Camp Perkins - Vestiges of the Trail of Tears in Georgia
Dade County, GA

Cloudland Canyon." Image source: Wikipedia.

This article is adapted from "Cherokee Removal: Forts Along the Georgia Trail of Tears" by Sarah H. Hill.

Wauhatchie, who fought with Andrew Jackson during the Creek War (1813 to 1814), was the Cherokee leader in this area, and considered himself a friend of the future president. However, Wauhatchie and his people would later be forced to leave their "Enchanted Land" by his "friend" President Jackson, confined to prison, then sent west on the Trail of Tears. Wauhatchie longed for his ancestral home and became one of the few Cherokee Indians to return to Georgia and purchase the land he once owned from the settler who won it in the sixth Georgia Land Lottery.[1]

Research in the National Archives in Washington resulted in the recognition that an authentic effort was made to establish a post near Perkins’ in Dade County. One reference to such a camp was found in the collected materials relating to Cherokee removal found on microfilm at the National Archives Records Administration in East Point, Georgia. The only additional references to the Dade County camp are found in the quartermaster’s records that indicate that preparations were made for the camp, and one man was sent to set it up. The initiative was undertaken after most of the Indians had been removed from the state and, as it turned out, no camp was ever set up and no company was ever sent.

Dade County lies on the Appalachian Plateau in the extreme northwest corner of the state and, at the time of removal, was inaccessible from Georgia because Lookout and Sand Mountains created an impassable barrier between Dade and the adjacent counties. Lookout Valley, watered by Lookout Creek, lies between the two mountains and provided homes to the Cherokees. At the time of removal, the county could be entered only from Tennessee or Alabama.

Although no information was found to identify Perkins, Dade County genealogist Sue Forrester graciously agreed to research the Perkins name in the county records. She found that one Isham Perkins sold land on both sides of Lookout Creek in 1842, but records of his original purchase or winning of the lot are missing. In 1848, Perkins sold another lot, also on both sides of Lookout Creek, to James Catchersides. That same year, Perkins initiated a sale that was not completed until 1853, after his death. No records were found of Perkins as a storeowner, Indian agent, or tavern keeper, any of which would have made him a familiar figure to the military in Tennessee. Research will continue.

Military Occupation.
The establishment of a post in Dade County was anticipated by May 14 when the order was made for the disposition of troops in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. The order called for one Alabama Company to take post near Perkins’ in Dade County.cdviii The order thus placed the camp in the western military district, beyond the command of Gen. Floyd at New Echota. Approximately two weeks later, Capt. C. H. Goldsborough, who was an agent of the Indian department, was ordered to take charge of supplies at Perkins’.cdix The following day, Goldsborough was named quartermaster for the anticipated post.cdx

In early June, Goldsborough reported that he had selected a good spot for the camp about ¾ miles southeast of Perkins,’ a site that might fail to meet the approval of the “Alabama captain.”cdxi Apparently Goldsborough had already unfavorably encountered his commander. On June 9, Hetzel received notice that Col. Lindsay had abandoned plans for a camp at Perkins’, and two days later ordered Goldsborough to Ft. Cass for other duties.cdxii

Supplies.
Apparently, the post’s supplies were sent to Dade County ahead of the quartermaster, a sure indication that Perkins was well known to the military. When Goldsborough was ordered to the post, he was told to “take charge of the stores now at that post and make the necessary arrangement to store them.”cdxiii The directive lends credence to the notion that Perkins was a storeowner, or at least owned considerable storage facilities. That same day, by separate letter, Goldsborough was told to rent buildings if possible since the quartermaster department would not need storehouses in Dade County for long.cdxiv

Goldsborough was concerned about supplying the still-unidentified company. Not knowing what to do if the troops arrived without tents and camp equipage, he was particularly worried about purchasing tents since he thought he could acquire camp equipage at Ross’s Landing.cdxv The fact that an employee of the Indian department would be sent to a station without information about how to execute their orders indicates the surprisingly unorganized nature of the removal process. Although Hetzel wrote a memo that he had contacted a Dr. Harris to supply the post with necessary equipment, no such letter was found.cdxvi

Perhaps the most surprising data about the Dade County post is that Goldsborough never built or obtained a storehouse for the company provisions. He remarked that he was unable to complete a storehouse and the provisions had been left in a very “contracted building” that was so small he could not even take an inventory of the goods.cdxvii His final order regarding the supplies was to turn them over to the quartermaster at Ft. Payne, Alabama.cdxviii

Prisoners.
Regardless of the apparent lack or organization at the purported camp, 60 Indians were collected in Dade County and sent to Ross’s Landing. Certainly Goldsborough did not capture them since he did not have a company. On June 2, Lindsay reported to Gen. Scott that the county was bereft of Indians, apparently due to the efforts of Maj. Dulaney.cdxix

SOURCES:
[1] https://www.dadecounty-ga.gov/179/Dade-County-History
cdxi NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
cdxii NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 331.
cdxiii NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 311.
cdxiv NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2.
cdxv NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
cdxvi NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 325.
cdxvii NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
cdxviii NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 331.
cdxix NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0478-79.