Alexander McGillivray
Encyclopedia
Alexander McGillivray, also known as Hoboi-Hili-Miko (December 15, 1750 – February 17, 1793), was a principal chief
of the Upper Creek (Muscogee) towns from 1782. Before that he had created an alliance between the Creek and the British during the American Revolution
. He worked to establish a Creek national identity and centralized leadership as a means of resisting European-American expansion onto Creek territory.
village of Little Tallassee on the Coosa River
, near present-day Montgomery, Alabama
. His father, Lachlan McGillivray
, was a Scottish
trader (of the Clan MacGillivray
chief's lineage) who built trading-posts among the Upper Towns of the Muscogee confederacy, who had traded with French Louisiana
. Alexander's mother, Sehoy Marchand, was the daughter of Sehoy, a mixed-race Creek woman of the prestigious Wind Clan, and of Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand
, a French officer at Fort Toulouse
. Alexander and his siblings were born into the Wind Clan, as the Muscogee had a matrilineal system.
As a child, Alexander briefly lived in Augusta
with his father, who owned several large plantations and was a delegate in the colonial assembly. In 1773, the boy was sent to school in Charleston, South Carolina
, where he learned Latin and Greek, and was apprenticed at a countinghouse in Savannah, Georgia
. He returned to Little Tallassee in 1777. The revolutionary governments of Georgia and South Carolina confiscated the property of his Loyalist
father, who returned to Scotland
.
, Alexander McGillivray was commissioned as a colonel in the British army. He brokered a British-Muscogee alliance. A skillful diplomat, he was an inept military strategist and rarely participated in battle.
In 1783, McGillivray became the principal chief of the Upper Creek towns. His predecessor, Chief Emistigo, died while leading a war-party to relieve the British garrison at Savannah, which was besieged by the Continental Army
under General 'Mad' Anthony Wayne
. At one time, McGillivray wielded great power, having from 5,000 to 10,000 warriors.
McGillivray opposed the 1783 Treaty of Augusta, under which two Lower Creek chiefs ceded Muscogee lands from the Ogeechee
to the Oconee
rivers to the new state of Georgia. In June 1784 he negotiated the Treaty of Pensacola with Spain, which recognized Muscogee sovereignty over three million acres (12,000 km²) of land claimed by Georgia
, guaranteed access to the British fur-trading company Panton, Leslie & Company
, and made McGillivray an official representative of Spain, with a $50 monthly salary.
McGillivray became a partner in Panton, Leslie & Co.
, and used his control over the deerskin trade to expand his power. He sought create mechanisms of centralized political authority to end the traditional village autonomy, by which individual chiefs had signed treaties. Armed by British traders operating out of Spanish West Florida, the Muscogee raided back-country European-American settlers to protect their hunting grounds. From 1785 to 1787, Upper Creek war-parties fought alongside the Cherokee
in the Chickamauga Wars
in present-day Tennessee
. In 1786 a council of the Upper and Lower Creek in Tuckabatchee declared war against Georgia. When Spanish officials informed McGillivray of plans to reduce their aid, he entered into peace talks with the U.S.
A loyalist
like his father, McGillivray resented much of American Indian policy; however, he did not wish to leave the United States. McGillivray became a leading spokesman for all the tribes along the Florida-Georgia
border areas.
Georgia's Yazoo land scandal
convinced President Andrew Jackson
that the federal government needed to control Indian affairs. In 1790 he sent a special emissary to the Southeast, who persuaded McGillivray and other chiefs to attend a conference with the Secretary of War Henry Knox
in New York City
, then the capital of the U.S. The conference resulted in the Treaty of New York
.
McGillivray and 29 other chiefs signed the Treaty of New York on behalf of the 'Upper, Middle and Lower Creek and Seminole composing the Creek nation of Indians.' The first treaty negotiated after ratification of the U.S. Constitution, it established the Altamaha
and Oconee
rivers as the boundary between Creek lands and the U.S. The US government promised to remove illegal white settlers from the area, and the Muscogee agreed to return fugitive black slaves who sought refuge with the tribe. This provision angered the Seminole
of Florida, who had provided refuge to numerous escaped slaves, and had intermarried with some. The Black Seminoles
by this time had communities allied with the Seminole.
Under the treaty, McGillivray became a brigadier general
of the U.S., with an annual salary of $1,200. With this money, he acquired three plantations and 60 African-American slaves. The treaty temporarily pacified the Southern frontier, but the U.S. failed to honor its obligations.
In 1792 McGillivray repudiated the treaty with the US. He negotiated another with Spanish officials in Louisiana, who promised to respect Muscogee sovereignty. McGillivray was a man of remarkable ability, as evident from his control and influence over the Creek people, and from his success in keeping both the United States and Spain paying for his influence at the same time. In 1792 he was the superintendent-general of the Creek nation on behalf of Spain, the Indian agent of the United States, the mercantile partner of Panton, and "emperor" of the Creek and Seminole
nations.
McGillivray became a resident of Pensacola
and a member of the Masonic Order
.
McGillivray died on February 17, 1793. Two of his maternal nephews, William Weatherford
and William McIntosh, who were also born into the powerful Creek Wind Clan, became the most important Muscogee leaders in the early 19th century. They fought on opposing sides of the Creek War
, a conflict that arose between traditionalists and those who believed it was necessary to adapt and take on useful European-American customs. In part the conflict arose because of the peoples' geographic positions; those closer to European-American settlement already were being affected by encroachment, as well as the benefits and changes of more trade and interaction.
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
of the Upper Creek (Muscogee) towns from 1782. Before that he had created an alliance between the Creek and the British during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. He worked to establish a Creek national identity and centralized leadership as a means of resisting European-American expansion onto Creek territory.
Early life and education
McGillivray was born Hoboi-Hili-Miko (Good Child King) in the CoushattaCoushatta
----The Coushatta are a historic Muskogean-speaking Native American people living primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana. When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territory of present-day Georgia and Alabama...
village of Little Tallassee on the Coosa River
Coosa River
The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long altogether.The Coosa River is one of Alabama's most developed rivers...
, near present-day Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. His father, Lachlan McGillivray
Lachlan McGillivray
Lachlan McGillivray was a prosperous fur trader and planter in colonial Georgia with interests that extended from Savannah to what is now central Alabama...
, was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
trader (of the Clan MacGillivray
Clan Macgillivray
Clan Macgillivray is a Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan.-Origins of the clan:...
chief's lineage) who built trading-posts among the Upper Towns of the Muscogee confederacy, who had traded with French Louisiana
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
. Alexander's mother, Sehoy Marchand, was the daughter of Sehoy, a mixed-race Creek woman of the prestigious Wind Clan, and of Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand
Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand
Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand was a French soldier. Little is known about Captain Marchands' early life. It is known that Jean was the French military commanding officer of the French colonial trading Fort Toulouse, near present day Wetumpka, Alabama...
, a French officer at Fort Toulouse
Fort Toulouse
Fort Toulouse is a historic fort near the city of Wetumpka, Alabama, United States, that is now maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. The French founded the fort in 1717, naming it for Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse...
. Alexander and his siblings were born into the Wind Clan, as the Muscogee had a matrilineal system.
As a child, Alexander briefly lived in Augusta
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
with his father, who owned several large plantations and was a delegate in the colonial assembly. In 1773, the boy was sent to school in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where he learned Latin and Greek, and was apprenticed at a countinghouse in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. He returned to Little Tallassee in 1777. The revolutionary governments of Georgia and South Carolina confiscated the property of his Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
father, who returned to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Career
During the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Alexander McGillivray was commissioned as a colonel in the British army. He brokered a British-Muscogee alliance. A skillful diplomat, he was an inept military strategist and rarely participated in battle.
In 1783, McGillivray became the principal chief of the Upper Creek towns. His predecessor, Chief Emistigo, died while leading a war-party to relieve the British garrison at Savannah, which was besieged by the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
under General 'Mad' Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
. At one time, McGillivray wielded great power, having from 5,000 to 10,000 warriors.
McGillivray opposed the 1783 Treaty of Augusta, under which two Lower Creek chiefs ceded Muscogee lands from the Ogeechee
Ogeechee River
Ogeechee River is a river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and South Forks, about south-southwest of Crawfordville and flowing generally southeast to Ossabaw Sound about south of Savannah. Its largest tributary is the Canoochee River...
to the Oconee
Oconee River
The Oconee River is a river which has its origin in Hall County, Georgia, and terminates where it joins the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River near Lumber City at the borders of Montgomery County, Wheeler County, and Jeff Davis County. South of Athens, two forks, known as the North Oconee...
rivers to the new state of Georgia. In June 1784 he negotiated the Treaty of Pensacola with Spain, which recognized Muscogee sovereignty over three million acres (12,000 km²) of land claimed by Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, guaranteed access to the British fur-trading company Panton, Leslie & Company
Panton, Leslie & Company
Panton, Leslie & Company was a company of Scottish merchants active in trading in the Bahamas and with the Indians of what is now the Southeastern United States during the late 18th century and early 19th century....
, and made McGillivray an official representative of Spain, with a $50 monthly salary.
McGillivray became a partner in Panton, Leslie & Co.
Panton, Leslie & Company
Panton, Leslie & Company was a company of Scottish merchants active in trading in the Bahamas and with the Indians of what is now the Southeastern United States during the late 18th century and early 19th century....
, and used his control over the deerskin trade to expand his power. He sought create mechanisms of centralized political authority to end the traditional village autonomy, by which individual chiefs had signed treaties. Armed by British traders operating out of Spanish West Florida, the Muscogee raided back-country European-American settlers to protect their hunting grounds. From 1785 to 1787, Upper Creek war-parties fought alongside the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
in the Chickamauga Wars
Chickamauga wars
The Chickamauga Wars were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles which were a continuation of the Cherokee struggle against encroachment by American frontiersmen from the former British colonies...
in present-day Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. In 1786 a council of the Upper and Lower Creek in Tuckabatchee declared war against Georgia. When Spanish officials informed McGillivray of plans to reduce their aid, he entered into peace talks with the U.S.
A loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
like his father, McGillivray resented much of American Indian policy; however, he did not wish to leave the United States. McGillivray became a leading spokesman for all the tribes along the Florida-Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
border areas.
Georgia's Yazoo land scandal
Yazoo land scandal
The Yazoo land scandal, Yazoo fraud, Yazoo land fraud, or Yazoo land controversy was a massive fraud perpetrated from 1794 to 1803 by several Georgia governors and the state legislature. They sold large tracts of land in what is now the state of Mississippi to political insiders at very low prices...
convinced President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
that the federal government needed to control Indian affairs. In 1790 he sent a special emissary to the Southeast, who persuaded McGillivray and other chiefs to attend a conference with the Secretary of War Henry Knox
Henry Knox
Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, then the capital of the U.S. The conference resulted in the Treaty of New York
Treaty of New York
The Treaty of New York is one of several treaties signed between the United States and Native American tribes, conducted in the city of New York.-1790:...
.
McGillivray and 29 other chiefs signed the Treaty of New York on behalf of the 'Upper, Middle and Lower Creek and Seminole composing the Creek nation of Indians.' The first treaty negotiated after ratification of the U.S. Constitution, it established the Altamaha
Altamaha River
The Altamaha River is a major river of the American state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into the ocean near Brunswick, Georgia. There are no dams...
and Oconee
Oconee River
The Oconee River is a river which has its origin in Hall County, Georgia, and terminates where it joins the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River near Lumber City at the borders of Montgomery County, Wheeler County, and Jeff Davis County. South of Athens, two forks, known as the North Oconee...
rivers as the boundary between Creek lands and the U.S. The US government promised to remove illegal white settlers from the area, and the Muscogee agreed to return fugitive black slaves who sought refuge with the tribe. This provision angered the Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
of Florida, who had provided refuge to numerous escaped slaves, and had intermarried with some. The Black Seminoles
Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles is a term used by modern historians for the descendants of free blacks and some runaway slaves , mostly Gullahs who escaped from coastal South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations into the Spanish Florida wilderness beginning as early as the late 17th century...
by this time had communities allied with the Seminole.
Under the treaty, McGillivray became a brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
of the U.S., with an annual salary of $1,200. With this money, he acquired three plantations and 60 African-American slaves. The treaty temporarily pacified the Southern frontier, but the U.S. failed to honor its obligations.
In 1792 McGillivray repudiated the treaty with the US. He negotiated another with Spanish officials in Louisiana, who promised to respect Muscogee sovereignty. McGillivray was a man of remarkable ability, as evident from his control and influence over the Creek people, and from his success in keeping both the United States and Spain paying for his influence at the same time. In 1792 he was the superintendent-general of the Creek nation on behalf of Spain, the Indian agent of the United States, the mercantile partner of Panton, and "emperor" of the Creek and Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
nations.
McGillivray became a resident of Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
and a member of the Masonic Order
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
.
McGillivray died on February 17, 1793. Two of his maternal nephews, William Weatherford
William Weatherford
William Weatherford, also known as Lamochattee by the Creek , was a Creek chief of the Upper Towns who led the Red Sticks offensive in the Creek War against the United States...
and William McIntosh, who were also born into the powerful Creek Wind Clan, became the most important Muscogee leaders in the early 19th century. They fought on opposing sides of the Creek War
Creek War
The Creek War , also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, began as a civil war within the Creek nation...
, a conflict that arose between traditionalists and those who believed it was necessary to adapt and take on useful European-American customs. In part the conflict arose because of the peoples' geographic positions; those closer to European-American settlement already were being affected by encroachment, as well as the benefits and changes of more trade and interaction.
Sources
- Forman, Carolyn Thomas. "Alexander McGillivray, Emperor of the Creeks", Chronicles of Oklahoma 7:1 (March 1929) 106-120 (retrieved August 18, 2006).
- Ellis, Joseph J. American Creation, pp. 127 to 164. 2007.
External links
- Encyclopedia of North American Indians
- FindaGrave.com McGillivray page at Find a Grave
- McGillivray headstone tracing, page 256 Googlebooks.com
- Greatest Native American, #128