Fort Buffington Cherokee Internment Fort
Possible site: Harmony Primitive Baptist Church, Canton
This article is adapted from "Cherokee Removal: Forts Along the Georgia Trail of Tears" by Sarah H. Hill.
Construction.
While stationed at New Echota, Buffington was instructed to build winter quarters for his company according to the plan adopted by Capt. Derrick. Buffington may have used the same plan again for barracks at Ft. Buffington. Locating the plan either in the records or archaeologically will be particularly useful for both forts and generally for others. Unfortunately, the National Archives records contain numerous references to plans and maps that do not accompany the correspondence, presumably because they were removed for use. The effort to locate such important material will continue.
In the fall of 1837, Buffington’s company was ordered to the neighborhood of Canton, with instructions to build huts, stables, and any other buildings necessary.cxxii Assuming every man in the company owned a horse, the stables would have housed more than 60 animals over a period of nine months. In addition, Buffington provided his own ox team to aid in construction, and provided his own wagons and teams for transportation. Apparently a man of means, he also proposed supplying his own corn and fodder for six months. Buffington specified costs for his supplies in a letter to Lt. A.R. Hetzel in the Quartermaster’s Department at Ft. Cass.cxxiii
On the first of March 1838, Georgia Governor Gilmer reported that Buffington was fortified, making it the first stockaded fort beyond New Echota.cxxiv Construction of barracks, stables, store houses, wagon sheds, a stockade, and possibly hospital quarters made proximity to a major thoroughfare, such as the Alabama Road, important if not essential. In addition, the amount of construction and length of occupation may have left traces that can be found archaeologically.
Supplies
Lt. A.R. Hetzel at Ft. Cass was responsible for supplying the stations in the Cherokee Nation. He sent 60 barrels of flour to Ft. Buffington in the first two months of its occupancy, which implies the existence of ovens at the fort.cxxv Subsequently, ordnance, subsistence, medical supplies, and bundle bedding were transported by wagons that likely traveled down the Federal Road and across the Alabama Road to the fort. Records do not
indicate that Buffington’s company required any camp and garrison equipage other than what they received at New Echota in 1836.
As the first fortified post outside of New Echota and perhaps because it was located close to a white settlement, Ft. Buffington became one of two repositories for munitions to be distributed to other posts. Officers from other stations personally received their arms from Capt. Buffington and left statements to that effect. An average company received 60 muskets,
60 cartridge boxes, 60 cartridge belts, 60 bayonet scabbards, 60 bayonet belts, 150 flints, 1 box of cartridges, 3 kegs of powder, 300 pounds of balls, and cartridge paper.[cxxvi] Ordnance storehouses at Ft. Buffington must have been larger than those at other posts.
Prisoners.
Two days after the roundup began, Buffington’s company (under Maj. Pope) had captured 400 prisoners and by June 9, Gen. Floyd reported that
479 prisoners were escorted by Capt. Cox from Ft. Buffington, via headquarters, to Ross’s Landing.cxxvii A week earlier, Floyd had expressed his frustration over the irregular pace of returns and sent his staff Brigade Major to arrest the commanders at Ft. Buffington and Sixes for not forwarding their prisoners.cxxviii No such arrests are recorded.
Sources:
Sources that have been most useful in the search for Ft. Buffington are the papers of John E. Wool, New York State Library, Albany, and Record Group 393 (the removal of Cherokees) available on microfilm at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in East Point, Georgia. The Cherokee County Courthouse records provide considerable information about the conflicts between Cherokees and whites in Canton between 1832 and the final removal of Indians in 1838. The correspondence of Georgia Gov. George R. Gilmer yielded perhaps the most singular piece of data, the date by which Ft. Buffington was picketed, but otherwise has proven disappointing, particularly given the role Ft. Buffington played in storing arms for the militia employed in Cherokee removal.
Image source: https://wsharing.com/WSphotosNewEchota6.htm
Trail_of_Tears_Removal_Camp_Cedartown_Georgia
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~itcherok/history/forts-removal.htm
Hill, Sarah H. Cherokee Removal: Forts Along the Georgia Trail of Tears. The National Park Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources/Historic Preservation Division. 2011.
Vogt, Larry A. and John F. Brooke. Trail of Tears Round-up Routes: Fort Buffington and Sixes Encampment to Fort Wool at New Echota
Vogt, Larry A. The Curious Disappearance of Fort Buffington, Cherokee County, Georgia 1838-2019
cxi Cherokee Advance July 4, 1890, p. 3, col. 2.
cxii Cherokee Advance, July 4, 1890, p. 3, col. 1.
cxiii Cherokee County Land Records, Book 1, 296-97.
cxiv Cherokee Advance Friday Feb. 4, 1888, p. 3 col. 2. John Carver of Canton provided a copy of the article for this report.
cxv See Cherokee Advance April 24, 1903, p. 3 column 6.
cxvi Thos. Lyon, New Echota, to Capt. E Buffington, Dec. 10, 1836, Box 52, File 19, Letterbook July 1836-April 1837, John Ellis Wool Papers, New York State Library, Albany, 213-14.
cxvii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0239-42.
cxviii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0627.
cxix NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0628-29.
ccxx NARA RG 393 m1475 r2 fr 0529.
cxxi NARA RG 393 m1475 r2 fr 0529.
cxxii NA RG 92 Entry 357 Box 6.
cxxiii NA RG 92 Entry 352 Letters received
cxxiv GDAH RG 1-1-5 Letters and Orders of Gov. George Gilmer Relating to the Removal of Indians (also on microfilm, drawer 223)
cxxv NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 Letterbook pp. 150, 158.
cxxvi See, for example, Capt. Hitchcock of Walker County, April 2, 1838, GDAH RG 1-1-5, Box 19, Letters and Orders of Gov. George Gilmer Relating to the Removal of Indians.
cxxvii NA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0405. 0533.
cxxviii NA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0500-01.
Construction.
While stationed at New Echota, Buffington was instructed to build winter quarters for his company according to the plan adopted by Capt. Derrick. Buffington may have used the same plan again for barracks at Ft. Buffington. Locating the plan either in the records or archaeologically will be particularly useful for both forts and generally for others. Unfortunately, the National Archives records contain numerous references to plans and maps that do not accompany the correspondence, presumably because they were removed for use. The effort to locate such important material will continue.
In the fall of 1837, Buffington’s company was ordered to the neighborhood of Canton, with instructions to build huts, stables, and any other buildings necessary.cxxii Assuming every man in the company owned a horse, the stables would have housed more than 60 animals over a period of nine months. In addition, Buffington provided his own ox team to aid in construction, and provided his own wagons and teams for transportation. Apparently a man of means, he also proposed supplying his own corn and fodder for six months. Buffington specified costs for his supplies in a letter to Lt. A.R. Hetzel in the Quartermaster’s Department at Ft. Cass.cxxiii
On the first of March 1838, Georgia Governor Gilmer reported that Buffington was fortified, making it the first stockaded fort beyond New Echota.cxxiv Construction of barracks, stables, store houses, wagon sheds, a stockade, and possibly hospital quarters made proximity to a major thoroughfare, such as the Alabama Road, important if not essential. In addition, the amount of construction and length of occupation may have left traces that can be found archaeologically.
Supplies
Lt. A.R. Hetzel at Ft. Cass was responsible for supplying the stations in the Cherokee Nation. He sent 60 barrels of flour to Ft. Buffington in the first two months of its occupancy, which implies the existence of ovens at the fort.cxxv Subsequently, ordnance, subsistence, medical supplies, and bundle bedding were transported by wagons that likely traveled down the Federal Road and across the Alabama Road to the fort. Records do not indicate that Buffington’s company required any camp and garrison equipage other than what they received at New Echota in 1836.
As the first fortified post outside of New Echota and perhaps because it was located close to a white settlement, Ft. Buffington became one of two repositories for munitions to be distributed to other posts. Officers from other stations personally received their arms from Capt. Buffington and left statements to that effect. An average company received 60 muskets, 60 cartridge boxes, 60 cartridge belts, 60 bayonet scabbards, 60 bayonet belts, 150 flints, 1 box of cartridges, 3 kegs of powder, 300 pounds of balls, and cartridge paper.[cxxvi] Ordnance storehouses at Ft. Buffington must have been larger than those at other posts.
Prisoners.
Two days after the roundup began, Buffington’s company (under Maj. Pope) had captured 400 prisoners and by June 9, Gen. Floyd reported that 479 prisoners were escorted by Capt. Cox from Ft. Buffington, via headquarters, to Ross’s Landing.cxxvii A week earlier, Floyd had expressed his frustration over the irregular pace of returns and sent his staff Brigade Major to arrest the commanders at Ft. Buffington and Sixes for not forwarding their prisoners.cxxviii No such arrests are recorded.
Sources that have been most useful in the search for Ft. Buffington are the papers of John E. Wool, New York State Library, Albany, and Record Group 393 (the removal of Cherokees) available on microfilm at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in East Point, Georgia. The Cherokee County Courthouse records provide considerable information about the conflicts between Cherokees and whites in Canton between 1832 and the final removal of Indians in 1838. The correspondence of Georgia Gov. George R. Gilmer yielded perhaps the most singular piece of data, the date by which Ft. Buffington was picketed, but otherwise has proven disappointing, particularly given the role Ft. Buffington played in storing arms for the militia employed in Cherokee removal.
Image source: https://wsharing.com/WSphotosNewEchota6.htm
Trail_of_Tears_Removal_Camp_Cedartown_Georgia
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~itcherok/history/forts-removal.htm
Hill, Sarah H. Cherokee Removal: Forts Along the Georgia Trail of Tears. The National Park Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources/Historic Preservation Division. 2011.
Vogt, Larry A. and John F. Brooke. Trail of Tears Round-up Routes: Fort Buffington and Sixes Encampment to Fort Wool at New Echota
Vogt, Larry A. The Curious Disappearance of Fort Buffington, Cherokee County, Georgia 1838-2019
cxi Cherokee Advance July 4, 1890, p. 3, col. 2.
cxii Cherokee Advance, July 4, 1890, p. 3, col. 1.
cxiii Cherokee County Land Records, Book 1, 296-97.
cxiv Cherokee Advance Friday Feb. 4, 1888, p. 3 col. 2. John Carver of Canton provided a copy of the article for this report.
cxv See Cherokee Advance April 24, 1903, p. 3 column 6.
cxvi Thos. Lyon, New Echota, to Capt. E Buffington, Dec. 10, 1836, Box 52, File 19, Letterbook July 1836-April 1837, John Ellis Wool Papers, New York State Library, Albany, 213-14.
cxvii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0239-42.
cxviii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0627.
cxix NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0628-29.
ccxx NARA RG 393 m1475 r2 fr 0529.
cxxi NARA RG 393 m1475 r2 fr 0529.
cxxii NA RG 92 Entry 357 Box 6.
cxxiii NA RG 92 Entry 352 Letters received
cxxiv GDAH RG 1-1-5 Letters and Orders of Gov. George Gilmer Relating to the Removal of Indians (also on microfilm, drawer 223)
cxxv NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 Letterbook pp. 150, 158.
cxxvi See, for example, Capt. Hitchcock of Walker County, April 2, 1838, GDAH RG 1-1-5, Box 19, Letters and Orders of Gov. George Gilmer Relating to the Removal of Indians.
cxxvii NA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0405. 0533.
cxxviii NA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0500-01.