, GA: The Beehive Press, 1980), 281.4 Peter J. Hamilton, “Indian Trails and Early Roads,” pp. 422-429; Southerland and Brown, The Federal Road, 12-14; Gregory A. Waselkov and Kathryn E. Holland Braund, editors, William Bartram on the Southeastern Indians(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995), 256. All these authors concluded that Bartram’s route followed, moreor less, the course of the later Old Federal Road.5 William Bartram, Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, the Cherokee Country,the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the Choctaws; Containingan Account of the Soil and Natural Productions of Those Regions, Together with Observations on the Manners ofthe Indians (Philadelphia, PA: James & Johnson, 1791), 440-441.6 Bartram, Travels, 399-400.7 Bartram, Travels, 445.8 Bartram, Travels, 443.9 Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama, and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period,two volumes (Charleston, SC; Walker and James, 1851), I:179. For historical background, see Robert V. Haynes,The Mississippi Territory and the Southwest Frontier, 1795-1817 (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2010).10 Mary G. Bryan, Passports Issued by Governors of Georgia, 1810 to 1820, Special Publication no. 29(Washington, DC: National Genealogical Society, 1964); Dorothy Williams Potter, Passports of SoutheasternPioneers, 1770-1823 (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982), ix.11 H. Thomas Foster II, editor, The Collected Works of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1810 (Tuscaloosa, AL: Universityof Alabama Press, 2003), 37j-40j. This printed version was compared to the original for accuracy; BenjaminHawkins, “A Viatory or Journal of Distances and Observations by Col. Hawkins,” Series 8d, Entry 66, Item 314b,Peter Force Collection, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.12 For an excellent overview of the origins of the Federal Road, see Henry DeLeon Southerland, Jr., and Jerry ElijahBrown, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation, and Alabama, 1806-1836 (Tuscaloosa: University ofAlabama Press, 1989), 8-38.13 Tiya Miles, The House on Diamond Hill: A Cherokee Plantation Story (Chapel Hill, NC: University of NorthCarolina Press, 2010), 60-61, 207.48

14 Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin, editors, American State Papers, Class VII: Post Office Department(Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 28. See Briggs-Stabler Papers, MS 147, Mississippi Territorial Survey,Section IIIc, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD [hereafter MDHS].15 Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 5, The Territory of Mississippi,1798-1817 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1937), 306-307.16 Lowrie and Franklin, ASP, Post Office, 35-36. Quotes from Briggs to Thomas Jefferson, October 2, 1804, inBriggs-Stabler Papers, MS 147, Mississippi Territorial Survey, Section IIIc, MDHS.17 Ibid., 36-38. Quotes from Briggs-Stabler Papers, MS 147, Mississippi Territorial Survey, Section IIIc, MDHS,asfollows: Briggs to Thomas Jefferson, October 2, 1804 (“journey,” “horses,” “red people”); Briggs to Jefferson,November 26, 1804 (“Nathaniel Christmas”).18 Ibid., 37.19 Ibid., 37. Quotes from Briggs-Stabler Papers, MS 147, Mississippi Territorial Survey, Section IIIc, as follows:Briggs to Thomas Jefferson, October 2, 1804 (“About 2 miles”); Briggs to Jefferson, November 26, 1804(“southeasternmost projection”); September 26, 1804 entry in Survey Notebook (“S.S.W. of the Town”).In his journal, A Sketch of the Creek Country in the years 1798 and 1799, Benjamin Hawkins described the subagencyat Point Comfort: “Near one of the bluffs [south of Tuckaubatchee] there is a fine spring, and near it abeautiful elevated situation for a settlement. These hills westwardly are terminated by a small branch and the flatland spreads out for one mile. Below this branch ¼ of a mile is the residence of Oche Haujo (Mr. [Alexander]Cornells), and ½ mile still lower the public establishment; thence two miles to the mouth of Colebehatche…. At thepublic establishment there is a smith’s shop, a dwelling house and kitchen built of logs, and a field well fenced. Andit is the contemplation of the agent, to have a public garden and nursery”; Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings ofBenjamin Hawkins, I:291-292.20 Additionally, Briggs mentioned staying at the house of Nathaniel Christmas, which he said was 2 miles above theconfluence, so his reference to the mouth of the river seem unambiguous.21 Thomas Jefferson to A. J. Dallas, February 26, 1816, in Briggs-Stabler Papers, MS 147, Mississippi TerritorialSurvey, Section IIIc, MDHS. Briggs’s field notebook contains several pages of calculations made at the Flint RiverAgency and at Point Comfort. His night-time observations of the altitudes of several stars, including Lyra, Pollux,Rigel, α Orionis [Betelgeuse], α Aquila [Altair], Arcturus, and Aldebaran, indicated his chronometer ran around 10minutes slow. For a wonderful modern treatment of the longitude problem, see Dava Sobel, Longitude (New York,NY: Walker & Co., 1995).22 Charles J. Kappler, compiler and editor, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, vol. 2, Treaties (Washington, DC:Government Printing Office, 1904), 85-86.23 See Wheaton Papers, No. 4, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.24 Ibid.25 Quoted in Southerland and Brown, The Federal Road, 29.26 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 549.27 Not in 1803, as surmised by Southerland and Brown, The Federal Road, 95; Thompson 1991:611.28 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 561.29 Ibid., 568.30 Minutes of a Survey of the Indian Path or Road East of Alabama leading to or near the Fork or Junction of theCoosa and Tallapoosa, from thence by the Same Path to Highwassee, by Lt. John R. N. Luckett, Baldwin County,Mississippi Territory, September 12th, 1810; Record Group 77, National Archives and Records Administration,Washington, DC. Southerland and Brown, The Federal Road, 34.31 Luckett Field Survey Records, Record Group 77, National Archives.32 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 570.33 Anonymous, “From the Georgia Journal,” New-York Herald 924 (November 24, 1810):3.34 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 574-575, 577-578, 581, 590-591, 597, 599.35 From the Georgia Journal, March 25, 1812, in Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 602.36 Peggy Dow, Vicissitudes in the Wilderness; Exemplified in the Journal of Peggy Dow, 5th edition (Norwich, CT:William Faulkner, 1833), 59-60.37 Ibid., 61-62; May Ida Chase, The Old Federal Road in Alabama, MA thesis, Department of History (Birmingham,AL: Birmingham-Southern College, 1936), 51-52.38 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 497-498.39 Ibid., 605.40 Ibid.49

41 Gary Burton, “Pintlala’s Cold Murder Case: The Death of Thomas Meredith in 1812,” The Alabama Review 63 (3,July 2010),179.42 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 605-606.43 H. S. Halbert, and T. H. Ball, The Creek War, 1813 and 1814 (Chicago, IL: Donohue & Henneberry, 1895), 88-89; Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 642-643.44 Halbert and Ball, The Creek War, 1813 and 1814, 91-93.45 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 643.46 Anonymous, An Act for the Relief of Samuel Manac, also, of an Act for the Relief of Certain Creek Indians, 20thCongress, 1st Session, House Document No. 200 (20-1), Serial Set 173 (Washington, DC: Gales & Seaton, 1828);Raven Christopher, Gregory Waselkov, and Tara Potts, “Archaeological Testing along the Federal Road: Exploringthe Site of ‘Manack’s Store,’ Montgomery County, Alabama” (Mobile, AL: Center for Archaeological Studies,University of South Alabama, 2011).47 Thomas S. Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians, Contained in Letters toFriends in Georgia and Alabama (Montgomery, AL: Barrett & Wimbish 1859), 81.48 Gregory A. Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (Tuscaloosa:University of Alabama Press, 2006), 159-160, 164-170.49 Margaret Ervin Austill, “Life of Margaret Ervin Austill,” Alabama Historical Quarterly 6 (Spring 1944), 98. Aspart of this ALDOT project, Freeman’s plats were downloaded from the General Land Office (GLO) websitehttp://www.glorecords.blm.gov.50 Karl Davis, ‘Much of the Indian Appears’: Adaptation and Persistence in a Creek Community, 1783-1854, PhDdissertation (Chapel Hill, NC: Department of History, University of North Carolina, 2003), 174-175, 187.51 Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama,1817-1819 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1952), 290-291, 354, 508; Albert J. Pickett Papers,Pickett Family Papers (1779-1904), LPR185, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2, “Notes taken from a file of OldPapers in the State Department of Alabama relating to the Indian difficulties in 1818,” Interview Notes 11 – StateDepartment, and “Notes furnished A.J. Pickett by Mr Reubin Hill of Wetumpka in relation to the killing of CaptButler and others in Butler County Ala in 1818,” Interview Notes, 13 – Reubin Hill [1848] (Montgomery: AlabamaDepartment of Archives and History).52 Adam Hodgson, Letters from North America, two volumes (London: Hurst, Robinson & Co., 1824), I:139-140.53 Francis Paul Prucha, A Guide to the Military Posts of the United States, 1789-1895 (Madison, WI: State HistoricalSociety of Wisconsin, 1964), 92, 109; Francis Paul Prucha, Atlas of American Indian Affairs (Lincoln, NE:University of Nebraska Press, 1990), 96-99, 162; Frank Lawrence Owsley, Jr., Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands:The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans, 1812-1815 (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1981), 112-113; Robert S. Quimby, The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study (East Lansing, MI:Michigan State University Press, 1997), 770, 792; Major Howell Tatum, Topographical Notes and Observations onthe Alabama river, August 1814, MSS S-1007 (New Haven, CT: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, YaleUniversity); Harold D. Moser, David R. Hoth, Sharon Macpherson, and John H. Reinbold, editors, The Papers ofAndrew Jackson, vol. 3, 1814-1815 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991), 132-133, 449, 450; ClarenceEdwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama, 1817-1819(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1952), 92-93; William H. Powell, A History of the Organization andMovements of the Fourth Regiment of Infantry, United States Army (Washington, DC: M’Gill & Witherow, 1871),14-16.54 Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama, and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period,two volumes (Charleston, SC; Walker and James, 1851), II:379-383; Carter, ed., The Territorial Papers of theUnited States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama, 1817-1819, 140-141, 290-291; Albert J. Pickett Papers, PickettFamily Papers (1779-1904), LPR185, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2, “Notes furnished A.J. Pickett by Mr ReubinHill of Wetumpka in relation to the killing of Capt Butler and others in Butler County Ala in 1818,” InterviewNotes, 13 – Reubin Hill [1848] (Montgomery: Alabama Department of Archives and History); Moser, Hoth, andHoemann, eds., The Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 4, 1816-1820, 30-31, 197-201230-231, 239-241; Thomas S.Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians (Montgomery, AL: Barrett & Wimbish,1859), 80.55 Carter, ed., The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama, 1817-1819, 354-355,507-509; Carter, ed., The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 5, The Territory of Mississippi, 1798-1817,342, 370.50

56 Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin, editors, American State Papers, Class VII: Post Office Department(Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 177-178, 207-208.57 Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin, editors, American State Papers, Miscellaneous Documents Legislative andExecutive (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 466-469.58 Carter, ed., The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama, 1817-1819, 178-179,186-187, 240 (Pickens quote), 374, 415-416, 424-425 (Mitchell quote), 470-471.59 Harry Toulmin, A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama (Cahawba, AL; Ginn & Curtis, 1828), 391-392.51

Chapter 3Mobile and Washington CountiesTracing the Old Federal RoadDavid Holmes, Governor of MississippiTerritory, authorized the organization of MobileCounty on August 1, 1812, from land annexed toMississippi Territory by Congress in May of the sameyear. Mobile County originally included, “all that tractof Country lying East of Pearl River, West of thePerdido, and south of the thirty-first degree of northlatitude.” 1 The land initially designated as such did notinclude the northern portion of the modern county.Lands north of the 31 st parallel, including FortStoddert, belonged to Washington County, and thenBaldwin County, until 1820 2 The boundaries of thecounty were further modified by several subsequent actsof the legislature to form its present state (Figure 3-1).Figure 3-1. Map of Alabama, highlighting Mobileand Washington counties.Fort Stoddert served as the western terminus for the earliest route of the Federal Road. To reachthe fort, post riders and travelers boarded a ferry at the mouth of Holley Creek in Baldwin County andnavigated down the Alabama and Mobile rivers to the fort’s landing. Alternatively, travelers could ferryacross the Alabama River to Nannahubba Island, proceed by land across the island and take another ferryeither down the Mobile River directly to Fort Stoddert or across the Mobile River to a landing 7 milesnorth of the fort, then travel by land to the fort. A road connecting Fort Stoddert and St. Stephens,territorial capital until 1819, existed at least as early as 1802 and became a branch of the Federal Road.Travelers destined for Mobile had the option at Fort Stoddert to make the journey by water or land. Theland route headed due south, parallel with the general course of the Mobile River, to Mobile. Additionalroads led west from Fort Stoddert toward New Orleans and from St. Stephens to Natchez (Figure 3-2).Congress approved an act on March 3, 1805 to establish a post road from Fort Stoddert to NewOrleans. The initial path suffered from a considerable number of natural obstacles, mainly waterways andswamps. Nine short months after the paths initiation as a postal route, a new and less formidable path wascut. Postmaster General Granger placed the task of surveying the new route in the hands of Lt William52

Piatt at Fort Stoddert. Piatt was instructed to find a route requiring as little expenditure as possible. Themost efficient way to save money was to avoid building large bridges. Granger urged Piatt to use logswhen possible to cross creeks: “wherever a log can be thrown across a creek or gut so as to permit therider to walk over safely and swim his horse along side of it, that method of bridging must be adopted.”The mail was to be conveyed from Fort Stoddert to New Orleans at the rate of 120 miles in 24 hours, withrelief horses stationed every 30 miles. 3Figure 3-2. Federal Road and Branches in Mobile and Washington counties in the vicinity of FortStoddert.53

The secondary routes associated with the Federal Road in Mobile and Washington counties wereidentified from historic maps, survey plats, Fletcher Hale’s maps, and historic aerial photographs. One ofthe earliest maps to depict Fort Stoddert and St. Stephens was created around 1802 by an unknownmapmaker (Figure 3-3). This pen and ink sketch portrays settler homes along the Tombigbee and Tensawrivers, with family names keyed to homesites. Although the map does not show a road, the location of onecan be inferred from the linear settlement pattern between the two places. Abraham Bradley’s 1812 postalroutes map (Figure 3-4) depicts the road from Fort Stoddert to New Orleans established in 1805, andpresumably the Federal Road branch running north-south between Fort Stoddert and Fort Stephens (i.e.,St. Stephens), corresponding to the route inferred from the 1802 map. This location of the Federal Roadgenerally coincides with its portrayals in later decades.Figure 3-3. Detail of Anonymous map of the “Tombeckby and Tensaw” settlements, circa 1802 (courtesyof Library of Congress).54

Figure 3-4. Detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 Postal Route Map of the United States, showing roadsemanating from Fort Stoddert (courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection).Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map identifies roads extending from Fort Stoddert north to St. Stephens,west to New Orleans, and south to Mobile (Figure 3-5). John Melish’s 1818 map, based largely onsurveys available from the General Land Office, depicts similar roads (Figure 3-6). Maps created byWilliam Darby in 1824 and by John LaTourette in 1838 also show these roads extending from FortStoddert (Figures 3-7 and 3-8). All of these maps are drawn at a relatively large scale, which diminishestheir usefulness to us in pinpointing the precise locations of roads. But they do seem to conform in theirgeneral depictions of roads. Additional sources were consulted for more detailed route locations.55

Figure 3-6. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory, showing roads emanating from FortStoddert and the nearby Florida settlement (courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History).56

Figure 3-7. Detail of William Darby’s 1824 map of Alabama, showing the vicinity of Fort Stoddert, labeled“Florida,” after the settlement near the fort site.Figure 3-8. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama, showing roads in the vicinity of the FortStoddert site (courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection).57

More precise locations of the roads extending from Fort Stoddert to St. Stephens, Mobile, andNew Orleans can be determined by examining Fletcher Hale’s map of Mobile County (Figure 3-9) and1938 aerial photographs. Hale was a county engineer in Monroe County whose passion throughout thelate 1930s and 1940s was to trace the Old Federal Road as precisely as he could. He created a series ofdetailed maps of the road based largely on his interpretations of roads and road traces visible on theground and on aerial photographs taken in the 1930s and 1940s. So of course his maps correspond closelyto the road system visible on the 1938 aerial photographs available to us. We first compared the roadsidentified by Hale on his Mobile County map to the historic aerials, then to modern aerial photographs.We also made adjustments to account for any alignment issues resulting from georeferencing his mapswith the aerial photos. Historic survey plats were consulted as well, but they did not prove useful forMobile and Washington counties, since the earliest extant plats do not show roads. And, unfortunately,Hale did not map the Old Federal Road in Washington County. Two roads crossings, however, arementioned in Seth Pease’s 1806 survey notes: an Indian Path on the western boundary of Section 19,Township 2 North, Range 2 West; and the Chickasawhay Path from the southernmost Choctaw town toFort Stoddert, which crossed the eastern boundary of Section 14, Township 2 North, Range 2 West. 4Both points fall along the same road heading west to New Orleans from Fort Stoddert, which confirms theorigin of that historic road as an Indian path.Hale labeled the southernmost section of the Old Federal Road the “Old River Road,” as it wasknown locally in the early twentieth century. He also identified a road running west from NannahubbaIsland, where the Old Federal Road originally crossed the Mobile-Tensaw delta, that connected with theroad from Fort Stoddert to St. Stephens. This section of road is shown on the Bradley, Ludlow, Melish,and LaTourette maps.Today, the three historic roads extending from Fort Stoddert generally follow modern pavedroadways. The road to the south corresponds closely with U.S. Highway 43, which runs north fromMobile, through the small communities of Chickasaw, Satsuma, Axis, Salco, Bucks, Chestang, andMovico to Mount Vernon. West from Fort Stoddert, Military Road/Mobile County Road 96 to MountVernon Arsenal was part of the early route from Fort Stoddert to New Orleans. North toward St.Stephens, U.S. Highway 43 continues through Calvert, Malcolm, Macintosh, Wagerville, and Leroy. InLeroy, Washington County Highway 34 branches northwest to St Stephens. Modern U.S. Highway 43diverges in places from the Old Federal Road, especially in the immediate vicinity of Fort Stoddert, whereFletcher Hale’s Old River Road corresponds much more closely than does U.S. Highway 43. All of ourhistoric maps show the Old Federal Road leading directly to Fort Stoddert, as does the Old River Road,while U.S. Highway 43 runs several miles west of Fort Stoddert.58

Figure 3-9. Detail of Fletcher Hale’s Mobile County map, 1948, showing the vicinity of Fort Stoddert andthe Old River Road (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).Historic Sites in Mobile CountyFort Stoddert. Fort Stoddert and Mount Vernon Arsenal are the most important historic sitespertaining to the Federal Road in Mobile County. Fort Stoddert, named for first U.S. Secretary of theNavy Benjamin Stoddert, was established at Ward’s Bluff on the Mobile River in 1799. A joint U.S.-59

Spanish survey commission had recently determined the international boundary to be located a few milessouth of this location, at 31˚ N Longitude. A stone marker known as the Ellicott Stone still stands on theold boundary line, just east of U.S. Highway 43 near the Alabama Power Company generating plant inthe modern community of Bucks. Because the relocated international boundary lay well south of the longpresumedboundary line, Spanish colonial administrators reluctantly withdrew their garrison from FuerteSan Esteban, which became St. Stephens. To assert and defend American claims to this region, Congresscreated the Mississippi Territory and ordered the U.S. Army to establish posts along the new boundary forthe protection of settlers and especially for collection of customs duties from commercial traffic on therivers flowing into Spanish West Florida.In July 1799, two companies of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment, commanded by CaptainBartholomew Schaumburgh, marched from Natchez and commenced building a bastioned stockade fortwith blockhouses, which was named Fort Stoddert. Due to summer heat and sickness among the soldiers,construction took several months to complete. By the end of August Schaumburgh could reportcompletion of two of the four bastions, mounted with ordnance, one of the soldiers’ barracks “whichforms a curtain towards the river... fit to be occupied,” and the officers’ quarters about to be started.However, the miserable condition of the land route from Natchez, Fort Stoddert’s supply base, preventedregular delivery of provisions. In several letters written to Major Thomas Cushing, his commandingofficer in Natchez, Captain Schaumburgh complained of the lack of supplies and the deadly consequencesit was having on his soldiers. Eventually the U.S. Army found the means locally to provide for thegarrison by purchasing provisions from the Tombigbee and Tensaw settlements. 5Ephraim Kirby spent a few months at Fort Stoddert in 1804, before his death on October 2 fromyellow fever. As commissioner of public lands and newly appointed judge of the U.S. Superior Court inthis part of Mississippi Territory, Kirby was the first civilian official to try to impose some order on theunruly citizenry of the Tombigbee and Tensaw districts. In his report to President Jefferson penned inMay 1804, he left us this memorable description. “This section of the United States has long afforded anasylum to those who prefer voluntary exile to the punishments ordained by law for heinous offences. Thepresent inhabitants (with few exceptions) are illiterate, wild and savage, of depraved morals, unworthy ofpublic confidence or private esteem; litigious, disunited, and knowing each other, universally distrustfulof each other. The magistrates without dignity, respect, probity, influence or authority. The administrationof justice, imbecile and corrupt. The militia, without discipline or competent officers.” 6Kirby implored President Jefferson to move the seat of the courts to St. Stephens because FortStoddert lacked favorable conditions for good health and was not the center of population for the area.60

He also complained Fort Stoddert did not have proper buildings for a court or a land office, and thesettlement there was desolate and impoverished. He further pointed out the unreliability ofcommunication with the rest of the country. Perhaps the strength of Kirby’s arguments prompted officialsin Washington to contemplate creation of a post road to the southwestern territories. A few weeks afterKirby’s untimely death, Postmaster General Grainger ordered the establishment of post offices at St.Stephens and Fort Stoddert. Judge Harry Toulmin, Kirby’s replacement, would assume the role of localpostmaster at Fort Stoddert in January 1805. 7From 1806 to 1811, the period of active efforts to establish the Federal Road, at first as a postalroute and then as a military wagon road, Fort Stoddert and its garrison proved essential. In December1805, Postmaster Granger requested Lt. William Piatt at Fort Stoddert to explore the “most eligible route”for the proposed road. Such a formal survey did not occur until 1810 when Lt. John R. N. Luckett madean attempt, reaching Pintlala before he and his men were stopped by a large force of indignant Creekwarriors. A similar effort led by Lt. Edmund Gaines was likewise intercepted by Creeks as he attemptedto survey and open a road, later called Gaines’ Trace, northward from St. Stephens toward the MuscleShoals region. Diplomatic negotiations mollified Creek leaders (although, significantly, not the Creekpopulace) sufficiently to permit the army to complete the wagon road in 1811. Captain Matthew Arbuckleof the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment commanded the road construction party from Fort Stoddert that met acorresponding party from the east on November 30 to finish the road. 8Fort Stoddert hosted an important event in the intellectual development of the region: publicationfrom May 23, 1811 to June 6, 1812 of The Mobile Centinel, first newspaper in what would become thestate of Alabama (Figure 3-10). Judge Harry Toulmin had hoped to publish the Mobile Mercury, orTombigbee and Alabama Advertiser in St. Stephens in 1810. Success eluded Toulmin and a year laterJohn B. Hood of South Carolina and Samuel Miller of Tennessee brought a printing press overland fromChattanooga to the Alabama River, then downstream to Fort Stoddert, with the intention of publishingtheir newspaper in Mobile. When international politics at the outbreak of the War of 1812 moved moreslowly than they anticipated, and Mobile remained in Spanish hands, the two experienced newspapermenproduced the first issue of The Mobile Centinel with an editorial hopefully anticipating their relocation tothe city in short order. In fact, the newspaper folded before Mobile became part of the United States. 9In the 1840s George S. Gaines reminisced to historian Albert Pickett about life at the fort duringits first decade, when he was government factor at nearby St. Stephens and his brother was stationed atFort Stoddert. “The Barracks were comfortable frame Houses. The Fort was established immediately onthe river bank just above the present Arsenal landing. In 1805 two companies were there ... under61

Figure 3-10. Second issue of The Mobile Centinel, published at Fort Stoddert on May 30, 1811 (courtesyof Alabama Department of Archives and History).62

command of Capt Skyler. The discipline was rigid, & the young officers not having the advantage of amilitary education were almost daily mustering & practicing artillery, sword exercise, or in readingmilitary Books. The place proved unhealthy & the troops in 1805 and ‘6 were sent to St Stephens tospend the sickly months, leaving a small garrison to take care of the Fort under the command of Lieut[Edmund P.] Gaines who was also a Collector of the Port. After this the summer encampment wasestablished on a hill called Mount Vernon 3 miles west of Fort Stoddert, the site of the present arsenal.This place proving more healthy & sufficiently near the river & the Spanish line, it became the permanentlocation of the troops intended for the defense of this section, with the exception of a detachment alwayskept at the Fort. Fort Stoddert was a port of entry.” 10The garrison at Fort Stoddert played important roles in many significant events during thisformative period of Alabama’s history. In February 1807, Captain Edmund P. Gaines and a detachment ofmounted troops arrested Aaron Burr on the road north of the fort, “two miles below Hanson’s near thecow pen of old John Johnson on the South of a branch on the rise of the hill near a wolf pen,” accordingto Thomas Malone in an interview with historian Albert Pickett in the 1840s. In March, Gaines escortedthe former Vice President of the United States up the Federal Road to Washington, DC to stand trial fortreason. 11 An attempt by American civilian filibusters to seize Mobile from Spain was thwarted by troopsfrom Fort Stoddert. In 1810, Reuben Kemper organized a small band of Americans who threatened toattack the small Spanish garrison at Mobile. Some of the Americans were captured and imprisoned by theSpanish, and Kemper was arrested by the U.S. Army. In April 1813, Lt. Colonel John Boyer led forcesfrom Fort Stoddert to seize Mobile from Spain, thus resolving the long-running dispute over ownership oflands between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers that was claimed by the United States based on theLouisiana Purchase of 1803. In August and September 1813, Fort Stoddert and the nearby U.S.cantonment protected refugees who fled the Tombigbee and Tensaw settlements in the wake of thedestruction of Fort Mims at the beginning of the Creek War. During the war, Fort Stoddert served asmilitary headquarters for General Ferdinand Claiborne’s Mississippi Territorial Volunteers and forregular U.S. Army troops operating in the south. 12After the war, military activity in the region shifted to the east, as Fort Montgomery and otherposts in Baldwin County proved more useful for offensive actions against Redstick Creeks who had fledto Spanish Florida. By the end of 1814, Fort Stoddert no longer functioned as a military post, although thename continued to be applied to the civilian community that had grown up around the fort (also calledFlorida). A postmaster was stationed there until 1830, when the name was changed to Mount Vernon. 1363

Figure 3-11. The Fort Stoddert site on the Mobile River, as depicted on James Weakley’s 1848 surveyplat for Township 2 North, Range 1 East (courtesy of General Land Office, Bureau of Land Management).The fort site long ago fell into private hands. As early as 1808, Lt. Edmund Gaines complained tothe Secretary of State about land speculators buying the bluff near the fort and undermining militaryoperations. Gaines identified R. Scott as the closest landowner, which is supported by early land plats(Figure 3-11). 14 A visitor to the Fort Stoddert site in 1850 saw “the remains of chimneys, which werebuilt of sand rock…. I also found broken delf, and the neck of champagne bottles. In the cemetery, a littlenorth of Fort Stoddert, on the lake, I found a red cedar board, at the head of a grave, with the name nicelycut, ‘Ephraim Kirby, died Oct. 4th, 1804.’” 1564

Brett McWilliams, a local artifact collector, graciously allowed us to photograph artifacts herecovered from the fort site years ago. Those artifacts are primarily military-related and include buttonsfrom the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 14th and 15th U.S. Infantry Regiments, stock clasps, and other accoutrements,along with a cast iron skillet (Figures 3-12 and 3-13).Figure 3-12. Buttons from the Fort Stoddert site, 1799-1814: (a) Army, GI25C, 1792-1798; (b) Infantry Regiment,GI32S2; (c) 2nd Infantry Regiment, GI28R2; (d) 16th Infantry Regiment, GI28R16; (e) 14th Infantry Regiment,GI28R14; (f) 6th Infantry Regiment, GI28R6; (g) 5th Infantry Regiment, GI28R5; (h) 4th Infantry Regiment, GI28R4;(i) 2nd Regiment Infantry officer, GI51G R2 vest or collar; (j) 2nd Infantry Regiment, GI32S2BR2 (courtesy, BrettMcWilliams).Figure 3-13. Artifacts from the Fort Stoddert site, 1799-1814: (a-b) 6-hole stock clasp, matching parts; (c) 4-holestock clasp, matching parts; (d) cast iron skillet; (e-f) iron knives with bone handles (courtesy, Brett McWilliams).65

Mount Vernon Cantonment and Arsenal. Despite the strategic importance of Fort Stoddert, ona bluff overlooking the Mobile River just north of the boundary with Spanish West Florida, the unhealthynature of the location prompted post commanders to look for alternative quarters for the garrison duringthe summer. Much of the garrison initially relocated to St. Stephens, leaving a single officer and asergeant’s guard to collect customs duties at the fort. In 1810, Secretary of War William Eustisrecommended to General Wade Hampton that a reinforcement of the garrison be postponed until late inthe autumn because “it is well known that the position is unhealthy.” 17By 1811, however, a better solution was found with the creation of a stockaded cantonment on ahigh hill about 3 miles west of Fort Stoddert. Known as Mount Vernon Cantonment, this healthierlocation with a fine artesian spring, high above the river bottom swamps with their yellow fever-carryingmosquitoes, became the favored residence for military personnel and government officials when theirduties permitted.In the summer of 1811, Colonel Thomas H. Cushing marched several companies of troopsoverland from Natchez to Fort Stoddert to build the Cantonment. During the Creek War, the Cantonmentserved as a secure camp for the militia and regular troops who guarded the frontier and a marshallingpoint for campaigns into the Creek Nation. In August 1814, after the Treaty of Fort Jackson brought a haltto most hostilities, General Andrew Jackson descended the Alabama River to begin preparing for thedefense of Mobile, New Orleans, and the rest of the Gulf coast from an impending British invasion.Accompanying Jackson was his topographical engineer, Major Howell Tatum, who kept a journal. OnAugust 20, the party arrived at Fort Stoddert, where the “commanding General landed & proceeded toMount Vernon about 2 miles from thence, where some of the 39th Infantry remained.” With the creationof Forts Montgomery and Claiborne east of the Alabama River, Mount Vernon Cantonment seems tohave fallen into disuse. 18The site of the old cantonment was reclaimed by the military in 1828 when the U.S. Armyestablished Mount Vernon Arsenal on the same hilltop. The Arsenal served as a major munitionsmanufacturing center and supply depot prior to the Civil War. The Confederate Army held the Arsenalthroughout the war. Afterwards the U.S. Army renamed the facility Mount Vernon Barracks. For a time,between 1887 and 1894, Geronimo’s band of Apaches was held at the Barracks. In 1895 the entiremilitary reservation was given to the state of Alabama, which established a segregated mental healthfacility for African-Americans there in 1902. Desegregated since 1969, Searcy Hospital still occupies theArsenal site. Many of the original Arsenal buildings dating from the 1830s still stand, though most are66

now in poor condition (Figures 3-14 to 3-17). This site and collection of structures remains one of themost significant historic sites in Alabama, though all but inaccessible to the public.Figure 3-14. Mount Vernon Arsenal Administration Building, 1830 initial construction, 1935 photograph(Library of Congress, Historic American Building Survey, ALA.49-MOUV.1-C-1 005663pu).Figure 3-15. Mount Vernon Arsenal Barracks, 1830 initial construction, 1935 photograph (Library ofCongress, Historic American Building Survey, ALA.49-MOUV.1-E-1 00 5691pu).67

Figure 3-16. Mount Vernon Arsenal Administration Building Cell Door, 1830 initial construction, 1935photograph (Library of Congress, Historic American Building Survey, ALA.49-MOUV.1-C-4 00 5666pu).Figure 3-17. Mount Vernon Arsenal South Gate, Inside, 1830 initial construction, 1935 photograph(Library of Congress, Historic American Building Survey, ALA.49-MOUV.1-A-4 00 5656pu).68

Historic Sites in Washington CountyHollinger’s/Carson’s Ferry. The original Federal Road route relied on two flatboat ferries thatpredated the road to cross the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers and the Mobile-Tensaw delta. In 1796 or1797, Samuel Mims and Adam Hollinger cooperatively established their two ferries. Mims’s ferrylanding was located just south of the confluence of Holly Creek and Alabama River. Travelers generallycrossed the river to Nannahubba Island, where a road led along the north end of the island, formed by the“Cut Off,” to Hollinger’s ferry across the Tombigbee. Hollinger’s plantation appears on the anonymous1802 map of Tombigbee settlements on the south side of Poll Bayou (“Polbio”), not far from its mouth.During times of high water, when the Nannahubba Island road was inundated, ferrymen on either endcould transport their fares the entire distance across the delta using the Cut Off. With the establishment ofFort Stoddert in 1799 a few miles downstream from Hollinger’s ferry, the Mims-Hollinger link across thedelta became the favored route and it made both men wealthy. For the first few years of the Federal Road,this was the favored route across the delta. By 1813, Hollinger’s half of the ferry business had shifted inownership, and perhaps in location, to Thomas Carson, who owned property immediately south ofHollinger (Figure 3-18). The Mississippi Territorial Volunteers used Carson’s Ferry on their march togarrison Fort Mims in early August and, a month later, to bury their dead there. After the Creek War andthe abandonment of Fort Stoddert, alternative crossings proliferated and business declined at the Mims-Carson ferries. Among the more popular options were the major northern crossing at Fort Claiborne to St.Stephens, and a southern delta crossing between Blakeley and Mobile. 19Figure 3-18. Detail of Thomas Freeman’s survey plat of Township 3 North, Range 1 East, circa 1815,southeast Washington County, at the confluence of Poll Bayou, Alabama River Cut Off, and TombigbeeRiver (courtesy of Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Survey Plats).69

1 Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 5, The Territory of Mississippi, 1798-1817 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1937), 305.2 Peggy Tuck Sinko, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries: Alabama, edited by John H. Long (New York, NY: CharlesScribner’s Sons, 1996).3 Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 5, The Territory of Mississippi, 1798-1817, 443-444.4 See original field notes for these sections in Mobile County, Alabama, at the Bureau of Land Management,General Land Office Records website (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov).5 Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama, and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period,two volumes (Charleston, SC; Walker and James, 1851), II:179; Jack D. L. Holmes, “Fort Stoddard in 1799: SevenLetters of Captain Bartholomew Schaumburgh,” Alabama Historical Quarterly 26 (3-4, Fall-Winter 1964):231-252.6 Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 5, The Territory of Mississippi, 1798-1817, 322-326.7 Ibid., 316-317, 342, 370.8 Ibid., 443-444; Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 6, The Territory ofMississippi, 1809-1817 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1938), 5, 213-214; Letters, Journals andWritings of Benjamin Hawkins, edited by C.L. Grant, two volumes (Savannah, GA: The Beehive Press, 1980), II:568,570, 574-575, 577-578, 588, 590-591, 597, 599.9 Clarence S. Brigham, History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820, two volumes (Worcester,MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1947), I:4; F. Wilbur Helmbold, “Early Alabama Newspapermen, 1810-1820,”Alabama Review 12 (January 1959):53-68; Jack D. L. Holmes, The Mobile Gazette and the American Occupation ofMobile in 1813: A Lesson in Historical Detective Work, Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science 47(2, April1976):79; William C. Davis, A Way through the Wilderness: The Natchez Trace and the Civilization of the SouthernFrontier (New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1995), 184-185.10 Albert J. Pickett Papers, Pickett Family Papers (Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery,LPR185, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2), Notes taken from the lips of Mr. George S. Gaines in relation to his earlysettlement in Alabama (Interview Notes 14, n.d.).11 Pickett, History of Alabama, II:219-225.12 Pickett Papers, including Notes furnished Doct. Thos G Holmes about the Kemper Party in Alabama in 1810 andother things (Interview Notes 22, 1848), Notes taken from the lips of Mr. Thos. Malone of Washington County,Ala., in relation to the arrest of Aaron Burr, in 1807, and the expedition of the North Carolina Colony in 1802 downthe Tombigbee River &c &c (Interview Notes 27, n.d.), quote; Robert S. Quimby, The U.S. Army in the War of1812: An Operational and Command Study (East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1997), 160; GregoryA. Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (Tuscaloosa: University ofAlabama Press, 2006).13 Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin, editors, American State Papers, Class VII: Post Office Department(Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 119-120, 177-178, 207-208, 294, 353-391; Francis Paul Prucha, A Guideto the Military Posts of the United States, 1789-1895 (Madison, WI: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1964),109; Francis Paul Prucha, Atlas of American Indian Affairs (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1990), 96.14 Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 5, The Territory of Mississippi, 1798-1817, 625; Carter, TheTerritorial Papers of the United States, vol. 6, The Territory of Mississippi, 1809-1817, 207-209.15 Mrs. P. H. Mell, “Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Alabama,” Transactions of the Alabama Historical Society, vol.IV, 1899-1903 (Montgomery, AL: 1904), 552-553.16 Richard S. Fuller, 1MB100 archaeological site form, Alabama State Site Files, Moundville Archaeological Park,1992; Richard S. Fuller, “An Early Nineteenth-Century Assemblage from Fort Stoddert (1MB100), SouthwestAlabama,” paper presented at the 13th Annual Mid-South Archaeological Conference (Moundville, AL: 1992).17 Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 6, The Territory of Mississippi, 1809-1817, 101-102.18 Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 6, The Territory of Mississippi, 1809-1817, 207-209;Pickett Papers, Notes obtained from a conversation with Major Reuben Chamberlain of Mobile in relation to thecapture of Mobile in 1813 – Taken by Wilkinson for the United States, form the King of Spain (Interview Notes 18,n.d.); Major Howell Tatum, Topographical Notes and Observations on the Alabama river, August 1814 (MSS S-1007, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT).70

19 Gregory A. Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (Tuscaloosa: Universityof Alabama Press, 2006), 28-29, 106.71

Chapter 4Baldwin and Escambia CountiesTracing the Old Federal RoadThe lands encompassing present-day Baldwinand Escambia counties were a part of MississippiTerritory until approval of an act of Congress declaringformation of Alabama Territory on March 3, 1817. 1Baldwin County, created in 1809 by the MississippiTerritorial Legislature, initially included much of presentdayMobile, Madison, and Escambia counties. Actsapproved by the Alabama Legislature in 1832 and 1868redefined the boundaries of Baldwin County, establishingits present form. As a result of the 1868 act, EscambiaCounty was formed from Baldwin and Conecuh counties(Figure 4-1). 2Figure 4-1. Alabama county map highlightingBaldwin and Escambia counties.Figure 4-2. Old Federal Road in Baldwin and Escambia counties.72

The Old Federal Road traversed the northern portion of Baldwin County, generally running eastwestfrom the Tensaw region on the Alabama River to the northwest corner of Escambia County. InEscambia County the road continued east for about 3 miles before it turned northeast to the Monroe-Conecuh county line (Figure 4-2). Identifying the exact location of the historic road in this region hasbeen problematic. We have identified the route from three sources: Lt. Luckett’s 1810 survey, JohnCoffee and James Weakley’s land survey plats, and Fletcher Hale’s maps from the 1940s. Unfortunatelythese three primary sources are not easily correlated. However, the most likely route of the Old FederalRoad can be determined by comparing all three sources, as well as topographic features, historic aerialphotographs, modern roads, and the locations of historical sites on or near the road. 3The most valuable source for identifying the road in Baldwin and Escambia counties isLieutenant John Luckett’s field journal. Under orders from Secretary of War William Eustis, Lt. Luckettand his squad of a dozen soldiers from the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment surveyed the “old Indian path” andpost road beginning at the mouth of Holley Creek and ending near Pintlala Creek. 4 Their intent was tomark and widen the horse path used by mail riders through the Creek Nation into a road suitable formoving wagons and artillery, but a party of 300 Creek Indian warriors stopped and disarmed the surveyteam near Pintlala, abruptly ending the survey. We entered bearing and distance data from Lt. Luckett’sfield journal into computer mapping program ArcMap to recreate his original route, which was thenprojected onto modern topographic maps to compare its location to modern roads. Errors in Luckett’sbearing and distance data, due either to faulty equipment or mistakes in transcription, are apparentthroughout his survey journal. Because of these errors, his survey cannot be transposed directly to modernmaps. However, his survey route mirrors the locations of modern roads in the vicinity, which allows us tocorrect, with considerable confidence and precision, Lt. Luckett’s surveyed route of the Old Federal Road(Figure 4-3).Lieutenant Luckett’s 1810 survey commenced on the east bank of the Alabama River, 20 meterssouth of its confluence with Holley Creek, which was referred to as Hollow Creek in the early 1800s andas late as 1846, as shown on James Weakley’s GLO survey plats. Lt. Luckett’s survey of the “old Indianpath” continued east of the Alabama River to the hilltop known later as Montgomery Hill settlement. Bymid-1813, Fort Mims, Fort Peirce, and Fort Montgomery were situated south of the road and wereconnected to it by secondary roads. From Montgomery Hill the road continued east, running along a ridgenorth of Pine Log Creek, to the small settlements of Redtown and Lottie. At this point the road enteredEscambia County, running east for 3 miles and then turned north heading toward the Monroe-Conecuhcounty boundary via Jack Springs, McCullough, and Huxford.73

Figure 4-3. Lt. Luckett’s surveyed route plotted according to his bearing and distance notations, andcompared to modern roads (Blacksher and Tensaw 7.5' USGS topographic quadrangles).The two other primary sources for the Old Federal Road route – early GLO survey plats andFletcher Hale’s maps – were also examined, but did not prove as useful as Luckett’s journal. The originalland survey plats supervised by John Coffee in the 1820s for the relevant townships (T2N R3E, T2N R4E,T2N R5E, T3N R3E, T3N R4E, T3N R5E, and T3N R6E) and land grants along the Alabama River donot depict the Old Federal Road. A review of the survey notes for those townships and grants indicate thatCoffee’s surveyors failed to mention not only the Federal Road, but also several large streams and othersignificant features, which were certainly present. James Weakley’s field surveyors resurveyed much ofthis land in the 1840s, as well as numerous individually owned properties. Yet the Weakley survey platsonly show two road segments that can be associated with the Old Federal Road. One found on the T2NR3E plat is not labeled as the Old Federal Road, but it appears to be in the vicinity of modern StateHighway 59, which was originally a stage and mail route from Fort Claiborne to Blakely (Figure 4-4). An1848 survey for George Weakley’s grant identified a “road from hollow Creek to Montgomery hill”(Figure 4-5). 5 This road began at the same point as Lt. Luckett’s, but it veered south where Luckett’s roadran east, perhaps serving as a later secondary route to Fort Montgomery.74

Figure 4-4. Detail of James Weakley’s 1848 resurvey of Township 2 North, Range 3 East in BaldwinCounty showing a road secondary to the Old Federal Road (courtesy of the General Land Office).Figure 4-5. James Weakley’s 1845 survey of George Weakley’s private claim in Baldwin County showingpart of a road from “hollow Creek to Montgomery hill” (courtesy of the Alabama Secretary of State).75

Fletcher Hale’s interpretation of the Old Federal Road, based on 1930s aerial photographs, placesthe road approximately 2 miles north of Luckett’s route through much of northern Baldwin andnorthwestern Escambia counties (Figures 4-6 and 4-7). Hale’s road meets and then coincides with othersource routes just north of Jack Springs. His road runs south of Montpelier, a cantonment erected soonafter the War of 1812. This road may be a branch of the Old Federal Road. Hale’s maps were also usefulin identifying the branch from Fort Mims to Blakely, which was part of a longer ancillary mail route fromFort Claiborne to Blakely.Figure 4-6. Fletcher Hale's interpretation of the Old Federal Road (in blue) in western Baldwin Countycompared with the route corrected from Lt. Luckett’s survey (in red).Figure 4-7. Fletcher Hale's interpretation of the Old Federal Road (in blue) in eastern Baldwin andnorthwestern Escambia counties compared with Lt. Luckett’s corrected road location (in red).76

The condition of the Old Federal Road in Baldwin and Escambia counties today ranges fromgrass paths to asphalt roads. The road leading from the mouth of Holley Creek through Holley CreekLanding is a mixture of dirt and gravel (Figure 4-8). Beyond the landing the Old Federal Road runs east,closely following Holley Creek Landing Road for approximately 1.5 miles until it merges with UnionTown Road, which turns and heads southeast for 1.4 miles to Boatyard Road, and then continues east andsoutheast for 1.4 miles until it intersects Baldwin County Highway 59. The roads between the landing andHighway 59 are paved and open for public use. After crossing Highway 59, the route becomes DannyHall Road for 1.7 miles before it veers off the public paved road and continues east on a private dirt road.Figure 4-8. The Old Federal Road through Baldwin County, map 1.77

The Old Federal Road follows the private road, which runs along a ridge north of Pine LogCreek, for 4 miles to Baldwin County Road 61 (Figure 4-9). After heading east on CR 61 for 5.5 miles,the Old Federal Road leaves the paved road as it turns south and continues east through private farmlandfor 2.3 miles to Still Farm Road, a public dirt road. This segment of the Old Federal Road crossingthrough private land is, of course, not publically accessible. Years of agricultural activity have probablydestroyed any remnants of the old roadbed here.Figure 4-9. The Old Federal Road through Baldwin County, map 2.78

The Old Federal Road crosses the Baldwin-Escambia county line approximately 1 mile after itenters private land (Figure 4-10). The road continues east on Still Farm Road for 1.9 miles before itintersects Jack Springs Road, which heads north for 0.6 mile, then turns northeast and becomes MackPond Road. After 1.7 miles Mack Pond Road merges with Escambia County Road 30/ McCullough Road,which continues northeast for 2.8 miles to intersect Escambia County Road 21 (Figure 4-11). Althoughstill CR 30, the road name changes to Huxford Road after it crosses CR 21. The Old Federal Roadcontinues east on Huxford Road for 2.5 miles and then makes a 90-degree turn north onto Butler Street,which heads north for 2.5 miles to the Monroe-Conecuh county line. The roads in Escambia County, fromJack Springs Road to the county line, are public paved roadways.Figure 4-10. The Old Federal Road through Escambia County, map 1.79

Figure 4-11. The Old Federal Road through Escambia County, map 2.The path of the Old Federal Road through Baldwin and Escambia counties generally followsmodern paved roadways. Remnants of the Old Federal Road bed likely exist on either side of the pavedroad, as a result of straightening the road during paving. One possible preserved remnant is locatedThis is the only entrenched segment of the Old Federal Road identified in Baldwin andEscambia counties during our survey, although others may exist elsewhere on private property.80

Figure 4-12. A possible remnant of the Old Federal Road on private propertyin Baldwin County, June 21, 2011.81

Figure 4-13. Detail from Anonymous map of the “Tombeckby & Tensaw” settlements, circa 1802(courtesy of the Library of Congress).82

Historic Sites in Baldwin CountyFort Mims and Mims’s Ferry. In 1797 Samuel Mims first settled near Boatyard Lake, in theTensaw district east of the Alabama River, part of Spanish West Florida, about the same time he andAdam Hollinger established ferries for travelers crossing the Mobile-Tensaw delta (Figure 4-13). Mims’sferry across the Alabama River and Hollinger’s across the Tombigbee made both men wealthy,particularly after 1805 when civilian traffic began to pick up with the creation of the postal horse pathknown as the Federal Road, and most especially after expansion of the road in 1811. By 1813, SamuelMims’s nearby plantation was one of the largest in the region. His location on the boundary of the CreekNation and on the Old Federal Road, and his friendship with wealthy, acculturated, pro-American Creeksprompted him to build a stockade around his home and invite his neighbors – Americans and Creeks alike– to take refuge there when the Creek civil war threatened to engulf the frontier (Figure 4-14). Thedestruction of Fort Mims along with some 250 to 300 occupants by Redstick Creeks on August 30, 1813,marked the beginning of the Creek War, a formative event in Alabama and American history. 6Figure 4-14. Fort Mims as depicted on the “Claiborne” map, 1813, oriented with north to the top(courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).83

The Fort Mims site, 1BA218, has been extensively investigated by archaeologists. A reportpublished in 2006 summarizes all of the excavations at the site, beginning with two seasons of digging byengineers with the Alabama Department of Conservation in the 1960s, and three seasons of excavationsdirected by Noel R. Stowe with the University of South Alabama in the 1970s and 1980s. More recentlimited excavations by the Center for Archaeological Studies, University of South Alabama, from 2003 to2008 delineated the stockade perimeter. Artifacts recovered from this entire site offer an extraordinaryview of frontier Alabama material culture on the eve of the Creek War. Destroyed in one cataclysmic day,Fort Mims provides a detailed inventory of household goods in daily use by the Mississippi TerritorialVolunteers who garrisoned the fort, the American settlers and their enslaved African workforce, andCreek neighbors who took shelter alongside them in Samuel Mims poorly constructed stockade. 7The site of Fort Mims is now administered by the Alabama Historical Commission as Fort MimsPark, a 5-acre preserve in Tensaw. Archaeological collections from the site are curated at Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson Park in Wetumpka, Alabama, by the AHC. A local support group, the Fort MimsRestoration Association, sponsors annual history days at the park and otherwise works to enhance visitorinterpretation and appreciation of the site’s remarkable history.Mims’s Ferry was located northwest of the fort and plantation, on a bend in the Alabama River atits confluence with Holley Creek (Figure 4-15). The old ferry landing is still visible today, immediatelysouth of the mouth of the creek, the same location where Lt. Luckett began his survey of the Federal Roadin 1810 (Figure 4-16).Figure 4-15. Mims’s Ferry, on a detail of the “Claiborne” map of Fort Mims, 1813, oriented – forreadability – with north to the bottom (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).84

Figure 4-16. View of the old Mims’s ferry landing (near center of photo) from the Alabama River, atmodern Holley Creek Landing; the mouth of Holley Creek is visible at the left, June 21, 2011.Fort Peirce. A stockade was erected in late July or early August 1813 by two wealthy brothers,William and John Peirce, to protect their gristmill and sawmill from destruction in the event a war brokeout with Redstick Creek Indians. 8 William and John Peirce had come to the Tensaw region from NewEngland sometime between 1802 and 1805. William established the first cotton gin in the region, as wellas a mill and store. John organized and taught at a school in the Tensaw, one of the first American schoolsin what is now Alabama. He was also named postmaster of the Tensaw in 1805. Their home, cotton gin,and most other facilities were located on the west side of Boathouse Lake, near its confluence with theAlabama River, southwest of Fort Mims (see Figure 4-8). But their stockaded gristmill and sawmillcomplex lay less than two miles to the south, astride Pine Log Creek. 9In early August 1813, the Peirces’s fortified mill received reinforcements, a small contingent ofMississippi Territorial Volunteers from the Natchez area commanded by Lieutenant AndrewMontgomery, to assist the local Tensaw militia manning the fort. Fort Peirce eventually sheltered about200 people – Volunteers, as well as the families of settlers and slaves, and the Creek Indians of theTensaw who were particular targets of the Redstick Creeks. When the Redstick force attacked Fort Mimsaround noon on August 30, the few armed occupants of Fort Peirce could only shut their gate and hopefor the best, since the attacking force was clearly very large. Once the firing had subsided, that eveningfour men ventured out and found Fort Mims destroyed and the rivers and swamps “full of Indians.” Afterdark, Lt. Montgomery organized a retreat. His party of 40 men (including the prominent Creeks John85

Weatherford, James Cornells, and David Tate) and 164 women and children headed toward Mobile;moving only after nightfall, they safely reached Mobile in three days. Three hours after abandoning theirrefuge, Lt. Montgomery had noted an orange glow on the horizon in the direction of Fort Peirce. 10In the 1840s historian Albert Pickett interviewed Dr. Thomas Holmes, a survivor of the battle atFort Mims and a valuable informant on the events of the Creek War in the Tensaw. According to Holmes,in October 1813 Major Uriah Blue and a contingent of the U.S. Infantry from Fort Stoddert built“the finest timber fort then in the country upon the ruins of Fort Pearce which the Indiansburnt after the garrison left. & Blue placed the Fort in such difence that he could defy theassaults of the Indians without a horse to aid him in hauling in the pickets – a timber –having found some wagons put the men in – the provisions which was landed at the BoatYard had also to be conveyed 2 miles to the Fort in the same way.”Holmes told Pickett that Blue and his troops were recalled about November 10th and the fort wasabandoned, then reoccupied by Colonel Nixon’s Mississippi Territorial Volunteers in December 1813.We have found no further documentation of this fort’s history beyond that point. 11The artifactsretrieved from the site identified by Powell as “Fort Peirce” indicate a later military occupation associatedwith a U.S. Army encampment post-dating the battle at Fort Mims. We suggest Dr. Holmes misinformedAlbert Pickett when he said Major. Blue built his fort “upon the ruins of Fort Pearce.” The original FortPeirce was intended to defend a mill complex, which no longer existed by the time Blue returned to thevicinity. We suspect he re-situated the fort to a nearby hill for defensive reasons.86

and were not accessible for revisit at the time of our survey.All of the Peirce sites are located on privately owned landFigure 4-17. Detail from Melish map of Alabama Territory, 1818, showing Fort Mims and FortMontgomery in Baldwin County (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).Fort Montgomery. Dt. Holmes also recalled for Albert Pickett, in the 1840s, how FortMontgomery was built. From August through October 1814 Colonel Thomas Hart Benton and most of the39th U.S. Infantry Regiment constructed “the strongest kind of a timber fort built in the shape of a star,the Pickets 14 feet high.... It had a ditch on the outside the block House was very strong ... 3 stories highcovered with large hard timber & cement with tar & Timber[.] on top of this were placed 4 pieces[,] 6pounders[,] so as to rake the whole country.” 12 Major Howell Tatum noted in his journal entry for August20, 1814, the regiment had occupied “Holms’s Hill about 2 miles from Fort Mimms” (Figure 4-17),which was deemed a more healthy situation than Fort Stoddert, which would soon be abandoned. Hedescribed the new post, Fort Montgomery, as “a Stockade Fort” intended “to secure his men from thedanger of any attempt of Francis or McQueen to annoy them, and also as a mean of giving greatersecurity to the settlers on the East side of the Mobile & alabama rivers.” 13 In late October and early87

November of 1814, an American army of over three thousand soldiers, consisting of the 3rd, 39th, and44th U.S. Infantry Regiments, the Tennessee militia, a dragoon battalion of Mississippi TerritorialVolunteers, and some allied Indians assembled at the fort in preparation for General Andrew Jackson’scampaign against Pensacola. 14 Fort Montgomery also served as a marshalling point for Major Blue’s“mopping-up operation” against Redstick Creeks camped in the Escambia swamps of Spanish WestFlorida. In December 1813 Blue led a mounted force of 1,000 Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek warriorsand Tennessee Volunteers into Florida. After several successful raids on Redstick encampments, Blue’sexpedition soon became a desperate struggle for survival as rations for men and horses ran low, and theyreturned to Fort Montgomery on January 9, 1814. 15Fort Montgomery remained a key U.S. military post for the next five years. By 1817 the post,then the headquarters of the 7th U.S. Infantry with 421 men, was alternatively known as CampMontgomery after the original structure was torn down to accommodate the building of barracks “ofround logs” and a hospital. The hospital, perhaps one of Alabama’s first, was erected under the directionof Surgeon Thomas Lawson. During a visit to Camp Montgomery, Inspector General John M. Davis,highly praised Lawson: “the Hospital is well conducted; its police strictly attended to -- its cleanlinesshighly recommendatory.” 16 In 1818, after the fort was demolished, Captain Hugh Young described themilitary camp location as “a high sand hill—abundantly supplied with water by fine springs issuing fromthe sides of the hill.” General Jackson frequently established his headquarters there for the Division of theSouth during his 1818 campaign in Spanish West Florida, and the garrison responded frequently tomurders of settlers by recalcitrant Redsticks. When five captive Indians being transferred from FortClaiborne to Fort Montgomery were murdered by civilians from Alabama Territory, Jackson temporarilyhalted the transfer of prisoners to that post. 17The fort hosted a post office, with John Pearce serving as postmaster in 1816. Fort Montgomerywas closed by the military in1819. By then, however, one traveler setting out on a ride to Pensacola,referred to the Federal Road as running from Fort Montgomery to Georgia, which suggests how it hadreplaced Fort Stoddert in the public consciousness as the end point of the Federal Road. 1888

Figure 4-18. Military buttons from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819: (a) Rifle Regiment, RF3A; (b)2nd Regiment of Riflemen, RF7A1; (c) 1st Light Artillery Regiment, AY41D; (d) 7th Regiment Infantryofficer, GI51A R7A; (e) Continental Navy, NA1A; (f) New York militia, NY11A; (g) Regiment of Riflemen,RF1C; (h) Infantry officer, vest or collar button, DB & Company London, GI51G; (i) 11th InfantryRegiment, GI34R11; (j) Infantry, GI36F2; (k) Infantry, GI36E1; (l) Infantry, GI36A1; (m) Infantry, GI36A4;(n-o) General Service, Infantry Regiment, GI30A (courtesy of Brett McWilliams).Figure 4-19. Military pewter cockade eagle from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819 (courtesy of BrettMcWilliams).89

Figure 4-20. Military artifacts from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819: (a) Infantry cap plate, 1817design, brass; (b-i) lead flintlock vise cushions; (j) gun lock with “J Walker” stamp; (k) brass scabbardthroat (courtesy of Brett McWilliams).90

Figure 4-21. Military artifacts from the Fort Montgomery site, 1814-1819: (a) iron bridle bit; (b) ironstirrup; (c) iron curry comb; (d) wood and brass pulley sleeve; (e) iron screw auger bit (courtesy of BrettMcWilliams).91

Cantonment Montpelier, Tate Cemetery, and the Tunstall House. The size of the U.S.military presence in the Tensaw, with the 39th U.S. Infantry Regiment based at Fort Montgomery, led to adecision to build a nearby cantonment for the 4th U.S. Infantry Regiment. By April 1817 the 350 men ofthe 4th Regiment had nearly completed Cantonment Montpelier. Named for President James Madison’sVirginia home, the new cantonment was located 7 miles northeast of Fort Montgomery, on a new branchof the Federal Road. Inspector General John Davis noted the camp’s “situation is high and dry, and hasevery appearance of being a healthy place. The Officers Quarters and mens barracks are built of squaredlogs, and are large and high – Provisions will be waggoned from the Alabama, a distance of about 7. or 8.Miles.” There the 4th Regiment headquarters remained as individual companies were moved around theregion as needed. On May 31, 1821, General Jackson issued a farewell to his troops from the headquartersof the Division of the South at Montpelier. The entire 4th Regiment relocated to Pensacola in August. 20Before and after the military occupation of this site, Montpelier was the home of David Tate andhis family. Tate was a nephew of the Creek leader Alexander McGillivray, and one of the wealthiest menon the Tensaw frontier. Precisely what negotiations or decisions led to the construction of a majormilitary installation on his property has not been determined from our historical research. The BaldwinCounty Historical Society owns a fenced ¼-acre portion of the site, which contains the marked graves ofDavid Tate, his wife Louisa Randon, and his brother-in-law George Tunstall (Figure 4-22). 21 Tunstall’shouse still stands on the property and is occupied by the current owners,An early aerial photograph of the property shows an unusual rectangular outline in a fieldnorth of Highway 59 (Figure 4-24). Thus odd crop mark may indicate an earthwork related to thecantonment. Or it may simply relate to a more modern structure or disturbance in that spot.Figure 4-22. Graves of David Tate and his wife Louisa Randon Tate at Montpelier, October 21, 2010.92

Figure 4-23. Tunstall house on Highway 59 at Montpelier, built about 1820, 1934 HABS photograph byW. N. Manning (courtesy Historic American Building Survey, ALA.2-Tensa.2-1 001884pu).Figure 4-24. Detail of 1955 USDA aerial photograph, Blacksher, Baldwin County, showing CantonmentMontpelier site, 1BA265, with Tunstall house near bottom and unusual rectangular crop mark near top(north) (courtesy of Craig Remington, Cartographic Research Laboratory, University of Alabama).93

Figure 4-25. Sheet brass military artifacts from the Cantonment Montpelier site, 1817-1821: (a) U.S.Infantry cap plate, 1817 design; (b) U.S. Army Corps of Artillery cap plate, 1815 design; (c) U.S.Volunteers cap plate, brass; (d) U.S. Army cockade eagle (courtesy of Brett McWilliams).94

Figure 4-26. U.S. military buttons from the Cantonment Montpelier site, 1817-1821: (a) post-1818Infantry officer, GI51F; (b) Infantry officer, vest or collar, GI51I; (c) U.S. Marines, MC4C (courtesy of BrettMcWilliams).Figure 4-27. Artifacts from the Cantonment Montpelier site, 1817-1821: (a-b) lead whizzers, (c-g) leadand brass flintlock vise cushions; (h) brass sword scabbard drag tip (courtesy of Brett McWilliams).95

Montgomery Hill. The Montgomery Hill community is situated approximately three milessoutheast of Fort Mims. Mrs. Bryant operated a stage stop on the hill in the early 1800s. The stop was oneof a few along the Federal Road and stage road to Blakely and very little has been written about it. 23James Stuart did not mention passing Montgomery Hill when he traveled down the Old Federal Road in1830. After leaving MacDavid’s hotel, near the Escambia-Monroe County boundary, Stuart continuedalong the road until he reached Byrne’s Hotel, near Blakely. Stuart did comment on the beauty of the firefliesas he passed through the forests of modern-day Baldwin County. Somewhere on his trip betweenMacDavid’s and Byrne’s Hotel, his coach got stuck on a tree stump. Stuart commented the driver did “allhe could in roads that should not be travelled after sunset, -- merely a tract in the forest covered withstumps.” 24Montgomery Hill Baptist Church, built circa 1854 and one of the few historic standing structuresin the Montgomery Hill community (Figure 4-28), was listed on the National Register of Historic placesin 1988. 25 The Greek revival style church is in immaculate condition and continues to serve as place ofworship for local residents. The cemetery adjacent to the church contains nearly 200 marked graves,including several family plots enclosed in ornate wrought iron fences. The earliest known grave belongsto a young lady who died while visiting the community; the headstone reads “First Grave, b. c.1854.” Adeath date is not listed, but it must have been before 1860- the date of the next earliest grave. Thecemetery remains in use today. 26Figure 4-28. Montgomery Hill Baptist Church, Tensaw, Baldwin County, October 21, 2010.96

Historic Sites in Escambia CountyThe Old Federal Road runs through Escambia County for approximately 16 miles, passing bythree historic settlements: Jack Springs, McCullough, and Huxford. Jack Springs was the only communityactive during the Old Federal Road period. McCullough and Huxford were not established until 1893-1894 and 1897, respectively. 27 No records or resources found to date mention any settlers in the area ofthe Old Federal Road prior to 1845. According to original General Land Office land patents for the threetownships in Escambia County (T2N R4E, T3N R5E, and T3N R6E), the earliest settlers did not purchaseland along the road until 1845. It is likely settlers were living in this region prior to this time, butdocumentation has been lost or destroyed. The first recorded landowner, Gilbert Cruit, acquired propertyin Section 1, Township 3 North, Range 6 East in 1845 directly on the Old Federal Road. In 1858 hebought adjacent property. Not until 1880 did other settlers began to purchase land in that area ofEscambia County. Cruit’s homestead may have offered weary travelers a place to rest, but it is notreferred to as an inn, tavern, or stage stop. The only known stage stop in the county was at Jack Springs.Given the short length of the Old Federal Road in the county, the near absence of such establishments isnot too surprising. Stage stops and inns were generally found every 14 to 16 miles along the road. P.Downey operated a tavern about 1 mile north of the Escambia County line and several places to stopcould be found to the west in Baldwin County.Jack Springs. The community of Jack Springs is one of the oldest settlements in EscambiaCounty. In the 1820s a stage stop was situated on the Old Federal Road, near one of the towns manysprings. Little is known about the stop and no documents consulted to date have indicated the owner. Theearliest extant land patents for the tavern site date to the 1880s, but the tavern was in operation longbefore then. Over time the inn grew to include a saloon and dance hall. The site of the old tavern wasidentified during our tour of Escambia County by Paul Merritt. He was shown the site by Johnny Presley,who remembered seeing remains of the tavern when he was a child. General Jackson, according to localoral history, stopped in the area to refresh his army with cool water from the springs. Today the tavernsite is a plowed field, although no remains of the structure were seen on the ground surface (Figure 4-29).Over the years, a small community developed around the stage stop. In 1850 a group of PrimitiveBaptists moved to Jack Springs and established one of the first churches. By the end of the nineteenthcentury the community was home to several churches, a school house, gristmill, cotton gin, and a fewstores. By 1925 virgin timber around the community was depleted and the town began to decline. Todayfew homes and other buildings remain. No archaeological testing has been done at Jack Springs and nopreviously recorded sites have been identified in the area. 2897

Figure 4-29. View of tavern site at Jack Springs, looking south, December 15, 2010.1 Clarence Edwin Carter, Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, Alabama Territory, 1817-1819(Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office: 1952), 3.2 Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, two volumes (Chicago, IL:S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1921). Information regarding Baldwin County was found in volume 2, 85;Escambia County in volume 2, 54.3 One obscure reference is a “Map Showing Territory Traversed by the Old Federal Road Between West Line ofButler County and Bay Minette, State of Alabama,” prepared under the direction of James H. Jones, Land Agent;Century, FL: Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company, 1914. We consulted a copy in the Escambia Historical Societycollections at Jefferson Davis Community College, Brewton, AL.4 Luckett Field Survey Records, Record Group 77, National Archives5 All plat maps and survey notes were downloaded from the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office’swebsite http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/.6 Gregory A. Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (Tuscaloosa:University of Alabama Press, 2006).7 Gregory A. Waselkov, Bonnie L. Gums, and James W. Parker, Archaeology at Fort Mims: Excavation Contextsand Artifact Catalog (Mobile, AL: University of South Alabama, Center for Archaeological Studies, ArchaeologicalMonograph 12, 2006).8 Thomas Owens, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, four volumes (Chicago, IL: S. J.Clarke Publishing Company, 1921), p 615; and W. Stuart Harris, Dead Towns of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL:University of Alabama Press, 1977), 48.9 Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama, and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period,two volumes (Charleston, SC; Walker and James, 1851), 2:189-190; Lydia Jane Newcomb Comings and Martha M.Albers, A Brief History of Baldwin County (Fairhope, AL: Baldwin County Historical Society, 1928), 29; Records ofthe Post Office Department record of appointment of postmasters, October 1789-1832 (Washington: National98

Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1980),602; Waselkov, AConquering Spirit, 102-103, 109, 306 n. 16,10 Pickett, History of Alabama, 2:269, 272; Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit, 124-127, 139-140 (quote).11 Albert J. Pickett Papers, Pickett Family Papers (Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery,LPR185, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2), Notes taken from the lips of Dr. Thos. G. Holmes in relation to variousexpeditions made by Capt. Blue, Col. Benton & others in 1814-1813 (Interview Notes 25, n.d.).12 Ibid.13 Major Howell Tatum, Topographical Notes and Observations on the Alabama river, August 1814, MSS S-1007(New Haven, CT: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University).14 Pickett, History of Alabama, 2:361-362.15 Brian R. Rucker, “In the Shadow of Jackson: Uriah Blue’s Expedition into West Florida,” Florida HistoricalQuarterly 73 (3, January 1995):325-338.16 Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama, 22, 92-93.17 Francis Paul Prucha, Atlas of American Indian Affairs (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1990), 96-97,162; Hugh Young, “A Topographical Memoir on East and West Florida with Itineraries of General Jackson’s Army,1818,” Florida Historical Quarterly 13 (3, January 1935), 164 (quote); Harold D. Moser, David R. Hoth, andGeorge H. Hoemann, editors, The Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 4, 1816-1820 (Knoxville: University ofTennessee Press, 1994), 30-31, 86, 106-107, 140-141, 197-201, 212-215, 230-231, 239-241, 302-303, 455; PickettPapers (ADAH, LPR185, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2), Notes taken from a file of Old Papers in the StateDepartment of Alabama relating to the Indian difficulties in 1818 (Interview Notes, 11, n.d.), 9.18 Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin, editors, American State Papers, Miscellaneous Documents Legislative andExecutive (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 353-391; Thomas Stocks, “Memorandum Taken on My Tourto Pensacola Commencing on 15 April, 1819,” Bulletin of the Alabama Department of Archives and History 2 (3,September 1925), 26-27.19 James W. Parker, “Investigations Relative to the 19th-Century Tensaw Military Frontier in Southwest Alabama,in Archaeology in Southwestern Alabama: A Collection of Papers, edited by Cailup Curren (Camden, AL: AlabamaTombigbee Regional Commission, 1982), 148-150.20 Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama, 93; Prucha, Atlas ofAmerican Indian Affairs, 96, 162; William H. Powell, A History of the Organization and Movements of the FourthRegiment of Infantry, United States Army (Washington, DC: M’Gill & Witherow, 1871), 14-16; Moser, Hoth, andHoemann, The Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 4, 1816-1820, 302-303; Sam B. Smith, Harriet Fason ChappellOwsley, Harold D. Moser, and George H. Hoemann, editors, The Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 5, 1821-1824(Knoxvile, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1996), 75-76.21 Comings and Albers, A Brief History of Baldwin County, 16.22 Parker, “Investigations Relative to the 19th-Century Tensaw Military Frontier in Southwest Alabama,” 148-150.James W. Parker, personal communication, December 16, 2010.23 O. Lawrence Burnette, Jr., Coastal Kingdom: A History of Baldwin County (Baltimore: Publish America, 2006).24 James Stuart, Three Years in North America, in Two Volumes, Volume II (Edinburgh: Printed for Robert Cadell,1833), 223-224.25 “National Register of Historic Places,” National Park Service, accessed September 22, 2011,http://www.nps.gov/nr/research/.26 “Montgomery Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, Tensaw, Baldwin County, Alabama,” Cemetery Records Online,accessed September 22, 2011, http://www.interment.net/data/us/al/baldwin/montgomery/montgomery_hill.htm.27 Annie C. Waters, History of Escambia County Alabama (Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, Publisher,2000), 195.28 Waters, Escambia County, 190-192. Paul Merrit, “Jack Springs” in The Heritage of Escambia County (Clanton,AL: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2002), 24-25. Personal communication with Paul Merritt, December 15, 2010.99

Chapter 5Monroe and Conecuh CountiesTracing the Old Federal RoadAt the time of its creation in 1815, MonroeCounty contained all the lands ceded by the Creeks inthe 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson. From its originalextent, which comprised almost half of present-dayAlabama, over twenty counties were formed. Numerousacts of legislature between 1816 and 1868 shaped thecounty to its present form. Conecuh County was createdfrom Monroe County by the territorial legislature onFebruary 13, 1818. Originally that county encompassedthe land north to the modern Lowndes County line, eastto the Chattahoochee River, and south to the Florida line.Subsequent legislation in 1819, 1821, and 1868 establishedthe modern limits of the county (Figure 5-1). 1Figure 5-1. Map of Alabama highlightingMonroe and Conecuh counties.The Old Federal Road coincides with most of the Monroe-Conecuh county boundary. Thisportion of the road is well documented by numerous sources and little conflict exists regarding its originalroute. The act creating Conecuh County stated “That all that tract of country lying east of the FederalRoad, and not included in any other county now established, except the county of Monroe, shall hereafterform one country, to be called and known by the name of Conecuh.” 2 Additional sources were consultedto further identify the route, including land survey plats, historic maps, Fletcher Hale’s maps, an 1891survey of the county line, and historic aerial photographs.The original land survey plats were created by John Coffee and Thomas Freeman in the 1810sand early 1820s. Coffee surveyed the southern portion of the counties, which contained approximately 17miles of road, and Freeman the remaining area, approximately 35 miles of road. Coffee’s plats do notdepict the road, which is consistent with his plats in other counties. However, Freeman’s plats do showthe road, which is labeled “Federal Road to Georgia”, “Road to Georgia”, or “Georgia Road.” (Figure 5-2). James Weakley supervised the resurvey of much of this area in the 1840s, but his plats are not extantfor the southern portions of the two counties. The Old Federal Road depicted on all of the survivingWeakley plats generally corresponds to Freeman’s location of the road, perhaps due to copying from the100

earlier survey. Segments of the road which vary in the resurveyed plats from the original surveys aretypically found in the middle of sections, where the road was drawn less accurately than where the roadcrossed section lines. Weakley’s plats are chiefly valuable because they show additional later roads,which reflects how quickly the area developed once the Old Federal Road allowed settlers access to land(Figure 5-3).Figure 5-2. Old Federal Road, labeled “Georgia Road,” shown on Thomas Freeman’s undated [ca 1817]survey plat for Township 7 North, Range 9 East (courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, GeneralLand Office).101

Figure 5-3. Old Federal Road (not labeled) and other roads shown on James Weakley’s 1848 survey platof Township 7 North, Range 9 East (courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office).Several historic maps created in the early decades of the nineteenth century show the Old FederalRoad through Monroe and Conecuh counties, as well as several historic sites along its path. MaxfieldLudlow’s 1816 map depicts the Old Federal Road and the secondary route from Burnt Corn Springs toFort Claiborne (Figure 5-4). John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory, an anonymous 1826 map of aproposed National Road, William Darby’s 1828 map of Georgia and Alabama, and John LaTourette’s1838 map of Alabama all similarly depict the Old Federal Road and the important branch from BurntCorn to Fort Claiborne, confirming the locations of these routes (Figures 5-5 to 5-8). In addition, historicinns operated by Peebles and Hayes are depicted on the anonymous 1826 map. LaTourette’s invaluable1838 map identifies the town of Pine Orchard, Burnt Corn Post Office, Burnt Corn Springs, Peebles-Hollinger Bridge, and inns belonging to Longmire, Atkinson, Bell, McMillan, Downey, and Stewart.These and other historic maps have proven extremely useful for documenting the location of the road andhistoric sites in Monroe and Conecuh counties.102

Figure 5-5. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map depicting the “Federal Road to Georgia” through Monroeand Conecuh counties, and the road from Burnt Corn to Fort Claiborne (courtesy of the AlabamaDepartment of Archives and History).103

Figure 5-6. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map of a proposed National Road depicting theFederal Road through Monroe and Conecuh counties and the sites of Peebles’s and Hayes’s inns(courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia).Figure 5-7. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map of Georgia and Alabama depicting the Federal Roadthrough Monroe and Conecuh counties and the road from Burnt Corn (labeled “Burnthorn V.” andinaccurately drawn north of its actual location) to Fort Claiborne.104

Figure 5-8. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama depicting the Federal Road throughMonroe and Conecuh counties with numerous historic sites identified (courtesy of David RumseyHistorical Map Collection).105

Fletcher Hale’s interpretation of the Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties is verysimilar to the route shown on land survey plats and historical maps, which is not the case with severalother counties (Figure 5-9). His accuracy in Monroe and Conecuh counties is attributable to his positionas Monroe County Topographic Draftsman in the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to his Old Federal Roadmap series, Hale recreated a survey of the Monroe-Conecuh county line originally conducted in 1891 byT. A. Rumbley (Monroe County Surveyor) and J. Straughn (Conecuh County Surveyor) (Figure 5-10).Hale used Rumbley and Straughn’s field data to draw new maps that included features noted during the1891 survey, as well as features observed during his own mapping. The 1891 survey precisely locates theOld Federal Road prior to modern paving and straightening.Figure 5-9. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road around Burn Corn Springs in Township 7 North,Range 9 East (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).106

Figure 5-10. Fletcher Hale’s copy of page 1 of Rumbley and Straughn’s 1891 survey notes of the Monroe-Conecuh county boundary, with one of Hale’s recreated plat maps on the right (courtesy of the AlabamaDepartment of Archives and History).The route of the Old Federal Road through the two counties today generally corresponds withmodern paved roads and well maintained public dirt roads. The road enters the southern boundary ofMonroe-Conecuh counties from Escambia County on Butler Street, which becomes Conecuh CountyRoad 45. After approximately 1.7 miles the Old Federal Road leaves Conecuh County Road 45 andmerges into Old Stage Road/ Conecuh County Road 5 (Figure 5-11 and 5-12). Conecuh County Road 5turns from a paved to a graded dirt road after about 2 miles, near Enon Church. The road then crosses abridge over Big Escambia Creek . Conecuh County Road 5 continues as a dirt road along the county linefor about 5 miles, at which point paving resumes to the intersection with US Highway 84/ State Highways41 and 12 (Figure 5-13). The Old Federal Road veers off Conecuh County Road 5 approximately one-halfmile south of US Highway 84 onto a grass trail for about 2,000 feet before it rejoins the main road. Thegrass trail crosses Escambia Creek, but no remnants of a bridge are visible (Figure 5-14). Perhaps thecreek was fordable here before construction of the modern bridge.107

Figure 5-11. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 1.Figure 5-12. The Old Federal Road looking northwest at the intersection of Conecuh County Road 45 andOld Stage Road/Conecuh County Road 5, November 11, 2010.108

Figure 5-13. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 2.Figure 5-14. Grassy section of the Old Federal Road south of US Highway 84 at Escambia Creek, lookingnorth, June 9, 2011.109

After the Old Federal Road crosses US Highway 84, it becomes a dirt road for about two miles.The road is presently used by timber companies, but is accessible by the public. It then merges into againpaved Conecuh County Road 5 (Figures 5-15 and 5-16). However, near the junction with County Road 5,the dirt road can be impassable after heavy rainfall. The Old Federal Road continues to closely followConecuh County Road 5 for most of the next 22 miles through the towns of Bermuda, Burnt Corn,Ramah, and Pine Orchard, until turning onto Conecuh County Road 1 near Skinnerton (Figure 5-17). TheClaiborne Branch heads west from the Old Federal Road, about one mile south of Burnt Corn. The OldFederal Road does diverge from Conecuh County Road 5 for short distances at two points betweenBermuda and Burnt Corn. Both segments are situated along curves that were straightened during modernroad alterations. One segment 2 miles south of Burnt Corn is a dirt road that runs east of the modern roadfor a little less than a mile before rejoining Conecuh County Road 5. The second segment diverges westof the main road about 2,000 feet north of the previous segment. The south half of that 1,600-footsegment is a grass path on private property and no longer drivable (Figure 5-18). The north half is agravel and dirt road still in use by the residents of the homes along its path.Figure 5-15. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 3.110

Figure 5-16. Dirt section of Conecuh County Road 5 north of US Highway 84, looking north, June 9,2011.Figure 5-17. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 4.111

Figure 5-18. The Old Federal Road through Burnt Corn, looking north, June 9, 2011.The Old Federal Road crosses Murder Creek roughly 2 miles south of Skinnerton on a concretebridge (Figure 5-19). Today the creek is slow-moving and nearly stagnant south of the bridge. DuringBloomfield’s 1806-1807 assessment of the Federal Road’s bridge and causeway needs, he noted “MurderCreek which will want a bridge about the same size [30 feet] and 30 feet of causway.” 3 The remnants of alate nineteenth-century or early twentieth-century wood-post bridge can be seen in the creek a fewhundred feet north of the current bridge (Figure 5-20).At the small community of Skinnerton the Old Federal Road leaves Conecuh County Road 5, butcontinues to follow the Monroe-Conecuh county line on Conecuh County Road 1 for about three-quartersof a mile, then turns north onto paved Conecuh County Road 83. At Midway, approximately 3 milesnorth of the Conecuh County Road 83 intersection, the Old Federal Road turns southeast onto pavedConecuh County Road 106 (Figure 5-21), then departs it about 2,000 feet west of West Sepulga River, alittle over a mile east of Midway. From this point the Old Federal Road parallels the county line, which isa few hundred feet north of the modern road on private property. A small concrete bridge traverses theriver on the main road, but no indication of a bridge could be seen at the Old Federal Road crossing. Theriver is not mentioned in Bloomfield’s 1806-1807 bridge assessment, so it is likely the river was narrowand shallow enough to cross without a bridge (Figure 5-22).112

Figure 5-19. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 5.Figure 5-20. Remnants of an old bridge in Murder Creek, north of the modern bridge, June 16, 2011.113

Figure 5-21. The Old Federal Road enters Midway from the southwest on Conecuh County Road 83 (left)and leaves on Conecuh County Road 106 bearing east (behind the photographer), June 16, 2011.Figure 5-22. West Sepulga River, looking north towards the Old Federal Road, although there is nosurface indication of the old roadbed, June 16, 2011.114

The portion of the Old Federal Road on private property north of Conecuh County Road 106 is agrass path, which becomes a private dirt road after half a mile (Figure 5-23). The dirt road intersectspaved Conecuh County Road 79, but the Old Federal Road only coincides with the main road for about2,000 feet before it turns east onto private property once again. After continuing northeast along thecounty line through private property for about 1.25 miles, the Old Federal Road merges with pavedConecuh County Road 29. The old road deviates from the paved road onto Conecuh County Road38/Wright Street, a scenic dirt road passing by historic Middleton Cemetery (Figure 5-24). The dirt roadturns into a paved road and continues for another 1.5 miles northeast to the Butler County line.Figure 5-23. The Old Federal Road in Monroe and Conecuh counties, map 6.115

Figure 5-24. The Old Federal Road at Middleton Cemetery, looking east, November 17, 2011.Historic Sites in Monroe and Conecuh CountiesCharles Stewart’s and P. Downey’s Inns. Charles Stewart and P. Downey operated inns alongthe Old Federal Road near the Escambia County line. Both inns are shown on LaTourette’s 1837 map andare noted in Mary Brantley’s Early Settlers along the Old Federal Road in Monroe and ConecuhCounties, Alabama. However, aside from these references very little documentation exists regarding theseinns. Land records show Charles Stewart owned a tract on the Old Federal Road inwhich is probably the location of the tavern. P. Downey is not recorded asowning property in Monroe or Conecuh counties. Because of their vague documentation, archaeologicaltesting was not completed at the inn sites at this time. No archaeological work or previously recorded sitesare situated in the vicinity of the inns. 4116

McMillan Stage Stop. Scotsman Duncan McMillan and his family operated a stage stop alongthe Old Federal Road in Monroe County during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Mr.McMillan migrated to the U.S. from Argyle, Scotland with his family when he was a young boy. Duncan,along with his wife and two daughters moved to Alabama circa 1820. Mrs. McMillan was an American ofScottish descent and was fluent in Gaelic. The tavern was open by at least 1830, when James Stuart spentan evening there. Adam Hodson does not mention any houses or taverns in the vicinity of McMillan’s in1820, so the tavern was established between 1821 and 1830. Land records indicate McMillan did notcomplete purchase the property until 1832, two years after Stuart stayed an evening in their house. It isnot known when the tavern closed. Duncan is not listed in the 1850 census for Monroe or Conecuhcounties, so perhaps by this time the tavern was no longer in operation.When James Stuart, also a Scotsman, stayed an evening with the McMillans in 1830, he wasimpressed with McMillan and his situation in the wilderness. The family had cleared much of their landfor agriculture, but also had a “considerable tract of wood-land.” They were able to fully supportthemselves off the land and “never went to market but for coffee.” Stuart was accommodated with asmall and thinly boarded private room with “hardly any room for a chair or anything else.” Through thethin walls Stuart heard the family engage in worship. The McMillan’s devotion delighted Stuart, “to findthis honest old Scotchman, MacMillan, in the midst of the forest of Alabama, not forgetful of those habitsinculcated on him in his youth in the country of his nativity, habits delineated so beautifully, and withsuch exquisite feeling.” 5 It was not uncommon for families to practice religion privately in their homes onthe frontier. Baptists and Methodists were the predominant denominations in rural Alabama in the 1830s,and there was little tolerance for Roman Catholicism. Consequently, Catholics often practiced privately,as seen with the McMillans.In 1832 McMillan purchased approximately 80 acres inThe Old Federal Road and the county line divide theproperty, allocating McMillan land in both Monroe and Conecuh counties. The 1838 LaTourette mapdepicts McMillan’s tavern in Monroe County.Given these resources, a search area was narrowed for the location of the tavern, and thelandowners kindly granted permission to conduct an archaeological survey at the presumed tavern site.On April 7 and June 30, 2011, shovel testing at 20-meter intervals and metal detecting wereconducted in the areas with the highest probability for the tavern,The land today is planted in young pines (Figure 5-25). Years of agriculture have117

eroded the soil significantly. Dense red clay subsoil was encountered approximately 20 to 30 cm belowthe ground surface. The remnants of a mid to late nineteenth-century structure, including brick supportsand a fireplace were foundShovel tests excavated near the structural remains contained mostly clear flat glass. Nodiagnostic artifacts were recovered near the structure. The area was densely covered with poison ivy andwill need to be revisited and investigated further in the winter.The artifacts recoveredincludedtwo cut nails, one iron strap fragment, one unidentified iron rod, and one whiteware and one fine-linepolychrome floral pearlware hollow ware fragment. All the iron artifacts were recovered by metaldetector. The whiteware sherd was found while investigating a metal detector hit, and the pearlware sherdwas found on the ground surface near the Old Federal Road. Shovel tests were placed at 10-meterintervals near the pearlware sherd, but no additional artifacts were recovered (Figure 5-26). The artifactsindicate an early nineteenth-century occupation, but further testing will be needed to confirm the site asthe location of McMillan’s tavern, after which a site form will be submitted to the Alabama State SiteFiles.Figure 5-25. View of planted pines in the McMillan tavern search area, looking north, June 30, 2011.118

Figure 5-26. Map showing McMillan’s 1832 property boundary, shovel tests, and archaeologicalrecovery loci,Burnt Corn Springs/James Cornells’s House. James Cornells, a wealthy Creek métis, built ahome near Burnt Corn Springs on the Federal Road sometime before 1813. Early surveys of the road byLt. Luckett in 1810 and Bloomfield in 1811, depicted on Bradley’s map of the following year, do notindicate anyone living in the vicinity of Burnt Corn Springs before 1812. Cornells established his houseand cowpens at a strategic point on the road, near its intersection with the Wolf Trail to SpanishPensacola. Like his friend Samuel Moniac, who built his establishment near Pinchony Creek around thesame time, he presumably intended to provide mounts and accommodations to mail riders and travelerson the new road. By mid-July 1813, as tensions rose between the Redstick Creeks and the Creek métisand Americans living in the Tensaw region of the lower Alabama River, an important event occurred here119

in the lead up to the Creek War. A party of Redsticks led by Peter McQueen and Jim Boy traveled downthe Federal Road to Burnt Corn Springs, near the Wolf Trail branch south to Spanish Pensacola, wherethey hoped to obtain ammunition. They stopped at Cornells’s place near the springs, kidnapped his wife,Betsy Coulter, and took her to Pensacola, where, according to Thomas Woodward, they “sold her to aFrench lady, a madame Barrone” for a blanket. 6 The Redstick Creeks burned the house and stoleCornells’s cattle, then proceeded to Pensacola. While returning up the Wolf Path, later in the month, aRedstick pack train was attacked by American and Creek métis militia at a crossing on Burnt Corn Creek,south of the springs, which led to the retaliatory attack on Fort Mims in late August 1813. 7Burnt Corn. The historic town of Burnt Corn was settled circa 1816 by the families of JamesGrace, Joshua Betts, Thomas P. Jones, George Kyser, John Greene, Sr., Samuel Salter, Richard Warren,Joel Lee, Garrett Longmire, and Harry Waldrom. By 1819 many of their claims had been confirmed at theland office in Cahaba. The settlers organized Bethany Baptist Church, the first church in Burnt Corn.Within a few years the first store, owned by a Mr. Walker, was opened. And in 1822, Captain Hayeserected a gin house and mill near the town. 8The town continued to grow and by the 1840s the first school was established. Burnt CornAcademy, an all male school, was incorporated by the Alabama Legislature on December 31, 1841. By1855, the school was open to girls, as well. The school house was situated near a spring known asAcademy Spring. After the school closed, “Uncle Bob Betts,” a black slaved, lived in a cabin near thespring. The early settlers of Burnt Corn brought with them many slaves, and today some of their descentsbearingthe names of their masters – Coker, Grace, Rankins, Lett and Salter – still live near the OldFederal Road in Burnt Corn. 9In 1817 postmaster William James oversaw the postal stop at Burnt Corn, which continued tooperate until July 25, 1866. The post office was reestablished August 5, 1867, only to be discontinuedagain on February 15, 1926, when the it was moved temporarily to Evergreen. In 1936, the office wasmoved back to Burnt Corn and operated out of S. G. Lowrey’s store, with Lowrey acting as postmaster(Figure 5-27). Today, Lowrey’s Store, Dr. Watkins house, and many other historic buildings can be seenby travelers of the Old Federal Road (Figures 5-28 to 5-30).120

Figure 5-27. Lowrey’s Store, Post Office, and Masonic Lodge, September 17, 2011.Figure 5-28. Barber Shop, Casket Room, and Warehouses at Burnt Corn, November 11, 2010.121

Figure 5-29. Historic home on Old Federal Road in Burnt Corn, November 11, 2010.Figure 5-30. Rally for the Good Roads Movement in Burnt Corn, Alabama, ca. 1916 (courtesy of theAlabama Department of Archives and History, file name Q5545).122

Dr. Watkins’s House. Dr. John Watkins, born in Virginia circa 1785, was one of the earliestdoctors in the modern limits of Monroe and Conecuh counties. Watkins received his medical education atthe University of Pennsylvania. In 1813, he emigrated from South Carolina, along the Old Federal Road,to the Fort Mims area, and was living there when the massacre occurred in August 1813. Family historymaintains that he provided medical care to the survivors. He moved to Claiborne sometime before 1818and soon after relocated to Burnt Corn, settling just north of the town. In 1831 Watkins married Mary Y.(Howard) Hunter and the couple had eight children, five boys and three girls. 10 In addition to his medicalresponsibilities, Watkins was an active politician. In Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama (1872),William Garrett writes, “He was a delegate from Monroe to the Convention, which met at Huntsville in1819, to form a Constitution preparatory to the admission of the State into the Union, and contributed nolittle of his enlightened counsel to the completion of that instrument. He was afterwards, several times, amember of the Legislature when great questions of public concern engaged attention.” 11 Dr. Watkins diedin Burnt Corn August 9, 1853 and is buried in Burnt Corn Baptist Cemetery.Local legend says the house was originally built in 1812 by the Richardson brothers and Dr.Watkins bought the home and plantation when he moved to the area.12 That early date is questionable,since the location was well within the Creek Nation at that time and would likely have been burned duringthe Creek War of 1813-1814. An origin immediately after the war is much more likely. The house wasconstructed in the dogtrot style popular in the early nineteenth century. The breezeway was eventuallyenclosed and a kitchen added to the original structure. The house was documented during the HistoricAmerican Buildings Survey in the 1930s (Figures 5-31 and 5-32) and was listed as an Alabama Landmarkin 1993. 13 The house is still standing and in excellent condition. We are currently working with the landowners to allow archaeological testing around the house. After the survey is complete, a site form will besubmitted to the Alabama State Site Files and a site number assigned.123

Figure 5-31. Dr. Watkins House, Burnt Corn vicinity, side and rear views (courtesy of the HistoricAmerican Buildings Survey, ALA, 18-.1-2 001872pu).Figure 5-32. Dr. Watkins House, Burnt Corn vicinity, front and side views (courtesy of the HistoricAmerican Buildings Survey, ALA, 18-1-1 001871pu).124

Longmire’s Inn/Fort Warren. Several historic sites are situated along the road between BurntCorn and the Middleton Cemetery, including Longmire’s Inn and Fort Warren. Unfortunately, thedocumentation concerning these sites is scant. Often times, the inns or small villages are mentioned in afew travelers’ accounts and a location can be estimated based on the description. The location of thetaverns can be further pinpointed by consulting land records and historic maps.Garrett Longmire operated a tavern along the Old Federal Roadnear Burnt Corn. Garrett and his wife Susannah Winn Longmire are believed to havecome to Alabama in 1816 and opened their tavern shortly afterwards. In 1821, the Longmires weremembers of Bethany Baptist Church at Burnt Corn. In 1835 they were granted letters of dismissal. This islikely the year they moved to Turnbull, Alabama. The tavern is mentioned in several travelers’ accounts,including this one dating to 1830.James Stuart stopped at the inn one evening to change horses, but did not spend the night. In hisaccount of the stop, he recorded an event regarding the medical skills of Mrs. Longmire:The Lady of the hotel at Longmyres assumes to herself great skill in medicine, and wastaking the sole charge of a young man, one of the drivers, who had a severe attack ofbilious fever. He was lying on a shake-down in one corner of the room, and looked sohaggard and ill, that I advised him strongly to resort to the advice of a regular physician,although at the distance of eight or ten miles; but his brother, another of the drivers, hadso great faith in Mrs Longmyre’s knowledge, that I fear the patient would be theirvictim. 14The application of medical care by Mrs. Longmire is an interesting insight into the lives of earlysettlers along the Old Federal Road. For many inhabitants, a trained doctor could be a day’s rideaway, or possibly further. Stuart mentions a doctor approximately 8 or 10 miles away, whichsuggests either Dr. Watkins (who lived about 1 mile away) was not in town, or Stuart was notaware of his presence. Regardless, early settlers often relied on informally trained locals toadminister healthcare.In 1826, Garret Longmire purchased a tract of land on the Old Federal RoadAccording to census records of 1820,Longmire was a resident of Conecuh County and owned 18 slaves. 15 The family also acquiredlands in Monroe County. From these facts, the location of the tavern can be narrowed down(Figure 5-33).125

With this information, it is very likely the old tavernsite could be identified through archaeological testing. The current landowners have beencontacted and future testing at the site is likely. No archaeological testing or previously recordedarchaeological sites are situated on or near the Longmire land. 16Figure 5-33. Location of Garrett Longmire landMajor Richard Warren, from South Carolina, was one of the earliest settlers in the BurntCorn and Pine Orchard area. In 1817, he erected his homestead along the Old Federal Road on atract near present-day Pine Orchard. During Indian hostilities that occurred in 1818, Warrenenclosed his home with a rudely-built stockade to offer protection to the nearby settlers. Thestockade was torn down after trouble subsided. The exact location of Richard Warren’s home andstockade is not known, but it is believed to be in the vicinity of Pine Orchard. Major Warren leftPine Orchard shortly after the Indian troubles and moved south near the modern town of Sparta.He went on to become Conecuh County’s first representative in the Territorial Legislature. 17Richard Warren only lived in the Pine Orchard area for a short period of time, and records do notindicate the land he occupied circa 1817. Given this lack of documentation, Fort Warren could126

not be investigated archaeologically at this time. No previous archaeological testing or recordedsites have been documented in the vicinity of Fort Warren. 18Middleton Stage Stop and Cemetery. Middleton Cemetery is one of the oldest in thecounty and serves as final resting place for some of the earliest settlers in the area. Perhaps themost noteworthy gravestone in the cemetery is that of Mrs. Elizabeth Stroud, who was killed in1818 by a group of Indians at the Ogle (also spelled Ogley or Ogly) house in Butler County. Mrs.Stroud’s gravestone inscription reads, “Elizabeth, daughter of Luke Derbin, wife of Eli Stroud,Slain by Indians at the Ogley massacre in 1818.” Interestingly, after the death of his first wife, EliStroud went on to marry another woman name Elizabeth. His second wife died in 1829 and isburied alongside his first (Figure 5-34). 19The property on which the cemetery sits was settled by Willis Middleton Sr., who was the firstMiddleton buried there. 20 Willis Middleton Sr. and his wife Mary were born in South Carolina and movedto Monroe County between 1821 and 1823. The 1820 Monroe County Census does not list Middleton as aresident, but their first child was born in Alabama in 1823. Middleton was a reasonably wealthy farmer,with assets valued at $3,000 in 1850. The Middleton’s had nine children between the years of 1823 and1842. John Middleton, the eldest son, went on to become a farmer. In 1850, at the age of 27, John’sproperty was valued at $500. 21 The Middletons also operated a stage stop on the Old Federal Road nearthe cemetery, but very little information has been found regarding the inn. 22Figure 5-34. Gravestones of Elizabeth Stroud (d. 1818) and Elizabeth Stroud (d. 1829), MiddletonCemetery, November 17, 2010.127

Holley’s Store. Holley’s Store was one of the first mercantile establishments in Conecuh County.The store was opened circa 1816, although the land was not officially patented by Malachi Holley until1855, according to the Alabama Land Records tract books, and in 1858 according to Bureau of LandManagement records. 23 The 1820 Head of Household Census reported William Holley as a resident, butno further information concerning William has been found. 24 Malachi Holley’s gravestone at MiddletonCemetery indicates he was born in 1832 and died in 1870. It is possible Malachi was William Holley’sson and took over the store and land after his father’s death.After the 1818 Ogle-Stroud Massacre, which took place in Butler County, the survivors stoppedat Holley’s Store on their way to Claiborne, according to local histories. Mrs. Elizabeth Stroud, EliStroud’s wife, died here from wounds sustained during the massacre and was buried nearby in theMiddleton Cemetery.25 Accounts of the massacre mention Mrs. Elizabeth Stroud dying on her way toClaiborne, but did not name the location as Holley’s Store. 26 Resources documenting Holley’s Store arescant. As a result, archaeological survey was not conducted at the presumed site.Anderson Stage Stop. The Anderson Stage Stop is one of the very few such structures stillstanding along the Old Federal Road. In 1852 Samuel Jonathan Anderson and his family of ten or elevenchildren moved from the Montgomery-Lowndes county line and resettled along the Old Federal Road onthe Monroe-Conecuh county line. The Anderson’s home is situated in Monroe County and the barn inConecuh County. The dogtrot-style homestead served as a resting place for travelers and their horses.Charles Anderson, grandchild of Samuel Anderson, remembered his father, Charlie, would not allow thehorsemen to spend the night in the house on the Monroe County side; instead, they slept in the barn.However, the carriage men were permitted to rest in the home. The house was a popular stop for travelers.Charles remembers his father saying that barely two nights passed without a traveler staying an evening atthe house.27The home was abandoned circa 1950, but still stands, although in very dilapidated condition.Today, the house remains in private hands. The old smoke house still stands in the yard behindthe house, but the barn and other structures on the Conecuh County side no longer remain. ColinMacGuire wrote an article titled “A Historical Stop” for Alabama Sunday Magazine in 1968, whichincluded several photographs of the home, shed, smokehouse, and other structures. At this time all thestructures were in disrepair, but still standing. Martha Grimes Lampkin provided us with photographs ofthe house and smokehouse from 1997 (Figures 5-35 to 5-37).28128

Figure 5-35. Anderson Stage Stop in 1997, front of house (courtesy of Martha Grimes Lampkin).Figure 5-36. Anderson Stage Stop in 1997, gallery (courtesy of Martha Grimes Lampkin).129

Figure 5-37. Anderson Stage Stop in 1997, stairway (courtesy of Martha Grimes Lampkin).Fort Claiborne and the Town of Claiborne. In November 1813, Lt. Col. Gilbert C. Russellwith the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, two companies of Mounted Riflemen, and “a small train ofArtillery,” marched north from Mount Vernon Cantonment, up the Alabama River as far as large boats orschooners could navigate. Guiding them were a few anti-Redstick Creek Indians, including JohnWeatherford, brother of William Weatherford, a leader of the Redstick Creeks who had attacked FortMims two months earlier. Russell’s force crossed the river at John Weatherford’s ferry and plantation,where they rendezvoused on November 18 with General Ferdinand Claiborne’s 500 MississippiTerritorial Volunteers and militia and 51 Choctaws under Pushmataha for a campaign against theRedstick stronghold of Holy Ground. Claiborne’s troops had arrived the day before and were alreadyconstructing a fort atop 150-foot-high Weatherford’s Bluff, Russell set a fatigue party of 200 men to workharvesting corn left in Weatherford’s river bottom fields since summer. As Russell recalled some yearslater, in support of a compensation claim filed by John Weatherford, “One of Wetherfords double cabbins[a dogtrot log cabin] which the Indians had failed to burn down was pulled down & removed within ourFort for a contractors store.” 29Fort Claiborne was described as a stockade “200 feet square with three blockhouses and ademilune battery commanding the river.” Ammunition, provisions, and other supplies were transported upriver to this point, more expeditiously than could be accomplished over land, and secured at this130

provisions depot. However, when the brief Holy Ground campaign ended with General Claiborne’sterritorial troops mustered out of service here on January 1, 1814, the fort transitioned from a supplydepot to become a key post for federal and militia forces operating on the southern U.S. frontier for thenext five years. 30Colonel Russell assumed sole command of the fort and immediately convened courts martialthere to investigate some failures of the Holy Ground campaign. 31 On August 1814, General AndrewJackson descended the river to take command of forces on the Gulf coast. His small flotilla arrived at FortClaiborne on the 17th and his topographical engineer, Major Howell Tatum, penned a fairly detailedaccount of the situation there. Tatum mentioned thehigh pine bluff of 150 feet perpendicular, on the left side the river—a rich bottom to theright and a spring under the Fort in the river bank to the left.... The Bluff on which theFort is situated is called the Alabama heights. It overlooks an extensive, valuable bottomon the right bank, which is said to be backed with a high bluff of high Pine lands from thefoot of which run many fine springs that will prove of great utility in the future settlementof this part of the country – above this place lies large & extensive bodies of primebottom, and, as is said, high lands – the situation & water good & healthy of course willbecome a valuable acquisition to the United States. It is by land from 20 to 30 milesabove Fort Mimms & 50 miles above Fort Stoddard and 90 to 100 Miles above Mobile.Tatum went on to describe the fort as “a strong built stockade Fort nearly a square[;] on the centre of threesquares are built Blockhouses which have the effect of Salient Angles, the outer ends of which are shapedso as to have the effect of the face of Bastions in defence—there is also one of them in the line of anirregular off set in the work, made to avoid including part of a ravine.” 32On October 26, 1814 garrisoning the fort fell to Captain James Craig and 150 men of the WestTennessee militia, replacing Captain Donelson’s company of Tennessee Rangers, whose 105-man forcejoined General Jackson’s forces for the American attack on Spanish Pensacola. To bolster Americandefenses on Mobile Point, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, in late December Captain Craig and his men fromFort Claiborne reinforced Major Blue and the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment, which in Februaryunsuccessfully attempted to break the British siege of Fort Bowyer, the last battle of the War of 1812. 33With the cession of 21 million acres of land after the Treaty of Fort Jackson in August 1814, therewas enormous pressure on the U.S. government to survey the ceded lands and offer them for sale toAmerican settlers (and speculators) as quickly as possible. Surveyor General Thomas Freeman’s ca. 1817township plat of this area (Figure 5-38) shows the fort, the newly platted town of Claiborne, and partial131

dotted lines across the Alabama River representing bits of the Federal Road branch that headed west to St.Stephens. Penciled in west of the fort is the 1-mile square section of land reserved for John Weatherfordunder the Treaty of Fort Jackson, in recognition of his steadfast support of the Americans during theCreek War. Weatherford’s plantation originally extended along both banks of the river, as Major Tatumdescribed, and included the site of the fort and part of the town. While treaty reserves were supposed toencompass previous clearings, structures, and other “improvements” made by the claimant prior to thewar, the government’s claims adjudicator recognized the conflict with military and private developmentin this case and shifted Weatherford’s reserve to the west. 34Figure 5-38. Thomas Freeman’s ca. 1817 plat of Township 7 North, Range 5 East, showing Fort Claiborne,the Town of Claiborne, John Weatherford’s treaty reserve, and bits of the Old Federal Road (dashedlines) across the river (courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office).Fort Claiborne retained its importance as a military post through the continuing conflicts withsmall bands of anti-American Creeks after the war. In February 1816 the murders of Daniel Johnson (whohad established a plantation about 35 miles upriver from the fort) and McGaskey (or McCaskill orMcCorkell) created great anxiety among the thousands of newly-arrived American settlers. Creek Indiansliving on reserve lands, sensing a rapidly growing anti-Indian sentiment among their new neighbors, tookthe initiative to capture two of the murderers and turn them over to the U.S. military at Fort Jackson. 35However, doubts arose about who really killed Johnson and McGaskey near Fort Claiborne, when thesame band murdered a Mr. Glass at Burnt Corn Springs in July of the following year. Colonel Sam Daleand local militia pursued the perpetrators, but could not catch them. 36132

When spring 1818 brought more murders of settlers – the famous Ogle-Stroud massacre in Marchon the Federal Road, by Uchee Tom (or Savannah Jack, accounts differ) and 17 warriors; the deaths ofCaptain William Butler and two companions near Fort Dale; and the attack on the Stokes family cabin inApril, about 15 miles from Fort Claiborne – animosity toward Indians reached near-hysterical levels. Theterritory offered “a premium of near 1000” for the capture or killing of Savannah Jack and his band, whowere by this time blamed for all the murders of the past few years. Colonel Gilbert Russell lamented toGovernor Bibb that “17 Indians should desolate the broad side of an extensive [frontier] & keeppossession of[;] it is astonishing.” Russell noted how ineffective the local militias based at Fort Claibornehad been in their efforts to pursue the renegades; he thought the Indian hunters working for wealthyCreek’s living on treaty reserves, particularly Sam Manack and Barney O’Riley, would have the bestchance to capture them. Five suspects were, in fact, apprehended in July, but their transfer from FortClaiborne to Fort Montgomery for military trial was interrupted by a citizen mob, who seized the Indiansand put them to death. Among those hanged near Fort Claiborne was Paddy Walsh, a prominent Redstickprophet and one of the leaders of the attack on Fort Mims. General Jackson, from his temporaryheadquarters in recently seized Spanish Pensacola, thought better of sending eight Creeks he had confinedthere to Fort Montgomery, “as I was fearful, they might suffer a similar fate with those who were sent toClaiborne.” 37Mounted militia kept searching through the fall and winter for hostile Creeks in the swampyforests and canebrakes bordering the Alabama River and tributary streams. Colonel Dale led severalscouting parties from Fort Claiborne, chasing rumors to no avail. By February 1819, settlers’ threatsagainst all Indians remaining on the treaty reserves so concerned Dale that he advised Governor Bibb “ofthe fact that 20 indians are at Thomas Baileys & seven at McGirths, near Dale’s ferry upon whom thecitizens have made threats & intend to put them to death.” He proposed forming a guard and escorting thereserve Creeks to Big Warrior at Tuckaubatchee for resettlement in the Creek Nation. Apparently thatplan was not implemented, and in March Vicey McGirth, her children, and employees fled from the FortClaiborne area to the Nation, fearing violence from Creek renegade bands as much as from Americanvigilantes. Before leaving, McGirth’s hunters warned the townspeople in Claiborne to bolster their feebledefenses, “saying that 20 men could take the town.” However, vigorous pursuit of the anti-AmericanCreek bands throughout 1818 and early 1819 finally pushed them out of Alabama territory, just as thetransition to statehood occurred. 38The archaeological site of Fort Claiborne has been searched for several times; despite a seeminglyunambiguous map location from the GLO plats, to date, no evidence of the fort site’s discovery has beenturned in to the Alabama State Site Files.133

Figure 5-39. Military buttons from the vicinity of Fort Claiborne: (a) New York militia, NY10A1; (b) U.S.Navy, NA6C; (c) U.S. Navy, NA57D (courtesy of Brett McWilliams).Figure 5-40. U.S. 2nd Regiment Artillery cap plate, reworked 1812 design, brass (courtesy of BrettMcWilliams).John Weatherford apparently left about the same time as the other Creek treaty reserve holders.Since Indians could not sell or bequeath treaty lands except by act of Congress, Weatherford assigned hissection of land west of town to George W. Owen, an attorney who moved to Claiborne in 1816, asdocumented on Weakley’s 1848 land plat (Figure 5-41). The town of Claiborne peaked in population with5,000 residents around 1820, when it rivaled Mobile, Blakeley, and St. Stephens. Even though thecommunity quickly dwindled in numbers as Mobile surpassed its competitors in population, Claiborneremained a wealthy town, based on its economically strategic location at the northern limits of deepwaternavigation on the Alabama River, as well as its site astride a major branch of the Federal Road. WhenGeneral Lafayette visited Alabama during his tour of the United States, on the 50th anniversary of his firstarrival in America, he included Claiborne in his travels (Figure 5-42).134

Figure 5-41. William Weakley’s 1848 plat of Township 7 North, Range 5 East, showing Fort Claiborne, theTown of Claiborne, John Weatherford’s treaty reserve, and the Old Federal Road across the river(courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office).Figure 5-42. General Lafayette at Claiborne, Alabama, in 1825, detail of a cartoon from the MontgomeryAdvertiser, reprinted in Arrow Points 10 (5, May 1925):61.Andrew Mitchell was appointed Claiborne’s first postmaster in March 1816. From 1818 onwards,mail ran twice weekly to Blakeley by way of Fort Montgomery, as well as from St. Stephens to BurntCorn via Claiborne. Through the 1820s and 1830s, the amount of postage accrued at Claiborne rankedsecond only to Mobile in southwest Alabama. 39 Perhaps the earliest traveler’s account of Claiborne waspenned by Thomas Stocks in 1819. Arriving on the 3rd of May, Stocks “spent the night at ShearleysTavern. Where I as bit so bad by gnats and chinces etc. that in the morning I changed my lodging bygoing to Mr. Maburys where I was some better off but still badly accommodated.” The next day he toured135

the town. “Fort Claybourn is situated on the east bank of the Alabama, on a most beautiful Bluff. In theTown there is several Bluffs Springs of pleasant water and it’s probable the Inhabitants may enjoy goodhealth, but in the adjacent Country It Cannot be as healthy.” 40The preeminence of cotton in the economy of this part of south Alabama during the ante-bellumperiod was responsible for Claiborne’s continuing prosperity. The famously long cotton chute atClaiborne efficiently conveyed 500-pound bales of raw cotton rapidly to boats – flatboats at first, thensteamboats – for transfer to the international port of Mobile (Figure 5-43). Claiborne today is truly a ghosttown, with no standing structures in place. But several important Claiborne buildings were moved to otherlocations and some can be seen today in nearby Perdue Hill, east of Claiborne on the Old Federal Roadbranch. Among these is an 1820s cottage occupied briefly in 1831 by William Barrett Travis, later cocommanderof the Alamo during the 11-day siege of San Antonio de Bexar in the 1836 War of TexasIndependence (Figure 5-44). Also in Perdue Hill is Masonic Lodge #3, originally built in Claiborne in1824 and moved to its present location in 1884. General Lafayette addressed the citizens of Claibornefrom this lodge (Figure 5-45).Figure 5-43. “Loading cotton onto the steamboat ‘Magnolia’ on the Alabama River,” from Ballou’sPictorial Drawing-Room Companion May 4, 1861 (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives andHistory, file name Q4654).136

Figure 5-44. William Barrett Travis house, Claiborne, Monroe County, built ca. 1820-1826; HABS drawingby John N. Brown, Jr., Holmes & Holmes Architects (courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey,ALA, 50-CLAB.3- 00001a).Figure 5-45. Perdue Hill Masonic Hall, moved from Claiborne, Monroe County (courtesy of the HistoricAmerican Buildings Survey, ALA, 50-PERHI.1-1 005868pu).137

1 Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (Chicago, IL: S. J. ClarkePublishing Company, 1921). Information regarding Monroe County was found in 2:1032; Conecuh County 1:315.2 “Alabama Legislative Acts,” Alabama Legislature, First Territorial Session January-February 1818, ApprovedFebruary 3, 1818, 96, accessed, August 9, 2011,http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/history/acts_and_journals/Acts_1818_Jan-Feb/Page11_pgs_91-100.html.3 Samuel F. Bloomfield, “Description of the Road Cowetah to Tombeckby River” [1806], Joseph Wheaton Papers,Ms 1124, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia, Athens.4 “Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessedAugust 9, 2011; “Phase I Surveys,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessed August 9, 2011.5 James Stuart, Three Years in North America, in Two Volumes, Volume II (Edinburgh: Printed for Robert Cadell,1833), 217-221.6 Thomas S. Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians (Montgomery, AL: Barrett& Wimbish, 1859), 84-85.7 Gregory A. Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (Tuscaloosa:University of Alabama Press, 2006), 58, 97-100, 264, 282, 302.8 John Buckner Little, The History of Butler County, Alabama from 1815-1855 (Cincinnati, OH: Elm Street PrintingCompany, 1885), 59-62.9 Brantley, Early Settlers, 116-117; “The Legacy of Burnt Corn,” Legacy (Spring/Summer, 1997):1-4.10 Thomas Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary, IV: 1730; Brantley, Early Settlers, 7,100.11 William Garrett, Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama (Atlanta: Plantation Publishing Company’s Press,1872), 282; Brantley, Early Settlers, 99.12 Brantley, Early Settlers, 102.13 “The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage,” Alabama Historical Commission, The State HistoricalPreservation Office, last updated August 25, 2011, http://preserveala.org/ARdigital/Alabama_Register_Listing.pdf.14 Stuart, Three Years in North America, 217.15 “Conecuh County Census Returns for 1820,” Alabama Historical Quarterly 6:3 (1944): 366.16 “Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessedAugust 9, 2011.17 Reverend B. F. Riley, History of Conecuh County, Alabama (Columbus: GA: Thos. Gilbert, Steam Printer andBook-Binder, 1881), 30, 60-61, 113-114.18 “Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessedAugust 9, 2011; “Phase I Surveys,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessed August 9, 2011.19 Brantley, Early Settlers, 13-17.20 Ibid.,15.21 Deanie Humphrey, “Monroe, Al 1850 Federal Census,” website accessed August 9, 2011,http://www.trackingyourroots.com/data/1850monroecensus.htm22 Brantley, Early Settlers, 10.23 Ibid., 13; Brantley believes the store opened around 1816. The tractbook of Alabama landowners found on theState of Alabama’s Government Records website, http://www.sos.alabama.gov/vb/inquiry/inquiry.aspx?area=Lands,reports that Holley owned the land in 1855. The Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Record’swebsite, http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx, dates Holley’s land patent to 1858.24 “1820 State Census, Names of Head of Household for Conecuh County” Ancestry, accessed August 9, 2011,http://www.rootsweb.com/~alconecu/1820Con.txt.25 Brantley, Early Settlers, 13.26 Little, The History of Butler County, 29.27 Colin MacGuire, “A Historical Stop,” Alabama Sunday Magazine (September 29, 1968):1-4.28 “Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessedSeptember 22, 2011; “Phase I Surveys,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessed September 22,2011.29 “Report of David Mitchell, Agent for Indian Affairs, December 10, 1818,” Treaty of Fort Jackson 1814, SpecialActs, Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49, National Archives and RecordsAdministration, Silver Springs, MD.30 J. F. H. Claiborne, Life and Times of Gen. Sam Dale, the Mississippi Partisan (New York, NY: Harper &Brothers, 1860), 134-136; H.S. Halbert, and T. H. Ball, The Creek War of 1813 and 1814 (Chicago, IL: Donohue &138

Henneberry, 1895), 241-242; Robert S. Quimby, The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and CommandStudy (East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1997), 419.31 Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama, and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period,two volumes (Charleston, SC; Walker and James, 1851), II:325-326.32 Major Howell Tatum, Topographical Notes and Observations on the Alabama river, August 1814, MSS S-1007,Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.33 Quimby, The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study, 792; Capt. James Craig, “FortClaiborne Letters (from Official Record by Capt. Craig),” Arrow Points 8 (3 March, 1924):44-47.34 “Report of David Mitchell, Agent for Indian Affairs, December 10, 1818,” Treaty of Fort Jackson 1814, SpecialActs, RG 49, NARA.35 Harold D. Moser, David R. Hoth, and George H. Hoemann, editors, The Papers of Andrew Jackson, Volume IV,1816-1820 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1994), 30-31.36 Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama,1817-1819 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1952), 140-141.37 Ibid., pp. 290-291; “Notes furnished A.J. Pickett by Mr Reubin Hill of Wetumpka in relation to the killing of CaptButler and others in Butler County Ala in 1818” (Interesting Notes, 13 – Reubin Hill [1848]), Albert J. PickettPapers, Pickett Family Papers (1779-1904), LPR185, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2, Alabama Department ofArchives and History, Montgomery; Moser, Hoth, and Hoemann, eds., The Papers of Andrew Jackson, vol. 4, 1816-1820, 197-201, 230-231, 239-241; Thomas S. Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or MuscogeeIndians (Montgomery, AL: Barrett & Wimbish, 1859), 80; Pickett, History of Alabama, II:379-383.38 “Notes taken from a file of Old Papers in the State Department of Alabama relating to the Indian difficulties in1818” (Interesting Notes, 11 – State Department), pp. 3-11, Albert J. Pickett Papers, Pickett Family Papers (1779-1904), LPR185, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery;Pickett, History of Alabama, II:383-385.39 Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 6, The Territory of Mississippi,1809-1817 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1938), 673; Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, TheTerritorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama, 1817-1819 (Washington, DC:Government Printing Office, 1952), 354-355, 507-509; Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin, editors, AmericanState Papers, Miscellaneous Documents Legislative and Executive (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 353-391; Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin, editors, American State Papers, Class VII: Post Office Department(Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 135, 177-178, 207-208, 294.40 Thomas Stocks, “Memorandum Taken on My Tour to Pensacola Commencing on 15 April, 1819,” Bulletin of theAlabama Department of Archives and History 2 (3 September, 1925):26-27.139

Chapter 6Butler CountyTracing the Old Federal RoadNamed for Creek War soldier Captain William Butler,Butler County was established on December 13, 1819 fromland belonging to Conecuh and Monroe counties. 1 The countyboundary originally included much of Crenshaw County to theeast, but legislation passed in 1866 created its present state(Figure 6-1). 2 The Old Federal Road traverses the northwestcorner of the county, from the Monroe-Conecuh county line toLowndes County.Figure 6-1. Map of Alabama, highlightingButler County.The route of the Old Federal Road through Butler County was determined by consulting landsurvey plats, historic maps, Fletcher Hale’s maps, and historic aerial photographs. The relevant surveyplats for Butler County – T9N R12E, T10N R13E, T11N R13E, and T11N R14E – were useful foridentifying the route in two portions of the county. The only original survey plats available for T11NR13E and T10N R13E were created by Thomas Freeman and John Coffee, respectively. A small segmentof the road is drawn in the southeast corner of the Freeman plat (Figure 6-2).Figure 6-2. Thomas Freeman’s survey plat (no date) for Township 11 North, Range 13 East (courtesy ofthe Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office)140

Figure 6-3. James Weakley’s 1847 survey plat for Township 9 North, Range 12 East (courtesy of theBureau of Land Management, General Land Office).Although unlabeled, this early mapped segment corresponds to the Old Federal Road according toother sources. Coffee’s survey plat does not show any roads, which is typical of his plats. James Weakleyresurveyed the county in the l840s. The only survey plats available – T9N R12E, T11N R13E, and T11NR14E – all show the road (Figure 6-3), though only labeled as such on T9N R12E. The Old Federal Roadin T10N R13E could not be determined from survey plats, but the location was identified from othersources.Historic maps created in the first half of the nineteenth century were useful to confirm thelocation of the Old Federal Road and associated historic sites in Butler County. Abraham Bradley’s 1812Postal Route Map of the United States was the first map showing the Old Federal Road in Butler County(Figure 6-4). The place names Bradley used do not correspond with other historic maps, but based on themeasurements given between stops on the road (from Samuel Bloomfield’s 1811 survey), the “waterhole”and “Hurricane Spring” are, in fact, Pine Barren Springs and Poplar Springs in present-day Butler County.John Melish’s 1818 Map of Alabama Territory depicts the Old Federal Road, as well as Pine Barren andPoplar Springs (Figure 6-5).141

Figure 6-4. Butler County detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 postal route map of the United States,(courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection).Figure 6-5. Butler County detail of John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory (courtesy of theAlabama Department of Archives and History).142

Henry Tanner’s 1823 map of Alabama and Georgia is one of the earliest maps showing thelocation of Fort Dale (Figure 6-6). The map also shows the location of the road and springs. By 1838,when John LaTourette published his map of Alabama, the town of Greenville was established and hadovertaken Fort Dale as the metropolitan hub of Butler County. LaTourette’s map shows both towns andboth branches of the road extending from Greenville (Figure 6-7). Interestingly, the road runningnortheast-southwest near Greensville is labeled on Tanner’s 1823 map as an “Indian Path,” formerlyknown as the Tuckaubatchee Path.Figure 6-6. Butler County detail of Henry Tanner’s 1823 map of Alabama and Georgia (courtesy of theUniversity of Alabama’s Historic Map Archive).Figure 6-7. Butler County detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama (courtesy of David RumseyHistorical Map Collection).143

Fletcher Hale’s maps and historic aerial photographs were used to further pinpoint the location ofthe road (Figure 6-8). The route identified by Hale as the Old Federal Road corresponds fairly well toother historical sources. Hale’s maps are at a much larger scale than the historic maps and more accuratewithin the sections than the survey plats, so they are useful for pinpointing precise features of the road.Because Hale based his maps largely on 1930s aerials, the two were compared to ensure accuracy.Figure 6-8. Detail of Fletcher Hale’s 1947 map showing the vicinity of Fort Dale Cemetery (courtesy ofthe Alabama Department of Archives and History).Figure 6-9. The Old Federal Road in Butler County, map 1.144

The Old Federal Road spans the northwest corner of Butler County from the Monroe-Conecuhcounty line to the Lowndes County line. For most of its 25-mile route through the county, the roadfollows paved public county roads. The Old Federal Road follows Butler County Road 38 from theMonroe-Conecuh county line for about 10 miles to the intersection with Butler County Road 10, at whichit continues northeast onto private property for about 2 miles before merging with paved Butler CountyRoad 54/Ridge Road (Figure 6-9). The segment of road on private property was not accessed during oursurvey. Aerial photographs of that area do not indicate any sign of old roads in the vicinity, so it is likelythe old road bed has been lost as a result of farming.The road follows Ridge Road for 2.3 miles before it deviates from the paved road onto privateproperty for about 2,000 feet and then turns onto Butler County Road 44/Sherling Lake Road (Figure 6-10 and 6-11). An old road cut is visible from the aerials, but this private property was not accessed duringthe survey. The Old Federal Road continues northwest on Sherling Lake Road for about 3 miles beforemerging with Butler County Road 185/Fort Dale Road, which it follows for 6 miles to the LowndesCounty line (Figure 6-12). An entrenched segment of the Old Federal Road is situated in a wooded areajust east of the main road, south of Oak Grove Church, a little over half a mile north of the intersectionwith Fort Dale Road. The 800-foot segment is well preserved with banks as high as 5 feet (Figure 6-13).Figure 6-10. The Old Federal Road in Butler County, map 2.145

Figure 6-11. Butler Massacre historical marker with Old Federal Road in background, November 17,2010.Figure 6-12. The Old Federal Road in Butler County, map 3.146

Figure 6-13. Entrenched section of Old Federal Road north of Fort Dale, facing south, November 17,2010.Historic Sites in Butler CountyPoplar Springs/Ogly-Stroud Massacre Site. Poplar Springs, situated approximately 3 milessouth of Fort Dale, was popular with travelers on the Old Federal Road. William Ogle (also spelled Oglyand Ogley), his wife and their six children settled near the spring around 1817. At this time the area wassparsely settled, but was becoming more populated as the Old Federal Road allowed the influx of moreemigrants. In the aftermath of the Creek War, several bands of Redstick Creeks remained in this regionyears after most had retreated south to Spanish Florida. On March 6, 1818, while on his way to Claiborneto purchase provisions, William Ogle was stopped by one of these bands led by Uchee Tom. The Indiansfrightened Ogle, but let him pass without harm. Fearing for the safety of his family, Ogle purchased somecorn from a nearby famer and returned quickly to his homestead at Poplar Springs, where he alerted hisneighbors of the incident. The settlers began to prepare for trouble.On March 13, the male settlers of the district met to discuss a plan for their common defense. Onthe way home from the meeting, William came across Elias Stroud and his wife Elizabeth and child onthe Old Federal Road. The family was traveling to their home at Claiborne. William informed Elias of theIndian threat and invited the Strouds to stay the night with his family. Late that evening, the settlers heardthe sounds of Indians outside their home. Ogle grabbed his gun and went to the front door, but was147

quickly shot down. Mrs. Ogle and the elder Strouds tried to flee out the front door, but were pursued bythe Creeks. Mrs. Ogle and Mr. Stroud managed to escape unharmed. Mrs. Stroud was tomahawked, butsurvived the night. Of the seven children asleep at the time of the attack, four of the Ogle children and theStroud child were killed. The injured survivors—Elizabeth Stroud, Elizabeth Ogle and Mary Ann Ogle—were taken by neighbors via the Old Federal Road to Claiborne for medical attention. Elizabeth Strouddied along the way and is buried at Middleton Cemetery in Monroe County. Mary Ann died shortly afterreaching Claiborne. Elizabeth recovered physically, under the care of Dr. Watkins, but “never gained herright mind.” Mrs. Ogle and Mr. Stroud both remarried and had families. 3The exact site of the Ogle house is not known. The early land records do not show the propertyWilliam Ogle occupied at the time of the attack in 1818. Because of the lack of documentation concerningthe location of the house, no archaeological search was conducted for the site.The Palings Stage Stop. The name of this stand derives from English traveler Adam Hodgson’sdescription of his experiences in 1820 on the Federal Road, published in his book Letters from NorthAmerica. Travelling with companions on horseback, Hodgson crossed some beautiful prairies and spent anight at “a poor cabin just erected.” The next day they set off early, passed Pine Barren Spring, negotiatedtwo “very bad swamps,” and stopped for breakfast at a solitary “log-house, pervious to weather in alldirections.” Continuing north, Hodgson and his party “arrived in the evening at a few palings, which havedignified the place with the appellation of Fort Dale, where travelers are accommodated tolerably, on aflourishing plantation. Our landlord was an intelligent man; and among his books I saw the Bible, theKoran, a hymn book, Nicholson’s Encyclopedia, Sterne, Burns, Cowper, Coelebs, Camilla, and the Actsof the Alabama Legislature, of which he was a member.” 4The structure known as The Palings dates to around 1840. Built by a Colonel Wood as a majorstage stop on this section of the Old Federal Road, The Palings was purchased in 1857 by BenjaminLloyd, a pioneering Primitive Baptist minister who published an influential shape-note hymnal still in usetoday. Lloyd purchased a plantation and ran the hotel and was pastor of the Primitive Baptist Church inFort Dale, as well as pastor of Mount Zion Church elsewhere in the county. He died three years later. Theold structure stood in increasingly dilapidated condition (Figures 6-14 and 6-15), until it burned in 1953. 5The landowners granted us permission to survey the site. A survey is anticipated to take place in thewinter months, when vegetation will allow for better visibility of any structural remains. At theconclusion of the survey, a site card will be submitted to the Alabama State Site Files and a site numberassigned.148

Figure 6-14. The Palings stage stop at Fort Dale, Butler County, built about 1840; 1935, southeast view,photograph by W. N. Manning (courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey, ALA, 7-Grenv.V, 2-1).Figure 6-15. The Palings stage stop at Fort Dale, Butler County, built about 1840; 1935, northeast view,photograph by W. N. Manning (courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey, ALA, 7-Grenv.V, 2-2).Fort Dale and Fort Dale Cemetery. Fort Dale was named for the celebrated frontiersmanSamuel Dale, who participated prominently in the Creek War, most famously in the Canoe Fight. Daledirected construction of a palisade fort in the spring of 1818 on a hilltop north of Poplar Springs in the149

wake of murders of members of the Ogle and Stroud families by a band of disaffected Creek Indians.Panic swept through the American population newly settled along the Federal Road, and among theCreeks who remained on treaty reserves outside the Creek Nation, particularly the extended families ofthe Baileys and McGirths. In a letter from Lt. Colonel Gilbert Russell to Governor Bibb, probably datingto late March 1818, Dale is said to have organized a fatigue party of militia to complete “a little stockadewith two blockhouses at diagonal angles.” 6This fort and Fort Bibb were garrisoned by territorial volunteer militia called up Governor Bibbto protect settlers in this part of the state, while detachments of the 8th U.S. Infantry Regiment stationedat Fort Crawford and allied Choctaw warriors conducted sweeps of the Conecuh valley and elsewheresearching for the militant Creeks, without much effect. The number of troops present at this fort isuncertain and it seems to have been garrisoned intermittently. Troops were stationed there from April tomid-June, when they were mustered out. In a letter to the Secretary of War, acting Governor Hitchcockwrote, “The recent success of General Jackson has not given perfect security to the Frontier on the road toGeorgia, there being now a considerable number of disaffected Creeks who will be able to commitdepredations for some time should the forces at Fort Dale and the Pine Barren be withdrawn.” ByNovember Fort Dale was said to be evacuated and “the country was at peace & quiet & people movingin.” 7Long after the danger of strife between Redstick Creeks and Americans had passed, the vicinityof the fort continued to attract settlement and retained the name Fort Dale. A post office operated therefrom October 1818 until at least 1829. 8According to John Buckner Little’s 1885 history of Butler County, the fort sat atop “a small hill,near a spring, now known as the old Poplar Spring, in the neighborhood of Oak Grove Church.” Littlefurther related, concerning the site of the fort after its abandonment, that “Colonel A. T. Perry entered theland on which the fort was built, and lived there several years, finally selling it to Joseph Hartley, whocame from Putnam County, Georgia, January 15, 1825. Hartley built a good house of logs, which weresawed with a whipsaw, and cleared a large field around the fort.” 9 Gerald Johnson related to us a familylegend that his great-grandfather dismantled the notched logs from the old fort and built his home fromthem; around 1900, some of those logs were reused onplace to build a chicken barn thatstill stands(Figure 6-16). The half V-notched logs are certainly old andare in remarkably good condition where they have been protected from the elements under sheds attachedto either side of the barn. However, the logs look sawn rather than hewn and may derive from Hartleys’ca. 1825 log house rather than from the fort. In either case, they are among the oldest structural remains in150

the county. The landowners granted us permission to survey the site of Fort Dale. We anticipatecoordinating with the Butler County Historical Society to arrange fieldwork in the near future. Afterwardsa site form will be submitted to the Alabama State Site Files and a site number assigned.Figure 6-16. A barn constructed from half V-notched logs said to be from the original Fort Dale; GeraldJohnson (L) and Greg Waselkov, November 17, 2010.Figure 6-17. Modern house occupying the presumed site of Fort Dale, Butler County, November 17,2010.151

Figure 6-18. Grave shelters at Fort Dale Cemetery, Butler County; 1935, photograph by W. N. Manning(courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey, ALA, 7-Grenv.V, 1-1). 10Figure 6-19. Commemorative marker for the site of Fort Dale, November 17, 2010.152

1 John Buckner Little, History of Butler County, Alabama: 1815 to 1885 (Cincinnati, OH: Elm Street PrintingCompany, 1885).2 Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (Chicago, IL: S. J. ClarkePublishing Company, 1921), 1:181.3 Little, The History of Butler County, 25-29.4 Adam Hodgson, Letters from North America, two volumes (London: Hurst, Robinson & Co., 1824), 139-141.5 Oliver C. Weaver, Jr., “Benjamin Lloyd: A Pioneer Primitive Baptist in Alabama,” in Benjamin Lloyd’s HymnBook: A Primitive Baptist Song Tradition, edited by Joyce H. Cauthen, (Montgomery, AL: Alabama FolklifeAssociation, 1999), 52-53; Joey Brackner, “Elder Benjamin Lloyd and His Hymn Book,” in Benjamin Lloyd’s HymnBook: A Primitive Baptist Song Tradition, edited by Joyce H. Cauthen, (Montgomery, AL: Alabama FolklifeAssociation, 1999), 63.6 Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama,1817-1819 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1952), 290-291.7 Pickett Family Papers (1779-1904), Alabama Department of Archives and History (LPR185, Ia1, BoundManuscripts, Box 2), Interview Notes 11, State Department, “Notes taken from a file of Old Papers in the StateDepartment of Alabama relating to the Indian difficulties in 1818.” Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama, andIncidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period, two volumes (Charleston, SC; Walker and James,1851), 2:383; Carter, Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, Alabama Territory 1817-1818, p. 349.8 Clarence Edwin Carter, editor, The Territorial Papers of the United States, vol. 18, The Territory of Alabama,1817-1819 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1952), 507-509; Walter Lowrie and Walter S. Franklin,editors, American State Papers, Class VII: Post Office Department (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 177-178, 207-208.9 Little, The History of Butler County, 74-75.10 Gregory Jeane, “Southern Graveshelters and English Lych-gates: The Search for Culture Trait Origins,”Tributaries: Journal of the Alabama Folklife Association 3(2000):9-27. Front and back cover photos: Graveshelterin Fort Dale Cemetery, 1999 and a 1930s HABS photo.153

Chapter 7Lowndes CountyTracing the Old Federal RoadLowndes County, named in honor of WilliamLowndes of South Carolina, was established on January20, 1830. The county was formed from parts ofMontgomery, Dallas, and Butler counties. Shortly afterLowndes County was created, land taken from ButlerCounty was reallocated to form Crenshaw County, andthe remainder became the modern county (Figure 7-1).Two branches of the Old Federal Road, the original 1811road and a more commonly used later alternative,traverse the southeast corner the county from Butler Countyto Montgomery County. 1Figure 7-1. Map of Alabama, highlightingLowndes County.The routes of the original Old Federal Road and the Greenville Branch through Lowndes Countywere identified by consulting multiple sources, including Thomas Freeman and James Weakley’s surveyplats, historic maps, the 1916 USDA Lowndes County Soil Survey map, Fletcher Hale’s maps, andhistoric aerial photography. The original route of the Old Federal Road entered Lowndes County at theButler County line and passed by the old fort site and town of Fort Deposit. The old road continuednortheast to the Montgomery County line. In 1822, after the establishment of Greenville as county seat ofButler County and the subsequent decline of Fort Dale and Fort Deposit, the original road was no longerthe most convenient route of travel. A newer road was established along an old Indian path fromGreenville to Montgomery County approximately 5 miles east of the original route. The GreenvilleBranch merges with the original Old Federal Road in Montgomery County near the town of Pintlala.The original route of the Old Federal Road was found on the earliest survey plats created underthe direction Thomas Freeman (Figure 7-2). Freeman’s survey plat for the township containing theGreenville Branch does not show that alternative, indicating it was not in use before 1820. The GreenvilleBranch does appear on James Weakley’s survey plat from 1846, which strongly suggests that route wasestablished after Greenville’s rise in 1822 (Figure 7-3).154

Figure 7-2. Federal Road on Thomas Freeman’s ca. 1820 survey plat for Township 12 North, Range 15East (courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records).Figure 7-3. The Greenville Branch on James Weakley’s 1846 survey plat for Township 12 North, Range 16East (courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records).155

The original Old Federal Road route is shown on several early historic maps. The first mapshowing the Old Federal Road in Lowndes County is Abraham Bradley’s 1812 map of postal routes(Figure 7-4). The segment of road north of “Hurricane Spring” and south of “Laula C.” (Pintlala Creek)falls within modern Lowndes County. Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map (Figure 7-5) shows a similar route ofthe Federal Road, as well as the sites of Fort Deposit and Weatherford’s Stand within the county duringthe immediate post-Creek War era.Figure 7-4. Lowndes County detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 postal route map of United States(courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection).156

John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory (Figure 7-6) depicts the Old Federal Road and theIndian path that would soon become the Greenville Branch. Melish’s map shows the location of Manack’sStore and Weatherford’s Stand, but not Fort Deposit, suggesting that by 1818 the fort site was no longer asignificant landmark. John LaTourette’s 1838 map is the earliest map showing the Greenville Branch(Figure 7-7). Interestingly, LaTourette’s map does not show any stops along the original Federal Road,but several along the Greenville Branch, reflecting the increasing popularity of the alternative branch.Figure 7-6. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory showing the Greenville Branch inLowndes and Montgomery counties (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).157

Figure 7-7. Lowndes County detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama showing the more popularGreenville Branch south of the original route of the Old Federal Road (courtesy of David RumseyHistorical Map Collection).Fletcher Hale’s maps for Lowndes County show only the original Old Federal Road (Figure 7-8).His route, based primarily on historic aerial photographs, generally coincides with the route identified byThomas Freeman. Hale’s maps are drawn at a larger scale than the historical maps mentioned above andtherefore offer a more detailed and more accurate interpretation of the location of the road. Hale’s mapswere used in conjunction with the other sources to pinpoint the original Old Federal Road route and thelocation of Fort Deposit, the 1813 military post.158

Figure 7-8. Fletcher Hale’s map depicting the Old Federal Road near Fort Deposit (courtesy of theAlabama Department of Archives and History).Today, most of the original route of the Old Federal Road in Lowndes County is lost in denseforest. Due to the relatively short period of time that route was actively traveled, it may be difficult to findremnants of the original road bed. Typical signs that the Old Federal Road was present in an area, likeentrenched sections of roadbed, historic standing structures facing the road, and segments of the road stillactively used, are not present along that original stretch in Lowndes County. Lack of physical evidence ofthe road, coupled with the logistical dilemma of contacting numerous landowners for access to privateproperties, made it apparent an in-depth survey of the original Federal Road in Lowndes County could notbe accomplished within the constraints of the current grant. With the exception of a portion of the OldFederal Road between the Butler County line and Fort Deposit, we decided to focus our attention on themore intensively traveled Greenville Branch, which is described in detail below.The Old Federal Road enters the southeast corner of Lowndes County from Butler County alongLowndes County Road 185 (Figure 7-9). After approximately 0.3 mile, the Old Federal Road veers eastonto a dirt road situated on private property and continues along that dirt road, following a propertyboundary line (Figure 7-10). The dirt road transitions into a grass path on private property to itsintersection with Lowndes County Road 185. An entrenched section of the road is visible in a woodedarea south of where the road crosses Lowndes County Road 185, but not north of the county road. TheOld Federal Road heads northeast through private properties for approximately 16 miles to theMontgomery County line (Figures 7-11 and 7-12).159

Figure 7-9. Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch through Lowndes County, map 1.Figure 7-10. Joe Barganier, Sr., and Raven Christopher on a segment of the Old Federal Road on privateproperty, looking southwest, January 20, 2011.160

Figure 7-11. Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch through Lowndes County, map 2.Figure 7-12. Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch through Lowndes County, map 3.161

A secondary road from Fort Deposit heads east to the Greenville Branch, which enters fromButler County on U.S. Highway 31 (see Figure 7-9). The Greenville Branch closely follows U.S.Highway 31 for approximately 11 miles to the Montgomery County line. However, the old route doesdeviate from the paved road onto dirt roads in several places, particularly at bends in the modern road, acommon result of modern road straightening projects.The Greenville Branch first deviates from U.S. Highway 31 just north of the intersection of thesecondary road from Fort Deposit (see Figure 7-9), west onto private property. Bill Bates, owner of thatproperty and longtime proprietor of Bates House of Turkey in Greenville, many years ago placed histurkey sheds (now used as barns and work sheds) directly in the old roadbed. Years of vehicular use hadcreated a flat, compacted surface that was all but impossible to plow, but ideal for construction (Figure 7-13). The road continues beyond the old turkey sheds, still on private property, onto a dirt road and thenenters a forest where the deeply entrenched roadbed is easily visible. Here the depth of the entrenchedroad reaches 10 feet in some spots (Figure 7-14). The road then merges with U.S. Highway 31. TheGreenville Branch deviates from U.S. Highway 31onto dirt roads five more times before it entersMontgomery County (Figures 7-15 and 7-16).Figure 7-13. Bill Bates’s old turkey sheds in the roadbed of the Greenville Branch, looking northwest,January 20, 2011.162

Figure 7-14. Entrenched section of roadbed on Bill Bates’s property, looking northeast, January 20, 2011.Figure 7-15. Joey Barganier, Jr., pointing out a section of the old Greenville Branch roadbed alongsideU.S. Highway 31, looking north, January 20, 2011.163

Figure 7-16. Unpaved section of the Greenville Branch, looking northeast, January 20, 2011.Historic Sites in Lowndes CountyFort Deposit. Two places named “Fort Deposit” were created as supply depots to supportAmerican army campaigns during the Creek War, one in the far north by General Andrew Jackson andone in the south by General Ferdinand Claiborne. Lowndes County’s Fort Deposit originated withGeneral Claiborne’s march against the Redstick Creek stronghold of Holy Ground. Claiborne’s army,consisting of troops from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, Mississippi Territorial Volunteers, Americanmilitia, and Choctaw warriors, totaling 1,000 men advanced north from Fort Claiborne up the FederalRoad on December 13, 1813, guided by Samuel Moniac. According to G. W. Creagh, who served as alieutenant in Captain Sam Dale’s militia company,“The command moved on until we reached the neighborhood South of Double swampthere we located & built Fort Deposit leaving there the wagons cannon & all the baggagethe sick and one hundred men to guard the fort. We then drew three days portion of flourthe pork having failed, and commenced the march to the Holy Ground…. [After thebattle, which occurred on December 23] Christmas morning found many of us parchingcorn for breakfast, without any thing to let us know that Christmas had come. We fired a164

morning salute, then turning our canoes to Fort Deposit we reached it on the morning ofthe 26th on our arrival at that place we got the wagon refitted up & prepared for thejourney.” 2According to official correspondence, Fort Deposit was built on December 20-22 and the army vacatedthe place on December 27. 3 This is essentially the extent of documentation on Fort Deposit. It existed as amilitary post for just eight days. Yet the location remained a landmark for years and served as a nucleusof American settlement after the war, as ceded Creek lands were made available to settlers. We are notaware of any physical descriptions of the fort dating to the war or later. No archaeological testing hasbeen conducted at Fort Deposit. Perhaps after more extensive research of the exact location of the fort, thesite area can be surveyed.Weatherford’s Stand. Weatherford’s Stand appears on both Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map andJohn Melish’s 1818 map, and its location probably corresponds to a small circle drawn on AbrahamBradley’s 1812 postal route map. Bradley noted good locations for stage stops or stands, although onlyone is known to have existed in the vicinity at that time, Manack’s near Pintlala. Bradley’s suggestedstand location was situated near a branch of Big Swamp Creek – labeled “First” on his map – at a spot 12miles southwest of the stop at “Laula C.” – referring to Pintlala Creek, presumably meaning Manack’sStore (actually near Pinchona Creek). The location identified on the post-war Ludlow and Melish maps asWeatherford’s Stand is approximately 12 miles southwest of Manack’s Store. Since there is noindependent historical evidence for Weatherford’s stand prior to the Creek War, while nearby Manack’sStore is extensively documented, we suspect Bradley identified this location and others on his 1812 mapas suitable places for stands, but that this one was established after the war. The stand was probablyoperated by John Weatherford, a wealthy Creek Indian who cooperated closely with the Americansduring the war and was rewarded for his assistance with land grants and other privileges. That the standmight have been run by his brother William, a prominent Redstick leader, is unlikely in the extreme. Wehave found no written descriptions of this stand apart from these two map references. Weatherford’s standapparently did not operate very long. Its disappearance from maps after 1818 suggests that JohnWeatherford, like the Bailey and McGirth families and other pro-American Creeks with property in cededlands, fled to the Creek Nation in 1819 when anti-Indian violence swept the Alabama frontier (asdescribed in the discussion of Fort Dale in Chapter 6). Archaeological survey has not been attemptedbecause of the vague locational data on this site. Perhaps if more information becomes available in thefuture, the stand’s location can be explored.165

James Spurlock Williamson House. This structure is listed on the National Register of HistoricPlaces (NRHP) as a Greek Revival-style house built circa 1860 and added to the Register January 05,1989 (Figure 7-17). The house is set far back from the Greenville Branch and connected to it by apicturesque drive lined with ancient pines and oaks. The land was originally patented in 1835 to ReverendJohn Perdue, who was born April 5, 1788 and died September 26, 1860. He is buried in nearby SawyerCemetery alongside several of his kinfolk. 4 James Spurlock Williamson, the house’s namesake and lateroccupant, was born August 8, 1881 and died December 30, 1927. He is buried in Payne Cemetery, aquarter of a mile south of the house. 5Figure 7-17. James Spurlock Williamson house, January 20, 2011.1 Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, volume II (Chicago: S.J.Clarke Publishing Company, 1921), 908-912.2 “Notes furnished by Col G. W. Creagh of Clarke County, Alabama, in relation to the Battle of “Burnt Corn” the“Canoe Fight” and other engagements in which he was concerned in 1813-1814,” (Interesting Notes, 2, 1847);Albert J. Pickett Papers, Pickett Family Papers, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2, LPR185, Alabama Department ofArchives and History, Montgomery; Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama, and Incidentally of Georgia andMississippi, from the Earliest Period, two volumes (Charleston, SC; Walker and James, 1851), 2:322.3 Robert S. Quimby, The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study (East Lansing, MI:Michigan State University Press, 1997), 430-432.4 “General Land Office Records,” U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, accessed August 25,2011, http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx; “Sawyer Cemetery, Sandy Ridge, Lowndes County,Alabama April 1998,” The USGenWeb Archives, accessed August 25, 2011,http://files.usgwarchives.org/al/lowndes/cemeteries/sawyer.txt.5 “Payne Cemetery, Sandy Ridge, Lowndes County, Alabama January 1998,”The USGenWeb Archives, accessedAugust 25, 2011, http://files.usgwarchives.org/al/lowndes/cemeteries/payne.txt.166

Chapter 8Montgomery CountyTracing the Old Federal RoadMontgomery County, named for Major Lemuel PutnamMontgomery, casualty of the battle of Horseshoe Bend, wascreated by the Mississippi Territorial Legislature on December 6,1816. The county boundary originally included land that wouldbecome parts of the modern counties of Elmore, Bullock, andCrenshaw (Figure 8-1). 1 The Federal Road enters the southwesterncorner of Montgomery County from Lowndes County and headsnorth and east for about 30 miles to the Macon County line.Figure 8-1. Map of Alabama, highlightingMontgomery County.A large portion of the original Old Federal Road inMontgomery County has been lost or destroyed due to the urban sprawl radiating south from the capitalcity of Montgomery. After the incorporation of Montgomery in 1819, the original Federal Road south ofthe quickly growing town was soon superseded by newer branches that offered direct access toMontgomery. The Greenville Branch, which runs north from Greenville in Butler County throughLowndes County toward Montgomery, became the most popular route for travelers. A new route, whichwe call the Montgomery Branch, ran north to Montgomery and then east, merging with the originalFederal Road at the town of Mount Meigs. The Federal Road continued east from Mount Meigs forapproximately 6 miles to the Macon County boundary at Line Creek (Figure 8-2).The routes of these old roads were identified based on early survey plats created by ThomasFreeman and James Weakley, historic published maps, Fletcher Hale’s maps, and early twentieth-centuryaerial photographs. Thomas Freeman created the original survey plats in the vicinity of the Federal Roadfor most of the townships within Montgomery County, with the exception of the easternmost townshipalong the Macon County line, which was completed under the supervision of John Coffee in 1822. The“Federal Road” or “Road to Georgia” is depicted on all of the Freeman plats (Figure 8-3). The FederalRoad was not drawn on Coffee’s survey plat for eastern Montgomery County. James Weakley resurveyedthe county in the 1830s and 1840s. The segment of the original Federal Road (as opposed to theMontgomery Branch route) does not appear on the Weakley plats, indicating it had fallen into disuse bythe time of his surveys (Figure 8-4).167

Figure 8-2. Montgomery County showing the original Federal Road route (red) and the MontgomeryBranch route (blue) connecting to the city; the Greenville Branch (blue) is visible at the lower left.Figure 8-3. Old Federal Road shown on Thomas Freeman’s undated [ca. 1817] survey plat for Township15 North, Range 18 East (courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office).168

Figure 8-4. Old Federal Road (not labeled) running east-west on James Weakley’s 1846 survey plat ofTownship 16 North, Range 20 East (courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office).Abraham Bradley’s 1812 map of postal routes shows the original route of the Federal Road(Figure 8-5). The modern limits of Montgomery County fall between “Laula C” [Pintlala Creek] and thenorth-south creek west of “Point Comfort.” Bradley’s “Otter C” is Catoma Creek. The stop labeled“Laula C” is Samuel Manack’s (or Moniac’s) store, which later served as a post office. Manacks’s placewas actually located near Pinchony Creek, about 2 miles southwest of Pintlala Creek. The map alsodepicts a postal stop at “Otter C,”’ but historical research to date has not identified a postmaster at thatlocation. The postal stops indicated on Bradley’s map were proposed stops, not existing ones, at that earlydate. Maxfield Ludlow’s 1816 map and John Melish’s 1818 Map of the Alabama Territory both show theoriginal route of the Federal Road, as well as Manack’s Store (Figures 8-6 and 8-7).169

Figure 8-5. Montgomery County detail of the Old Federal Road shown on Abraham Bradley’s 1812 PostalRoute Map of the United States (courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection).170

Figure 8-7. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map depicting the “Federal Road to Georgia” throughMontgomery County (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).One of the earliest maps to depict the Federal Road branch connection to Montgomery wascreated in 1826 by an unknown cartographer (Figure 8-8). This map does not show the original FederalRoad through this section at all. William Darby’s 1828 Map of Alabama and Georgia also shows only thebranch to Montgomery and not the original Federal Road (Figure 8-9). Together they suggest completeabandonment of the original route by the mid-1820s. On the other hand, John LaTourette’s 1838 Map ofAlabama depicts both the later branch to Montgomery and the original Federal Road (Figure 8-10).However, since LaTourette’s map was compiled from General Land Office surveys, the Federal Roadroute could have been copied from surveys dating as early as 1817. The original Federal Road in this areadoes not appear on maps post-dating 1838.Figure 8-8. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map of a proposed National Road depicting theFederal Road through Montgomery County and the site of Palmer’s inn (courtesy of the Hargrett RareBook and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia).171

Figure 8-9. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map of Georgia and Alabama depicting the Federal Roadthrough Montgomery County.Figure 8-10. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama depicting the original Federal Road andMontgomery Branch through Montgomery County with numerous historic sites identified (courtesy ofDavid Rumsey Historical Map Collection).172

Fletcher Hale’s maps depict the original Federal Road in Montgomery County (8-11). Hale’smaps were based on Thomas Freeman’s survey plats and early aerial photographs. The earliest aerialphotographs we were able to obtain for this portion of Montgomery County date to the 1950s. Theseaerials, courtesy of Craig Remington at the University of Alabama’s Map Library, show no indication ofthe old road bed (8-12). Hale’s maps were helpful in identifying several historic sites in MontgomeryCounty, including Manack’s Store, Mount Meigs, Milley’s Stand, and Lucas’s Tavern.Figure 8-11. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road near Mount Meigs (courtesy of the AlabamaDepartment of Archives and History).Figure 8-12. Old Federal Road superimposed on 1950 aerial photograph of Snowdoun, Alabama(courtesy of the University of Alabama Map Library).173

The Old Federal Road enters the southwest corner of Montgomery County from Lowndes County(Figure 8-13). At the county line the road leaves inaccessible private lands and becomes a paved publicroad, appropriately named “Federal Road.” This segment of road, lined with ancient Spanish mosscoveredoak trees, is one of the most picturesque along the entire Old Federal Road in Alabama (Figure 8-14). The Old Federal Road route follows modern-day “Federal Road” for about 1.5 miles before leaving itat the site of Manack’s Store, where it again enters private land. The Old Federal Road merges with theGreenville Branch just north of the town of Pintlala.Figure 8-13. The Old Federal Road and Greenville Branch in Montgomery County, map 1.Figure 8-14. Section of the Old Federal Road south of Pintlala, looking northeast.174

A short distance beyond where the Greenville Branch and Old Federal Road merge, the roaddivides again (Figure 8-15). The Montgomery Branch heads north along County Highway 31 forapproximately 14 miles to Montgomery, and the Old Federal Road bears northeast onto private land for20 miles to Mount Meigs, where the Montgomery Branch merges again with the Old Federal Road(Figures 8-16 and 8-17). The Old Federal Road, where it diverges from the Montgomery Branch betweenPintlala and Mount Meigs, was only used for about 15 years, so it is unlikely any of the old road bed hassurvived. Circa 1950s aerial photographs of this portion of the Old Federal Road were examined andrevealed no remnants of old road bed. The Old Federal Road does not follow any existing roads in thisarea and no historic structures are present along the route.Figure 8-15. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch in Montgomery County, map 2.175

Figure 8-16. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch in Montgomery County, map 3.Figure 8-17. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch in Montgomery County, map 4.176

Where the Old Federal Road crosses County Highway 82, it enters an area heavily disturbed bymodern residential development associated with the recent southeastward expansion of Montgomery. Thesignificant degree of ground disturbance from urban sprawl has obliterated any remnants of the old roadbed (Figure 8-18). This is the only large segment of the Old Federal Road in Alabama that has beencompletely destroyed by modern development.Figure 8-18. The Old Federal Road superimposed on a modern aerial photograph of southeastMontgomery, Alabama.The Montgomery Branch rejoins the Old Federal Road at the historic town of Mount Meigs, andthe road continues east to the Macon County boundary at Line Creek. The Old Federal Road closelyfollows U.S. Highway 80 for approximately 3 miles, past the historic site of Milly’s Stand, before itleaves the paved road and enters private land. The old road continues on private land, passing between thesites of Warr’s Store and Lucas’s Tavern, and merges again with U.S. Highway 80, which it closelyfollows for about 1 mile to the Macon County boundary (Figure 8-19).177

Figure 8-19. The Old Federal Road and Montgomery Branch in Montgomery County, map 5.Historic SitesManack’s Store. Samuel Moniac had a large plantation on the Alabama River northwest ofPintlala (around the modern community of Manack in Lowndes County). The first mention of Moniac’splace on the Old Federal Road at Pintlala occurs in a letter written by Benjamin Hawkins to JohnChandler, a mail contractor, on January 19, 1809 (see Figure 8-13). As transcribed for publication byeditor C. L. Grant, Hawkins wrote: “The station at Pinahlucho by Mr. Nal will be an useful one. I wrote tohim last fall to fix one on the post path. He is a wealthy man and can keep it supplied with necessaries atall times.” 2This quote exemplifies two challenges facing researchers studying the early history of the CreekIndians and their relations with Americans: (1) historical inconsistencies in the spelling of personal andplace names make it difficult to identify people and places accurately; and (2) handwriting of that era isdifficult to decipher. In this particular instance, “Pinahlucho” is recognizable as an attempt to write theMuskogee word opilthlakko (written today as opel-rakko), meaning “big swamp,” the origin of two178

modern Alabama place names, Opelika and Pintlala. “Mr. Nal” is more puzzling. Only after reading all ofBenjamin Hawkins’s published correspondence between 1805 and 1814 did it become clear thatHawkins’s editor, C. L. Grant, repeatedly misunderstood the various ways Hawkins wrote SamuelMoniac’s name. Moniac, who was non-literate, evidently contributed to the confusion himself bypronouncing his name Manack (even though his father and his son used the traditional Dutch form,Moniac). In any case, Hawkins transcribed what he heard as Manack, Mannack, Macnac, and McNac.Unfortunately, C. L. Grant only hit upon this proper decipherment of Hawkins’s handwriting in histranscription of an 1812 letter and did not correct his earlier mistakes, which remain in the publishedHawkins’ correspondence as Menawa, Mcrae and, strangest of all, Mr. Nal (derived from Mc Nac). 3 Wesilently correct Grant’s erroneous transcriptions from here on.Samuel Moniac built a “place of entertainment” or a “station,” using the 1805 Treaty languageand Hawkins’s term, at a place called Pintlala in 1808 or 1809.4 Hawkins thought the primary function ofthe stations along the mail path should be to supply extra horses and fodder, which would enable riders toswitch to fresh mounts and keep the mail moving on its way. However, these incremental improvementsto the path accomplished on behalf of the Post Office Department made the route increasingly attractiveto the U.S. Army and to immigrants, a fact not lost on the Creek Indians. When Samuel Bloomfield, oneof Wheaton’s former subcontractors, “entered with his waggon and team and commenced and builtbridges” in 1810 on the upper path, the Creek National Council voiced a valid objection that the Treaty of1805 allowed only ferries across streams and logs over creeks, not bridges, which cut into the profitsIndians could derive themselves from traffic on the path. 5On March 26, 1812, Thomas Meredith, “a respectable old man traveling with his family toMississippi Territory was murdered on the post road at Kettoma,” one of several murders by Creeks ofAmericans travelling through Indian country that spring. 6 Over the years, as the horse path for mail ridershad been widened and improved for the increasing stream of American immigrants moving through theCreek Nation, opposition to the Federal Road had steadily increased among the Creeks. Now with warimminent between the United States and Britain, many Indian peoples felt the time was fast approachingfor decisive action against the Americans and against the Indian headmen who had signed treatiesallowing road construction and otherwise abetted American interference in Indian sovereignty. Themurder of Thomas Meredith became a high-profile violent symbol of the growing rift between the U.S.government and the Native American nations within its border, and it was a significant cause of the CreekWar of 1813-1814. Meredith’s murder may be the most important historical event ever to have occurredin the Pintlala area.179

According to Hawkins, “Thomas Meredith, son of the deceased, who was an eye witness says‘There was murder commited on the body of Thomas Meredith Senior at Kettoma Creek by Maumouthand others who appeared to be in Liquor, that is Maumouth himself but not the others. The company wasall on the other side of the Creek except my father and an other old man. They fell on him withoutinterruption and killed him dead as he was trying to make his escape in a canoe, and sorely wounded theother with knives & sticks so much that I fear we shall have to bury him on the way.’” Hawkins addedthat “Sam Macnac a half breed of large property who keep entertainment on the road, at whose houseMeredith is buried, calls it an ‘accident.’” 7Gary Burton has recently reanalyzed this event and clarified a number of previously cloudyhistorical details surrounding the murder. Benjamin Hawkins’s initial report of the murder unfortunatelyintroduced some errors that have been perpetuated for years. Burton correctly places the attack onMeredith at the Federal Road crossing of Pinchona Creek (not Catoma Creek), which explains why thebody was buried at Samuel Moniac’s house, less than a mile away to the southwest. However, Moniac’scharacterization of the murder as accidental is perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the event. The Creeksat that time generally considered violent acts carried out while under the influence of alcohol to beaccidents, not intentional crimes. However, by 1812 the Creek National Council was being pressured bythe U.S. government, through its agent Benjamin Hawkins, to accept American legal norms, which held amurderer responsible for a murder, whether drunk or sober. And in fact the National Council hadMaumouth and his friends executed for their attack on Meredith and his companion. As Burton explains,“perhaps Moniac felt some degree of responsibility for Meredith’s death because Maumouth and his partyhad acquired their liquor from his tavern.... [Moniac] had every reason to suggest that the Meredithatrocity was accidental because he knew that an investigation of the incident, followed by friendly Creekspursuing, apprehending, and executing other Creeks, would deepen the internal divisions and put him atrisk. Ultimately, the labeling of the killing as a murder could result in the loss of everything Moniac hadaccumulated and could lead to the decrease in his standing within the Creek nation itself. Of courseMoniac’s fears would eventually become reality.” 8Despite the notoriety of the Meredith murder, it had little immediate impact on travel along theFederal Road. Ten days afterwards, Hawkins reported “our road is crowded with travelers, six waggons, 4carts, 12 chairs and 90 persons passed here today.” 9 Over the course of the next year, however, discontentwith the Americans and a religious revival among the Creeks known as the Redstick movement led to acivil war in that nation. By June 1813 the Americans living on the borders of the Creek Nation feared theRedstick uprising would turn into a general war along the entire western frontier. On June 2nd, GeneralJames Wilkinson of the U.S. Army was traveling to Georgia on the Federal Road with his family when he180

stopped “near Macnac’s” to compose a quick note to be conveyed to Hawkins by post rider. Wilkinsonhad received disturbing news from the Speaker of the Creek National Council, who was besieged byRedsticks at Tuckabatchee and requested assistance from the Americans. 10 The general and his partymade it through the nation to Georgia, but they must have been among the last travelers to stop atMoniac’s house on the road.Soon afterwards Moniac “went up to my house on the road, and found some indians camped nearit, who I tried to avoid but could not. An Indian came to me who goes by the name of High Headed Jim....He shook hands with me & immediately began to tremble & jerk in every part of his frame, and the verycalves of his legs would be convulsed.”11High Headed Jim was an adherent to the new Redstick religiousmovement; they thought they could discern unbelievers, like Samuel Moniac, by this violent reaction tothe touch.Within days of this encounter, Moniac’s plantation on the Alabama River and his house on theFederal Road lay in ashes, destroyed by Redstick Creeks, who included his brother, sister and brother-inlaw.12 Because Samuel Moniac participated actively alongside the American army in the ensuingRedstick War against many of his relatives and countrymen, he successfully petitioned Congress for$12,595.25 in compensation for property he lost during that conflict. 13 His “Statement of propertydestroyed” by the Redstick Creeks includes his plantation on the river and his “house” along the FederalRoad. Moniac was one of the wealthiest Creeks of his era, and his river plantation was among the largestin the Creek Nation. Yet he did not live ostentatiously and most of his stated wealth consisted of hisinvestments in livestock and enslaved Africans. Unfortunately for our purposes, this inventory of hismaterial possessions does not distinguish between the two locations. River plantation and Federal Roadhouse furnishings and equipment are intermingled in a single list. Perhaps some of the large quantities ofcoffee, sugar, and whiskey were lost at the house on the road. The lists of cooking utensils (10 iron pots, 2Dutch ovens, 4 tin kettles) and food serving vessels (2 dozen earthen plates, 2 dozen cups and saucers,half dozen tumblers, half dozen tin cups) are surprisingly sparse, considering the size of his household,with over thirty slaves, plus relatives, employees, and travelers stopping nightly along the road. Themention of just one bedstead and two feather beds suggests that travelers must have carried their ownbedding.Moniac’s “Statement of property destroyed” does tell us something more. His “Dwelling House,”valued at $230, was evidently his principal residence located at the river plantation, where he had $190 incash and where the cotton gin house and machinery, worth $220, were burned. Far down the inventory,with a $6 barrel of salt and two corkscrews worth 50 cents, was his “House on the Federal Road” valued181

at $30. Judging by its low worth, this was, almost certainly, a log house, probably a dogtrot-style loghouse so popular at that era in the region among Creeks as well as Americans. The unavailability ofplanks at the Federal Road house to construct a coffin, noted by Peggy Dow in 1811, strengthens theimpression of a simple log structure.One historical reference indicates that Moniac had a cowpens in the vicinity of his house on theFederal Road. Creek cattle usually roamed free in the woods, foraging at will for much of the year.Because unfenced cattle would damage crops, most wealthy Creeks kept their cattle at some considerabledistance from the major settlements, which probably partially explains the isolated locations of both ofMoniac’s residences. Cowpens were small fenced enclosures where the normally free-ranging cattle couldbe rounded up as needed. Thomas Woodward, in a reminiscence written in 1858, recalled Moniac havinga cowpens “on the Pinchong creek,” referring to Pinchona Creek, where Meredith was murdered,immediately northeast of Moniac’s house on the Federal Road. Woodward, Moniac, William Weatherfordand some others went on a cow hunt there in the summer of 1814, just after the collapse of Redstickresistance, to find food for the destitute and starving Upper Creeks. 14Soon after the war, Moniac rebuilt his house on the Federal Road, although precisely when thishappened remains uncertain, as is the duration of his re-occupation. Historian Karl Davis thought Moniaclost his place on the road “in 1816 in part because of anti-Indian attitudes prevailing in the area,” althoughhe offered no evidence for that supposition. 15 The Freeman survey plat showing “Manack’s Store” wasdrawn in 1816 or 1817. Moniac apparently still owned his place there in 1818 when he brought “twentyor more” Creek hunters to the aid of state militia gathering at Burnt Corn Springs to defend Americansettlements against the depredations of Savannah Jack, a renegade who was committing murders alongthe Federal Road. A mention of the “path from Manacs” at that time suggests he still operated his houseon the road. However, a rising tide of anti-Indian sentiment among American settlers in AlabamaTerritory at that time did evidently cause many of the Creeks who had remained on lands reserved forthem outside the Creek Nation by the Treaty of Fort Jackson to abandon their homes and flee to theNation in 1818. The local post office in 1818 was called Manacks (with Maxmillian C. Armstrongserving as postmaster), although whether it occupied space in Moniac’s house/store, or was simply in thevicinity is not clear. 16By the time Adam Hodgson, an English traveler, passed through on the way south to Mobile in1820, he made no mention of Moniac or his house of entertainment, which had featured so prominently inearlier letters and travelers’ journals. Hodgson’s account does provide a good description of the originalprairie environment and sticky chalk soils of the Pintlala area. “We soon opened on some of the beautiful182

prairies which you have frequently seen described, and which, as they were not large, reminded me of ourmeadows in the well wooded parts of England. As travelers, however, we paid dearly for the advantagesoffered to the landholders by the rich soil over which we were passing. Our road, which had hitherto beengenerally excellent for travelling on horseback, became as wretchedly bad; and we passed through threeswamps, which I feared would ruin our horses…. These swamps are ten times more formidable than eventhe flooded creeks, over two of which, in less than three miles, we had this day to have our horses swumby Indians, whose agility in the water is beautiful. The traveler himself is either conveyed over in a boat,or, if the creek is very narrow, crosses it on a large tree, which has been so dexterously felled as to fallacross and form a tolerable bridge. We slept that night at a poor cabin just erected....” 17By 1822, when David Tate wrote to his nephew David Moniac, Samuel’s son, about his father’sfinancial ruin and alcoholism, the plantation and Federal Road property had definitely passed into thehands of Americans. “You requested me to endeavor to get what property was left off your fathers in mypossession until you would return to take charge of it yourself, but it was too late. Your father had partlywaisted all, long before you wrote me. I took it upon myself to advise your father not to waist his propertybut it had no effect; he kept continually drunk, & made bad trades, & every advantage was taken. Yourfather has at this time little or no property & has been compeled to move into the nation to save what littlehe has....” 18Samuel Moniac resided thereafter with his people of Taskigi town in the Creek Nation. In 1832he appeared in the Creek census rolls as living in a household with two males and one female (noslaves). 19 In 1836 he was forcibly removed along with nearly all other Creek people from their lands inAlabama and Georgia and sent west for resettlement in the area of modern Oklahoma. Moniac diedduring Indian Removal in 1837 at an internment camp in Pass Christian, on the Mississippi coast.Preliminary shovel testing conducted at Moniac’s Store, 1MT490, in 2010 by University of SouthAlabama staff archaeologists and students recovered artifacts that supported the identification of this siteas the location of Samuel Moniac’s house.The Pintlala Historical Association, led by President Gary Burton and Program Chairman AliceCarter, expressed great interest in the preliminary results of archaeological survey at the site of Moniac’shouse and inquired about the possibility of more intensive testing to gain additional information about thesite. The members of the Pintlala Historical Association raised funds for donor support of the CAS toconduct a two-day excavation. This follow-up investigation took place on May 10 and 11, 2011, as apublic event to raise awareness of the historical significance of Moniac’s house, Pintlala, and the Old183

Federal Road. Fourth-grade students from Pintlala Elementary School and Hooper Academy visited theexcavation for a hands-on educational experience with Alabama history. Fieldwork was conducted byFigure 8-20. Thomas Freeman’s circa 1816-1817 survey plat overlaid on the Letohatchee, AL, USGS 7.5´quadrangle.184

Figure 8-21. Topographic map with archaeological test unit locations at site 1MT490.CAS archaeologist’s Tara Potts, Erin Stacey, Raven Christopher and student assistant Chad Waltman,with volunteer participation by Dr. Craig Sheldon, Teresa Paglione, Mary Belk, and others; the projectwas directed by Dr. Gregory Waselkov, Principal Investigator. 20Judging from a historic map overlay, the modern residential structure presently at the site wasapparently built on the same location as Moniac’s house (Figure 8-20). This coincidence of modern andhistoric structures makes it quite unlikely that architectural features associated with the historic structureare preserved on site. With this in mind, our test units were placed in the areas around the modernstructure where the highest concentration of artifacts were found during shovel testing, with the hope ofrecovering additional artifacts or identifying outlying structural features associated with the house. Fourtest units, a 2.0 by 2.0-meter unit and three 1.0 by 1.0-meter units, were excavated during the 2011investigation (Figure 8-21). 21While artifact density is low at Moniac’s house site, much can still be inferred by those artifactsrecovered. Moniac’s claim inventory suggests that his two households combined were not rich in materialculture. If his list is an accurate representation of his possessions, it fits well with our findings here.Apart from some early twentieth-century artifacts, the historic assemblage at 1MT490 is entirely185

appropriate for Moniac’s occupations of the initial house (1809-1813) and the house built after the firstwas burned (ca. 1815-1818).Three historic-period nails were recovered, and none were clenched (hammered over, resulting inan “L” shape). Clenched nails are expected at structures made of sawn boards rather than logs. Thedearth of nails, their condition (not clenched, and one burned), and the presence of three burned ceramicsherds all suggests a log house that was burned, which coincides with the meager historical evidenceavailable on Moniac’s house. His 1816 claim provides support for a small (most likely log) house, basedon his low estimate of its worth. Also recall Peggy Dow’s mention of only split wood available for acoffin. Taken together, the artifacts and historical documents support the inference that Moniac’s housealong the Federal Road was made of hewn logs rather than sawn boards.The chronologically diagnostic artifacts recovered from our four excavation units indicate anearly nineteenth-century occupation in the area investigated. As for where exactly the structure stood, thenumber of diagnostic artifacts from the test units closest to the modern residence (Units 1 and 2) is greaterthan from the farther units (3 and 4). Our overlay of the circa 1816-1817 Freeman survey plat on amodern topographic map places “Manack’s Store,” the second Moniac house, precisely where the modernresidence now stands. Our archaeological artifact distribution suggests the first house stood in the samelocation as the second.Household artifacts recovered by excavation provide some information on lifestyle and activitiesthat occurred at Moniac’s house on the Federal Road. The two Creek pottery sherds from the unitexcavations, in addition to the others found during shovel testing, fit expectations that a Creek Indianhousehold would have some Creek ceramics even at the late date of 1809-1813. The single identifiedvessel is a cooking jar of the type used to make sofki, a fermented thin corn soup consumed by the Creeksand unlikely to have been enjoyed by most travelers on the Federal Road. By 1810, wealthy Creekhouseholds would have routinely used English glazed pottery. The pearlware sherds with decorativestyles (edge decorated and hand painted) and plain creamware sherds found at Moniac’s house sitecorrespond to the types in wide use at the time of the Creek War. 22 The European ceramics are all servingvessels (plates and a saucer), perhaps types used to serve travelers. Finally, the recovery of a Dutch ovenfragment further ties the site with Moniac and his wealthy Creek Indian contemporaries. Moniac’s 1816claim inventory lists two Dutch ovens and similar objects were recovered at Fort Mims (Figure 8-22). 23186

Figure 8-22. Unit 2 chronologically diagnostic artifacts: (a) green edge-decorated pearlware plate rim; (b)saucer rim with hand-painted brown band; (c-f) plain creamware body sherds; (g) pearlware body sherd;(h) plain fine sand tempered body sherd, probably historic Creek Indian pottery.The excavations at Moniac’s archaeological site also provided an important and rare opportunityfor the school children of Pintlala. Archaeology is often thought of as something done in far away, exoticplaces. Public archaeology at Moniac’s house on the Old Federal Road emphasized that there areimportant archaeological landmarks close to home. Significant local events occurred here in prehistoryand history, events of interest not only to modern residents of Pintlala, but to people from other parts ofthe state and the nation. This project sponsored by the Pintlala Historical Association gave children theopportunity to assist in scientific investigations and witness findings as they happened. Through thisproject, hopefully, the students of Pintlala Elementary School and Hooper Academy gained a greaterappreciation for the history and prehistory of their home community and county and some memories thatwill grow in meaning in later years.Moniac’s house along the Old Federal Road was important in the early nineteenth century and thehistoric site still carries great significance today. The story of the Old Federal Road and Moniac’s housereflects the formation of our country and state and the hardships endured by earlier Americans along theway. Moniac lived somewhere between the old world of his Creek mother’s family and a new worldincreasingly encroaching upon the old. The artifacts recovered, both Creek and European, reflect thistransition, the changing times of early nineteenth-century America. Moniac’s house witnessed themassive number of immigrants traveling west with dreams of a new life, as well as the rise of the187

Redstick movement among the Creeks that was a major effort to stem that onslaught on their traditionalway of life. While the structure no longer stands, this historic place, and its yield of a few handfuls ofancient artifacts, provides us with a tangible connection to a lost time, and to the first documented peopleof Pintlala during the days of the Old Federal Road.Mount Meigs. The historic town of Mount Meigs was established in the early nineteenth centuryas a postal stop. By the 1830s the post office had attracted a “tavern, store, blacksmith shop, and two orthree good houses,” and was “handsomely shaded by china trees.” 24 James Buckingham passed throughthe town in 1839 and remarked, “we halted at a small village called Mount Meigs, of still more recentorigin than Tuskeegee, but, like it, flourishing and increasing rapidly.” 25 Buckingham’s stage coach brokedown outside of town and he had the opportunity to explore a nearby plantation. As a result of hismisfortune, the reader catches a rare glimpse of the condition of African’s enslaved on plantations alongthe Old Federal Road:These were all negro slaves; and their appearance and condition were not at all superiorto those we saw at Savannah; the few garments they had being almost wholly in rags, andtheir persons and apparel so filthy, that it might be doubted whether either the one or theother were ever washed from one end of the year to the other.Mount Meigs is situated at the intersection of the Old Federal Road and the Montgomery Branch.Postal records indicate the post office at Mount Meigs, run by Charles Lucas, was discontinued in 1827. 27A few historic homes are still standing, reminding visitors of the town’s long history.Milly’s Stand. Very little has been published regarding Milly’s Stand and it is not shown on anyhistorical maps. Fletcher Hale depicts the stand on the east side of Miller Creek. Our most detailedaccount comes from Abraham Mordecai, a Jewish trader who lived among the Creek Indians for 60 yearswho was interviewed by historian Albert James Pickett around the year 1848. According to Mordecai,During the Revolutionary was, an English soldier deserted with his wife Milly and fled tothe nation – at the Chatahoochie the man died & Milly being of an adventuresome &romantic spirit continued on to the upper towns, and finally settled at a place near wherethe Line Creek road crosses the Creek which bears her name – Milly here lived all herlife and died during Jackson’s war – Upon arriving at this place she married an Indian,who dying after awhile left her again, a widow, she then married a mulatto a very cleverman – she had several negroes and a large stock of cattle 7 Horses. 2826188

Pickett says she settled on the east side of Miller Creek, originally called Milly’s Creek. Over the years,Milly acquired a stock of cattle and ponies and lived comfortably among the Indians. In 1790 she heardabout a young white girl whose family had been killed and she kidnapped by Creek Indians. The girl wasbeing held for ransom at the Creek town of Atasi. Milly rode to Atasi and paid the captors “ten ponies andsix head of cattle for Tempey, and the next day carried this unfortunate child to her house.” Milly caredfor Tempey Ellis over the next few years until the girl was sent to Georgia to live with family friends. 29Milly operated a tavern and toll bridge on the Old Federal Road at Miller Creek. At some pointshe married a man named Evans, after which the tavern was referred to as Evans’s Tavern. 30 The exactdates Milly resided in Montgomery are not known. Historian Albert James Pickett placed her in the CreekNation by at least the last decade of the eighteenth century. 31 The tavern was mentioned in 1807 duringAaron Burr’s journey in captivity to Virginia for trial. 32 Thomas Woodward mentioned “a tenementbelonging to Mr. Evans, who was then keeping public house” at a fork in the road near Line Creek, butdid not indicate the date. He also described a raid from Fort Hull on a Redstick Creek encampment onMilly’s Creek, “just above the Federal [Road] crossing,” in which he rescued the captive wife ofBenjamin Moseley in February 1814. 33 Thomas Stocks, on a journey to Pensacola in 1819, stayed thenight at “Evans on Milleys Creek.” 34 Peter Brannon thought she operated her tavern until shortly after1820. 35 No other traveler accounts consulted to date have mentioned stopping at Milly’s. Perhaps by thetime the Old Federal Road saw an influx of white settlers – some thirty years after her arrival – Milly’sStand was no longer in operation.Lucas’s Tavern. The inn or stand popularly identified as “Lucas’s Tavern” was originally builtand operated by James Abercrombie. The four-roomed dogtrot house’s exact date of construction is notknown. Abercrombie ran the tavern until 1821, when Walter and Eliza Lucas took possession. Walter wasEliza’s second husband, her first – Sam Butts – was killed at the Battle of Calebee Creek in 1814.Coincidentally, Walter also fought in the battle, but survived. Walter was a leading citizen in the townthat would become Montgomery. The future capital was named after General Richard Montgomery, atWalter Lucas’s suggestion.36The Lucas’s announced their decision to move to Line Creek with an item inthe January 6, 1821 edition (the first) of the Montgomery Republican:The subscriber has taken over that well-known stand on Line Creek, Alabama, formerlyoccupied by James Abercrombie, Esq., where he intends to devote his attention to thecomfort and satisfaction of those who favor him with their patronage. He also continueshis mercantile business at Montgomery, Alabama and has on hand a very general189

assortment of Dry Goods hardware, Cutlery, and Groceries all of which be sold low forLucas’s bills or other money only: W. B. Lucas. 37Lucas’s Tavern was the first stop west of Line Creek. Prior to the land cession of 1832 and theremoval of the Creek Indians, Line Creek served as the western boundary of the Creek Nation. TheLucas’s operated a respectable inn and were often praised for their hospitality. The inn appeared to bemore under the direction of Mrs. Lucas than her husband. James Stuart, who visited the tavern in 1830,remarked, “She takes the entire management of her house, and from what I saw and heard, manages itadmirably. At dinner, she sat at the head of the table, her husband sitting at one side.” According toStuart, Mrs. Lucas “has been a good-looking woman, but now is fatter at her age (only thirty-five) thanany woman I ever saw.” 38 Perhaps contributing to the considerable waistline of Mrs. Lucas was theextravagant dinners she served at her tavern, consisting of “chicken-pie, ham, vegetables, pudding, andpie, was so neatly put upon the table and so well cooked, and the dessert, consisting of dried fruits,preserved strawberries and plums, was so excellent.” 39Perhaps the most famous figure to visit Lucas’s Tavern was France’s hero of the AmericanRevolution, the Marquis de Lafayette, who stopped here during his tour of the United States in 1825.Thomas S. Woodward accompanied Lafayette on his tour and wrote in his reminiscences, “That night wereached Walter B. Lucas. Every thing was ‘done up’ better than it will ever be again; one thing only waslacking – time – we could not stay long enough. The next morning we started for Montgomery.” 40The tavern remained under the Lucas’s ownership until they moved to Noxubee County,Mississippi in 1842. After their departure, the tavern was converted to a residence. The Daughters of theAmerican Revolution placed a historical marker at the tavern in 1930 to commemorate Lafayette’s visit,by which time the house was in disrepair (Figure 8-23). After use for some time for cattle feed storage,the house was donated in 1978 by owners Stewart Fuzzell and Vergie Broward to the LandmarksFoundation of Montgomery and moved to Old Alabama Town. 41 In 1980 the house was restored, minusthe porch, which was a later addition. Today the old tavern is a prominent part of “The Living Block”section of Old Alabama Town in downtown Montgomery (Figure 8-24).The original site of the tavern has been largely destroyed by materials mining and agriculture.Lucas Hill Cemetery, originally situatedwas moved to a new location in 2005. The cemetery, which190

contained 84 gravesites dating from 1816 to 1910, was restored approximatelylocation. 42of its oldFigure 8-23. Lucas’s Tavern in the 1940s at its original site on the Old Federal Road (courtesy of theAlabama Department of Archives and History).191

Figure 8-24. Lucas’s Tavern in Old Alabama Town, Montgomery, February 3, 2011.1 Thomas M. Owen. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, volume II (Chicago: The S. J.Clarke Publishing Company, 1921), 1044-1045.2 C. L. Grant, editor, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, two volumes (Savannah, GA: TheBeehive Press, 1980), 549.3 Ibid., 549, 556, 566-567, 590, 605, 606, 642-643.4 Not in 1803, as surmised by Henry DeLeon Southerland, Jr., and Jerry Elijah Brown, The Federal Road throughGeorgia, the Creek Nation, and Alabama, 1806-1836 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1989), 95; andLynn Hastie Thompson, William Weatherford: HIs Country and His People (Bay Minette, AL: LavenderPublishing, 1991), 611.5 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 561.6 Ibid., 605.7 Ibid., 605.8 Gary Burton, “Pintlala’s Cold Murder Case: The Death of Thomas Meredith in 1812,” The Alabama Review 63 (3,July 2010):179.9 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 605-606.10 H. S. Halbert and T. H. Ball, The Creek War, 1813 and 1814 (Chicago, IL: Donohue & Henneberry, 1895), 88-89;Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 642-643.11 Halbert and Ball, The Creek War, 1813 and 1814, 91-93.12 Grant, Letters, Journals and Writings of Benjamin Hawkins, 643.13 Anonymous, An Act for the Relief of Samuel Manac, also, of an Act for the Relief of Certain Creek Indians, 20thCongress, 1st Session, House Document No. 200 (20-1), Serial Set 173 (Washington, DC: Gales & Seaton, 1828).14 Thomas S. Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians, Contained in Letters toFriends in Georgia and Alabama (Montgomery, AL: Barrett & Wimbish, 1859), 81.15 Karl Davis, ‘Much of the Indian Appears’: Adaptation and Persistence in a Creek Community, 1783-1854 (PhDdissertation, Department of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2003), 174-175, 187.192

16 Clarence Edwin Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, volume XVIII: The Territory of Alabama,1817-1819 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1952), 290-291, 354, 508.17 Adam Hodgson, Letters from North America, two volumes (London: Hurst, Robinson & Co., 1824), I:139-140.18 David Tate, “David Tate to Cadet David Moniac, Letter of 1822,” Alabama Historical Quarterly 19(4, 1957):407-408.19 Benjamin S. Parsons and Thomas J. Abbott, 1832 Census of Creek Indians Taken by Parsons and Abbott,National Archives and Records Service, Microcopy No. T-275 (Washington, DC: The National Archives, 1963), 28.20 For more information of excavations at Moniac’s Store see: Christopher, Waselkov and Potts, ArchaeologicalTesting along the Federal Road: Exploring the Site of “Manack’s Store,” Montgomery County, Alabama.21 Raven Christopher, Gregory Waselkov, and Tara Potts, Archaeological Testing along the Federal Road:Exploring the Site of “Manack’s Store,” Montgomery County, Alabama (Mobile: University of South Alabama,Center for Archaeological Studies, 2011).22 Waselkov, Gums, and Parker 2006:37-41.23 Ibid, 44-45.24 Jeffrey C. Benton, comp., The Very Worst Road: Travellers’ Accounts of Crossing Alabama’s Old Creek IndianTerritory, 1820-1847 (Eufaula, AL: Historic Chattahoochee Commission, 1998), 67; Anne Royall, Mrs. Royall’sSouthern Tour, or Second Series of the Black Book, three volumes (Washington: 1831), II:179.25 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 141. James Silk Buckingham, The Slave States of America, two volumes (London:Fisher, Son, and Company: 1842), II: 25826 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 141-142; Buckingham, The Slave States of America,259.27 United States Post Office Department, Records of the Post Office Department: Record of Appointment of PostMasters, October 1789-1832 (Washington: National Archives and Record Service, 1980).28 “Notes taken from the lips of Abram Mordicai an old Jew 92 years of age who had lived 60 years among theCreek Indians [living in the vicinity of Dudleyville, Tallapoosa County]” (Alabama Department of Archives andHistory, Albert James Pickett Papers, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2, Int. Notes, 15 – Abram Mordecai [nd].)29 Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi from the Earliest Period(Montgomery: River City Publishing, 1851), 419-420.30 Sutherland and Brown, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation, and Alabama, 1806-1836, 92.31 Pickett, History of Alabama and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi from the Earliest Period, 419.32 “Notes taken from the lips of Mr. Thos. Malone of Washington County, Ala., in relation to the arrest of AaronBurr, in 1807, and the expedition of the North Carolina Colony in 1802 down the Tombigbee River &c &c”(Alabama Department of Archives and History, Albert James Pickett Papers, Ia1, Bound Manuscripts, Box 2, Int.Notes, 27 – Thos. Malone [nd]); Sutherland and Brown, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation, andAlabama, 1806-1836, 92.33 Thomas S. Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians (Montgomery, AL: Barrett& Wimbish, 1859), 112, 128.34 Thomas Stocks, “Memorandum Taken on My Tour to Pensacola Commencing on 15 April, 1819,” Bulletin of theAlabama Department of Archives and History 2 (3, September 1925):30.35 [Peter A. Brannon], “Principal Stage Stops and Taverns in What is Now Alabama Prior to 1840,” AlabamaHistorical Quarterly 17 (Spring-Summer 1955):84.36 Mary Ann Neeley, Old Alabama Town: An Illustrated Guide (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press,2002), 25-27.37 Ibid., 27.38 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 55; James Stuart, Three Years in North America, in Two Volumes, Volume II(Edinburgh: Printed for Robert Cadell, 1833) 203.39 Ibid.40 Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians, 71.41 Neeley, Old Alabama Town, 29.42 “Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessed June1, 2011.193

Chapter 9Macon CountyTracing the Old Federal RoadMacon County was established December 18,1832 from land acquired in the 1832 Creek Indianland cession. The county, named for North Carolinasoldier and statesman Nathaniel Macon, originallyincluded portions of Bullock and Lee counties. Thecounty was reduced to its present limits by acts oflegislature in December 1866 (Figure 9-1). 1 The OldFederal Road enters Macon County from MontgomeryCounty at Line Creek. The road heads east and thensoutheast across the center of the county forapproximately 36 miles to the Russell County line.Figure 9-1. Map of Alabama, highlightingMacon County.Original land surveys in Macon County did not commence until 1832, after the land was acquiredfrom the Creek Indians on March 24 of that year with the Treaty of Cusseta. Consequently, the earlysurvey plats created by Thomas Freeman (circa 1816-1821), which proved so useful in tracing the originalroute of the Old Federal Road in counties created after the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson, were notavailable for Macon County. Original land surveys in this area occurred between 1832 and 1834 under thedirection of Surveyor General James Weakley (Figure 9-2). The Old Federal Road route appears on alloriginal survey plats for Macon County, although some segments of the road were not labeled as such.The first published map to depict the Old Federal Road in Macon County is Abraham Bradley’s1812 Postal Route Map of the United States. Bradley evidently relied upon Samuel Bloomfield’s fieldsurvey notes compiled in 1811 for his sketchy portrayal of the road, with just two labeled landmarks inthis area: “Point Comfort,” and “Persimmon C[reek]” (Figure 9-3). “Point Comfort” is in the approximatelocation of the later Cubahatchee Tavern. However, this section of Bradley’s (and Bloomfield’s) FederalRoad is shifted too far east, judging by the well-established location of “Laula C” (Pintlala Creek). IsaacBrigg’s various 1804 descriptions of the Creek Agency establishment at Point Comfort place it south andslightly west of the big bend of the Tallapoosa River, whereas the Bradley map has it almost due east ofthe bend. In fact, Brigg’s journal and letters put Point Comfort somewhere near Polecat Springs.193

Figure 9-2. Old Federal Road on James Weakley’s 1833 survey plat of Township 16 North, Range 22 East(courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office).Figure 9-3. Old Federal Road in Macon County, as shown on Abraham Bradley’s 1812 Postal Route Mapof United States (courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection).194

The Old Federal Road in Macon County is shown on several historic maps created in the first halfof the nineteenth century, including John Melish’s 1818 Map of the Alabama Territory, an anonymousmap created in 1826, and William Darby’s 1828 Map of Alabama. The route of the road varies slightlyfrom map to map, but this should be expected given the relatively small scale of these published maps,which were compiled prior to official land surveys conducted within this portion of the Creek Nation.Only with John LaTourette’s 1838 Map of Alabama and Georgia do we see the accuracy and detailobtained from public land surveys.John Melish’s 1818 map shows Fort Hull in the location erroneously occupied by Point Comforton Bradley’s 1812 map (Figure 9-4) and Point Comfort is correctly shifted westward. The anonymous1826 map depicts stands at “Walker’s” and “Louis’s,” but does not show Point Comfort or Fort Hull(Figure 9-5). These stands were Captain Walker’s tavern at Pole Cat Springs and Kendall Lewis’s tavernat Fort Bainbridge. William Darby’s 1828 map (Figure 9-6) shows Point Comfort – labeled “Ft Comfort”– and “Cornells,” evidently an inn operated by that wealthy Creek family, although rarely mentioned intravel accounts. Several additional sites, including the location of the Battle of Calebee Creek, are shownon LaTourette’s 1838 map (Figure 9-7). Darby, the anonymous 1826 mapmaker, and LaTourette placeFort Bainbridge on the Macon-Russell county line. Modern-day local historians still debate in whichcounty the fort was actually located, although most sources indicate the fort was in Russell County.Figure 9-4. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map of Alabama Territory depicting the “Federal Road toGeorgia” through Macon County (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).195

Figure 9-5. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map of a proposed National Road depicting thesites of Walker’s and Louis’s inns on the Federal Road in Macon County (courtesy of the Hargrett RareBook and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia).Figure 9-6. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map of Georgia and Alabama depicting the Old Federal Roadthrough Macon County.196

Figure 9-7. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama depicting the Old Federal Road throughMacon County with numerous historic sites identified (courtesy of David Rumsey Historical MapCollection).Fletcher Hale’s 1930s-1940s maps were based on land surveys and his study of modern aerialphotographs. His maps are useful to us in identifying segments of the Old Federal Road that deviate frommodern roads. They also pinpoint important historical sites along the road, including Polecat Springs,Calebee battlefield, Fort Hull and associated unmarked cemetery, “Dog Run House,” Warrior Stand(Figure 9-8), and Fort Bainbridge and cemetery. Hale also created a map showing Fort Decatur, on theTallapoosa River, and the location of the road leading to the fort.Figure 9-8. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road near Warrior Stand and Fort Bainbridge inTownship 15 North, Ranges 25 and 26 East (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives andHistory).The route of the Old Federal Road runs approximately 36 miles through Macon County, for themajority of the route following paved or dirt public roads. However, about 14 miles of the old road bed issituated on inaccessible private lands. The Old Federal Road enters Macon County from MontgomeryCounty at Line Creek on U.S. Highway 80, which it follows for approximately 0.6 mile, then diverges197

east onto County Road 2 (Figure 9-9). The county road transitions from paved to dirt road about 1 mileafter it branches from the highway. County Road 2 makes a ninety degree turn south about 0.25 mile afterit becomes a dirt road. At this point, the Old Federal Road continues east, then northeast, on private land,passing by the historic site of Cubahatchee Tavern and crosses Cubahatchee Creek. Near the town ofShorter, the Old Federal Road merges with County Road 8, appropriately named Old Federal Road, andcontinues east for 1.5 miles, then remerges with U.S. Highway 80.Figure 9-9. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 1.The Old Federal Road continues along U.S. Highway 80, passing south of the historic site ofPolecat Springs, for approximately 4 miles and then enters private land (Figures 9-10). The old road headseast for 11 miles though private land until it crosses U.S. Highway 29 and onto Persimmon Creek Road.While on private land the Old Federal Road passes by the sites of the Battle of Calebee Creek and FortHull (Figure 9-11). The site of the Battle of Calebee Creek is situated on private land south of U.S.Highway 80, and Fort Hull is approachable via a private dirt road off County Road 67 (Figure 9-12).198

Figure 9-10. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 2.Figure 9-11. Calebee Creek looking east, in vicinity of battlefield, January 27, 2011.199

Figure 9-12. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 3.The Old Federal Road closely follows Persimmon Creek Road for about 4 miles, then entersprivate land (Figure 9-13). The road leaves a wooded section of private land and follows a private dirtroad for approximately 1 mile before it diverges back into wooded private land. After approximately 2.5miles the Old Federal Road merges with County Road 10. The Federal Road continues along the pavedcounty road for 5.5 miles, past the sites of Warrior Stand and Creek Stand (Figure 9-14). Just after CreekStand, the Federal Road enters private property for about 0.25 mile before it joins Boromville Road. TheOld Federal Road continues along Boromville Road for 3.5 miles, by the historic site of Fort Bainbridge,to the Russell County line (Figure 9-15).200

Figure 9-13. The Old Federal Road though Macon County, map 4.Figure 9-14. The Old Federal Road through Macon County, map 5.201

Figure 9-15. Dirt segment of Boromville Road near Fort Bainbridge, looking northeast, January 27, 2011.Historic Sites in Macon CountyPolecat Springs. The historic site of Pole Cat Springs was a place of importance to the Indiansprior to European contact, as well as to the Creek Indians and white settlers in the early decades of thenineteenth century. The spring was situated along an Indian path that connected the Lower and UpperCreek Nations and was identified by migration legends as a stopping place. In 1805, when BenjaminHawkins ordered a Creek sub-agency built at the spring, he no doubt understood the value of the spring’slocation to the Creeks. Hawkins appointed Nimrod Doyle as the first sub-agent, a position he held untilcirca 1816, when Captain Walker replaced him. 2The agency hosted numerous meetings during the Redstick War of 1813-1814. WilliamWeatherford was at the springs the night of the Battle of Calebee in 1814. Weatherford, who opposedPatty Welsh’s attack strategy and refused to be a part of the assault, left the Redstick camp along with afew fellow Creeks, and headed west on the Old Federal Road. By the time the attack began on GeneralFloyd’s army, Weatherford had reached Pole Cat Springs and could hear gunfire from the battle. 3202

Perhaps one of the most significant events to take place at Pole Cat Springs was a meeting of theUpper Creeks in 1824. In the preceding years, the Creek Indians had grown weary of the encroachment ofsettlers on their land. In May 1824, at a meeting of Upper Creek chiefs at Tuckabatchee, a resolution waspassed that prohibited chiefs from selling any more land to the United States. The Creeks threatenedpunishments for any Creek chiefs who broke the law:We have a great many chiefs and headmen but, be they ever so great, they must abide bythe laws. We have guns and ropes: and if any of our people break these laws, those gunsand ropes are to be their end. 4In November 1824, the Upper Creek Chiefs held a meeting in Captain Walker’s home atPole Cat Springs. Captain Walker, as scribe to the Indians, sent transcriptions of the meeting tothe Alabama newspapers. The account contained the order to punish by death any Creek Indianwho sold land to the whites. Joel Bailey showed the newspaper to the Creek leader WilliamMcIntosh, who at first denounced the law as not applicable to the entire nation because it was notpassed during a full National Council. By the end of the year, McIntosh had changed his mindabout the validity of death decree passed at Pole Cat Springs. During a ball game, McIntoshaddressed the crowd and according to an eyewitness declared, “The very first men who shouldsell land should die by the law…such a law had been made in council.” 5The United States government was very eager to obtain the Creek’s land, which was seen as ahindrance to national expansion of the southwest. Since the Creek Nation was surrounded on all sides bythe U.S., many Americans reasoned that purchase of Creek lands and removal of the Creek Indians westof the Mississippi River would give their country a more cohesive, homogenous land mass and open vastareas for American settlement. A meeting was set for December 1, 1824 between U.S. officials and Creekleaders to reach an agreement on the sale of the land. However, after over two weeks of negotiations, theCreeks still refused to sell. In the following months, several more meetings were held and negotiationscontinued. 6On February 12, 1825, a meeting was held at Indian Springs between the U.S. negotiators andsome chiefs of the Creek Nation, led by General William McIntosh. Much controversy surrounded themeeting and the appointment of McIntosh as leader. 7 Regardless of the controversy, the Treaty of IndianSprings was signed, ceding a large tract of Creek land to the U.S. Creek opposition to the treaty wasstrong and many argued McIntosh and the chiefs who signed the treaty should be put to death, as stated inthe decree made at Pole Cat Springs. On April 30, a small band of Redstick warriors, under the direction203

of Little Prince and Opothle Yoholo, surrounded McIntosh’s home and carried out the resolution passedat Pole Cat Springs, killing William McIntosh and Coweta chief Etome Tustunnuggee. 8Captain Walker operated a tavern at Pole Cat Springs from about 1816 until at least 1830. Walkerwas married to one of Big Warrior’s daughters, as was Kendall Lewis, who operated a tavern at FortBainbridge. According to the 1805 treaty terms, the “houses of entertainment” were under the control ofthe Creek Nation. Big Warrior, a man of prominence in the Creek Nation, ensured his son-in-laws keptprofitable taverns at advantageous locations along the Old Federal Road. The tavern was most likely adogtrot style structure, common to the time. Travelers spoke favorably of the tavern and the hospitality ofthe Captain.Walker’s Tavern was visited by many prominent travelers including: Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, James Stuart, Basil Hall, and Anne Royall. In 1826 Bernard wrote that at Walker’sTavern his party “found a good reception in a large log-house,” with each of them having their ownrooms. 9 Ann Royall visited the tavern in 1830 and remarked, “We breakfasted at the house of Capt.Walker…but I was sorry not to find the Captain at home. He keeps a good house and attentiveservants.” 10 In the same year James Stuart enjoyed “good bread and an excellent breakfast,” at Walker’sTavern. 11 The exact year Walker’s Tavern closed is not known, but it was most likely in the early 1830s.By the middle of the decade, Pole Cat Springs was home to one of the largest Creek removalcamps in Macon County. The same location that witnessed the passing of the death decree for any manwho sold Creek land to the United States later became one of the last stops for Creeks forced to leavetheir beloved homeland and relocate west. Between the years of 1835 and 1837 the removal camp at PoleCat Springs was filled with the families of Creek warriors’ serving under General Jessup in the Floridacampaign against the Seminole Indians. In the years prior to removal, tensions between Indians andsettlers were mounting. Killings and retaliations became frequent in the old Creek country. In February of1837, bands of angry settlers began to attack the removal camps. Pole Cat Springs was attacked onFebruary 19; Indian homes were destroyed, women were raped, provisions were taken and many liveslost. After the attack, the 1,900 inhabitants of Pole Cat Springs were moved out of the old Creek countryto a camp near Mount Meigs.12Ownership of the property at the spring changed hands after the land cession of 1832 and thesubsequent removal of the Creek Indians. A portion of the land at the spring was acquired by J.C. Watsonand Company in 1835 and sold to Charles Boyd in 1841. 13 Over the years, the property was bought andsold multiple times and is now owned byDuring our tour of Macon County, Moore took usto the site of the spring (Figure 9-16). Erosion has taken its toll on the banks above the spring and has204

changed the landscape over the years, but water still actively flows from the spring.Figure 9-16. Pole Cat Springs, looking northeast.Fort Hull/ Battle of Calebee. Fort Hull was built by General John Floyd and his Georgia troopsin January 1814 along the Federal Road as a supply base to facilitate their second campaign against theRedstick Creeks. 14 General Floyd and his army, the eastern prong of a multidirectional U.S. attack on the205

Redsticks, marched from the Chattahoochee River through present-day Russell and Macon countiestoward Creek towns on the lower Tallapoosa River. On their march westward, the army built severalsupply bases along the invasion route to hold open that portion of the Federal Road. 15The site of Fort Hull is located .No drawings or descriptions exist of the fort, but it may have been built in the style of Fort Bainbridgeand other contemporary forts, which included an earthworks and a palisade (Figure 9-17). Fletcher Hale’smap showing the location of Fort Hull also depicts a “Dog Run House,” with a detailed sketch of thehouse and some notes about remnants of the fort and unmarked graves at the cemetery (Figure 9-18).Figure 9-17. General Joseph Graham’s sketch of Fort Bainbridge, 1814, with profile of earthworks(courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Archives and History).206

Figure 9-18. Fletcher Hale’s map showing the location of Fort Hull, cemetery, and dog-trot cabin in(courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives andHistory).During the last week of January 1814, General Floyd and his army of 1,100 militia andvolunteers, and 600 allied Creek warriors left Fort Hull and headed toward the west side of CalebeeCreek, where the largest Redstick encampment of the entire war awaited their approach (Figure 9-19).Their movement along the Federal Road was seen by local Creek scouts and news of their camp east ofthe creek was relayed to William Weatherford, Paddy Welsh, High-head Jim and William McGillivray.The Redsticks quickly devised a plan of attack, hoping to engage the American army before they crossedthe creek. However, the Redstick leaders differed in their tactics. High-head Jim and Welsh wanted toattack the American camp from all directions before sunrise, while they were sleepy and disoriented, tomake best use of their war clubs and tomahawks, and then retreat at daylight when the U.S. troops couldmore effectively use their artillery. Weatherford and McGillivray argued the best plan was to send a smallgroup of warriors into the center of the camp, where they would kill the American officers, after whichthe rest of their force would attack the camp from all directions. Weatherford and McGillivray opposed adaylight retreat, and advocated continuous fighting until Floyd’s army was destroyed.207

Figure 9-19. Fletcher Hale’s map showing the location of Calebee Battle Site in(courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).The Redsticks went along with Welsh’s plan, after he persuaded the warriors they would beannihilated if they followed Weatherford. In the end, McGillivray joined forces with Welsh, butWeatherford and a few other Creeks left th camp, refusing to follow Welsh into battle. 16 On January 27,the Redsticks and their army of nearly 1,300 warriors attacked General Floyd’s army just before sunrise. 17Early on the Creeks had the advantage of a surprise attack. It was dark and Floyd’s troops were confusedand disoriented, as the Redsticks had hoped. However, as dawn approached, General Floyds militia wereable to use their artillery effectively and repelled the Redstick assault. The Creeks retreated and werepursued by Floyd’s army. The battle at Calebee cost the Redsticks between forty and fifty warriors,including High-head Jim. Although considered an American victory, General Floyd’s army lost 17Georgia militia and 5 allied Creeks, along with a very high number of wounded soldiers, nearly 150,which forced him to fall back to Fort Hull.Soon afterwards, General Floyd marched back Fort Mitchell and then returned to Georgia leavingColonel Milton in charge of a small garrison at Fort Hull, including thirty regulars, 550 South Carolinamilitia, an unknown number of allied Creeks and four pieces of artillery.18 Fort Hull was only occupiedfor a short time. In March 1814, Colonel Milton and his troops left Fort Hull to build Fort Decatur,208

located on the Tallapoosa River in the northwest corner of Macon County. After Colonel Milton’sdeparture, only a small number of Carolina militia remained at Fort Hull. Most of the militia servicecontracts expired on July 31, 1814 and after their departure the fort was left under the command of ahospital steward and a quartermaster sergeant. The lack of a garrison made the fort vulnerable to attacksby Redstick Creeks still in the area. On August 10, 1814, the hospital steward wrote to General Jackson,who was at Fort Jackson, to explain that the fort had, “five to ten wagon loads of ammunition, forty orfifty muskets, two brass pieces, seventy barrels of flour and everything which is wanted for any fort – butmen.” Another letter, dated the same day from General Jackson to Colonel Hawkins, assigned 200 alliedCreek warriors to both Fort Hull and Fort Bainbridge. No fighting ever occurred at Fort Hull and by 1815,after the close of the War of 1812 and the Redstick War of 1813-1814, the post was abandoned. 19Given the fort’s favorable location, it is likely a stage stop was established onHowever, documentation regarding a stage stop at the fort is very scant.Traveler’s often referred to other forts, like Bainbridge and Mitchell, as they made their way through theCreek Nation, but no mention of Fort Hull is known in published travel accounts. The land the fort wassituated on was deeded to “Anny Cornelle” (most likely the daughter of Alex Cornells) by the treaty of1832. 20 The land was later purchased by James J. Bryan on May 18, 1841.Warrior Stand and Creek Stand. The 1805 Treaty with the Creeks outlined the boundaries forthe Creek Nation. The treaty also allowed the cutting the Old Federal Road through their land for use bythe United States. The Creeks were given authority to operate “houses of entertainment” along the road.Big Warrior, speaker of the Creek Nation and a prominent chief of the Upper Creeks, was proprietor orco-proprietor to the stage stops in Macon and Russell counties prior to his death in 1825. Big Warrior wassole owner of Warrior Stand and also operated a well-known race track near Fort Hull. 22 Big Warrior’sson, Little Prince, owned a stand between Warrior Stand and Fort Bainbridge known as Creek Stand. Big209

Warrior’s sons-in-law Captain Walker and Kendall Lewis operated the stands at Pole Cat Springs andFort Bainbridge, respectively.Warrior Stand and Creek Stand are rarely mentioned in traveler’s accounts, with the exception ofAugust Levasseur, who accompanied the Marquis de Lafayette on his tour of the Creek Nation in 1825.The entourage stayed one night at Warrior Stand, shortly after the death of Big Warrior. Unfortunately adescription of the tavern is not provided. 23 Small settlements grew up at the site of both taverns and arestill shown on maps today as Warriorstand and Creek Stand. Archeological testing has not beenconducted at either site and no previously recorded sites are known in the vicinity of the taverns. 24Today, visitors to these historic sites will only find open land with a few houses scattered about, includingthe historic home Creekwood (Figure 9-20). This Greek Revival-style plantation home was built in 1844,most likely by Jesse Boring, who purchased the land in 1841. Creekwood was added to the NationalRegister of Historic Places in 1989. 25Figure 9-20. At Creek Stand, on Old Federal Road looking north, January 27, 2011.210

1 Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (Chicago, IL: S. J. ClarkePublishing Company, 1921), 2:918-919.2 Peter A. Brannon, “Pole Cat Springs Agency” Arrow Points 10 (2 February, 1925): 24-26.3 Brannon, “Pole Cat Springs Agency,” 25; Thomas S. Woodward, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, orMuscogee Indians, Contained in Letters to Friends in Georgia and Alabama (Montgomery, AL: Barrett & Wimbish,1859), 102.4 Benjamin W. Griffith, Jr., McIntosh and Weatherford: Creek Indian Leaders (Tuscaloosa: The University ofAlabama Press, 1998), 220-221. Tuckabatchee Talk, May 24, 1824, in Niles’ Weekly Register, December 4, 1824.5 Griffith, McIntosh and Weatherford, 223. Affidavit of Andrew Berryhill, ibid., pp 427-428.6 Ibid, 212-231.7 For more on McIntosh’s role in the selling of Creek lands, see Griffith, McIntosh and Weatherford, 233-254.8 Griffith, McIntosh and Weatherford, 232-250.9 Jeffrey C. Benton, comp., The Very Worst Road: Travellers’ Accounts of Crossing Alabama’s Old Creek IndianTerritory, 1820-1847 (Eufaula, AL: Historic Chattahoochee Commission, 1998), 32; Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Travels through North America during the Years 1825 and 1826, two volumes (Philadelphia: Carey, Lea,and Cary, 1828), II:31.10 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 67; Anne Royall, Mrs. Royall’s Southern Tour, or Second Series of the BlackBook, three volumes (Washington: 1831), II: 141-148, 179-180.11 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 54; James Stuart, Three Years in North America, in Two Volumes, volume II(Edinburgh: Printed for Robert Cadell, 1833), 192.12 John T. Ellisor, The Second Creek War: Interethnic Conflict and Collusion on a Collapsing Frontier (Lincoln:University of Nebraska Press, 2010), 329, 354-357.13 “General Land Office Records,” U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, accessed August 11,2011, http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx.14 Henry DeLeon Southerland, Jr., and Jerry Elijah Brown, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation,and Alabama, 1806-1836 (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1989), 44.15 Frank Lawrence Owsley Jr. Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands: The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans,1812-1815 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1981), 42-43.16 Ibid.17 Southerland and Brown, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation, and Alabama, 44-46.18 Elizabeth Hughes Yamaguchi, Macon County, Alabama: Its Land and Its People from Pre-history to 1870(Auburn: Auburn University, 1981), 201.19 Peter A. Brannon, “Fort Hull of 1814: A Record of a Pioneer Post Established in the Present Macon County,”Arrow Points 14 (1, March 1929):6-11.20 Brannon, “Fort Hull,” 7.21 “Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessedAugust 9, 2011.22 Brannon, “Pole Cat Springs Agency,” 24-26.23 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 22; Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825; or Journal of aVoyage to the United States, two volumes (Philadelphia: Carey and Lea: 1829), II: 79-80.24 “Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessedSeptember 9, 2011; “Phase I Surveys,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessed September 9,2011.25 “General Land Office Records,” United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, accessedSeptember 19, 2011, http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx. “National Register of Historic Places,”United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, accessed September 9, 2011,http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do.211

Chapter 10Russell CountyTracing the Old Federal RoadRussell County, named for U.S. Army officerCol. Gilbert C. Russell, was established on December18, 1832. The county, like Macon County, was createdfrom land acquired from the Creek Indians with the1832 Treaty of Cusseta. Legislation passed onDecember 15, 1866 altered the county boundary byallocating land to Lee County. In a final revision,another portion of the county was later redistributed toBarbour County (Figure 10-1). 1 The Old Federal Roadenters the western boundary of Russell County fromMacon County and extends approximately 27 miles eastto the Chattahoochee River.Figure 10-1. Map of Alabama, highlighting RussellCounty.At the time the Federal Road was established, the land comprising modern-day Russell Countybelonged to the Creek Indian Nation. Because the land was not acquired by the United States until 1832,General Land Office surveying did not commence until 1833. Consequently, Thomas Freeman’s earlysurvey plats created circa 1816-1821, which proved so useful in identifying the Old Federal Road in thecounties acquired from the Creeks prior to 1832, are not available for Russell County. However, all thesurvey plats of the Old Federal Road vicinity created in 1833-1834 under the supervision of SurveyorGeneral James Weakley depict the road (Figure 10-2). The Old Federal Road is labeled “United StatesMail Road” or “Federal Road” on the plats, which also show the U.S. Army Reserve around FortMitchell, the Creek Agency, and other prominent roads.212

Figure 10-2. Old Federal Road labeled as “United States Mail Road” and other roads shown on JamesWeakley’s 1834 survey plat of Township 16 North, Range 30 East (courtesy of the Bureau of LandManagement, General Land Office).The Old Federal Road through Russell County is shown on several early published maps. Somediscrepancies between the maps are attributable to the lack of accurate land surveys in the Creek Nation atthe time of their creation. Abraham Bradley’s 1812 Postal Route Map of the United States shows the oldroad in Russell County between a point marked “29” (a mileage indicator) and “Coweta” (Figure 10-3).Bradley inaccurately depicted the road crossing the Chattahoochee River at “Coweta,” a major Creektown across the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. His map also erroneously placed the town of“Kussetas,” near where the Federal Road actually crossed, a great distance down the ChattahoocheeRiver. John Melish’s 1818 Map of the Alabama Territory correctly shows the Federal Road crossing atFort Mitchell and “Kussetau” (Figure 10-4). Melish also identified the “Pensacola Path” crossing of theFederal Road near Fort Bainbridge (not labeled).213

Figure 10-3. Detail of Abraham Bradley’s 1812 Postal Route Map of the United States (courtesy of DavidRumsey Historical Map Collection).Figure 10-4. Detail of John Melish’s 1818 map depicting the “Federal Road to Georgia” through RussellCounty (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).214

A map created in 1826 by an anonymous cartographer depicts the Old Federal Road and thelocation of Fort Bainbridge and Fort Mitchell (Figure 10-5). A road branches off the Old Federal Road atFort Mitchell heading north to “Kannard” (i.e., Kinnaird) near Columbus, Georgia. The same roadappears on William Darby’s 1828 Map of Alabama and John LaTourette’s 1838 Map of Alabama andGeorgia, although LaTourette identified the place as “Gerard” (Figures 10-6 and 10-7). Darby’s map alsoillustrates the sites of Fort Bainbridge and Fort Mitchell, as well as the road from Fort Bainbridge toPensacola. In addition to the previously identified sites, LaTourette’s 1837 map shows the locations ofElliott’s Store and Uchee.Figure 10-5. Detail of an anonymous 1826 manuscript map of a proposed National Road depicting theOld Federal Road through Russell County and the sites of Fort Bainbridge and Fort Mitchell (courtesy ofthe Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia).Figure 10-6. Detail of William Darby’s 1828 map of Georgia and Alabama depicting the Old Federal Roadthrough Russell County and the sites of Fort Bainbridge and Fort Mitchell.215

Figure 10-7. Detail of John LaTourette’s 1838 map of Alabama depicting the Old Federal Road throughRussell County, with numerous historic sites identified (courtesy of David Rumsey Historical MapCollection).Fletcher Hale’s maps of the Old Federal Road in Russell County were based on James Weakley’soriginal 1833-1834 land surveys and Hale’s analysis of early aerial photographs (Figure 10-8). In additionto illustrating the route of the Old Federal Road, Hale identified numerous sites along its path, includingFort Mitchell, Fort Mitchell Cemetery, Creek Indian Agency, Anthony’s Tavern, Sand Fort, Uchee, andFort Bainbridge.Figure 10-8. Fletcher Hale’s map of the Old Federal Road around Fort Mitchell in Township 16 North,Range 30 East (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History).216

The Old Federal Road in Russell County generally coincides with existing dirt and paved roads,with the exception of a 2-mile segment southwest of Uchee and a 5.5-mile segment west of Fort Mitchell.The Old Federal Road enters the western boundary of Russell County from Macon County on BoromvilleRoad (Figure 10-9). The dirt road heads east for 2 miles and then turns north on County Road 51. TheFederal Road only remains on the paved road for 0.3 mile and then heads east onto private property, firstalong a dirt road then into a wooded area. The dirt segment of old road bed on private property east ofCounty Road 51 is deeply entrenched (Figure 10-10). However, this area has been affected bycommercial agriculture and heavy machinery, perhaps distorting the depth of the entrenchment.Figure 10-9. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 1.217

Figure 10-10. Old Federal Road on private property east of County Road 51, January 28, 2011.The Old Federal Road continues along the paved county road for 9.5 miles, with the exception oftwo segments (Figure 10-11). At the first segment, 3.5 miles east of Uchee, the Old Federal Road leavesthe paved road and follows a dirt road on private land. The dirt road runs southeast for 0.7 mile and thenremerges with the county road. The county road at this section was most likely straightened duringpaving, leaving the old segment of road bed undisturbed (Figure 10-12). At this point, the county roadname becomes Sandfort Road. The second segment is located about 0.5 mile west of Sand Fort. The OldFederal Road departs from the county road onto private land for 0.7 mile, then merges again with thepaved road (Figure 10-13).218

Figure 10-11. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 2.Figure 10-12. Dirt section of Old Federal Road, on private property 3.5 miles east of Uchee, looking east,January 28, 2011.219

Figure 10-13. Section of Old Federal Road on Sandfort Road, east of Sand Fort, looking east, January 28,2011.Sandfort Road makes a sharp turn northeast approximately 0.3 mile east of Sand Fort (Figure 10-14). The Old Federal Road leaves Sandfort Road and continues heading east on Carden Road for 2.7miles, crosses U.S. Highway 431, and becomes Mathis Road (Figure 10-15). After 1 mile, Mathis Roadcrosses U.S. Highway 431 and becomes Old Seale Highway/County Road 137. The county road crossesU.S. highway 431 once more and then heads east. The Old Federal Road follows the county road for 2miles, then diverges onto private property. The old road remains on private property for 5.5 miles, pastthe site of Fort Mitchell, to the Chattahoochee River (Figure 10-16).220

Figure 10-14. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 3.Figure 10-15. Section of Old Federal Road on Carden Road, looking west, January 28, 2011.221

Figure 10-16. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 4.Historic Sites in Russell CountyFort Bainbridge and Lewis’s Tavern. Fort Bainbridge was the last of the Federal Road fortsconstructed in the Creek Nation during the Redstick War of 1813-1814. The fort was erected in March1814 by North Carolina militia serving under General Joseph Graham, who drew an excellent detailedsketch of Fort Bainbridge, including a profile of the earthworks construction (Figure 10-17). The fort wassituated on a ridge top between the watersheds of the Chattahoochee and Tallapoosa rivers. Streams onthe east side of the fort drain to the Chattahoochee and the ones on the west to the Tallapoosa. The fortconsisted of an earthworks and palisade, forming a star redoubt. Fort Bainbridge, which was large enoughto contain 300 men, was, according to Graham, the “most regular work and the best finished of any of theforts in the Creek Nation Fort Jackson excepting.” 2 The fort was used to hold and move supplies duringthe war, after which it was abandoned as a military post.222

Figure 10-17. Sketch of Fort Bainbridge from General Joseph Graham papers (courtesy of the NorthCarolina Department of Archives and History).Figure 10-18. Description of Fort Bainbridge and sketch of the fort’s draw bridge, General GrahamPapers (courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Archives and History).223

Kendall Lewis, son-in-law of Big Warrior, operated a tavern at the fort site from the end of theRedstick War of 1813-1814 until circa 1829. Both Kendall Lewis and his tavern were well-liked bytravelers and often highly praised in their travel accounts. Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach,stayed a night in the tavern in 1826 during his travels through North America and described it as “ahandsome house, the best that we have found in the Indian territory.” Bernard went on to describe theelaborate dinner he was served at the tavern: “I will notice our dinner of to-day, that the inquisitive readermay observe that one is in no danger of hunger on the lands of the Indians: soup of turnips, roast-beef, aroast-turkey, venison with a kind of sour sauce, roast chickens, and pork with sweet potatoes.” 3 A mailstop operated at Fort Bainbridge by 1827, with Henry Lewis acting as post master. 4Figure 10-19. Modern artist’s imaginative rendition of Lewis’s Tavern (courtesy of the AlabamaDepartment of Archives and History).224

By 1830, when James Stuart travelled through by region, a man named Harris had taken over thetavern and Fort Bainbridge was no longer standing, “In the evening we stopped at Harris’s hotel, nearFort Bainbridge, which is now dismantled.” He continued, “I was glad to find the hotel more comfortablethan that at Fort Mitchell. I secured a single-bedded room as soon as I arrived, and was surprised to findCowper’s poems on a table in the room, while there was not even a pane of glass in the window.” Dinnerincluded a feast of venison, fowls, ham, and eggs, as “Mrs. Harris presided at the head of the table, herhusband acting as waiter.” 5 In the same year, Ann Royall stayed an evening in “a large elegant tavern andwell kept by a Mr. Harris.” She also noted the fort was no longer standing. 6Henry Alford Key built a plantation home in the vicinity of the fort in the 1850s. RussellCounty’s 1860 census identified the Keys as owners of 43 slaves, reflecting their considerable wealth bythis time. 7Sand Fort and Royston’s Tavern. Sand Fort was erected by General Floyd’s Georgia militia in1814. The fort was hastily constructed and only utilized for a short time. Like most of its contemporaries,the fort was an earthwork with a stockade. The soil at the fort was very sandy, hence the name Sand Fort,which makes it very unlikely any surface indication of the fort would be visible today. Very little hasbeen written about Sand Fort, suggesting its role in the Creek War of 1813-1814 was relativelyinconsequential. It was probably lightly garrisoned and served as a depot for the movement of suppliesthrough the Creek Nation.Mr. Royston operated a tavern at the old fort site from 1825 to 1836. 8 Royston, a white settler,must have run the tavern for a Creek proprietor, since the period of operation falls mainly before IndianRemoval. James Stuart, who visited the inn in 1830, described it as, “a very tolerable country inn”. 9Toward the mid-1830s, tensions between settlers and Creeks grew as a result of Removal. In 1836Royston had to make his bread with whiskey, because he was unable to get fresh spring water for fear ofthe hostile Creeks surrounding his inn. 10 The exact location of the fort and tavern are not known. Noarchaeological testing has been conducted at the site and no previously recorded sites are in the vicinity ofthe site. 11225

Fort Mitchell, Creek Agency, and Anthony’s Tavern. The Old Federal Road in Russell Countywas vital to the military campaigns of the Creek War of 1813-1814. The land comprising the county wasoriginally situated within the Creek Nation. After the attack on Fort Mims, U.S. military commandersdeveloped plans for a three-pronged invasion of the Creek homeland, from Tennessee to the north, fromthe Mobile area of Mississippi Territory to the southwest, and from Georgia to the east. The ultimatetarget for all U.S. forces was the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, north of modern-dayMontgomery. General John Floyd, commander of the Georgia militia, entered the Creek Nation andestablished Fort Mitchell as a base of operations just west of the Chattahoochee River crossing on theFederal Road. His forces then made several tentative advances up the road from Fort Mitchell, marchingwest to engage Redstick forces. Along their line of advance, defensive works were erected, includingSand Fort, Fort Bainbridge, and Fort Hull. 12These Georgia militia forts were hastily constructed and occupied for short duration. They weregenerally built on high ground, close to springs, and a day’s travel apart – approximately 14 miles –which made them ideal locations for later stage stops and taverns as the road became a majorthoroughfare for travelers after the war. By the 1820s taverns could be found at Fort Mitchell, Sand Fort,and Fort Bainbridge. By the mid-nineteenth century the Old Federal Road was no longer the primaryroute for travel through the state and stage stops along its path began to close. Some of the structuresundoubtedly were turned into residences; none remain standing today along the part of the road.Fort Mitchell, named for Georgia Governor David B. Mitchell, was constructed under thecommand of General Floyd in November and December of 1813. At time of construction, GeneralFloyd’s army consisted of approximately 950 militiamen and between 300 and 400 allied Creek Indians. 13General Joseph Graham of North Carolina provided a description of the fort:Fort Mitchell was built by General Floyds Brigade in the Month of December 1813, isbuilt on the plan of Ft. Lawrence, is 100 yards square, has pickets of round logs 14 feetabove ground has 3 Gates & 2 Blockhouses of round logs 30 feet square. In eachblockhouse one Coehorn which can be moved so as to rake the ditch on either side, in theoposite corners from the blockhouses a platform was raised in the month of July 18[14] 7feet high on which was mounted 2 brass 3 pounders, the top of the Pickets cut of[f] at asuitable height for the gun in the form of an embrasure for each angle so that they canrake or bear on any point round to the Blockhouse on each side.The Fort has within a magazine covered with earth, 2 houses for hospitals,Storehouses for provisions etc. etc. is too crowded with buildings inside for Convenientarrangement for defence. 14226

The fort served as a staging ground and supply base for movement into the eastern portion of the CreekNation. No fighting ever took place at the fort. By 1817, after the conclusion of the War of 1812 and theCreek War, the fort was abandoned as a military post. 15A decade after this fort’s existence, more Creek lands were ceded to the United States causing aneruption of hostilities between some Creeks and American settlers. Major Donahoe and a smalldetachment of the 4th U.S. Infantry Regiment were sent to here to establish “a small picket fort and 2block houses.” The second Fort Mitchell was improved over the years and a small community developedin its vicinity. By 1836 the fort became an important base of operations for the Second Creek War, as wellas one of the largest removal camps in the Creek country housing over 14,000 Indians. After removal, thefort remained lightly garrisoned until it closed in 1840. 16After the first fort’s abandonment in 1817, the location became the U.S. Indian factory and CreekAgency. Under the direction of Daniel Hughes, the factory provided supplies – mainly for building andagriculture – to the Creeks. However, by 1820 the money-losing factory was closed. In 1819 DavidMitchell was appointed Creek Agent. After much controversy, corruption, and conflict, Mitchell wasreplaced in 1821 by John Crowell, who remained Creek Agent until closure of the agency after Creekremoval. In addition to his duties as agent, Crowell acted as postmaster. Fort Mitchell remained a postalstop until at least 1839. 17The tavern at Fort Mitchell was owned in part by Little Prince from 1811 to 1824 and run byCaptain Anthony from 1820 until taken over by John Crowell’s brother Thomas in 1825. Crowell’s tavernwas General Lafayette’s first stopping place on his tour of the Creek Nation in 1825 (Figure 10-20). Thetavern was probably abandoned with the fort in 1840. 18Figure 10-20. Detail of a cartoon from a 1925 issue of the Montgomery Advertiser commemoratingGeneral Lafayette’s 1825 tour through the Creek Nation (courtesy of the Alabama Department ofArchives and History).227

A National Cemetery was created at Fort Mitchell in 1987 and has become the final resting placefor thousands of veterans from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennesseeand Mississippi. 21 The historic site of Fort Mitchell has become a park and home to the ChattahoocheeHeritage Center. Visitors to the park can learn about the site’s history by touring the museum at theVisitors Center, as well as reconstructions of the 1814 fort and tavern, a carriage house with a selection ofrefurbished stage coaches, and the Crowell family cemetery (Figure 10-21). The Chattahoochee HeritageCenter features a tribute to the Creek Indians who were forced off their land during Removal (Figure 10-22). The focal point of the park is an enormous eternal flame, symbolizing the sacred fire of the CreekNation. Surrounding the monument are plaques dedicated to the Creek Indians and their history.Interpretive signs identify the Creek Trail of Tears and an Indian Ball field.Figure 10-21. Reconstruction of 1813 Fort Mitchell at Fort Mitchell Park, January 28, 2011.228

Figure 10-22. Monument to the Creek Indian people at Chattahoochee Heritage Center, January 28,2011.1 Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (Chicago, IL: S. J. ClarkePublishing Company, 1921), 2:1213.2 General Joseph Graham, Graham Letter Book: Joseph Graham papers (North Carolina State Archives, 1814); seedrawing of Fort Bainbridge drawbridge with written description of fort.3 Jeffrey C. Benton, comp., The Very Worst Road: Travellers’ Accounts of Crossing Alabama’s Old Creek IndianTerritory, 1820-1847 (Eufaula, AL: Historic Chattahoochee Commission, 1998), 30. Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Travels through North America during the Years 1825 and 1826, two volumes (Philadelphia: Carey, Lea,and Cary, 1828), II: 28-29.4 Records of the Post Office Department record of appointment of postmasters, October 1789-1832 (Washington:National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1980), 13.5 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 53-54; James Stuart, Three Years in North America, in Two Volumes, volume II(Edinburgh: Printed for Robert Cadell, 1833), 192.229

6 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 65-66; Anne Royall, Mrs. Royall’s Southern Tour, or Second Series of the BlackBook, three volumes (Washington: 1831), II:148-149.7 “Russell County, Alabama, Largest Slave Holders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules,” Ancestry, accessedSeptember 20, 2011http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ajac/alrussell.htm.8 Henry Deleon Southerland, Jr., and Jerry Elijah Brown, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation, andAlabama, 1806-1836 (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1989), 83.9 Benton, The Very Worst Road, 53; Stuart, Three Years in North America, 157.10 Southerland and Brown, The Federal Road, 83, 141.11 Alabama Online Cultural Resource Database,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessedSeptember 13, 2011; “Phase I Surveys,” Office of Archaeological Research, secure website accessed September 13,2011.12 Frank Lawrence Owsley, Jr., Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press,2007), 43.13 John W. Cottier, An Analysis of the Fort Mitchell Features. Volume 1 (Auburn: Auburn University, 2004), 6-7.14 Cottier, Fort Mitchell, 8. Original text quoted from General Joseph Graham, Unpublished Letter Book, NorthCarolina Department of Archives and History.15 Ibid., 7-9.16 Ibid., 10-16.17 Ibid., 9-11, 14.18 Southerland and Brown, The Federal Road, 76.19 Cottier, Fort Mitchell, 24-26.20 Ibid., 29-31.21 “Fort Mitchell National Cemetery,” United States Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed September 20, 2011,http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftmitchell.asp.230

Chapter 11Conclusions and Recommendations fromthe Old Federal Road ProjectLandscape Archaeology and the Old Federal RoadThis ALDOT-sponsored on-the-ground survey of the Old Federal Road is, to our knowledge, thefirst large-scale landscape archaeology project conducted in the state of Alabama. Archaeologists havealways studied sites, discrete places where evidence of human activities can be found in the form ofartifacts and structures and other remnants of the past. Only in recent decades have archaeologists soughtbroader perspectives that look at the many ways humans and their environments interconnect.These broader perspectives first involved studies of settlement patterns, the various ways humanhave dispersed themselves to exploit their environments for foods and other resources, as well as thedifferent ways in which increasingly populous and politically complex societies organized theirexploitative activities. For instance, the campsites used for hunting and gathering during the last Ice Agewere organized differently to accomplish different goals than the village sites of the first farmers, andthose in turn vary in many ways from the small urban centers of the earliest civilizations. By studyingthese kinds of structural differences from a landscape perspective, archaeologists have been able to traceboundaries between ancient societies, document trade networks and dependencies, and understandsomething about the changing nature of warfare through time and space. Archaeologists have alsoexplored how early peoples viewed the landscape around them in symbolic terms, and how theysometimes altered their environment in more or less dramatic ways to craft a landscape that betterreflected their beliefs in the cosmos. The construction of pyramids in Old Kingdom Egypt, Stonehenge inNeolithic Britain, and Hopewellian earthworks of Middle Woodland North America all apparentlyexemplify aspects of the cosmological beliefs of their builders. 1Americans today are exposed to lessons about landscape archaeology of the ancient worldthrough television and internet, but few know the same approach can inform us about early U.S. history.Historical archaeologists have investigated the symbolic meaning of Mormon fencing in Utah, royalgovernor’s gardens in colonial Maryland, and the intermingled houses of Spanish colonists and chieflyIndians in seventeenth-century Florida. The Old Federal Road held different symbolic import for whiteAmerican settlers, for enslaved black Africans and African-Americans, and for different factions of theCreek Indians ... and symbolic values changed through time for each of those groups. A brief discussionof the Old Federal Road from the perspective of landscape archaeology will hopefully illustrate someaspects of life in early nineteenth-century America that are not widely known or appreciated.231

The Old Federal Road RouteOur archaeological survey of the Old Federal Route documented a long and complex route withseveral major alternative branches (Figure 11-1). One important conclusion of this project is simply thatthe route changed with time. Some original sections of road were abandoned shortly after the road wasfirst created. From the very beginning the original network of Indian paths offered many alternatives forthe road builders to choose from. Benjamin Hawkins, Isaac Briggs, and Lt. John Luckett traveled pathsthat generally coincided, but each diverged significantly at several points.Figure 11-1. The route of the Old Federal Road and its major branches in Alabama, as determined bythis project.232

Between 1815 and 1825, in the wake of the Creek War, some major changes in the Old FederalRoad included a branch west from Burnt Corn Springs to Fort Claiborne and St. Stephens and south toFort Stoddert, a branch south to Blakeley, a shift in the Baldwin County section to carry the road pastCantonment Montpelier (generally corresponding to State Road 59), a branch to the east of the originalroad through Lowndes County, and rerouting of the road to the northwest through Montgomery Countywith a branch to access the new town of Montgomery. More major changes were contemplated in 1825,although that proposal for a new National Road failed to materialize. Beginning about 1929-1931 and upto today, the route has been altered in hundreds of small ways by widening, grading, paving, andstraightening to meet modern highway standards, as well as rerouted for new bridge locations and otherreasons. Many sections of the old public road have long since converted to private ownership, and inmany instances have grown up in woods, no longer functioning even as private roadways.In other words, there is no single route of the Old Federal Road. It evolved through the nineteenthcentury and continues to change today even in its commemoration (Figure 11-2). However, it has beenpossible to trace the historical road in its multiple strands, sort out the changes in route chronologically,and identify major branches of the road that have since been called the Old Federal Road even thoughthey were not all part of the original route.Figure 11-2. The modern drivable route of the commemorative Old Federal Road in Alabama, preparedby the Alabama Department of Transportation (courtesy of Ronnie Pouncey, ALDOT).233

We have devoted considerable effort in this archaeological project to determine the originalcourse of the Federal Road and to distinguish that route from later ones for historical reasons. The route inuse from the mid-1820s onward was used far longer and by many more people and is certainly more fullydocumented in terms of historic maps and travelers’ accounts and oral history. The later route is alsogenerally easier to find on the ground because most of its branches remained in use until recently.However, precisely because the original route had been studied less, we thought it deserved extraattention from us. The original road has great historical significance. In its earliest days this was theIndian path that Americans transformed to a postal horse path, then a military road through the heart ofthe Creek Nation. The conflict that surrounded the imposition of the Federal Road on an unwilling peoplecontributed substantially to the outbreak of the Creek War in 1813, one of the most consequential Indianwars in American history. And in that war’s aftermath, this was the route followed by thousands of earlysettlers during the Alabama Fever land rush. Now that we have pieced together this original route, we canexamine its historical role from a landscape archaeology perspective.As discussed in Chapter 2, the routes traveled by William Bartram, Benjamin Hawkins, IsaacBriggs, and Lt. John Luckett between 1775 and 1810 were Indian paths, part of an ancient transportationnetwork that connected Indian towns throughout North America to each other, to colonial European andAmerican settlements and forts, and to hunting grounds and other resources from the coasts to themountains. These paths, or earlier variants, had enabled and expedited long-distance trade, diplomacy,exploration, and warfare for centuries. Unfortunately we know little about this extensive system of Indianpaths and even less about what Indians thought of this complex of subtle tracks through the forests andprairies and swamps of the Southeast. There are, fortunately, a few rare maps of the region drawn byIndians during the colonial period that give a glimpse of their world view. One kind of Indian map, highlystylized and full of symbolic content, is exemplified by an archival copy of a deerskin map drawn in 1723by a Chickasaw headman for the governor of British colonial South Carolina (Figure 11-3). 2This particular Indian map encompasses an enormous territory stretching from New York toFlorida and from South Carolina to Kansas, which indicates the enormous breadth of geographicalknowledge held by this unnamed Chickasaw headman. Apparently intended mainly as a diplomaticstatement to the British, the deerskin map portrayed the Southeast from a distinctly Chickasawperspective, full of native societies (represented by different sized circles) either allied or opposed to thattribe. Interestingly, Europeans are barely present. The map also shows us, with lines depicting large riversand major paths, the essential elements of an extensive communication system. Missing from the few234

surviving Indian maps, though, are nearly all of the thousands of names given by Indians to places ofimportance to them.Figure 11-3. British copy on paper of a map drawn on deerskin for Governor Nicholson of South Carolinaby a Chickasaw headman in 1723 (courtesy of the National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom).A few hundred of those place names survive in the Indian words still associated today with somerivers and towns and a handful of other spots across the Southeast, but even in those exceptions we rarelyunderstand their significance to the people who gave us these names. Modern ethnographic and linguisticstudies of American Indian place names suggest the depth of this loss in the Southeast. For instance,Keith Basso’s landmark study of Western Apache place names, Wisdom Sits in Places, explores how theWestern Apache people have constructed their conception of their landscape over many generations,learning its intricacies and naming places for mythic and modern happenings. These place names recordhuman experiences, and their recollection helps remind and teach moral and historical and pragmaticlessons that guide the Western Apaches into the future. 3235

Our 1723 Chickasaw map offers a glimpse of that sort of landscape creation in the area aroundMobile (Figure 11-4). The French town of Mobile does not, oddly enough, appear on this map, and theFrench colonial presence itself is only apparent by the letter F designating native allies, enemies of theChickasaws. Emanating from the wavy line at the bottom map edge that represents the Gulf of Mexico,the Mobile River divides into the Alabama River leading to the Creeks and the Tombigbee River leadingto Chickasaw country. The small circles represent (from south to north) the Apalachees and Tawasas andChatos (who “Came in the Indian War”), Taensas, Mobilians, and Tomés – all small refugee tribespolitically allied to the French. East of the Tomé towns (at McIntosh Bluff and Nannahubba Bluff) is thephrase “Chocktau Benelee,” meaning “Choctaw settlements.” The Tomés spoke a Choctaw dialect andjoined the Choctaw Nation in later years, so they were presumably ethnic Choctaws and considered assuch by the Chickasaw mapmaker. The short dotted lines crisscrossing this part of the map depict trails.The north-south trail shown here is apparently the earliest map portrayal of the path that became theFederal Road, specifically the branch between Mobile and St. Stephens in Mobile and Washingtoncounties. The curving path running between the two Tomé towns ends on the east at the river crossing toNannahubba Island, the route used for the original Federal Road leading to Mims’s Ferry and points east. 4Figure 11-4. Detail of the British copy of the Chickasaw deerskin map, 1723, showing the area north ofFrench colonial Mobile (courtesy of the National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom).236

A phrase written west of the Tomé towns, astride the dotted path to Nannahubba Island, qualifiesas one of the very few historical place names we have for this region. Here, the Chickasaw headman toldthe South Carolina governor, “Elav Chickasau au abbe,” which can be translated as “Where, whileescorting the Chickasaws, they murdered them,” a reference to the 1705 murder by Choctaws of thirtyChickasaw diplomats while under French guard. The memory of this act of French and Choctaw duplicitylived on in a place name so that future generations of Chickasaws and others, like the British, would learnfrom the landscape and act accordingly. 5A handful of place names along the Old Federal Road have Indian language origins. Apart fromthe Choctaw name Nannahubba (“hill above”) at the far west end of the road, all are Muscogee Creek inderivation and almost all transferred to English initially as names of swamps or streams or rivers. Theseinclude Alabama (which is thought to mean “thicket clearers”), Calebee (“overcup oak”), Catoma(“Tomés’ stream”), Conecuh (“near canebrakes”), Escatawpa (“where cane was cut”), Opintlocco (“bigswamp”), Pinchona (“turkey stoops while running”), Pintlala (“fish swamp” or “big swamp” or “canoepull”), and Sepulga (“yaupon grove”). 6 Some of these English translations are more certain than others,but the majority of these place names seem purely descriptive. Only the ones implying action (Escatawpa,Pinchona, and perhaps Pintlala) may have referred originally to historical or mythical events.To understand better how the historic Creek Indians thought and felt about the landscape throughwhich the Federal Road was constructed, we must turn to historical sources of various sorts. Some ofthem document the ways the environment was altered by the American invasion that soon followed thecreation of the Federal Road through the Creek Nation. The rapid dwindling of game animals, which theCreeks justifiably feared would ensue, was only the first of many changes caused by the influx of whitesettlers and their enslaved African workforce. The effects of a few hundred cattle that some Creekfamilies grazed in the woods and canebrakes were multiplied a thousand fold. Bottomland forests werecleared with breathtaking speed, and upland fields proliferated where few had existed before.7 So muchforest clearing and plowing took place so rapidly that soil erosion accelerated markedly, choking smallstreams with silt and permanently changing the region’s hydrology by lowering water tables anddeepening river channels. And the methodical burning that Indian farmers and hunters had practiced forcenturies to maintain their fields and the abundance of game – burning that was critical, too, to themaintenance of the longleaf pine forests and canebrake habitats of the Southeast – suddenly lost its mostskilled practitioners with the 1814 and 1832 land cessions. 8Of course, the lands ceded by the Creeks in 1814 were vast – over 21 million acres – and theywere not settled overnight. In fact, it took all of the nineteenth century for American farmers to log most237

of the old-growth forests and to plow most of the prairies and uplands and bottomlands of this enormousarea. But early American settlement did immediately impact two places in particular. The riversidepatches long-ago converted to agricultural fields by the Creeks and their ancestors were most eagerlysought by wealthy settlers since those nutrient-rich lands did not require laborious clearing. 9 They werelikewise the great prize of land speculators who swooped into the Creek Nation following the 1832 treatyto buy or swindle individual allotments from Creek heads of households prior to Removal in 1835-1837.The second part of the landscape rapidly and radically impacted by American settlement consisted of landtracts on either side of the Federal Road. As Barbara Middleton’s research has shown us, the majority ofearly General Land Office sales in each county involved public lands facing the Federal Road. 10Continuing dramatic changes to the environment of south Alabama throughout the twentiethcentury make it difficult for us to imagine the landscape of two hundred years ago. The suppression ofmost fires and the preferential replacement of longleaf pines forests with loblolly and slash pineplantations, along with the virtual disappearance of canebrakes, have all but eliminated these two majorhabitats of the old Southeast (Figure 11-5). Historic and modern introductions of domesticated livestock,wild hogs, Asian grasses, kudzu, fire ants, cogon grass, and dozens of other invasive species, along withthe loss or near extinctions of major predators like wolves and panthers, major plant species like chestnutsand elms, numerous fish and shellfish species, and new threats like the disease attacking bay laurels haveirrevocably transformed the appearance of the South and will continue to do so in the future.Figure 11-5. A southern longleaf pine forest, “Pine Barren of the Southern States,” Plate 23 from BasilHall’s Forty Etchings, from Sketches Made with the Camera Lucida, in North America, in 1827 and 1828(courtesy of Ralph B. Draughan Library, Auburn University).238

If we can try, nevertheless, to imagine the environment of the region before American settlement,what would we see? Isaac Briggs was particularly insistent that the lands he crossed from Georgia to FortStoddert were “wilderness,” devoid of human occupants, a terrifying and formidable obstacle to travel.Those tasked in succeeding years with opening a horse path for postal riders – Granger and Wheaton andBloomfield – all agreed. This was truly a wilderness, to their minds, unimproved and untamed bycivilization. By implication, then, road building would begin the process of civilizing the landscape.Historians and anthropologists recognize this process of labeling Creek Indian land as“wilderness” to be a constant refrain of American expansion. From the earliest days of Europeansettlement in North America to the last of the frontier wars in 1890, Indian lands were uniformlyconsidered by land-hungry invaders to be unimproved, underutilized, and under-populated – a verdictroutinely used to justify coerced purchases or confiscations of lands from native peoples. For Isaac Briggsand Lt. John Luckett and most other early American travelers, the Indian paths they followed were part ofnature, barely perceptible tracks through the forest more akin to trails made by game animals than thesurveyed and mapped roads of a civilized society. Yet they gladly followed Indian paths when they could(and ruefully backtracked when they lost the path), co-opting by their mapping and road-building processgenerations of accumulated Indian knowledge and wisdom for the benefit of an American societydetermined to take those lands. When Lt. Luckett in 1810 entered the Creek Nation at Mile Marker 4, eastof Mims’s Ferry, he wrote he had crossed “the temporary Boundary between the Creek Indians and theSettlements East of the Alabama River” – “temporary,” since he well knew the long-term intent of U.S.policy makers was to dispossess the Creeks of their nation.That there was a boundary line at all tells us something about Creek Indian attitudes about theland in this era. 11 The Creeks had not claimed or occupied the area that would become southwestAlabama until 1763, when the small nations of the coast – Mobilians, Tomés, Apalachees, and manyothers – moved north and west as Mobile transferred from French to British administration. The Creeksand Choctaws then claimed the coast (“by right of conquest,” having taken credit for vanquishing thosesmall nations) and eventually agreed that the line separating them should run along the drainage dividebetween the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers. The British negotiated treaties in 1765 with the Choctawsand the Creeks, and gained reluctant acceptance from the latter that colonists could remain and expandupon settlements made during the French regime on lands west of a boundary line running from theMobile-Tensaw delta roughly southeast to Pensacola (Figure 11-6). Each time that boundary line wasviolated by the United States, in 1810 by Lt. Luckett’s road survey party and in 1813 by militia fromMississippi Territory who attacked a Redstick Creek supply train on Burnt Corn Creek, the Creeks took239

Figure 11-6. Detail from David Taitt’s 1771 map of British West Florida, showing the “Boundary Line”established in 1765 between the area of colonial settlement around the Mobile-Tensaw delta and theCreek Nation, as well as a “Path to the Creek Nation” (courtesy of The National Archives, Kew, UK).240

decisive actions in response. The Creeks unquestionably considered their territory the property of theirnation and they took collective actions to defend it.For most Creeks of this era, tracts of land were reserved for town (or talwa) use, not forindividuals or even for different matrilineal families, but for an entire town. The Alabama portion of theCreek Nation, consisting of those towns clustered around the head of the Alabama River where it formsfrom the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, claimed hunting grounds to their west and south,extending as far as the boundaries with Mississippi Territory and Spanish West Florida. The upper end ofthe Federal Road passed directly through hunting grounds of the Tallapoosa and Lower Creek towns,including a reserve for bears along Line Creek maintained by the Tallapoosa town of Hoithlewaulee. 12For over a century the Creeks had relied on these hunting territories not only for their own provisions offurs, venison, and deerskins for leather, but for the vast surplus of deerskins and furs taken for trade toEuropeans and Americans. By the late eighteenth century, declining market demand for deerskins,encroachment on Lower Creek hunting grounds by American settlers, and localized overhunting in somequarters combined to severely impact the household economies of many Creeks. Some wealthy Creekfamilies with political and kinship ties to Alexander McGillivray moved their plantation households(including African slaves) into the western and southern hunting grounds of the Alabamas where theyexperimented with American-style cattle raising and plow agriculture. They settled away from the Creektowns because cattle damaged the unfenced fields of the matrilineages, and because the markets for beefand cattle hides were in Mobile and Pensacola. Most established their new homes along the lowerAlabama River, near the old colonial district called the Tensaw, where the Federal Road would soon enterthe Creek Nation. These adventuresome Creeks profited nicely from this shift to the south and developedmany personal and business ties to Spaniards and Americans across the boundary. But their financialsuccess, outside of the traditional community structure of the towns, alienated them from much of the restof the Creek Nation. The Tensaw Creeks became a principal target of the Redstick Creek attack on FortMims at the onset of the Creek War in 1813. 13From this abbreviated overview of a very complex situation, we can see that the Creeks around1810 considered the lands crossed by the Federal Road to be historically and economically integral totheir Nation, essential for hunting and an area for social and economic experimentation. Crisscrossed withnumerous paths, constantly traversed by untold numbers of Creeks for hunting and trade and a multitudeof other reasons, and crafted into a meaningful landscape by people who recorded their experiences andhistory in this land with place names (now mostly lost to us) – this was no wilderness, no vacantunimproved land to be given up to covetous neighbors.241

As we have seen, most Americans saw a very different landscape. A few, like William Bartramand Benjamin Hawkins, recognized the lighter hand of Indians on the environment and Bartram, at least,hoped the southeastern Indians’ way of life would be tolerated and even appreciated by the Americans.But the vast majority of Americans crossing the Creek “wilderness” saw nothing but varying degrees ofunexploited agricultural potential. In the absence of any interest in the Indians’ own understanding of thelandscape, the Americans had no experiences here to record in place names, no history to recall, noattachments to this land. 14However, no sooner than the Federal Road was widened from the postal horse path in 1811 didthe Americans begin to craft their own landscape based on their own experiences and expectations. Theprocess had actually begun earlier with the first surveys by Briggs, Bloomfield, and Luckett, as eachnoted a few landmarks – the haven Briggs called Point Comfort, difficult swamp and stream crossingsBloomfield recommended for causeways or bridges, and Samuel Manack’s house, the only one even closeto Luckett’s path. Travelers began to fill in the blank spaces on American maps by writing about newstands appearing along the road, and a few, like Peggy Dow, described the spiritual power of some specialplaces in this untamed land. Death configured the landscape, too, when the murders of Meredith and Lotton the Federal Road made manifest the conflicts between Americans and Creeks over the future of thisland. War for a time closed the road to all but the most daring dispatch riders; the road became red, as theCreeks put it, travelled only by warriors. Then the Treaty of Fort Jackson in August 1814 turned the landstraversed by half of the Federal Road – from Luckett’s southern “temporary” boundary to Line Creek inthe north – into part of the United States. Soon Americans by the thousands poured into the ceded lands,which were mapped as rapidly as possible by surveyors under the supervision of Thomas Freeman, fordistribution by sale to eligible American citizens through the General Land Office.Mapping the newly acquired Creek lands was a critical step in crafting an American landscapeout of an Indian one. GLO surveyors imposed order on a landscape still poorly known to Americans.Earlier efforts by Hawkins, Briggs, Bloomfield, and Luckett produced simple wayfaring maps, based oncompass bearings and travel time or surveyor’s chain lengths to measure space for navigation on a pathacross the landscape. Plat maps superseded wayfaring maps by imposing a comprehensive relational gridon the surface of the earth that at once comprehended “place (where activity occurs) and space (the areabetween places where paths reside).” The first Americans to walk across much of this landscape weresurveyors imposing township, range, and section lines upon very difficult terrain. The resulting land plats,like most official maps everywhere, were produced to quantify resources. Of course, the land itself was aresource to the Americans. Maps now documented the bounds of tracts of public property so they could242

e sold to private individuals; private property could then be taxed for ownership, for improvement, atresale and inheritance. 15Mapping was an important prelude to creation of a new American landscape across southAlabama. The resultant road and land ownership system provided the infrastructure by which the federalgovernment claimed and exercised control over this new territory. It did so by the movement of militaryforces through the region and the construction of military posts along the road, by providing effectivetransportation and communications routes that expedited commerce and movement of people andmovement of the mails, and by permitting the orderly acquisition and transfer of land among individuals.With those federal responsibilities established, the recent immigrants – nearly all whites and blacks –employed that infrastructure to socialize the landscape and create meaning in it.Settlers accomplished this not in any conscious way, but simply by living, by deciding uponplaces to build their farms and plantations and town and cemeteries, and forts when needed, and bymoving through their developing landscape on the Federal Road and the many other roads and trails andpaths that appeared as needs arose. The Federal Road held special significance, of course, because thatroute led most of the population to their new homes, whether they were white farmers in search of landfor a new beginning or Africans and African-Americans brought west to serve others as slaves. For bothpeoples, the migration to Alabama by way of the Federal Road was a memorable and often traumaticjourney, an experience that shaped their lives and remained strong in their memories, judging by laterreminiscences.Archaeologists throughout the world are exploring the central role played by roads, trails, andpaths as organizing elements in peoples’ lives. Once established they channel movement in patternedways that reflect and continually influence a society’s world view and identity. Long-term use of a roadcreates a tradition of movement and enhances a sense of continuity in a community. Roads also constraingrowth by the ease of access they provide along their routes and by the lack of access they offer to otherplaces. Roads are also experienced at different scales, with everyday local movement differing inimportant ways from the nature of long-distance travel through a region. All of these factors are evident inthe American history of the Old Federal Road. 16Once the 1814 Creek land cession was finalized and immigration resumed, one nearly immediateimpact of the Federal Road was the establishment of new communities along the route in both the newlyacquired American territory and in the remaining portion of the Creek Nation. Several Creek towns had torelocate because of the treaty, and other Creek towns reorganized themselves after suffering severepopulation loss during the war. In particular the town of Thlopthlocco formed from portions of five other243

towns and settled for a time at Polecat Springs. In the American territory, dozens of small communitiesappeared on the road at places like Fort Deposit, Fort Dale, and Burnt Corn, or a few miles away, as wasthe case with Butlerville (later, Greenville). However, the rapid success in the 1820s of steamboatsmoving passengers and commodities by river abruptly shifted the economic focus of the state toplantations and communities on the Alabama River, places like Montgomery and Claiborne, wherebranches of the Federal Road quickly diverted land traffic from portions of the old route. The FederalRoad remained important for rural local and long-distance travel, however, until railroads in the 1870sand onward captured much of the long-distance traffic. By the time the Good Roads Movement of theearly twentieth century had an impact, particularly in the efforts of Senator John H. Bankhead to providefederal funds for paving and other improvements to Alabama’s roads, the Old Federal Road had beenlargely bypassed or superimposed by later federal roads, in the early twentieth century by US Highways31 and 80 and in recent decades by Interstates 65 and 85.Yet the Old Federal Road, fragmented and obsolete, still captures the imagination of Alabama’sresidents and resonates in the oral histories of those who live along its route. Publication in 1989 ofSoutherland and Brown’s fine book, The Federal Road through Georgia, the Creek Nation, and Alabama,1806-1836, is largely responsible for the broad interest in the old road that exists today. But alongside thatwritten history, and preceding it by many years, abides a deeper interest – one can only describe it as anobsession – that possesses many older residents of the counties along the Old Federal Road. HistorianSimon Schama’s apt phrase, “zealous guardians of landscape memory,” comes to mind. 17 We had theprivilege of meeting and learning about the Old Federal Road from many of these wise and generous localhistorians. They have contributed immensely to this study and we have tried to repay them by accuratelyconveying the information they gave us. Nevertheless, we realize their knowledge runs far deeper than wecould delve in the limited time permitted by this project.We think their interest in this old road has several origins. For one thing, they want to understandthe history in their own backyard, especially this prominent landscape feature, this gash in the land thatbrought “our ancestors” here. For many it is that personal. Most descend from the earliest settlers, and afascination with their own family genealogy extends to the places and structures and artifacts that date tothe foundations of their community, county, state, and nation. Some, however, are relative newcomers toAlabama (as we are) and for us the term “our ancestors” has more general relevance. We all haveancestors, whether we have tracked them to their genealogical roots or not, whether they lived here orelsewhere. With a little historical imagination, and an anthropological appreciation for the “other,” we canall explore the diversity of the human experience in our own or in others’ backyards.18244

To give readers a feel for the enthusiasm and affection our guides display for their particularportion of the Old Federal Road, and how a ride down the road can conjure memories both collective andpersonal, we include here a summary of observations offered us by Annie Crenshaw, Eric Cates, andGerald Johnson in northern Butler County on November 17, 2010. Annie, our host who organized theday’s explorations, introduced us to these two gentlemen, and the five of us drove up and down StateHighway 185 that afternoon. All of our guides have strong historical and personal ties to the county andeach contributed immensely to our survey. Mr. Cates was then 92 years old, born in 1918 about 200 yardsfrom where he lives now. We met him at the Fort Dale Cemetery where we gathered around the grave ofThomas Gary, who built a stockade for the protection of settlers in 1818. “I think he built a fort andcharged people to come in,” mused Eric, to which Annie replied, “He was an enterprising man.” We thenheaded north on Highway 185 toward the Lowndes County line.Churches and cemeteries are thick on the ground in this area. Just beyond a well-preserved,entrenched section of the Old Federal Road we passed Oak Grove Baptist Church, built duringReconstruction in 1872, which prompted Eric to recollect “about two miles further up … when I was akid there was a Baptist Church there named Indian Creek, Indian Creek Baptist Church. I remember itquite well because my grandmother was a member of that church and I had been to services there when Iwas a kid.” We passed the Hartley family cemetery, although their house no longer stands. “The thing thatconvinced me,” Eric said, “that [Highway] 185 is on the site, the original site, of the Old Federal Road isthat a lot of the old houses that are no longer there, but were there when I was a kid, were along this road,along this same road. And I know they were built there because it was a road. They were on both sides ofthe road.” Annie joined in. “They were built facing the road, on both sides of the road. And there werehouses, like the Palings, that were a hundred-fifty years old when me and Eric’s daughter, who playedtogether in first grade all the way up, when we were little. I was born the year the Palings burned [in1953]. There were still old 1820s and 1830s houses all up and down the road. I mean you knew it was anold road because there were log cabins and dogtrots all up and down it.” Eric continued, “When I was akid, there was several of those houses up here that had been occupied for two or three generations, thatwere old houses then. They are gone.”The old roadbed diverges at many points through here from the modern road. “See, this road[State Highway 185] was originally US Highway 31,” Eric said. “It was the first hard surface roadthrough this whole area of Alabama. And they didn’t have too much equipment at that time to, you know,to do big grades. This is a crooked road. The reason it’s so crooked is it follows the ridgeline. People didnot have the means of building bridges and making fills and making cuts through hills, so they followedthe ridgeline.” Now we were amidst old settlements. In rapid succession, Eric pointed out the old Gafford245

home on the left, the 1902 Hinson house on the right, now the old road bed on the right (just over thebank), then Dead Fall community to the right. John Little wrote in his 1885 History of Butler County howJames Barganier settled there in 1821 (where the Barganier family still owns Nanny’s Fine Dining). Twomurders and countless bloody fights in 1822 at a store and dram shop gave the community its enduringand colorful name, Dead Fall. 19Just beyond stood the Cates residence until 1937. The original Hinson house, built by early settlerAsa Hinson, buried in Fort Dale Cemetery, is on the left. The first of two old houses belonging to theMartin family was destroyed by a tornado, and the other burned down while occupied by black tenants. Atombstone on the bank of the road marks one of the few known graves of the Daniel Cemetery. A bigravine to the left is the path of US Highway 31, created around 1930 and now abandoned, since themodern road has reverted to the path of the Old Federal Road – thus demonstrating how every oldroadbed is not necessarily of great antiquity! Eric continued pointing out features, including ElizabethChurch of Christ and the old Porterfield house on the left, finally ending his commentary on this stretch ofthe Old Federal Road along State Highway 185 in Butler County at the site of Oak Tavern, a “juke joint”that operated on the Lowndes County line until the 1950s. (We have come to realize how prominentlyjuke joints figure in the memories of older residents of rural Alabama). This revelation – and Gerald’smention of a prisoner-of-war camp built for Rommel’s Afrika Corps soldiers, with a guard tower stillstanding, north of Highway 185 – reminds us that the history of the Old Federal Road did not end back inthe nineteenth century or even in the twentieth. As time rolls on, the road serves as a common thread to anarrative tying together the accumulated history of the people who have travelled and lived along it.We drove Mr. Cates back to Oak Grove Church where he had left his car. Annie summed up whatwe all thought; “the things he knows from his boyhood and his father and grandfather telling him, youknow, he’s a treasure. People like that are treasures.” In fact, we feel that way about all the good folks wemet on the Old Federal Road survey.Conclusions and RecommendationsAs outlined in Chapter 1, this project had two primary goals: (1) research the route of the OldFederal Road across Alabama, carry out field surveys to find and document existing segments of the oldroad and associated standing structures and archaeological sites, and produce an interpretative report onarchival and field findings; and (2) provide communities, counties, and the State of Alabama withinformation via our written and web-based report on the remains of the Old Federal Road so they might246

develop the historic character of existing highways that follow or parallel the Old Federal Road, attracttourists to local roads near or on the Old Federal Road, and make the travel experience educational.This report, and material to be posted on the Internet in cooperation with Terry Winemiller atAuburn University-Montgomery, accomplishes these goals by conveying the results of our research andsurvey on the Old Federal Road, which we trust will prove useful to the public and to officials and publicservants. As part of a separate project funded through Auburn University Extension, we are collaboratingwith historian Kathryn Braund on a guidebook to the Old Federal Road, which we hope will encourageheritage tourism along the route.By way of a conclusion, we can offer a thought about the nature of the Old Federal Road that wasnot apparent to us at the start of the project. This concerns the idea that there is a single linear path to theOld Federal Road. In tracing the road on the ground, we began with the route as it existed during theroad’s initial creation in 1810-1811, as a horse path for mail riders (developed from a series ofinterconnected Indian trails) that was widened into a road with causeways and bridges constructed forefficient movement of troops and settler wagons. That route, which we have called the original OldFederal Road, remained unaltered for just four years, until the end of the Creek War led to revisions andadditions, followed by other changes in the 1820 and 1830s. Given the limits on our time and budget, wehave focused our attentions on the original road and two of its major branches, the Greenville Branch andthe Montgomery Branch. But there were other important branches of the Federal Road – BlakeleyBranch, Claiborne Branch, and the Upper Federal Road – that deserve consideration as part of the OldFederal Road. And our field study documented dozens of fragments of the Old Federal Road that havebeen cut off from current highways by modern road improvement projects. So one result of our project isthe realization that the Old Federal Road today consists of a complex of interconnected routes made up ofvarious strands with complex histories of their own.This more sophisticated understanding of the Old Federal Road as a complex of routes andassociated historical and archaeological sites poses some challenges for those interested in preservingaspects of the road and its cultural landscape, as well as for those who would develop it for tourism andpublic education. To assist with preservation efforts, we are conveying to ALDOT a GIS shapefile of theroute and known associated sites. The segments of this shapefile are keyed for public versus privateownership and the nature of the road surface. This GIS file will aid highway planners who are responsiblefor protecting historic properties located within county and state and federal rights-of-way. They may alsowish to consider interpreting publically-owned portions of the old roadbed for their tourist potential.Community planners may also find this information useful as they contemplate the creation of public247

parks or educational centers. The more public entities that highlight the physical presence of the OldFederal Road at various points across the state, the more viable will the road’s tourism potential become.As for recommendations for the future, one thought is to consider much more intensive historicaland archaeological research on the Old Federal Road itself. Readers may think that Southerland andBrown’s well-respected 1989 book on the subject, along with the additional research included in thisreport, might have exhausted the topic. But that is far from the truth. As mentioned in Chapter 2, athorough historical study of Indian trails throughout Alabama would be a hugely productive inquiry intoan important unstudied topic, with important implications for understanding the origins of the Old FederalRoad. There is also a great need for detailed county-level research on American settlement along the OldFederal Road. Barbara Middleton’s informal but exacting study of settlement in Butler County suggestshow strongly patterned the first wave of settlement turns out to have been. And the archaeologicalpotential of the Old Federal Road has hardly been touched by our project and others emanating fromAuburn University and Auburn University-Montgomery. The historical documentation on the road is sorich, because of its importance during the Creek War of 1813-1814 and later American-Indian troublesand because of the wealth of travelers’ accounts from the 1820s and 1830s, that there are literallyhundreds of potentially significant archaeological sites waiting to be found on or near the Old FederalRoad. Only a tiny fraction of these sites have been systematically identified and tested. Now that the routehas been mapped in detail and its various branches identified, the next researchers who tackle the subjectof the Old Federal Road should have a sound base upon which to build more detailed studies.1 See Carole L. Crumley and William H. Marquardt, editors, Regional Dynamics: Burgundian Landscapes inHistorical Perspective (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1987); Wendy Ashmore and A. Bernard Knapp, editors,Archaeologies of Landscape: Contemporary Perspectives (Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 1999); Stephen W.Silliman, “Social and Physical Landscapes of Contact,” in North American Archaeology, edited by Timothy R.Pauketat and Diana DiPaolo Loren, pp. 273-296 (Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2005); Nicole Branton,“Landscape Approaches in Historical Archaeology: The Archaeology of Places,” in International Handbook ofHistorical Archaeology, edited by Teresita Majewski and David Gaimster, pp. 51-65 (New York, NY: Springer,2009); Jessica Joyce Christie, editor, Landscapes of Origin in the Americas: Creation Narratives Linking AncientPlaces and Present Communities (Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2009); Bruno David and JulianThomas, editors, Handbook of Landscape Archaeology (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2010).2 Waselkov, Gregory A., “Indian Maps of the Colonial Southeast,” in Powhatan’s Mantle: Indians in the ColonialSoutheast, revised and expanded edition (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 474-481.3 Keith H. Basso, Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language among the Western Apache (Albuquerque, NM:University of New Mexico Press, 1996), xv; for a more general discussion of indigenous knowledge and nativelandscapes, see Duane Blue Spruce and Tanya Thrasher, editors, The Land Has Memory: Indigenous Knowledge,Native Landscapes, and the National Museum of the American Indian (Chapel Hill, NC: University of NorthCarolina Press, 2008).4 Waselkov, “Indian Maps of the Colonial Southeast,” 474-481; Gregory A. Waselkov and Bonnie L. Gums,Plantation Archaeology at Rivière aux Chiens, ca. 1725-1848 (Mobile, AL: Center for Archaeological Studies,University of South Alabama, 2000), 14-21.5 Waselkov, “Indian Maps of the Colonial Southeast,” 479.248

6 William A. Read, Indian Place Names in Alabama, revised edition with foreword by James B. McMillan(Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1984).7 Gregory A. Waselkov, “Changing Strategies of Indian Field Location in the Early Historic Southeast,” in People,Plants and Landscape: Case Studies in Paleoethnobotany, edited by Kristen Gremillion, pp. 179-194 (Tuscaloosa, AL:University of Alabama Press, 1997),8 Robbie Ethridge, Creek Country: The Creek Indians and Their World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of NorthCarolina Press, 2003), 32-53; also see William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology ofNew England (New York, NY: Hill and Wang, 1983), and Timothy Silver, A New Face on the Countryside: Indians,Colonists, and Slaves in South Atlantic Forests, 1500-1800 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990) forgeneral studies of the effects of American settlement on the Indian-created landscape in eastern North America.9 For a case study on a similar co-option of Indian clearings, townsites and old fields, by English settlers in theChesapeake region in the seventeenth century, see Stephen R. Potter and Gregory A. Waselkov, “Whereby We ShallEnjoy Their Cultivated Places,” in Historical Archaeology of the Chesapeake, edited by P. Shackel and B. J. Little, pp.23-33 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994). Also see Lisa Kealhofer, “Creating Social Identity in theLandscape: Tidewater, Virginia, 1600-1750,” in Ashmore and Knapp, Archaeologies of Landscape, 65.10 Barbara Middleton (personal communication, November 17, 2010), about her research on the sequence of landsacquired from the GLO in Butler County.11 For an extended essay on this topic, see Angela Pulley Hudson, Creek Paths and Federal Roads: Indians, Settlers,and Slaves and the Making of the American South (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2010).12 Ethridge, Creek Country, 135-139, 166-167; Kathryn E. Holland Braund, Deerskins and Duffels: The CreekIndian Trade with Anglo-America, 1685-1815 (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1993), 61-68. “Huntingpaths of the Alabamas” are depicted on the 1737 Alabama/Chickasaw map in Waselkov, “Indian Maps of theColonial Southeast,” 441, 481-484.13 Gregory A. Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (Tuscaloosa:University of Alabama Press, 2006), 32-96.14 Matthew Johnson, Ideas of Landscape (Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006), 15-16.15 Henry Chapman, Landscape Archaeology and GIS (Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2006), 20-21, 38-39; quote refers to Yi-Fu Tuan, Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience (London, UK: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1977).16 Christopher Tilley, A Phenomenology of Landscape: Places, Paths and Monuments (Oxford, UK: BergPublishers, 1997), and Body and Image: Explorations in Landscape Phenomenology 2 (Walnut Creek, CA: LeftCoast Press, 2008); David M. Carballo and Thomas Pluckhahn, “Transportation Corridors and Political Evolution inHighland Mesoamerica: Settlement Analyses Incorporating GIS for Northern Tlaxcala, Mexico,” Journal ofAnthropological Archaeology 26 (2007):607-629; James E. Snead, Clark L. Ericson, and J. Andrew Darling, editors,Landscapes of Movement: Trails, Paths, and Roads in Anthropological Perspective (Philadelphia, PA: University ofPennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2009).17 Simon Schama, Landscape and Memory (New York, NY: Vintage, 1996), 17.18 Johnson, Ideas of Landscape, 190-193.19 John Buckner Little, The History of Butler County, Alabama, from 1815 to 1885 (Cincinnati, OH: Elm StreetPrinting, 1885), 111-113.249

Appendix 1Extracts from Benjamin Hawkins’s “A Viatory or Journal of Distances and Observations” [withdistances calculated from travel time, averaging 3 miles per hour], from H. Thomas Foster II, editor, TheCollected Works of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1810 (Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2003),37j-40j. These extracts have been corrected for accuracy by comparison to a microfilm copy of theoriginal; Benjamin Hawkins, “A Viatory or Journal of Distances and Observations by Col. Hawkins,”Series 8d, Entry 66, Item 314b, Peter Force Collection, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress,Washington, DC.A – “From John Randons to Fort Stodard”Hawkins’s Viatory TextEditors’ Interpretation20 June 1799 June 20, 1799 [4 hours 53 minutes travel time]35. to the cut off thence down the Alabama 35 minutes to the Cut-Off, thence down theAlabama River.3.13. to Tombigby 3 hours 13 minutes down the Alabama River toconfluence with the Tombigbee River.1.5. Fort Stodard 1 hour five minutes down the Mobile River to FortStoddert [in modern Mount Vernon, AL].The swamp is low, though some of it under The swamp is low, though some of it undercultivation, it is subject every Spring to be cultivation, it is subject every Spring to beoverflowed, and this year so late that they are now overflowed, and this year so late that they are nowplanting their cornplanting their corn.The Alabama is 300 Yds. wide The Tombigby The Alabama River is 300 yards wide. Theand Alabama make Mobile which is from 4 to 500. Tombigbee and Alabama form the Mobile River,In assending the Tombigby there is a fine bluff 26 which is from 4 to 500 yards across. In ascendingminutes up the river on the right bankthe Tombigbee there is a fine bluff [NannahubbaBluff] 26 minutes up the river on the right bank.B – “From John Randons to the Upper towns”Hawkins’s Viatory TextEditors’ Interpretation24 June 1799. June 24, 1799 [9 hours 55 minutes travel time]N. Set out, bearing north.1.20 +. c. l. 10/. Hollow creek 1 hour 20 minutes, crossed Hollow [Holley]Creek, flowing left, 10 feet wide.1. + c. l. 15/ Turkey creek 1 hour, crossed Turkey Creek, flowing left, 15 feetwide.46. + c. l. 6/ 46 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing left, 6 feetwide.N.E.Bearing northeast.51. + 1. 30/ little river 51 minutes, crossed Little River, flowing left, 30feet wide.1.7 + c. l. 10/ 1 hour 7 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing left, 10feet wide.1.35 some course rock 1 hour 35 minutes, passed some course rock.17. path from the right 17 minutes, another path on the right.250

35. fine curve of reed to the left 35 minutes, a fine cove of reed to the left.2.24 + c. l. 8/. 2 hours 24 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing left,8 feet wide.26 June 26, 1799 [7 hours 30 minutes travel time]4. + c. l 20/ 4 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing left, 20 feetwide.54. + c. r. 4 54 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing right, 4 feetwide.10 + c. r. 3 oaky bottoms high sharp stoney 10 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing right, 3 feetknobs.wide, oaky bottoms, high sharp stony knobs.1.52. + c. r. 4 dry The head of Scambia. 1 hour 52 minutes, crossed the head of EscambiaRiver, flowing right, 4 feet wide.50. + c. r. 3/. oaky hill sides 50 minutes crossed a creek, flowing right 3 feetwide, oaky hillsides.30 + c. l 15/. fine flowing lands on each sidewaving and rich, red oak dogwood30 minutes crossed a creek, flowing left, 15 feetwide, fine flowing lands on each side, waving andrich, red oak dogwood.7 + c. l. 10/. 7 minutes crossed a creek, flowing left, 10 feetwide.5. + c. r. 4/. 5 minutes crossed a creek, flowing right, 4 feetwide.5. The pine barren hills 5 minutes, entered the pine barren hills.1.27 + c. l. 50/ This is limestone, the land on theleft bank is broken but rich, red oak dogwood, ashpoplar umbrella, on the hills and the flatscanebrake, large magnolia. The right bank has poorpine hills.1 hour 27 minutes, crossed Limestone Creek,flowing left, 50 feet wide. The land on the leftbank is broken but rich, red oak, dogwood, ash,poplar, umbrella tree, on the hills and the flatscanebrake, large magnolia. The right bank haspoor pine hills.14 + b. l. 3/. pine barren 14 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing left, 3 feetwide, a pine barren.25. + b. l. 25 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing left.22. + c. r. 10/. on the left bank high bluff ofLimestone22 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing right, 10 feetwide, on the left bank a high bluff of limestone.25. a small branch 25 minutes, crossed a small branch.27thJune 27, 1799 [10 hours 39 minutes travel time]1.37. + b. l 1 hour 37 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing left.6. + b. r 6 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing right.10. + b. r 10 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing right.2. + c. r. 3/ a fine little stream 2 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing right, 3 feetwide, a fine little stream.E. Bearing east.15. + a reedy branch 15 minutes, crossed a reedy branch.36 + the trading road. 36 minutes, a path to the trading road.N.E.Bearing northeast.44 + b. r. dry deadmans branch 44 minutes, crossed Deadman’s Branch, flowingright, dry.6. + c. r. 5/. murder creek } stiff red pine forest 6 minutes, crossed Murder Creek, flowing right, 5feet, stiff red soil, pine forest.1.35. a spring to our right 1 hour 35 minutes, a spring to our right.17. path to the left 17 minutes, a path to the left.251

E. Bearing east.32 + c. r. 15/ oak woods on the right bankchue,pul,gau32 minutes, crossed Chue,pul,gau [Sepulga]Creek, flowing right, 15 feet wide, oak woods onthe right bank.22 + b. r. dry 22 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing right, dry.14. + c. l. 5/ 14 minutes, crossed a creek, flowing left, 5 feetwide.2. + b. r. 2/ 2 hours, crossed a branch, flowing right, 2 feetwide.N.E.Bearing northeast.53. + b. l oaky woods 53 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing left, oakwoods.40. + b. l 40 minutes, crossed a branch, flowing left.30. oakwoods and good land to the left 30 minutes, oak woods and good land to the left.28thJune 28, 1799 [11 hours 20 minutes travel time]1.40. path from the right /Wolf path/ 1 hour 40 minutes, Wolf Path enters from theright.3. springs to the left.3 hours, springs to the left. The last four hoursThe last 4 hours through pine forest & no water, through pine forest, no water, but this is the seasonbut in the season for rains.of rains.18 spring to the left oaky woods. deep hollow 18 minutes, spring to the left, oak woods, deephollow.1.36 a high ridge, and from it a view of the hillsbeyond Alabama1 hour 36 minutes, a high ridge, and from it a viewof the hills beyond the Alabama River.2.0. a spring to the left. 2 hours, a spring to the left.25. The path divides I take the left. 25 minutes, the path divides, I take the left.N. Bearing north.35. a high nole to the left. 35 minutes, a high knoll to the left.4 a spring to the right, The ridge high the lands 4 minutes, a spring to the right, the ridge high, thegood, bottoms deeplands good, bottoms steep.1.30 The Savannas commence here bare noles 1 hour 30 minutes, the savannas commence, threewith clumps of post oak, and veins of trees in the [??] are knolls with clumps of post oak, and veinshollowsof trees in the hollows.12. Unnetta Thlucco 12 minutes, Unnetta Thlucco [Big Swamp Creek].29 June 29, 1799 [6 hours 31 minutes travel time]The width of the swamp crossing three dry The width of the swamp crossing three dry creeks,creeks, The swamp is stiff and rich, white oak The swamp soil is stiff and rich, white oak, beechbeech holly, cane. it is very flat and bordered with holly, cane. It is very flat and bordered with goodgood oak land.oak land.2.0. + c. l. 10/. a fork of Pith,thlau,le 2 hours, crossed a fork of Pith,thlau.le Creek[Pinchony Creek, a branch of Pintlala Creek],flowing left 10 feet wide.This whole stage through the savannas, Theyare waving hill and dale, the hills, bare of woodand no undergrowth, among the clumps of postoak, which are large and beautifully set in clumps.The lands appear whitish on the surface, the wholea dark clay, and under it a yellowish clay within thereach of the ants. the clumps covered with longgrass and weeds which indicate a rich soil the bareThis whole stage is through savannas, They arewaving hill and dale, the hills bare of wood and noundergrowth among the clumps of post oak, whichare large and beautifully set in clumps. The landsappear whitish on the surface, the whole a darkclay, and under it a yellowish clay within thereach of the ants. The clumps are covered withlong grass and weeds, which indicate a rich soil;252

parts the grass is short and the whole stiff, clay in the bare parts the grass is short and the wholesoil, dry, without water.stiff, clay soil, dry, without water.N20EBearing North 20 degrees East50. through the glades. /hi,yuc,pul,gee/ 50 minutes, through the glades, hi,yuc,pul,gee15. + c. l. 40 feet Pith,thlau,le {The lands rich onthese creeks and their margins bordering on theglades.15 minutes, crossing Pith,thlau.le [Pintlala] Creek,flowing left, 40 feet wide. {The lands rich onthese creeks and their margins bordering on theglades.50. path to the left 50 minutes, a path to the left27 + c. l. dry to the left 27 minutes, cross a creek, flowing left, dry to theleft.31 + c. l. 40/. /Kit,to,me 31 minutes, cross Kit,to,me [Catoma] Creek,flowing left, 40 feet wide – the glades.N.10WBearing North 10 degrees West.52. path to the left 52 minutes, a path to the left.16 + path 16 minutes, cross a path.30 arrive at Sehoys 30 minutes, arrive at Sehoy Weatherford’s houseand store [west of modern Montgomery atMaxwell Air Force Base, on the Alabama River].The glades /hi,yuc,pul,gee/ commence 1 hour30 minutes south of Un,nut,te thluc,co /bigswamp/and continue to the north side of Kit,tomabordering on that creek. The creeks have all flatbroad margins of stiff land rich and well wooded,the waving lands between, have glades, marginedwith clumps of post oak, large and abundant.The glades (hi,yuc,pul,gee) commence 1 hour 30minutes south of Un,nut,te thluc,co (Big Swamp)and continue to the north side of Kit,toma[Catoma Creek], bordering on that creek. Thecreeks all have flat broad margins of stiff land richand well wooded, the waving lands between haveglades, margined with clumps of post oak, largeand abundant.C – “Tookaubatche to Cowetuh tallauhasse”No date given [12 hours 56 minutes travel time]52. a high poor red hill. 52 minutes, a high hill with poor red soil.E.20.SBearing East 20 degrees South.40 + d b. r reed 40 minutes. cross a dry branch, flowing right,reeds.35. path to the left. 35 minutes, a path to the left.E.20.N.Bearing East 20 degrees North.16. path from the left 16 minutes, a path from left.7. path to the right pond on left. 7 minutes, a path to the right, a pond on left48 path r. 48 minutes, a path on the right.28 + c. l. 4/. Weheint,lah a fine flowing littlereedy creek28 minutes, cross Weheint,lah Creek, flowing left,4 feet wide, a fine flowing little reedy creek.17. + c. l. 20/ Opil,thluc,co 17 minutes, cross Opil,thluc,co [Opintlocco]Creek, flowing left, 20 feet wide.3.00 + ditto r 3 minutes, cross the same creek, flowing right.E.20.SBearing East 20 degrees South.1.30. East 1 hour 30 minutes, bearing east.14. path to pensacola 14 minutes, the path to Pensacola.30. the Springs 30 minutes, the Springs.253

N.EBearing northeast.36. path to the left 36 minutes, a path to the left.N.30.EBearing North 30 degrees East6.00 Cow,e,tuh tal,lau,has,see 6 hours, arrive at Cow,e,tuh tal,lau,has,see[Coweta Tallahassee, on the Chattahoochee River]254

Appendix 2Lieutenant Luckett’s Notes of a Surveybetween the Alabama River and Palaula Creek, 1811[National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 107: Records of the Office ofSecretary of War, Letters Received, L189 (5) 1811, OCE File 37-4-7]Fort Stoddert M. T.June 26 th 1811Sir,I have the honor to transmit herewith a Copy of the Notes of a Survey (by the Indian Path) lyingbetween the Alabama River and Palaula Creek near the Hickory Ground in the Creek Nation of Indiansagreeable to an Order of the War Department. You are apprized of the circumstances which opposed thefulfilling of the objects comprehended in this Order. Yet the belief and hope that it was intended to havehad the Survey completed prevented my forwarding it at an earlier period.I have the honor Sirto be very respectfullyYour most Obedient ServantJohn R.N. Luckett1 st Lt. 2 d U.S. InfantryThe honorableThe Secretary of War[National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 77: Records of the Office of theChief of Engineers, Field Survey Records, 1793-1916, OCE File 37-4-7][page 1]Baldwin County, Mississippi TerritorySeptember 12 th 1810Minutes of a Survey of the Indian Path on Road East of Alabama leading to or near the Fork or Junctionof the Coosa and Tallapoosa, from thence by the Same Path to Highwassee Viz:Beginning at a Red Oak, on the left Bank of the Alabama River lying or being North East of FortStoddert (computed distance 15 miles) marked the Route or course by blazing, Front and Rear and fourChops. From this Tree, Distance 2 Chains and 7 Links, North West runs Hollow Creek and complys orcommunicates with the Alabama, the Creek has high Banks and is supposed at this place to be 100 Feet inBreadth.255

Course and Admeasurement2 pole Chains [“Half Chain” = 33 feet]N. 78 E. 13 ChainsN. 34 E. 4 ChainsN. 19 E. 4 ChainsN. 30 E. 22 Chains[page 2]N. 89 E. 2 ChainsS. 78 E. 4 ChainsN. 86 E. 10 ChainsS. 78 E. 6 Chs.N. 86 E. 9 Chs.N. 73 E. 4 Chs.N. 35 E. 12 Chs.N. 63 E. 1 Chn.S. 82 E. 20 Chs.S. 83 E. 14 Chs. At 125 Chains theTermination of the rich bottom Land of theAlabama. This Land abounds with large Oak andGum.Thence,N. 87˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 89 E. 23 Chs. At the 21 st Chain, 1 Mile,marked or Blazed a Pine Tree Front and Rear andon chop. Sandy barren Soil pine Timber.E. 30 Chs.[page 3]September 13 th 18102 pole ChainE. 19 chainsN. 80 E. 15 Chs.N. 82 E. 20 Chs.E. 30 Chs.S. 72 E. 18 Chs.S. 77 E. 19 Chs.S. 37 E. 17 Chs. At 7 Chains marked 2miles a small Pine Tree Blazed Front and rear 2Chops low Pine Barren Land.S. 50 E. 30 Chs.S. 58 E. 16 Chs.S. 84 E. 30 Chs.S. 84 E. 49 Chs.S. 89 E. 11 Chs.S. 60 E. 26 Chs. At 14 Chs. marked 3miles, Blazed a large Pine Tree Front and Rear and3 Chops. Low poor barren Land Pine TimberS. 72˚ E. 14 Chs.S. 83 E. 15 Chs.[page 4]S. 60˚ E. 20 ChainsS. 48 E. 28 Chains. Ascend a ridge orconsiderable Hill, barren Land Pine Timber.S. 60 E. 23 ChainsS. 64 E. 8 “ “S. 86 E. 11 “ “E. 10 “ “S. 84 E. 14 “ “S. 85 E. 21 “ “ At 5 Chs. 4 miles,marked or blazed a Pine Tree Front and rear and 4Chops, high Ridges Sterile Land, poor & muchbroken Pine Timber; crossing the Eastern boundaryof Baldwin County M. T. and the temporaryBoundary between the Creek Indians and theSettlements East of the Alabama River.S.E. 15 ChainsS. 75˚ E. 19 “[page 5]S. 64 E. 21 ChainsS. 79 E. 10 “E. 44 “S. 73 E. 18 “S. 71 E. 16 “S. 79 E. 18 “ At One Chn 5 miles,blazed a Pine Tree Front and Rear and 5 Chops.Land very broken, Pine TimberS. 75˚ E. 18 ChainsN. 88 E. 15 “S. 70 E. 10 “September 14 th 1810S. 61 E. 12 ChainsS. 71 E. 12 “N. 82 E. 8 “N. 84 E. 18 “N. 81 E. 17 “N. 53 E. 8 “N. 69˚ E. 16 “[page 6]E. 11 Chains. At 9 Chains 6 miles,blazed a Pine Tree, Front and Rear and 6 Chops.Sterile poor Land, much broken, Timber Pine.E. 10 ChainsS. 73 E. 18 “N. 86 E. 12 “S. 83 E. 15 “S. 83 E. 19 “S. 73 E. 14 “N. 83 E. 16 “N. 54 E. 16 “N. 29 E. 15 “256

N. 36 E. 9 “N. 43 E. 14 “ 7 miles, blazed a SmallPine Tree Front and Rear, and 7 Chops. Land andtimber as last described.[page 7]N. 54˚ E. 17 ChainsN. 64 E. 22 “N. 75 E 16 “N. 79 E. 17 “N. 76 E. 9 “N. 87 E. 18 “N. 81 E. 13 “S. 88 E. 15 “N. 72 E. 17 “N. 69 E. 15 “N. 83 E. 16 “ At 1 Chain 8 miles, blazeda large Pine Tree Front and rear and 8 Chopsbroken Ground, poor Land, Pine Timber.N. 89 E. 17 ChainsN. 66 E. 17 “N. 75 E. 18 “N. 68 E. 16 “N. 60 E. 12 “N. 69 E. 14 “[page 8]N. 55˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 62 E. 20 “N. 44 E. 15 “N. 27 E. 14 “ At 2 Chains 9 miles blazeda Pine Tree Front and Rear and 9 Chops. lowRidges poor Sterile Land, Pine Timber.N. 50˚ E. 19 ChainsN. 40 E. 16 “N. 36 E. 14 “N. 49 E. 20 “N. 52 E. 14 “N. 47 E. 21 “N. 42 E. 26 “N. 51 E. 8 “N. 86 E. 8 “S. 82 E. 12 “ At 2 Chs.10 miles blazed aPine Tree Front and Rear and the Letter X. Landand Timber as last described.[page 9]September 19 th 1810 3 oClock P. M.I deem it proper to remark that at 27 Miles 64Chains I discovered I was off my Course or theroute prescribed or pointed out by my instructions.this arose from my imperfect Knowledge of theCountry and will explain the cause of the partialprogress I have made on my Journey. from the 15 thto the 19 September I made no progress on myJourney, the principal part of which time I wasendeavoring to ascertain my route on the Path. At 3oClock on the 19 th I recommenced my Surveybeginning at the 10 th mile and 29 th Chain.September 19 th 1810N. 88˚ E. 19 ChainsN. 80 E. 12 “S. 73 E. 9 “S. 71 E. 3 “S. 61 E. 15 “S. 64 E. 9 “S. 72 E. 9 “[page 10]S. 55˚ E. 8 ChainsS. 38 E. 9 “S. 41 E. 8 “S. 47 E. 6 “S. 58 E. 12 “S. 52 E. 15 “S. 34 E. 15 “S. 23 E. 26 “ At 1 Chain marked 11miles blazed a Pine Tree Front and Rear XI. Sterilebroken Land, Pine TimberS. 6˚ E. 13 ChainsS. 16 E. 8 “S. 41 E. 8 “S. 34 E. 12 “S. 35 E. 11 “S. 51 E. 14 “S. 61 E. 14 “S. 57 E. 11 “[page 11]S. 37˚ E. 18 ChainsS. 56 E. 3 “S. 27 E. 5 “S. 63 E. 10 “S. 36 E. 19 “ At 8 Chains 12 miles,blazed a Pine Tree, Front and rear XII Lands andTimber as last described.September 20 th 1810S. 36˚ E. 17 ChainsS. 42 E. 13 “S. 45 E. 16 “S. 54 E. 8 “S. 67 E. 4 “S. 32 E. 13 “S. 51 E. 7 “257

S. 61 E. 17 “N. 83 E. 7 “N. 82 E. 10 “N. 66 E. 19 “[page 12]S. 60 E. 19 At 18 Chains 13 Miles,Blazed a Pine Tree Front and rear and XIII, Landand Timber as last described.S. 56 E. 20 ChainsS. 47 E. 23 “S. 18 E. 14 “S. 83 E. 22 “E. 11 “N. 78 E. 19 “N. 75 E. 20 “N. 59 E. 10 “N. 62 E. 5 “N. 40 E. 8 “N. 75 E. 17 “ At 7 Chains 14 MilesBlazed a Pine Tree Front and rear XIIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 75 E. 16 Chains[page 13]N. 44 o E. 5 ChainsN. 78 E. 16 “N. 84 E. 10 “N. 71 E. 14 “N. 88 E. 18 “N. 66 E. 17 “N. 67 E. 18 “N. 75 E. 22 “N. 63 E. 18 “ At 14 Chains 15 miles,blazed a Pine Tree Front and Rear XIIIII. lowSterile lands (or usually termed Flat Land) PineTimber.N. 55 E. 14 ChainsN. 52 E. 10 “N. 49 E. 18 “N. 60 E. 9 “N. 58 E. 13 “N. 67 E. 18 “N. 61 E. 12 “[page 14]N. 63 o E. 25 ChainsN. 62 E. 10 “N. 77 E. 16 “N. 83 E. 10 “N. 78 E. 13 “ At 1 Chain 16 miles,blazed a Pine Tree Front & rear XIIIIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 67 o E. 28 ChainsN. 69 E. 12 “N. 64 E. 11 “N. 71 E. 14 “N. 68 E. 18 “N. 75 E. 12 “N. 74 E. 18 “N. 76 E. 10 “N. 63 E. 18 “N. 55 E. 16 “N. 54 E. 16 “ At 1 Chain 17 miles,blazed [page 15] a Pine Tree Front and RearXIIIIIII and Timber as last described.N. 54 o E. 19 ChainsN. 64 E. 18 “N. 86 E. 15 “N. 80 E. 15 “N. 84 E. 13 “N. 87 E. 13 “N. 88 E. 38 “N. 84 E. 17 “ At 14 Chains 18 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree Front and rear with XIIIIIIII.Land and Timber as last described.N. 79 o E. 16 ChainsN. 80 E. 7 “N. 36 E. 21 “N. 32 E. 15 “N. 36 E. 18 “N. 45 E. 13 “N. 52 E. 11 “[page 16]N. 55 o E. 11 ChainsN. 51 E. 23 “N. 48 E. 16 “ At 14 Chains and about 50Yds to my left I found a Spring, which I supposedto be the Source of a Branch of the little River, inOrder to define more clearly I shall add, that at 14chs I found myself opposite the Source of thisWater Distance from my course about 50 Ydsrunning to my Left.N. 43 o E. 30 Chains. At 6 Chains 19 Milesblazed a Pine tree Front and rear XIIIIIIIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 39 E. 26 “N. 35 E. 18 “N. 50 E. 14 “N. 61 E. 23 “N. 61 E. 25 “N. 62 E. 23 “[page 17]N. 51˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 51 E. 19 “ At 3 Chs. 20 Miles. Blazed258

a Pine Tree Front & Rear XX Low flat Sterile landPine Timber.N. 61 E. 15 ChainsN. 53 E. 10 “N. 41 E. 20 “N. 49 E. 17 “N. 36 E. 16 “N. 43 E. 11 “N. 42 E. 15 “N. 34 E. 11 “N. 51 E. 21 “N. 56 E. 7 “N. 55 E. 9 “ At 1 Chain 21 Miles.Blazed a Pine Tree Front and Rear XXI Land andTimber as last described.N. 22 E. 4 ChainsN. 23 E. 2 “[page 18]N. 50˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 45 E. 11 “N. 55 E. 12 “N. 50 E. 10 “N. 39 E. 8 “N. 30 E. 13 “N. 27 E. 17 “N. 39 E. 10 “N. 55 E. 11 “N. 7 E. 11 “N. 16 E. 6 “N. 24 E. 7 “N. 15 E. 20 “N. 23 E. 12 “ At 5 Chains 22 Miles,blazed Front & Rear XXII Land and Timber as lastdescribed.N. 17 E. 8 ChainsN. 15 E. 14 “[page 19]September 21 st 1810N. 13˚ E. 11 ChainsN. 18˚ E. 18 “N. 27 E. 9 “N. 41 E. 11 “N. 42 E. 9 “N. 58 E. 12 “N. 47 E. 14 “N. 34 E. 11 “N. 31 E. 17 “N. 45 E. 18 “N. 55 E. 11 “ At 1 Chain 23 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree, front & rear XXIII. Low SterileLand (or flat poor Land) Pine TimberN. 64 E. 7 ChainsN. 44 E. 18 “N. 43 E. 15 “N. 35 E. 20 “[page 20]N. 52˚ E. 13 ChainsN. 45 E. 13 “N. 53 E. 12 “N. 50 E. 10 “N. 42 E. 12 “N. 46 E. 13 “N. 43 E. 11 “N. 44 E. 15 “ At 6 Chains 24 milesblazed a Pine Tree Front & Rear Land & Timber aslast described.N. 59˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 49 E. 15 “N. 55 E. 15 “N. 65 E. 14 “N. 57 E. 14 “N. 64 E. 14 “N. 35 E. 16 “N. 47 E. 10 “[page 21]N. 43˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 61 E. 16 “N. 58 E. 12 “ At 9 Chs. 25 Miles, Blazeda Pine Tree Front & Rear XXIIIII. Land & Timberas last described.N. 62 E. 12 ChainsN. 66 E. 8 “N. 60 E. 36 “N. 63 E. 14 “N. 62 E. 25 “N. 65 E. 14 “N. 64 E. 21 “N. 63 E. 11 “N. 65 E. 15 “N. 69 E. 9 “ At 1 Chain 26 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear & XXIIIIII Landand Timber as last described.N. 76 E. 12 ChainsN. 67 E. 13 “[page 22]N. 65˚ E. 15 ChainsN. 51 E. 15 “N. 60 E. 9 “N. 67 E. 12 “N. 85 E. 12 “N. 82 E. 14 “259

E. 16 “S. 83 E. 9 “S. 87 E. 8 “N. 84 E. 14 “N. 88 E. 12 “ At 3 Chains 27 MilesBlazed a Pine Tree front & rear XXIIIIIII Landand Timber as last described.N. 86 E. 13 ChainsN. 64 E. 7 “N. 22 E. 11 “N. 4 W. 6 “N. 1 W. 10 “[page 23]N. 6˚ E. 4 ChainsN. 10 E. 9 “N. 5 E. 7 “N. 2 E. 6 “N. 13 W. 10 “N. 7 W. 8 “N. 2 W. 9 “N. 6 E. 11 “N. 3 W. 18 “N. 20 W. 5 “N. 1 E. 6 “N. 17 E. 10 “N. 20 E. 11 “ At 1 Chains 28 Miles,Blazed a Pine Tree Front & Rear XXIIIIIIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 31 E. 14 ChainsN. 27 E. 12 “N. 28 E. 18 “[page 24]N. 23˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 18 E. 20 “N. 13 E. 18 “N. 23 E. 8 “N. 11 “N. 21 E. 13 “N. 23 E. 11 “N. 8 W. 8 “N. 6 E. 12 “ At 3 Chains 29 milesblazed a Pine Tree, Front & rear XXIIIIIIIII, Landand Timber as last described.N. 23˚ E. 16 ChainsN. 36 E. 8 “N. 32 E. 11 “N. 18 E. 11 “N. 32 E. 18 “N. 24 E. 13 “N. 25 E. 16 “[page 25]N. 20˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 22 E. 10 “N. 31 E. 11 “N. 17 E. 16 “N. 37 E. 11 “ At 7 Chains 36 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree Front & Rear XXX. Land &Timber as last described.N. 26˚ E. 11 ChainsN. 31 E. 14 “N. 25 E. 12 “N. 24 E. 14 “N. 9 E. 23 “N. 3 E. 9 “September 22nd 1810N. 6 W. 26 ChainsN. 3 E. 15 “N. 18 E. 13 “N. 52 E. 12 “[page 26]N. 53˚ E. 11 Chains. At 7 Chs.31 milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear and XXXI Landand Timber as last described.N. 41˚ E. 16 ChainsN. 29 E. 7 “N. 22 E. 10 “N. 42 E. 20 “N. 54 E. 11 “N. 40 E. 12 “N. 28 E. 12 “N. 21 E. 14 “N. 25 E. 11 “N. 29 E. 15 “N. 44 E. 17 “N. 31 E. 14 “ At 11 Chains 32 Milesblazed a Pine Tree Front & rear XXXII. Land andTimber as last described.[page 27]N. 25˚ E. 13 ChainsN. 24˚ E. 13 “N. 35 E. 15 “N. 25 E. 17 “N. 28 E. 16 “N. 36 E. 22 “N. 33 E. 21 “N. 37 E. 14 “N. 40 E. 17 “N. 37 E. 12 “ At 9 Chains 33 Milesblazed a Small Black Oak XXXIII Land andTimber as last described.N. 63 E. 17 Chains260

N. 75 E. 11 “N. 76 E. 19 “N. 58 E. 13 “N. 41 E. 8 “N. 33 E. 14 “[page 28]N. 46˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 41 E. 9 “N. 36 E. 11 “N. 40 E. 11 “N. 54 E. 11 “N. 43 E. 21 “N. 30 E. 15 “ At 4 Chains 34 milesblazed a Pine Tree Front & Rear and XXXIIII.Land and Timber as last described.N. 33˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 40 E. 8 “N. 13 E. 4 “N. 15 E. 4 “N. 69 E. 5 “N. 80 E. 2 “N. 69 E. 2 “N. 71 E. 2 “[page 29]N. 65˚ E. 2 ChainsN. 55 E. 2 “N. 79 E. 1 “S. 84 E. 2 “S. 44 E. 2 “N. 85 E. 1 “N. 65 E. 2 “N. 74 E. 3 “ At 2 Chains crossed the bigEscambia running to the right. The Escambia is aSmall Creek, gentle Current, on the right Bank ofwhich from its appearance and Situation it isprobable is not at all seasons passible.N. 36˚ E. 2 ChainsN. 15 E. 6 “N. 28 E. 8 “N. 38 E. 4 “[page 30]N. 50˚ E. 4 ChainsN. 28 E. 4 “N. 42 E. 5 “N. 33 E. 4 “N. 27 E. 9 “N. 41 E. 9 “N. 45 E. 12 “N. 36 E. 7 “N. 9 E. 7 “N. 54 E. 10 “N. 38 E. 16 “ At 6 Chains 35 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear XXXIIIII. Landand timber as last described.N. 8 E. 13 ChainsN. 10 E. 8 “N. 26 E. 20 “N. 51 E. 6 “N. 41 E. 13 “N. 46 E. 14 “[page 31]N. 42˚ E. 19 ChainsN. 42 E. 14 “N. 34 E. 10 “N. 23 E. 16 “N. 27 E. 17 “ 36 Miles blazed a PineTree, Front & rear and XXXIIIIII flat Sterile land,Pine Timber.N. 30˚ E. 18 ChainsN. 33 E. 12 “N. 26 E. 15 “N. 31 E. 12 “N. 29 E. 14 “N. 31 E. 14 “N. 23 E. 10 “N. 15 E. 13 “N 7 E. 8 “N. 21 E. 10 “N. 7 E 15 “N. 4 E. 9 “[page 32]N. 3˚ W. 14 Chains. At 10 Chains 37 Milesblazed a Pine Tree Front and rear and XXXIIIIIII.Land and Timber as last described.N. 31 E. 8 ChainsN. 25 E. 10 “N. 33 E. 11 “N. 24 E. 9 “N. 44 E. 9 “N. 24 E. 12 “N. 41 E. 17 “N. 44 E. 10 “N. 48 E. 27 “N. 44 E. 18 “N. 46 E. 8 “N. 48 E. 18 “ At 17 Chains 38 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front and rear and XXXIIIIIIII.Land and Timber as last described.[page 33]N. 36˚ E. 23 ChainsN. 32˚ E. 16 “N. 33 E. 18 “261

N. 34 E. 14 “N. 30 E. 16 “N. 24 E. 43 “N. 10 E. 13 “N. 2 E. 16 “ 39 Miles, blazed a PineTree. Front and rear and XXXIIIIIIIII Land andTimber as last described.N. 11 E. 15 ChainsN. 15 E. 11 “N. 23 E. 10 “September 23 rd 1810N. 16 E. 11 ChainsN. 15 E. 16 “N. 26 E. 10 “N. 35 E. 13 “N. 23 E. 13 “[page 34]N. 27˚ E. 11 ChainsN. 10 E. 10 “N. 16 E. 13 “N. 43 E. 10 “N. 42 E. 12 “N. 37 E. 15 “ At 5 Chains 40 Milesblazed a Pine Tree Front & Rear and XXXX. Landand Timber as last described.N. 41 E. 15 ChainsN. 51 E. 9 “N. 43˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 44 E. 14 “N. 11 E. 9 “N. 23 E. 16 “N. 11 E. 13 “N. 20 E. 10 “N. 25 E. 8 “N. 25 E. 17 “N. 24 E. 14 “N. 35 E. 15 “ 41 Miles, blazed a Pine[page 35] Tree front and rear XXXXI. Land andTimber as last described.N. 40˚ E. 15 ChainsN. 30 E. 21 “N. 34 E. 22 “N. 27 E. 19 “N. 15 E. 19 “N. 35 E. 22 “N. 52 E. 23 “N. 56 E. 18 “N. 47 E. 15 “ At 1 Chain 42 Milesblazed a Pine Tree Front & rear and XXXXII.Land and Timber as last described.N. 50˚ E. 20 ChainsN. 33 E. 16 “N. 30 E. 15 “N. 46 E. 21 “N. 66 E. 8 “N. 63 E. 9 “[page 36]N. 40˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 41 E. 4 “N. 76 E. 4 “N. 50 E. 6 “S. 82 E. 3 “N. 89 E. 2 “N. 75 E. 1 “S. 47 E. 2 “N. 67 E. 4 “ At 2 Chains, Crossed thelittle Escambia running to the right, little Escambiais a small Creek, or more properly (by the rulewhich designate bodys or beds of Water) a Branch.N. 66 E. 2 “N. 79 E. 4 “N. 72 E. 3 “N. 57 E. 4 “N 71 E. 7 “N. 78˚ E. 10 Chains. At 1 Chain 43 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear XXXXIII LowSterile broken land, Pine Timber.[page 37]N. 58˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 64 E. 11 “N. 49 E. 10 “N. 28 E. 11 “N. 6 E. 5 “N. 17 E. 14 “N. 7 E. 10 “N. 12 E. 14 “N. 16 E. 10 “N. 14 E. 11 “N. 29 E. 24 “N. 32 E. 11 “N. 36 E. 19 “ At 13 Chains 44 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear and XXXXIIII.Low Sterile Land Pine Timber.N. 42˚ E 11 ChainsN. 46 E. 8 “N. 37 E. 12 “[page 38]N. 45˚ E. 19 ChainsN. 46 E. 16 “N. 48 E. 20 “N. 57 E. 24 “262

N. 33 E. 17 “N. 42 E. 6 “N. 39 E. 15 “N. 43 E. 29 “ At 6 Chains 45 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear and XXXXIIIII.Land and Timber as last described.N. 40˚ E. 13 ChainsN. 50 E. 20 “N. 31 E. 12 “N. 44 E. 13 “N. 31 E. 11 “N. 29 E. 21 “N. 55 E. 11 “[page 39]N. 28˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 30 E. 18 “N. 36 E. 16 “N. 43 E. 8 “ At 2 Chains 46 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear and XXXXIIIIII.Land and timber as last described.N. 49 E. 8 “N. 65 E. 13 “N. 57 E. 15 “N. 45 E. 13 “N. 27 E. 23 “September 24 th 1810N. 8 ChainsN. 10 E. 9 “N. 4 W. 14 “N. 20 E. 13 “N. 26 E. 29 “N. 17 E. 22 “ At 9 Chains 47 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear and XXXXIIIIIII.Land and timber as last described.[page 40]N. 5˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 8 “N. 17 E. 15 “N. 29 E. 10 “N. 19 E. 10 “N. 36 E. 13 “N. 30 E. 9 “N. 46 E. 11 “N. 49 E. 6 “N. 50 E. 8 “N. 41 E. 9 “N. 51 E. 7 “N. 62 E. 9 “N. 37 E. 7 “N. 35 E. 9 “N. 24 E. 9 “ At 6 Chains 48 Milesblazed a white Oak front & rear XXXXIIIIIIII.Land Sterile and somewhat broken. Timber Pine &white Oak.[page 41]N. 13˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 2 E. 3 “N. 30 E. 2 “N. 56 E. 5 “N. 30 E. 11 “N. 20 E. 7 “N. 24 E. 6 “N. 14 E. 11 “N. 33 E. 7 “N. 16 E. 6 “N. 15 E. 9 “N 6 W. 6 “N. 3 E. 6 “N. 1 E. 6 “N. 12 E. 8 “N. 14 E. 10 “N .12 E. 9 “N. 14 E. 12 “N. 32 E. 10 “[page 42]N. 45˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 50 E. 5 “N. 55 E. 9 “ At 7 Chs. 49 Miles blazeda Pine Tree front & rear and XXXXIIIIIIIII. Landas last described. Timber Pine, white and blackOak.N. 79 E. 10 ChainsN. 72 E. 10 “N. 61 E. 6 “N. 57 E. 8 “N. 41 E. 8 “N. 37 E. 4 “N. 60 E. 15 “N. 76 E. 9 “N. 65 E. 5 “N. 55 E. 7 “N. 52 E. 7 “[page 43]N. 47˚ E. 9 ChainsN. 48 E. 7 “N. 57 E. 14 “N. 75 E. 13 “ At 10 Chains 50 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear and L. Land andTimber as last noted.N. 79˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 76 E. 13 “263

N. 64 E. 9 “N. 40 E. 9 “N. 25 E. 10 “N. 34 E. 13 “N. 25 E. 11 “N. 14 E. 13 “N. 30 E. 7 “N. 28 E. 7 “N. 12 E. 9 “N. 2 W. 5 “[page 44]N. 14˚ E. 2 ChainsN. 55 E. 3 “N. 68 E. 3 “N. 33 E. 10 “N. 11 E. 9 “N. 27 E. 5 “N.7 E. 9 “N. 13 E. 7 “ At 4 Chains 51 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear with LI. Land andTimber as last described.N. 20˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 21 E. 4 “N. 22 E. 16 “N. 33 E. 7 “N. 1 W. 8 “N. 34 E. 7 “N. 29 E. 11 “N. 21 E. 6 “[page 45]N. 22˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 28 E. 7 “N. 43 E. 4 “N. 16 E. 5 “N. 51 E. 6 “N. 22 E. 2 “N. 27 E. 3 “N. 18 E. 4 “N. 30 E. 2 “N. 38 E. 4 “N. 12 E. 4 “N. 35 E. 4 “N. 30 E. 5 “N. 47 E. 6 “N. 59 E. 4 “N. 45 E. 6 “N. 26 E. 6 “N. 1 E. 11 “ 52 Miles blazed a PineTree front & rear and LII. Land [page 46] andTimber as last described.N. 10˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 13 E. 9 “N. 1 W. 11 “N. 1 E. 9 “N. 12 W. 8 “N. 9 E. 8 “N. 8 E. 9 “N. 7 E. 17 “N. 9 W. 5 “N. 1 E. 5 “N. 6 W. 4 “N. 7 “N. 10 W. 8 “ The Source of Burn CornSpring 50 Yds from my Course running to myLeft. This is a small Spring the Water of which ispure & good.N. 2˚ E. 13 ChainsN. 22 E. 10 “[page 47]September 25 th 1810N. 26˚ E. 12 ChainsN. 9 E. 6 “N. 12 E. 7 “N. 1 W. 12 “ At 2 Chains 53 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear with LIII. LandSterile and much broken. Timber as last described.N. 8 E. 9 ChainsN. 1 E. 10 “N. 8 E. 10 “N. 20 W. 7 “N. 46 W. 10 “N. 36 W. 8 “N. 10 W. 7 “N. 14 E. 9 “N. 31 E. 12 “N 9 E. 12 “N. 3 W. 11 “[page 48]N. 14˚ W. 10 ChainsN. 13 W. 8 “N. 1 E. 11 “N. 10 W. 4 “N. 13 E. 10 “N. 10 E. 4 “ At 2 Chains 54 Miles,blazed a black Oak front & rear and LIIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 7 E. 11 ChainsN. 1 E. 7 “N. 28 E. 10 “N. 37 E. 7 “N. 23 E. 6 “264

N. 16 E. 6 “N. 25 E. 6 “N. 23 E. 5 “N. 37 E. 4 “N. 36 E. 6 “[page 49]N. 37˚ E. 3 ChainsN. 39 E. 7 “N. 40 E. 3 “N. 49 E. 5 “N. 27 E. 5 “N. 41 E. 4 “N. 46 E. 8 “N. 32 E. 8 “N. 28 E. 9 “N. 39 E. 8 “N. 24 E. 6 “N. 14 E. 10 “N. 10 E. 6 “N. 13 E. 6 “N. 4 W. 7 “ At 2 Chains 55 Miles,blazed a black Oak front & rear with LIIIII. Land& Timber as last described.N. 4˚ E. 7 Chains[page 50]N. 7 ChainsN. 10˚ E. 12 “N. 6 “N. 2 E. 7 “N. 3 E. 4 “N. 3 W. 3 “N. 7 E. 4 “N. 13 W. 3 “N. 6 W. 2 “N. 12 W. 4 “N. 27 W. 3 “N. 13 W. 4 “N. 11 W. 4 “N. 8 W. 3 “N. 26 W. 3 “N. 10 W. 2 “N. 7 E. 3 “N. 27 W. 4 “N. 9 W. 4 “[page 51]N. 2˚ E. 2 ChainsN. 10 E. 2 “N. 9 W. 2 “N. 4 E. 7 “N. 10 E. 4 “N. 8 E. 5 “N. 17 E. 6 “N. 7 E. 5 “N. 3 W. 7 “N. 32 W. 4 “N. 24 W. 12 “ 56 Miles blazed a blackOak front & rear LIIIIII. Land and Timber. TheLand Sterile Poor and broken, Timber Pine,Chesnut, white & black Oak.N. 7˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 3 W. 5 “N. 10 E. 4 “N. 15 E. 8 “N. 38 E. 5 “N. 27 E. 5 “[page 52]N. 23˚ E. 9 ChainsN. 10 E. 10 “N. 9 E. 8 “N. 15 E. 8 “N. 26 E. 6 “N. 12 E. 5 “N. 14 E. 5 “N. 26 E. 4 “N. 5 E. 4 “N. 19 W. 1 “N. 6 W. 4 “N. 14 E. 5 “N. 18 E. 3 “N. 14 E. 6 “N. 5 E. 5 “N. 3 W. 6 “N. 19 W. 2 “N. 11 W. 3 “N. 11 E. 4 “[page 53]N. 13˚ E. 3 ChainsN. 17 E. 4 “N. 6 E. 5 “N. 8 E. 11 “N. 29 E. 10 “ At 7 Chains 57 Milesblazed a Post Oak front & rear LIIIIIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 28˚ E. 3 ChainsN. 24 E. 7 “N. 36 E. 7 “N. 39 E. 6 “N. 40 E. 4 “N. 22 E. 4 “N. 9 E. 2 “N. 9 W. 5 “N. 10 E. 4 “265

N. 19 E. 5 “N. 44 E. 7 “[page 54]N. 44˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 29 E. 7 “N. 38 E. 5 “N. 7 “N. 42 E. 15 “N. 70 E. 4 “N. 62 E. 4 “N. 37 E. 7 “N. 23 E. 9 “N. 1 W. 7 “N. 14 E. 4 “N. 40 E. 4 “N. 33 E. 6 “N. 29 E. 8 “N. 41 E. 3 “N. 34 E. 2 “N. 70 E. 4 “N. 52 E. 3 “N. 47 E. 6 “ At 4 Chains 58 Miles[page 55] Blazed a Pine Tree front & rear Land aslast described. Timber Pine, white and black Oak,Chesnut and undergrowth.September 26 th 1810N. 47˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 26 E. 8 “N. 1 W. 10 “N. 25 W. 9 “N. 38 W. 12 “N. 40 W. 5 “N. 37 W. 10 “N. 25 W. 12 “N. 22 E. 17 “N. 5 E. 9 “N. 1 E. 14 “N. 3 W. 6 “N. 8 W. 6 “N. 4 W. 17 “N. 7 W. 14 “[page 56]N. 16˚ W. 10 Chains. At 3 Chains 59 Milesblazed a Black Oak front & rear LIIIIIIIII. LowSterile Land. Timber Pine, black & Post OakN. 8˚ W. 8 ChainsN. 5 E. 12 “N. 17 E. 15 “N. 21 E. 11 “N. 12 E. 9 “N. 1 W. 9 “N. 5 W. 4 “N. 13 E. 9 “N. 9 W. 5 “N. 8 E. 8 “N. 14 E. 10 “N. 4 E. 10 “N. 13 W. 7 “N. 12 W. 12 “N. 27 W. 10 “[page 57]N. 3˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 8 W. 6 “N. 24 W. 9 “ At 2 Chains 60 Milesblazed Black Oak front & rear. Land and Timberas last described.N. 40 W. 13 ChainsN. 41 W. 13 “N. 27 W. 8 “N. 9 W. 8 “N. 17 E. 8 “N. 20 E. 9 “N. 11 E. 9 “N. 15 E. 10 “N. 6 E. 15 “N. 14 E. 14 “N. 8 E. 23 “N. 5 E. 10 “N.12 E. 7 “N. 7 E. 9 “ At 6 Chains 61 Miles,blazed [page 58] a Pine Tree front & rear LXI.Land and Timber as last described.N. 27˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 21 E. 5 “N. 3 E. 14 “N. 1 W. 9 “N. 13 E. 14 “N. 7 E. 9 “N. 8 E. 10 “N. 21 E. 10 “N. 67 E. 9 “N. 78 E. 9 “N. 80 E. 9 “N. 77 E. 8 “N. 65 E. 7 “N. 80 E. 11 “N. 63 E. 5 “N. 56 E. 8 “[page 59]N. 79˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 59 E. 9 “ At 4 Chains 62 Miles266

lazed a Pine Tree Front & rear and LXII. Landand Timber as last described. 5 Chains in thisCourse I find the intersection (or rather theJunction) of the St. Stephens Road with my route,it runs directly West or due West.S. 89˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 77 E. 9 “N. 62 E. 12 “N. 44 E. 9 “N. 37 E. 10 “N. 54 E. 9 “N. 59 E. 9 “N. 43 E. 7 “[page 60]N. 41˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 40 E. 12 “N. 51 E. 13 “N. 68 E. 11 “N. 42 E. 4 “N. 60 E. 4 “N. 48 E. 6 “N. 55 E. 11 “N. 54 E. 9 “N. 62 E. 10 “ At 8 Chains 63 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXIII. Land &Timber as last describedN. 54 E. 19 ChainsN. 71 E. 6 “N. 66 E. 17 “N. 75 E. 15 “N. 84 E. 8 “N. 88 E. 17 “N. 84 E. 7 “[page 61]N. 67˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 60 E 10 “N. 72 E. 7 “N. 83 E. 6 “N. 84 E. 9 “N. 81 E. 2 “N. 73 E. 2 “ At 1 Chain crossed MurderCreek running to the right. This is a small Streamof Water and bounded on the left Bank by aSwamp, in breadth or extending 25 Chains, fromthe low Situation and extension of which it may inrainy & wet Seasons form a reservoir or Bed ofWater, sufficiently large and formidable to renderit impassible.N. 66 E. 2 ChainsN. 50 E. 2 “[page 62]N. 79˚ E. 2 ChainsN. 74 E. 3 “N. 71 E. 4 “N. 66 E. 7 “N. 77 E. 7 “ 64 Miles blazed a poplarTree front & rear LXIIII. Land & Timber as lastdescribed.S. 84˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 86 E. 4 “N. 67 E. 5 “N. 72 E. 6 “N. 60 E. 7 “N. 52 E. 8 “N. 37 E. 9 “N. 38 E. 8 “N. 28 E. 17 “N. 27 E. 6 “N. 24 E. 8 “[page 63]N. 32˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 37 E. 10 “N. 19 E. 11 “N. 23 E. 8 “N. 17 E. 9 “N. 27 E. 5 “N. 21 E. 5 “N. 11 E. 4 “N. 9 E. 6 “N. 20 E. 7 “N. 18 E. 6 “ At 5 Chains 65 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXIIIII. BrokenSterile Land, Timber Pine, interspersed with blackjack.September 27 th 1810N. 29˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 37 E. 11 “N. 27 E. 8 “N. 12 E. 10 “[page 64]N. 32˚ E. 18 ChainsN. 56 E. 5 “N. 53 E. 8 “N. 41 E. 7 “N. 72 E. 4 “N. 62 E. 5 “N. 40 E. 5 “N 52 E. 6 “N. 57 E. 8 “N. 83 E. 7 “N. 86 E. 7 “267

N. 72 E. 16 “N. 71 E. 10 “N. 79 E. 17 “ 66 Miles, blazed a PineTree front & rear and LXIIIIII. Land broken poorand Sterile. Timber Pine, thinly interspersed withblack Jack.[page 65]N. 70˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 85 E. 16 “N. 43 E. 11 “N. 39 E. 13 “N. 37 E. 9 “N. 26 E. 27 “N. 25 E. 7 “N. 32 E. 8 “N. 14 E. 10 “N. 19 E. 8 “N. 22 E. 8 “N. 29 E. 10 “N. 15 W. 11 “N. 32 W. 19 “ At 15 Chains 67 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXIIIIIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 38˚ W. 6 ChainsN. 34 W. 7 “N. 41 W. 10 “[page 66]N. 10˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 10 W. 7 “N. 8 W. 11 “N. 11 W. 7 “N. 33 W. 17 “N. 26 W. 12 “N. 21 W. 8 “N. 15 W. 9 “N. 33 W. 10 “N. 12 W. 13 “N. 24 W. 12 “N. 16 W. 13 “N. 21 W. 9 “ At 8 Chains 68 milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXIIIIIIII. Landpartially or somewhat broken. Sterile and barren.Timber as last described.N. 3 E. 11 Chains[page 67]N. 6˚ W. 15 ChainsN. 10 W 12 “N. 5 E. 18 “N. 3 W. 11 “N. 6 W. 19 “N. 1 E. 17 “N. 21 E. 17 “N. 28 E. 11 “N. 36 E. 13 “N. 41 E. 9 “N. 44 E. 9 “ At 6 Chains 69 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXIIIIIIIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 26 E. 5 ChainsN. 27 E. 12 “N. 10 E. 13 “N. 18 E. 15 “N. 23 E. 16 “[page 68]N. 30˚ E. 11 ChainsN. 13 E. 12 “N. 35 E. 13 “N. 66 E. 12 “N. 83 E. 11 “N. 75 E. 15 “S. 70 E. 16 “S. 63 E. 7 “ At 6 Chains 70 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXX. Land andTimber as last described.S. 78 E. 14 ChainsN. 82 E. 6 “S. 89 E. 16 “S. 86 E. 17 “S. 77 E. 10 “S. 79 E. 11 “S. 66 E. 8 “N. 87 E. 3 “[page 69]S. 64˚ E. 2 ChainsS. 83 E. 3 “N. 85 E. 3 “S. 87 E. 4 “S. 81 E. 4 “S. 75 E. 6 “S. 82 E. 15 “N. 86 E. 4 “S. 77 E. 5 “S. 56 E. 4 “S. 87 E. 4 “S. 75 E. 12 “S. 88 E. 4 “N. 80 E. 6 “ At 5 Chains 71 Miles,blazed a black Oak front & rear LXXI. LandSterile, poor and hilly. Timber Pine, Chesnut,White Post & black Oak.N. 86 E. 5 Chains[page 70]268

N. 89˚ E. 2 ChainsN. 83 E. 2 “S. 66 E. 3 “N. 81 E. 2 “S. 84 E. 3 “N. 78 E. 2 “E. 3 “N. 75 E. 4 “E. 3 “S. 72 E. 5 “N. 51 E. 3 “N. 64 E. 2 “N. 48 E. 4 “N. 46 E. 1 “N. 65 E. 2 “N. 49 E. 5 “N. 52 E. 6 “N. 62 E. 6 “N. 80 E. 5 “[page 71]N. 83˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 88 E. 5 “S. 79 E. 7 “E. 7 “N. 72 E. 3 “N. 84 E. 6 “N. 82 E. 3 “N. 82 E. 7 “S. 82 E. 8 “S. 77 E. 4 “N. 74 E. 4 “N. 77 E. 8 “E. 8 “N. 70 E. 4 “N. 85 E. 6 “N. 53 E. 3 “N. 54 E. 6 “ At 1 Chain 72 Miles, blazeda Pine Tree front and rear LXXII. Land low andpoor [page 72] Timber, Pine, White, Post, blackOak and Chesnut.N. 57˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 52 E. 6 “N. 78 E. 6 “September 28 th 1810N. 87 E. 3 ChainsN. 79 E. 3 “N. 70 E. 7 “N. 89 E. 3 “S. 79 E. 5 “S. 76 E. 2 “S. 55 E. 4 “N. 26 E. 2 “S. 89 E. 2 “N. 74 E. 4 “N. 56 E. 6 “N. 30 E. 4 “N.[page 73]N. 38˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 42 E. 5 “N. 52 E. 4 “N. 46 E. 10 “N. 36 E. 10 “N. 27 E. 4 “N. 32 E. 5 “N. 43 E. 7 “N. 72 E. 5 “S. 81 E. 7 “N. 65 E. 3 “N. 55 E. 6 “N. 32 E. 3 “N. 44 E. 6 “N. 49 E. 4 “ At 2 Chains crossed thelittle Sepulga a small Creek, gentle Currentrunning to the right, bounded by high Banks, theWater of the Creek is clear, transparent & good.[page 74]N. 42˚ E. 5 Chains. At 1 Chain 73 Milesblazed a pine Tree front & rear and LXXIII. Landor Soil apparently fit for Tillage. Timber Whiteand black Oak Chesnut and Beech.N. 60˚ E. 4 ChainsS. 73 E. 6 “ At 3 Chains crossed aSmall Stream or Branch or called also littleSepulga. This must fall in or unite with the littleSepulga described in the 72 mile, at a very ShortDistance below and perhaps at an inconsiderabledistance flows into the big Sepulga. These remarksit will be perceived [page 75] are conjectured andformed from the Knowledge of the Distancebetween these Waters in crossing them. Tointroduce probability when in quest of facts maynot be admissible, yet I cannot dismiss the Subjectof these Waters without expressing my persuasionof their being Branches or tributary streams of theEscambia a principal river that emptys into the Bayof Pensacola, West Florida.N. 54 E. 4 ChainsN. 64 E. 8 “N. 88 E. 4 “N. 55 E. 7 “269

N. 77 E. 5 “N. 69 E. 4 “N. 64 E. 7 “[page 76]N. 49˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 51 E. 6 “N. 46 E. 5 “N. 7 E. 2 “N. 81 E. 6 “S. 77 E. 5 “S. 71 E. 5 “N. 85 E. 4 “N. 82 E. 5 “N. 70 E. 6 “N. 68 E. 6 “ termination of the Landapparently arable and fit for Tillage. Timber largeWhite and Black Oak Chesnut & Beech.N. 61 E. 8 “N. 65 E. 6 “N. 74 E. 9 “N. 2 E. 17 “N. 16 E. 6 “N. 25 E. 10 “ At 8 Chains 74 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXIIII lowbarren Land, Timber Pine & black Oak.[page 77]N. 25˚ E. 17 ChainsN. 43 E. 10 “N. 55 E. 7 “N. 58 E. 4 “N. 53 E. 14 “N. 63 E. 6 “N. 49 E. 11 “N. 51 E. 9 “N. 62 E. 8 “N. 6 E. 5 “N. 66 E. 5 “N. 75 E. 7 “N. 73 E. 12 “N. 63 E. 10 “N. 72 E. 10 “N 74 E. 15 “N. 87 E. 10 “ At 8 Chains 75 Milesblazed Pine Tree front & rear and LXXIIIII. Land[page 78] and Timber as last described.N. 79 E. 6 ChainsN. 72 E. 5 “S. 89 E. 7 “N. 85 E. 6 “N. 73 E. 8 “N. 77 E. 4 “N. 76 E. 10 “N. 60 E. 8 “N. 65 E. 9 “N. 70 E. 5 “N. 54 E. 11 “N. 46 E. 6 “N. 44 E. 7 “N. 25 E. 5 “N. 27 E. 6 “N. 1 E. 10 “N. 8 E. 5 “N. 52 E. 6 “[page 79]N. 45˚ E. 15 ChainsN. 32 E. 5 “N. 42 E. 2 “N. 29 E. 3 “N. 56 E. 8 “N. 43 E. 9 “ At 1 Chain 76 Miles blazeda pine Tree front & rear and LXXIIIIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 39˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 44 E. 7 “N. 61 E. 5 “N. 60 E. 9 “N. 34 E. 13 “N. 69 E. 12 “N. 65 E. 14 “N. 52 E. 7 “N. 42 E. 11 “N. 44 E. 6 “N. 49 E. 10 “[page 80]N. 59˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 76 E. 8 “N. 83 E. 5 “N. 47 E. 10 “N. 59 E. 7 “N. 62 E. 13 “N. 58 E. 7 “ At 4 Chains 77 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXIIIIIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 57˚ E. 16 ChainsN. 58 E. 10 “N. 73 E. 12 “N. 72 E. 12 “N. 74 E. 12 “N 78 E. 24 “N. 86 E. 5 “N. 70 E. 9 “N. 60 E. 9 “270

[page 81]N. 58˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 51 E. 6 “N. 56 E. 12 “N. 49 E. 4 “N. 51 E. 9 “N. 49 E. 10 “ At 7 Chains 78 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear and LXXIIIIIIII.Land and Timber as last described.September 29 th 1810N. 49 E. 12 ChainsN. 45 E. 8 “N. 46 E. 7 “N. 48 E. 7 “N. 41 E. 10 “N. 47 E. 11 “N. 71 E. 6 “N. 68 E. 11 “N. 74 E. 9 “[page 82]N. 75˚ E. 7 ChainsS. 89 E. 8 “S. 82 E. 7 “N. 82 E. 10 “N. 70 E. 6 “N. 77 E. 4 “N. 68 E. 12 “N. 63 E. 7 “N. 42 E. 8 “ At 6 Chains 79 Milesblazed a black Oak front & rear LXXIIIIIIIII. Landexhibits a light grey Soil in half the Distance ofthis mile. low Timber large white and black Oak,interspersed with small Hickory.N. 51˚ E. 9 ChainsN. 48 E. 7 “N. 72 E. 14 “N. 76 E. 9 “[page 83]N. 54˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 46 E. 12 “N. 47 E. 5 “N. 59 E. 6 “N. 50 E. 6 “N. 62 E. 3 “N. 59 E. 7 “N. 48 E. 5 “N. 49 E. 6 “N. 53 E. 3 “N. 64 E. 6 “N. 66 E. 5 “N. 63 E. 6 “N. 69 E. 11 “N. 79 E. 6 “N. 73 E. 17 “N. 67 E. 5 “ At 1 Chain 80 Miles,blazed a black Oak front & rear and LXXX. Landlow Sterile and poor. [page 84] Timber Pine, Black& Post Oak.N. 55 E. 11 ChainsN. 47 E. 7 “N. 52 E. 6 “N. 44 E. 11 “N. 30 E. 7 “N. 53 E. 13 “N. 60 E. 17 “N. 63 E. 17 “N. 67 E. 10 “N. 59 E. 16 “N. 63 E. 7 “N. 55 E. 15 “N. 58 E. 5 “N. 60 E. 8 “N. 63 E. 5 “N. 64 E. 9 “ At 1 Chain 81 Miles,blazed a Post Oak front & rear LXXXI. Land aslast described. [page 85] Timber Pine interspersedwith small black and Post Oak.N. 69 E. 14 ChainsN. 50 E. 10 “N. 54 E. 15 “N. 49 E. 8 “N. 60 E. 7 “N. 63 E. 10 “N. 79 E. 10 “E. 11 “S. 86 E. 9 “S. 71 E. 11 “S. 79 E. 10 “N. 82 E. 7 “N. 74 E. 5 “N. 81 E. 5 “N. 82 E. 5 “N. 81 E. 8 “N. 71 E. 8 “ At 7 Chains 82 miles,blazed [page 86] a Pine Tree front & rear andLXXXII. Land as last described. Timber Pine andblack Oak.N. 75 E. 12 ChainsN. 64 E. 5 “N. 48 E. 14 “N. 41 E. 6 “271

N. 36 E. 7 “N. 54 E. 9 “N. 52 E. 12 “N. 57 E. 4 “N. 59 E. 18 “N. 79 E. 20 “N. 75 E. 6 “N. 83 E. 9 “N. 64 E. 12 “N. 57 E. 14 “N. 65 E. 15 “ At 11 Chains 83 Miles[page 87] blazed a Pine Tree front & rear andLXXXIII. Land low flat and sterile, Pineinterspersed with Post black and white Oak andChesnut.N. 64˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 61 E. 11 “N. 70 E. 8 “N. 63 E. 4 “N. 65 E. 7 “N. 62 E. 7 “N. 71 E. 10 “N. 69 E. 8 “N. 71 E. 5 “N. 83 E. 8 “N. 80 E. 10 “N. 64 E. 14 “N. 72 E. 4 “N. 64 E. 15 “N. 66 E. 3 “[page 88]N. 62˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 55 E. 11 “N. 69 E. 6 “N. 58 E. 6 “N. 54 E. 12 “ At 2 Chains 84 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXIIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 53˚ E. 12 ChainsN. 61 E. 6 “N. 53 E. 8 “N. 59 E. 7 “N. 45 E. 13 “N. 60 E. 11 “N. 43 E. 13 “N. 11 E. 12 “N. 6 E. 8 “N. 31 E. 16 “N. 36 E. 8 “[page 89]N. 38˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 43 E. 7 “N. 41 E. 9 “N. 47 E. 13 “ At 10 Chains 85 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXIIIII. Landas last described. Timber Pine.N. 55˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 47 E. 16 “N. 46 E. 9 “N. 36 E. 25 “N. 13 E. 6 “N. 20 E. 33 “N. 39 E. 8 “N. 56 E. 13 “N. 62 E. 4 “N. 51 E. 15 “N. 45 E. 7 “N. 42 E. 8 “N. 45 E. 8 “ At 86 Miles blazed a PineTree [page 90] Front & rear LXXXIIIIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 58˚ E. 11 ChainsN. 61 E. 13 “September 30 th 1810N. 77 E. 11 ChainsN. 75 E. 14 “N. 85 E. 14 “N. 67 E. 21 “N. 61 E. 21 “N. 40 E. 12 “N. 56 E. 9 “N. 38 E. 11 “N. 25 E. 11 “N. 40 E. 14 “ At 12 Chains 87 Milesblazed a Small black Oak. Land low flat andSterile. Timber Pine.N. 31 E. 17 Chains[page 91]N. 48 E. 12 ChainsN. 35 E. 22 “N. 32 E. 9 “N. 21 E. 21 “N. 30 E. 4 “N. 34 E. 15 “N. 46 E. 16 “N. 32 E. 9 “N. 52 E. 29 “N. 73 E. 23 “ At 4 Chains 88 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXIIIIIIII.Land as last described. Timber Pine.N. 65 E. 9 Chains272

N. 62 E. 7 “N. 63 E. 18 “N. 52 E. 6 “N. 47 E. 11 “N. 79 E. 7 “N. 49 E. 5 “[page 92]N. 50˚ E. 13 ChainsN. 41 E. 10 “N. 55 E. 8 “N. 39 E. 7 “N. 43 E. 14 “N. 65 E. 16 “N. 54 E. 25 “ At 10 Chains 89 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXIIIIIIIII.Land and Timber as last described.N. 60˚ E. 21 ChainsN. 45 E. 17 “N. 35 E. 11 “N. 28 E. 9 “N. 39 E. 16 “N. 47 E. 13 “N. 36 E. 15 “N. 40 E. 8 “N. 21 E. 37 “ At 35 Chains 90 Miles[page 93] blazed a Pine Tree, front & rearLXXXX. Land hilly Sterile and broken.N. 18˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 25 E. 18 “N. 30 E. 32 “N. 22 E. 8 “N. 23 E. 18 “N. 31 E. 8 “N. 20 E. 10 “N. 34 E. 15 “N. 18 E. 5 “N. 37 E. 6 “N. 19 E. 12 “N. 21 E. 22 “ At 12 Chains 91 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXXI. Landand Timber as last described.N. 12˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 8 E. 10 “[page 94]N. 16˚ E. 11 ChainsN. 6 W. 17 “N. 23 E. 12 “N. 13 E. 15 “N. 16 E. 7 “N. 10 E. 15 “N. 1 W. 19 “N. 6 E. 19 “N. 15 E. 13 “N. 9 “ At 4 Chains 92 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXXII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 19 E. 14 ChainsN. 37 E. 15 “N. 44 E. 6 “N. 34 E. 11 “N.14 E. 11 “N. 6 E. 8 “N. 21 E. 8 “[page 95]N. 27˚ E. 22 ChainsN. 32 E. 8 “N. 34 E. 9 “N. 16 E. 19 “N. 9 E. 8 “N. 17 E. 13 “N. 30 E. 12 “ At 3 Chains 93 Miles,blazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXXIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 36 E. 7 ChainsN. 19 E. 38 “N. 46 E. 8 “N. 56 E. 9 “N .64 E. 6 “N. 61 E. 7 “N. 43 E. 13 “N. 49 E. 8 “N. 65 E. 12 “N.63 E. 9 “N. 58 E. 5 “[page 96]N. 38˚ E. 9 ChainsN. 49 E. 10 “N. 46 E. 5 “N. 44 E. 7 “ At 5 Chains 94 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear LXXXXIIII. Landhigh or hilly broken and sterile. Timber Pine, Postand black Oak.N. 39˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 43 E. 9 “N. 36 E. 12 “N. 33 E. 6 “N. 35 E. 8 “N. 77 E. 6 “N. 39 E. 15 “N. 64 E. 14 “N. 89 E. 8 “N. 67 E. 10 “273

[page 97]N. 61˚ E. 7 Chains. The Source of a SmallSpring , Distance from my Course to the Left 400Yards. it emanates from a Steep Hill or Bank.Banks or equal hight on each Side. hight of theseBanks supposed to be 75 Feet.N. 62 E. 14 “N. 44 E. 10 “N. 52 E. 6 “N. 67 E. 7 “N. 49 E. 5 “N. 59 E. 5 “N. 74 E. 7 “N. 83 E. 5 “ At 3 Chains 95 Miles,blazed a black Oak Front & rear LXXXXIIIII.Land and Timber as last described.October 1 st 1810N. 64˚ E. 4 ChainsN. 66 E. 19 “N. 56 E. 7 “N. 59 E. 7 “N. 72 E. 5 “N. 67 E. 12 “[page 98]N. 54˚ E. 9 ChainsN. 68 E. 5 “S. 78 E. 4 “S. 86 E. 11 “S. 82 E. 6 “S. 84 E. 12 “S. 86 E. 11 “N. 79 E. 9 “N. 47 E. 10 “N. 46 E. 6 “N. 50 E. 6 “N. 79 E. 7 “N. 74 E. 6 “N. 71 E. 7 “ At 2 Chains 96 Milesblazed a Spanish Oak Front & Rear andLXXXXIIIIII. Land, hilly, sterile and broken aportion or part of which exhibiting a light grey[page 99] Soil, perhaps susceptible of Culture,Timber, Pine, Hickory, White, black, Post andSpanish Oak, and undergrowth.S. 88 E. 10 ChainsN. 88 E. 7 “N. 89 E. 7 “S. 85 E. 8 “S. 80 E 4 “S. 75 E. 6 “N. 85 E. 6 “N. 64 E. 13 “N. 57 E. 10 “N. 35 E. 12 “N. 17 E. 13 “N. 32 E. 14 “N. 37 E. 8 “N. 31 E. 17 “N. 26 E. 10 “N. 5 E. 11 “ At 10 Chains 97 Milesblazed a [page 100] Pine Tree front & rear andLXXXXIIIIIII. Land hilly broken and Sterile.Timber as last described.N. 1 E. 9 ChainsN. 18 E. 6 “N. 38 E. 7 “N. 39 E. 7 “N. 30 E. 8 “N. 36 E. 6 “N. 50 E. 9 “N. 63 E. 10 “N. 35 E. 7 “N. 29 E. 6 “N. 26 E. 9 “N. 3 E. 7 “N. 9 E. 18 “N. 25 E. 4 “N. 24 E. 6 “N. 17 E. 15 “[page 101]N. 29˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 41 E. 7 “N. 11 E. 8 “ 98 Miles blazed a PineTree front & rear LXXXXIIIIIIII. Land as lastdescribed. Timber large white, black and post Oak,thinly interspersed with Hickory and undergrowth.N. 5˚ W. 4 ChainsN. 11 “N. 9 E. 4 “N. 4 E. 10 “N. 2 E. 7 “N. 14 E. 6 “N. 16 E. 5 “N. 11 E. 11 “N. 9 “N. 1 W. 22 “N. 18 W. 8 “N. 3 W. 7 “[page 102]N. 5 W. 5 ChainsN. 2 W. 7 “274

N. 45 E. 12 “N. 24 E. 10 “N. 10 W. 15 “N. 5 E. 6 “N. 10 E. 11 “ At 1 Chain 99 Miles blazeda Pine tree front & rear LXXXXIIIIIIIII. This Milefound remarkable Hilly, Sterile Soil and Strong.Timber as last described with the addition ofChesnut.N. 16 W. 8 ChainsN. 38 W. 5 “N. 39 W. 6 “N. 6 W. 6 “[page 103]N. 3˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 13 E. 6 “N. 17 E. 9 “N. 15 E. 8 “N. 10 E. 5 “N. 11 E. 11 “N. 5 W. 7 “N. 2. E. 6 “N. 3 W. 3 “N. 4 E. 12 “N. 1 W. 9 “N. 37 E. 15 “N. 55 E. 9 “N. 66 E. 4 “N. 36 E. 4 “N. 15 E. 10 “ At 7 Chains 100 Milesblazed white oak front & rear and C. Land Sterile,Hilly, and broken. Timber as last described.[page 104]N. 10˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 9 E. 11 “N. 4 E. 8 “N. 11 E. 10 “N. 16 E. 12 “N. 21 E. 4 “N. 35 E. 13 “N. 41 E. 9 “N. 58 E. 7 “N. 35 E. 5 “N. 32 E. 6 “N. 41 E. 5 “N. 40 E. 12 “N. 14 E. 8 “N. 42 E. 2 “N. 63 E. 4 “N. 56 E. 7 “N. 70 E. 5 “N. 79 E. 6 “[page 105]N. 70˚ E. 17 Chains. At 15 Chains 101Miles blazed a black Oak front & rear CI. Landand Timber as last described.S. 83 E. 5 ChainsS. 81 E. 5 “N. 79 E. 8 “N. 71 E. 11 “N. 44 E. 11 “N. 55 E. 8 “N. 43 E. 14 “N. 51 E. 6 “N. 47 E. 12 “ The Source of a SmallSpring emanating or issuing from a Steep Bank orHill with banks on each Side of equal hight. TheseBanks are about 70 Feet in hightN. 42 E. 10 “N. 81 E. 9 “N. 85 E. 13 “N. 53 E. 10 “N. 35 E. 16 “N. 15 E. 6 “[page 106]N. 18 E. 6 ChainsN. 12 E. 10 “ At 8 Chains 102 Milesblazed a Pine Tree front & rear and II. Land andTimber as last described.October 2 nd 1810N. 10 E. 7 ChainsN. 16 E. 6 “N. 14 E. 5 “N. 11 E. 11 “N. 7 E. 17 “N. 16 W. 4 “N. 3 W. 5 “N. 6 E. 7 “N. 18 E. 5 “N. 31 E. 7 “N. 44 E. 5 “N. 8 E. 9 “N. 7 E. 6 “[page 107]N. 17˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 22 E. 6 “N. 29 E. 4 “N. 5 W. 6 “N. 13 E. 3 “N. 29 E. 6 “N. 14 E. 6 “275

N. 12 E. 7 “N. 32 E. 10 “N. 36 E. 10 “ 103 Miles, blazed a PineTree front & rear and III. Land very hilly or highbroken, sterile Land, abounding with Pine,Hickory, large white & black oak and Chesnut &undergrowth.N. 27˚ E. 8 ChainsN. 23 E. 8 “N. 29 E. 10 “N. 38 E. 8 “[page 108]N. 21˚ E. 4 ChainsN. 22 E. 10 “N. 12 W. 3 “N. 5 E. 5 “N. 41 E. 8 “N. 55 E. 3 “N. 13 E. 3 “N. 11 E. 4 “N. 23 E. 5 “N. 33 E. 4 “N. 53 E. 9 “N. 25 E. 8 “N. 29 E. 4 “N. 16 E. 6 “N. 2 W. 5 “N. 34 E. 7 “N. 32 E. 8 “N. 43 E. 16 “N. 42 E. 10 “[page 109]N. 45 E. 12 Chains. At 4 Chains 104 milesblazed a Black Oak front & rear and IIII. Land andTimber as last discussed.N. 54˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 44 E. 11 “N. 53 E. 4 “N. 55 E. 11 “N. 56 E. 2 “N. 57 E. 3 “N. 61 E. 2 “N. 81 E. 3 “N. 63 E. 3 “N. 52 E. 3 “N. 73 E. 2 “N. 81 E. 2 “N. 79 E. 4 “N. 61 E. 3 “N. 52 E. 3 “[page 110]N. 82˚ E. 3 ChainsN. 85 E. 5 “N. 67 E. 7 “N. 48 E. 11 “N. 57 E. 7 “N. 47 E. 9 “N. 43 E. 6 “N. 54 E. 4 “N. 52 E. 9 “N. 64 E. 5 “N. 33 E. 5 “N. 25 E. 7 “N. 8 W. 3 “N. 7 E. 12 “ At 10 Chains 105 Miles,blazed a Chesnut Tree front & rear IIIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 11˚ E. 20 Chains[page 111]N. 1˚ E. 4 ChainsN. 6 E. 5 “N. 7 W. 3 “N. 9 E. 3 “N. 11 E. 4 “N. 16 E. 6 “N. 44 E. 4 “N. 37 E. 2 “N. 12 E. 4 “N. 7 W. 3 “N. 13 E. 5 “N. 23 E. 4 “N. 57 E. 6 “N. 37 E. 5 “N. 51 E. 6 “N. 49 E. 9 “N. 31 E. 6 “N. 45 E. 4 “N. 40 E. 6 “[page 112]N. 42˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 37 E. 5 “N. 38 E. 7 “N. 8 “N. 34 E. 6 “N. 29 E. 3 “N. 71 E. 7 “ 106 Miles blazed aHickory front & rear and IIIIII. Land as lastdescribed. Timber Pine, Hickory, large white &black Oak, Chesnut, Poplar and undergrowth.N. 67 E. 5 ChainsN. 34 E. 6 “N. 27 E. 7 “276

N. 35 E. 5 “N. 40 E. 5 “N. 41 E. 6 “[page 113]N. 55˚ E. 10 ChainsN. 54 E. 3 “N. 45 E. 13 “N. 39 E. 5 “N. 36 E. 3 “N. 45 E. 5 “N. 55 E. 3 “N. 19 E. 4 “N. 29 E. 8 “N. 43 E. 5 “N. 44 E. 3 “N. 27 E. 9 “N. 36 E. 5 “N. 21 E. 7 “N. 10 E. 7 “N. 19 E. 5 “N. 32 E. 6 “N. 34 E. 13 “N. 22 E. 7 “N. 18 E. 7 “[page 114] At 5 Chains 107 Miles blazed a PineTree front & rear IIIIIII. Land as last described andTimber with the addition of large Post Oak.N. 19˚ W. 10 ChainsN. 10 W. 3 “ Leave the EstablishedGeorgia Mail Road to the right N.E. course, or tobe more expressive, this Road runs N.E. far frommy Course or Route.N. 20˚ W. 8 ChainsN 26 W. 13 “N. 42 W. 21 “N. 33 W. 7 “N. 29 W. 6 “N. 13 E. 5 “N. 16 E. 4 “N. 1 W. 3 “[page 115]N. 6˚ W. 10 ChainsN. 14 W. 8 “N. 7 W. 4 “N. 14 W. 3 “N. 22 W. 9 “N. 11 W. 10 “N. 26 W. 4 “N. 29 W. 7 “N. 40 W. 6 “N. 16 W. 5 “N. 5 W. 5 “N. 27 W. 7 “ 108 Miles blazed a SweetGum front & rear and IIIIIIII. Land and Timber aslast described.N. 10 W. 4 “October 3 rd 1810N. 28˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 16 E. 6 “N. 4 W. 7 “N. 2 E. 6 “N. 6 E. 10 “[page 116]N. 26˚ W. 5 ChainsN. 17 W. 5 “N. 19 W. 13 “N. 24 W. 8 “N. 22 W. 14 “N. 19 W. 5 “N. 8 W. 11 “N. 20 W. 5 “N. 5 E. 8 “N. 15 E. 10 “N. 7 “N. 5 E. 9 “N. 1 W. 15 “N. 19 W. 9 “ At 7 Chains 109 Milesblazed a black Oak front & rear and IIIIIIIII. LandHilly, Sterile and broken. The Soil in this Mileassuming a blackish Colour but on Examinationfound [page 117] Sterile and poor. Timber Pine,White and Black Oak, Chesnut, Hickory, andundergrowth.N. 5˚ W. 18 ChainsN. 18 E. 6 “N. 31 W. 9 “N. 13 W. 7 “N. 10 W. 4 “N. 8 E. 9 “N. 19 W. 6 “N. 24 W. 5 “N. 14 W. 11 “N. 10 E. 4 “N. 29 E. 10 “N. 5 W. 4 “N. 22 E. 3 “N. 21 E. 7 “N. 34 E. 5 “N. 27 E. 5 “N. 45 E. 5 “[page 118]277

N. 66˚ E. 4 ChainsN. 28 E. 7 “N. 35 E. 5 “N. 32 E. 5 “N. 29 E. 8 “N. 33 E. 6 “N. 40 E. 5 “ 110 Miles blazed aHickory front & Rear and X. Land and Timber aslast described.N. 46 E. 6 ChainsN. 40 E. 11 “N. 22 E. 4 “N. 44 E. 17 “N. 48 E. 6 “N. 46 E. 10 “N. 37 E. 7 “N. 28 E. 10 “N. 3 E. 6 “N. 25 E. 6 “[page 119]N. 22˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 24 E. 7 “N. 19 E. 6 “N. 13 E. 6 “N. 4 E. 7 “N. 20 E. 7 “N. 16 E. 7 “N. 15 E. 15 “N. 7 “N. 4 E. 6 “N. 5 E. 6 “ At 4 Chains 111 Miles,blazed a Post Oak front & rear and XI. The Landfrom the last mentioned Distance 110 Miles, to thisMile I found descending into low and broken, or tobe more descriptive, partial Ridges. Soil blackapparently fertile [page 120] and Susceptible ofCultivation. Timber large Pine, white, black andPost Oak.N. 7˚ W. 8 ChainsN. 5 W. 19 “N. 10 W. 6 “N. 15 E. 8 “N. 3 W. 14 “N. 3 E. 7 “N. 1 W. 3 “N. 8 W. 9 “N. 13 E. 9 “N. 6 W. 9 “N. 25 W. 7 “N. 4 W. 4 “N. 50 E. 3 “N. 15 E. 6 “N. 1 W. 9 “N. 7 W. 14 “[page 121]N. 5˚ W. 14 ChainsN. 14 E. 6 “N. 25 E. 5 “ At 3 Chains 112 Miles,blazed a Hickory front & rear and XII. Land lowSterile and partially broken. Timber as lastdescribed.N. 4 ChainsN. 3˚ E. 8 “N. 22 E. 9 “N. 32 E. 13 “N. 26 E. 7 “N. 21 E. 4 “N. 34 E. 15 “N. 23 E. 10 “N. 52 E. 16 “N. 39 E. 8 “N. 37 E. 8 “N. 45 E. 8 “N. 37 E. 7 “N. 21 E. 14 “[page 122]N. 47˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 30 E. 15 “N. 18 E. 10 “ At 6 Chains 113 Milesblazed a Post Oak front & rear and XIII. Land andTimber as last described.N. 24˚ E. 12 ChainsN. 9 E. 13 “N. 12 E. 11 “N. 31 E. 4 “N. 32 E. 4 “N. 5 E. 7 “N. 32 W. 7 “N. 17 W. 6 “N. 6 W. 5 “N. 1 W. 6 “N. 49 E. 2 “N. 30 E. 3 “[page 123]N. 28˚ E. 1 ChainsN. 4 W. 2 “N. 23 E. 3 “N. 38 E. 3 “N. 7 E. 3 “N. 22 E. 6 “N. 48 E. 6 “N. 38 E. 5 “278

N. 56 E. 3 “N. 26 E. 5 “N. 58 E. 2 “N. 42 E. 5 “N. 12 E. 1 “N. 40 E. 3 “N. 13 E. 3 “N. 22 E. 3 “N. 6 W. 4 “N. 19 W. 2 “N. 36 E. 5 “N. 34 E. 3 “[page 124]N. 22 E. 4 ChainsN. 12 E. 5 “ At 4 Chains 114 milesblazed an Elm Tree front & rear XIIII. Land andTimber in this Mile to the 25 Chain as lastdescribed from which stated Distance commencesbottom or fertile Swamp Land, an extensive Canebrake, large white and black Oak, Beech, Elm andSycamore.N. 17˚ E. 3 ChainsN. 43 E. 4 “N. 30 E. 2 “N. 3 E. 3 “N. 13 W. 6 “N. 3 E. 3 “[page 125]N. 28˚ W. 5 ChainsN. 17 W. 3 “N. 9 W. 5 “N. 5 “N. 33 W. 6 “N. 6 W. 3 “N. 77 W. 2 “N. 42 W. 2 “N. 37 W. 5 “N. 47 W. 5 “N. 51 W. 6 “N. 63 W. 3 “N. 44 W. 3 “N. 17 W. 4 “N. 7 E. 1 “N. 5 W. 3 “N. 15 E. 4 “N. 20 E. 3 “N. 8 E. 5 “N. 5 W. 5 “[page 126]N. 9˚ E. 3 ChainsN. 8 W. 7 “N. 6 W. 7 “ termination of the bottomand Swamp Land in the Swamp I discovered twoBeds of Creeks and in a few of the hollows cavitysof which I found Water. The breadth of thisSwamp and its low situation must in wet rainyseasons render it impassible.October 4 th 1810N. 3 W. 7 ChainsN. 24 E. 8 “N. 28 E. 5 “N. 49 E. 9 “N. 38 E. 6 “N. 43 E. 8 “ At 5 Chains 115 Milesblazed a Post Oak front & rear [page 127] XIIIII.From the termination of the Swamp Land SmallPrairies or Glades. Low poor Soil, small Clustersof Post Oak found in these Glades.N. 24˚ E. 14 ChainsN. 9 E. 24 “N. 20 E. 22 “N. 50 E. 13 “N. 45 E. 15 “N. 18 E. 7 “N. 12 E. 10 “N. 29 E. 12 “N. 32 E. 11 “N. 6 E. 14 “N. 32 E. 7 “N. 26 E. 13 “ At 8 Chains 116 Milesblazed a Post oak front & rear XIIIIII. SmallPrairies or Glades [page 128] poor and Sterile,presenting partial Ridges.N. 15˚ E. 15 ChainsN. 35 E. 9 “N. 21 E. 17 “N. 39 E. 17 “N. 42 E. 7 “N. 48 E. 12 “N. 64 E. 14 “N. 60 E. 6 “N. 27 E. 6 “N. 48 E. 5 “N. 76 E. 7 “N. 65 E. 5 “N. 67 E. 10 “N. 31 E. 7 “N. 53 E. 6 “N. 39 E. 7 “N. 59 E. 9 “ At 5 Chains 117 Miles[page 129] blazed a Post Oak front & rear and279

XIIIIIII. Prairies or Glades the quality or Nature ofthe Soil as last described. Timber in Clusters.Black and Post Oak Small Hickory and Pine.N. 45˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 70 E. 9 “N. 47 E. 5 “N. 42 E. 7 “N. 55 E. 12 “N. 54 E. 15 “N. 36 E. 6 “N. 50 E. 12 “N. 31 E. 6 “N. 28 E. 7 “N. 37 E. 4 “N. 32 E. 4 “N. 69 E. 4 “N. 70 E. 3 “[page 130]N. 36˚ E. 5 ChainsN. 27 E. 7 “N. 25 E. 8 “N. 24 E. 8 “N. 62 E. 5 “N. 65 E. 6 “N. 39 E. 8 “N. 34 E. 8 “ 118 Miles blazed a blackOak front & rear XIIIIIIII. Land low poor andbroken. Timber principally large black and PostOak interspersed with Small Pine and black Jacks.N. 35 E. 12 ChainsN. 20 E. 12 “N. 25 E. 9 “N. 19 E. 7 “N. 38 E. 4 “[page 131]N. 4˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 6 W. 6 “N. 5 E. 9 “N. 25 E. 11 “N. 32 E. 20 “N. 43 E. 6 “N. 50 E. 9 “N. 49 E. 9 “N. 47 E. 7 “N. 54 E. 7 “N. 39 E. 4 “N. 38 E. 10 “N. 50 E. 6 “N. 44 E. 5 “N. 67 E. 8 “ At 1 Chain 119 Miles,blazed a Post Oak front & Rear XIIIIIIIII. Landand Timber as last described.N. 61˚ E. 8 Chains[page 132]N. 49˚ E. 7 ChainsN. 51 E. 17 “N. 57 E. 2 “N. 44 E. 3 “N. 20 E. 3 “N. 26 E. 9 “N. 18 E. 9 “N. 37 E. 7 “N. 50 E. 9 “N. 38 E. 9 “N. 40 E. 7 “N. 55 E. 14 “N. 28 E. 5 “N. 32 E. 6 “N. 47 E. 5 “N. 56 E. 6 “N. 40 E. 7 “N. 29 E. 12 “N. 26 E. 10 “ At 8 Chains 120 Miles[page 133] blazed a Pine Tree front & Rear XX.Land low Sterile and very broken. Timber as lastdescribed.N. 30 E. 12 ChainsN. 22 E. 20 “N. 5 E. 4 “N. 27 E. 7 “N. 48 E. 9 “N. 52 E. 9 “N. 58 E. 13 “N. 55 E. 9 “N. 56 E. 5 “N. 53 E. 12 “N. 22 E. 13 “N. 28 E. 8 “N. 21 E. 6 “N. 29 E. 10 “N. 21 E. 5 “N. 30 E. 3 “[page 134]N. 52˚ E. 2 ChainsN. 62 E. 2 “N. 39 E. 8 “N. 38 E. 3 “N. 61 E. 4 “ At 3 Chains 121 Milesblazed a Post Oak front & Rear XXI. Land andTimber as last described.N. 47 E. 8 ChainsN. 39 E. 5 “280

N. 46 E. 6 “N. 45 E. 11 “N. 54 E. 8 “N. 59 E. 8 “N. 57 E. 19 “N. 39 E. 5 “N. 7 E. 7 “N. 20 E. 7 “N. 27 E. 23 “[page 135]N. 19 E. 11 ChainsN. 22 E. 40 “N. 16 E. 8 “ At 1 Chain 122 Milesblazed a Post Oak front & Rear XXII. The Land ofthis Mile presents low Sterile Prairies or Gladeswith Clusters of Post & Black Jack.September [October] 5 th 1810N. 12˚ E. 6 ChainsN. 15 E. 4 “N. 19 E. 6 “N. 25 E. 11 “N. 42 E. 8 “N. 36 E. 20 “N. 37 E. 10 “N. 15 E. 30 “ At 12 Chains crossed aRoad the Right from my course leading toManiac’s [Moniac’s] a wealthy half Breed.N. 6 E. 54 “N. 5 E. 24 “ At 4 Chains [page 136] 123Miles. Land and Timber as last described with thisdifference with respect to the former the Prairiesbecoming larger and assuming greater Extensions.N. 35˚ E. 11 ChainsN. 34 E. 6 “N. 20 E. 3 “N. 3 E. 6 “N. 14 E. 11 “N. 26 E. 13 “N. 29 E. 22 “N. 31 E. 20 “N. 33 E. 34 “N. 24 E. 11 “N. 16 E. 6 “ At 3 Chains 124 Milesblazed a Post Oak front & Rear XXIIII. Land andTimber as last described.[page 137]N. 22˚ E. 17 Chains. Terminations of thePrairies.N. 20 E. 2 “N. 8 E. 8 “N. 20 E. 6 “N. 6 E. 9 “N. 34 E. 5 “N. 53 E. 5 “N. 19 E. 4 “N. 21 E. 6 “N. 20 E. 7 “N. 9 E. 11 “N. 19 E. 8 “N. 38 E. 7 “N. 18 E. 9 “N. 23 E. 4 “N. 26 E. 3 “N. 19 E. 6 “N. 22 E. 9 “N. 5 E. 2 “N. 36 E. 3 “[page 138]N. 47˚ E. 3 ChainsN. 56 E. 3 “N. 88 E. 6 “N. 73 E. 2 “N. 51 E. 1 “N. 15 E. 3 “N. 61 E. 4 “N. 76 E. 1 “N. 79 E. 4 “ At 3 Chains 125 Milesblazed a Spanish Oak at 157 Chains crossed thePalawla Creek, nearly dried up ascertained to runor flow to the left, and about 33 Feet in Breadth.The greater or principal Distance of this Mile theLand low and Sterile. Timber, Post & black Oak.[page 139]E. 4 ChainsN. 54˚ E. 2 “N. 32 E. 2 “N. 76 E. 4 “N. 59 E. 3 “N. 40 E. 2 “N. 10 E. 2 “N. 46 E. 3 “N. 14 E. 7 “N. 12 E. 4 “N. 17 E. 3 “N. 9 E. 4 “N. 21 E. 4 “N. 13 E. 3 “N. 23 E. 4 “N. 48 E. 2 “N. 34 E. 2 “N. 7 E. 2 “281

N. 27 E. 1 “N. 1 W. 2 “[page 140]N. 1 E. 3 ChainsN. 21 E. 7 “N. 2 W. 3 “N. 5 W. 1 “N. 4 W. 3 “N. 34 E. 3 “N. 43 E. 4 “N. 78 E. 2 “N. 83 E. 3 “N. 72 E. 3 “N. 71 E. 5 “N. 43 E. 3 “N. 61 E. 4 “N. 57 E. 3 “N. 8 E. 4 “N. 19 E. 4 “N. 15 E. 5 “N. 19 E. 4 “N. 43 E. 3 “N. 21 E. 4 “[page 141]N. 14 E. 4 ChainsN. 7 E. 4 “N. 14 W. 4 “N. 4 E. 4 “N. 18 E. 5 “N. 30 E. 10 “ At 7 Chains 126 Milesblazed a Post Oak Front & Rear XXIIIIII. At 100Chains in this Mile found the Termination of theSwamp on the right Bank of the Palawla. The landof this Swamp is evidently fertile. Timber white &black Oak, large S. B. Hickory and Spanish Oak.N. 34 E. 7 ChainsN. 36 E. 3 “N. 35 E. 6 “[page 142] It will be found from a view of my Survey or Journal that the objects comprehended aretreated in as brief and cursory manner as possible, arising from two considerations, first to avoid Swellingmy productions, to too great an Extent. Second, the little advantage to be derived from any quality theseobjects possess. The Land almost from the commencement of my Survey to this place presenting a SterileSandy Soil, and in General Pine Timber, commonly called Pine Woods Land, where it is different fromthis in any particular it will be found in my notes. On small water courses perhaps or where the Soil hasbeen discovered to be fertile or better quality I have noted it not from a conviction of any utility arisingfrom it but with a view of conveying a just conception of the Country. The face of the Country [page143] through which I have passed will be also found described in my Notes. The Pine Woods Land ingeneral affords Grass in abundance, a circumstance favourable to raising large Herds of Cattle. I needremark that owing to the Dryness of the Season, which preceeded and the Period of my passing throughthat many Small watercourses had ceased running and I trust from an Examination of this Survey it willbe acceded that a brief Delineation of the Country is all that it is entitled to.A True CopyJohn R. N. Luckett1 st Lt. 2 d U.S. Infantry282

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