James Robertson (June 28, 1742–September 1, 1814) was a
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
farmer and explorer of the 18th century. He was born in
Brunswick CountyBrunswick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 18,419. Its county seat is Lawrenceville.- History :...
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, of Scottish-Irish descent. Around 1750, his father relocated to
Wake County, North CarolinaWake County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2008, the population was 866,410, making it the second most populated county in the state after Mecklenburg County...
. He worked on his father's farm and had no formal education.
In 1759, young Robertson accompanied explorer
Daniel BooneDaniel Boone [October 22 , 1734 – September 26, 1820] was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky, which was...
on his third expedition to lands beyond the Alleghany Mountains.
James Robertson (June 28, 1742–September 1, 1814) was a
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
farmer and explorer of the 18th century. He was born in
Brunswick CountyBrunswick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 18,419. Its county seat is Lawrenceville.- History :...
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, of Scottish-Irish descent. Around 1750, his father relocated to
Wake County, North CarolinaWake County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2008, the population was 866,410, making it the second most populated county in the state after Mecklenburg County...
. He worked on his father's farm and had no formal education.
Watauga River valley
In 1759, young Robertson accompanied explorer
Daniel BooneDaniel Boone [October 22 , 1734 – September 26, 1820] was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky, which was...
on his third expedition to lands beyond the Alleghany Mountains. The party discovered the "Old Fields" (lands previously cultivated by generations of
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
) along the
Watauga RiverThe Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 60 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina.-Hydrography:...
valley at present day
Elizabethton, TennesseeElizabethton is a city in and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site of the first independent settlement on American soil and located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British colonies in America.The...
, which Robertson planted with
cornMaize , is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents...
while Boone continued on to
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
.
Robertson returned to North Carolina, and married Charlotte Reeves in 1767. He became involved with the Regulator movement. They banded together a group of settlers to return to the Watauga River, which they believed to be in Virginia. In 1772, Robertson and the pioneers who had settled in Northeast Tennessee (along the Watauga River, the
Doe RiverThe Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
, the
Holston RiverThe Holston River is a major river system of southwestern Virginia and East Tennessee. The three major forks of the Holston rise in southwestern Virginia and have their confluence near Kingsport, Tennessee...
, the
Nolichucky RiverThe Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and East Tennessee.-Hydrography:The Nolichucky River rises as the confluence of the North Toe River and the Cane River near the community of Huntdale, North Carolina. The stream succeeds the North Toe...
) met at
Sycamore ShoalsThe Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee...
to establish an independent regional government known as the
Watauga AssociationThe Watauga Association was a semi-autonomous government created in 1772 by frontier settlers along the Watauga River in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee...
.
However, in 1772, surveyors placed the land officially within the domain of the
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people from the Southeastern United States...
tribe, who required negotiation of a lease with the settlers. Tragedy struck as the lease was being celebrated, when a Cherokee warrior was murdered by a white man. Robertson's skillful diplomacy made peace with the irate
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
, who threatened to expel the settlers by force if necessary.
In 1775, a treaty was held between the Cherokee and a delegation of the
Transylvania CompanyTransylvania was a short-lived colony primarily in what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky. The colony was founded in 1775 by Richard Henderson of North Carolina, who purchased the land from the Cherokees...
, headed by
Richard HendersonRichard Henderson was an American pioneer and merchant who attempted to create a colony called Transylvania just as the American Revolutionary War was starting.-Early life:Henderson was born in Hanover County, Virginia...
. Under the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals (or the Treaty of Watauga) the Transylvania Company purchased a vast amount of land from the Cherokees, including most of present-day Kentucky and part of
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
. The treaty was technically illegal since the purchase of land from
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
was reserved by the government (the British, the governments of
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
and
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
, and, later, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, all forbade private purchase of land from Indians).
During the treaty,
Dragging CanoeTsiyugunsini , "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, was an American Indian war leader who led a dissident band of Cherokee Tsiyugunsini (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ), "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, (c. 1738 – March 1, 1792) was an American Indian war...
, son of the Cherokee chief
AttacullacullaAttakullakulla or Atagulkalu — known to whites as Little Carpenter — was First Beloved Man of the Cherokee Indians from 1761 to around 1775...
, made a speech condemning the sale of Cherokee land and broke from the general Cherokee tribal government to form the sub-tribe known as the Chickamauga. After Henderson's Transylvania Company had bought Kentucky (although other tribes claimed it, such as the
ShawneeThe Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are a people native to North America. They originally inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
),
Daniel BooneDaniel Boone [October 22 , 1734 – September 26, 1820] was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky, which was...
was hired to widen the Indian path over
Cumberland GapCumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
to facilitate migration. This road became known as the
Wilderness RoadThe Wilderness Road was the principal route used by settlers to reach Kentucky for more than fifty years. In 1775, Daniel Boone blazed a trail for the Transylvania Company from Fort Chiswell in Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky. It was later lengthened, following Native...
Robertson's group remained at Watauga in peace until July 1776, when chief
OconostotaOconostota was the Warrior of Chota and the First Beloved Man of the Cherokee from 1775 to 1781.-Meaning of the name:...
and
Dragging CanoeTsiyugunsini , "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, was an American Indian war leader who led a dissident band of Cherokee Tsiyugunsini (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ), "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, (c. 1738 – March 1, 1792) was an American Indian war...
attacked
Fort WataugaFort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee...
at
Sycamore ShoalsThe Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee...
(a log fort that
John SevierJohn Sevier served four years as the only governor of the State of Franklin and twelve years as Governor of Tennessee, and as a U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1811 until his death...
had built on a Watauga River bank). Sevier and Robertson, with 40 men, withstood a siege of twenty days, and beat Oconostota off with a heavy loss in killed and wounded. After the Cherokees were subjugated, the governor of North Carolina appointed Robertson to reside at the Indian capital to hold Oconostota in check and to thwart the designs of the
BritishGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
during the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
.
Fort Nashborough
In the spring of 1779, he and
John DonelsonCol. John Donelson , explorer and adventurer, was, with Colonel Samuel Barton and James Robertson, co-founder of Fort Nashborough in 1780, which would eventually become the city of Nashville, Tennessee. Donelson was the father of Rachel Jackson, the wife of seventh President of the United States,...
founded
Fort NashboroughFort Nashborough was the stockade for the settlement that became the city of Nashville, Tennessee, USA. A reconstruction today stands on the banks of the Cumberland River near the site of the original fort.-Preparations:...
, later to become
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
, then part of North Carolina. He represented
Davidson CountyDavidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 569,891. The 2007 Census Estimate placed the population at 619,626...
(home of Fort Nashborough in present-day Tennessee, not to be confused with the modern
Davidson County, North CarolinaDavidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 147,246. Its county seat is Lexington.- History :The county was formed in 1822 from Rowan County...
), in the North Carolina legislature and had the settlement established as a town, and also established the first school there, Davidson Academy.
Robertson was offered peace and the free navigation of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
by the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
governor, in exchange for his leaving the United States and establishing — along with the Watauga settlement and Kentucky — an independent government. He refused to consider the matter. In 1790, he was appointed brigadier-general of the territorial militia by U.S. President
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
, and his military services did not end until 1796. He shared with Sevier the honor and affection of Tennesseans, and he held the post of Indian commissioner until his death in 1814.
In
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
liberty shipLiberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
SS
James Robertson was named in his honor.
See also
- Abingdon, Virginia
Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 7,780 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
- Bee Cliff (Tennessee)
The Bee Cliff is a prominent northeast Tennessee geological limestone feature with high caves that overlooks the Watauga River and the Siam community of Carter County, Tennessee.-Geography:...
- Carter County, Tennessee
Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 56,742. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 58,865...
- Doe River
The Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
- Kings Mountain National Military Park
Kings Mountain National Military Park is a National Military Park near Blacksburg, South Carolina, close to the North Carolina border. The park commemorates the Battle of Kings Mountain, a pivotal and significant victory by American Patriots over American Loyalists during the Southern Campaign of...
- Kings Mountain, North Carolina
Kings Mountain is a city in Cleveland and Gaston counties, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,693 at the 2000 census.Originally the settlement was called White Plains, but when the city was incorporated in 1874, the name was changed...
- Overmountain Men
The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Appalachian Mountains who took part in the American Revolutionary War. While they were present at multiple engagements in the war's Southern Campaign, they are best known for their role in the American victory at the Battle of Kings...
- Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail is part of the U.S. National Trails System. It recognizes the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men, Patriots from what is now East Tennesseee who crossed the Great Smoky Mountains and then fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina.The...
- Roan Mountain State Park
Roan Mountain State Park is located in Northeast Tennessee along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Situated in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, this Tennessee state park preserves woodlands near 6,285 foot Roan Mountain...
- Roan Mountain, Tennessee
Roan Mountain is a census-designated place in Carter County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,160 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area...
- Valentine Sevier
Valentine Sevier II. was born in Virginia, and moved with family members to the Watauga River valley at present day Elizabethton, Tennessee. He was named after his grandfather, Valentine 'The Huguenot' Sevier. During the American Revolutionary War, Sevier fought bravely against the British and...
- Issac Shelby
- Tennessee Valley
The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to northwest Georgia and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina...
- Watauga River
The Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 60 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina.-Hydrography:...
- Chickamauga wars
The Chickamauga Wars were a series of back-and-forth raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles which were a continuation of the Cherokee struggle against encroachment into their territory by American frontiersmen from the former British colonies, and,...