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Return Jonathan Meigs [born December 17 (old style) or December 28 (new style), 1740; died January 28, 1823] was a colonel who served in the Continental Army
Continental Army

The American Continental Army was an army formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 15, 1775, the army was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their struggle against the rule of Kingdom...
 during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
 and later served as a federal government Indian agent
Indian agent

In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native Americans in the United States tribes on behalf of the U.S. government....
 working with the Cherokee
Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native Americans in the United States people orginally from the Southeastern United States . They are linguistically connected to speakers of the Iroquoian language....
 in Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
.

s was born in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut

Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the south-central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford, Connecticut....
, in 1740, the son of Return and Elizabeth Hamlin Meigs. He served in the local militia, advancing to the rank of captain in 1774.






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Return Jonathan Meigs [born December 17 (old style) or December 28 (new style), 1740; died January 28, 1823] was a colonel who served in the Continental Army
Continental Army

The American Continental Army was an army formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 15, 1775, the army was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their struggle against the rule of Kingdom...
 during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
 and later served as a federal government Indian agent
Indian agent

In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native Americans in the United States tribes on behalf of the U.S. government....
 working with the Cherokee
Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native Americans in the United States people orginally from the Southeastern United States . They are linguistically connected to speakers of the Iroquoian language....
 in Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
.

Early life and Revolutionary War service

Meigs was born in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut

Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the south-central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford, Connecticut....
, in 1740, the son of Return and Elizabeth Hamlin Meigs. He served in the local militia, advancing to the rank of captain in 1774. On April 19, 1775, after the Battle of Lexington, he led a company of light infantry to Boston. There he was assigned the rank of major in the Continental Army
Continental Army

The American Continental Army was an army formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 15, 1775, the army was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their struggle against the rule of Kingdom...
. Later that year, serving as division commander under Colonel Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a General officer during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army, but switched sides to the British Empire....
, he accompanied Arnold on his expedition through Maine to Canada
Invasion of Canada (1775)

The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by colonial separatist forces during the American Revolutionary War. One expedition left Fort Ticonderoga under Richard Montgomery, besieged and captured Fort Saint-Jean , and very nearly captured British General Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester when taking Montreal....
. He was captured by the British in the assault on Quebec City
Battle of Quebec (1775)

The Battle of Quebec was an attempt on December 31, 1775, by American colonial forces to capture the Quebec City and enlist French Canadian support for the American Revolutionary War....
 and imprisoned, but was released in May 1776, after which he returned to Connecticut and subsequently returned to military service. In 1777 he was promoted to colonel.

One of his most important achievements during the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
 was leading the Meigs Raid
Meigs Raid

Meigs Raid was a Guerrilla warfare raid by American forces on the British at Sag Harbor, New York on May 23, 1777 during the American Revolutionary War in which six British were killed and 90 captured while the Americans suffered no casualties....
 against the British forces in Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor, New York

Sag Harbor is a village in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States, shared by the towns of East Hampton , New York and Southampton , New York....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, in May 1777. With 220 men in a fleet of 13 whaleboat
Whaleboat

A whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well....
s, he crossed Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States that lies between the coast of Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south....
 from Connecticut
Connecticut

Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
 to Long Island
Long Island

Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are Borough s of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban....
 to attack the British fleet at night. The raid succeeded in burning 12 ships and taking 90 prisoners, without losing a single man. The U.S. Congress awarded him a presentation sword for his heroism. He later commanded a regiment under General 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"....
 at the Battle of Stony Point
Battle of Stony Point

}|-||}The Battle of Stony Point was a battle of the American Revolutionary War....
.

Ohio

After the war Meigs was appointed surveyor of the Ohio Company of Associates
Ohio Company of Associates

The Ohio Company of Associates, also known as the Ohio Company, was a land company which is today credited with becoming the first non-Native Americans in the United States group to settle in the present-day state of Ohio....
, which is credited as bringing the first non-American Indian settlers to Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
. In April 1788 he founded the town of Marietta
Marietta, Ohio

Marietta is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio. The municipality is located in southeastern Ohio along the Ohio River....
 and drew up the code of regulation used until the formal creation of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory

The Northwest Territory, formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was a governmental region within the early United States....
 the following year. In the territory, Meigs served as a judge, justice of the peace, and clerk of courts, and served in the General Assembly from 1799 to 1801.

Tennessee

In 1801 Meigs went to Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
 to fill the combined position of agent to the Cherokee Nation and military agent for the United States War Department. Initially his office and Cherokee Agency were at Fort Southwest Point
Fort Southwest Point

Fort Southwest Point was a federal frontier outpost at what is now Kingston, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Constructed in 1797 and garrisoned by federal soldiers until 1811, the fort served as a major point of interaction between the Cherokee and the United States government as well as a way station for early migrants travell...
 in what is now Kingston, Tennessee
Kingston, Tennessee

Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States, and is adjacent to Watts Bar Lake. Kingston, with a population of 5,264 at the United States Census 2000, is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, but in 1807 he relocated these operations to a new post named Hiwassee Garrison near the mouth of the Hiwassee River
Hiwassee River

The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County, Georgia in northern Georgia and flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee River a few miles west of State Route 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee....
. His role as military agent ended in 1813 when the Federal soldiers stationed at Hiwassee Garrison were withdrawn, but he remained as Cherokee agent on the Hiwassee River until his death on January 28, 1823. During his years as Cherokee agent he promoted the well-being of the Cherokees, defended their rights in treaty
Treaty

A Treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. A Treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc....
 negotiations, and encouraged Cherokee efforts to establish a republican
Republicanism

Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by other means than hereditary, often elections....
 form of government.

Legacy

He is buried in the Garrison Cemetery in Rhea County, Tennessee
Rhea County, Tennessee

Rhea County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 28,400. Its county seat is Dayton, Tennessee....
, near the site of the former Hiwassee Garrison.

His son Return J. Meigs, Jr.
Return J. Meigs, Jr.

Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. was a Democratic-Republican Party politician from Ohio. He served as the 4th List of Governors of Ohio and 5th United States Postmaster General....
 became an Ohio governor and U.S. Senator.

Meigs County, Tennessee
Meigs County, Tennessee

Meigs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 11,086. Its county seat is Decatur, Tennessee....
 and Meigs Mountain
Meigs Mountain Trail

The Meigs Mountain Trail is an United States of America hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Sevier County, Tennessee, Tennessee....
 in the Great Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee-North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Mountains....
 are named in his honor.