Fort Gilmer Cherokee Internment Site
Fort Gilmer
This article is adapted from "Cherokee Removal: Forts Along the Georgia Trail of Tears" by Sarah H. Hill.
In mid-March, Capt. Charles W. Bond of Franklin County and his mounted company of 67 men prepared to leave New Echota for Coosawattee., and by March 31 were in place.ccii The company quartermaster was W. S. Howard, a businessman variously described as worthy, intelligent, and new.cciii Although no orders have been found regarding the assignment of additional troops to Ft. Gilmer, a May 24 list of the distribution of companies indicates that Capts. Horton and Brewster were there.cciv John Horton of Jackson County was activated on May 4, and Sherif Brewster of Walton County on May 7.ccv In late May, Maj. Blueford Venable reported the number of prisoners taken, and the same day Capt. Crane and two companies were ordered to Ft. Gilmer to take charge of the prisoners.[ccvi] Crane likely was part of a Tennessee company since his name is not found in the records of Georgia volunteers, nor is that of his commander, Lt. Col. J. B. Crane. Bond’s company mustered out from New Echota on July 1.ccvii
In early June, Floyd wrote to Gen. Scott about an act of violence that had occurred in the vicinity of Ft. Gilmer. Floyd had received word from the post that a bailiff who had beaten and “half-hanged an Indian” near the post had been arrested, presumably by the post authorities, and was in custody.ccviii No other records mention the incident but further research on the subject is important if the final accounting of Cherokee trauma and loss is to be documented.
Construction.
When Bond’s company was order to Coosawattee in late March, they were sent to Rock Springs, four miles west of the Coosawattee River on the Federal Road.ccix The site may have been where Capt. Derrick encamped the previous year when he hunted for the refugee Creeks. Post construction must have proceeded during April, for as May began, quartermaster Howard requested iron suitable for the hinges for the main gate and the cross bar. Apparently he was unable to procure iron in the vicinity.ccx By that time, the post was named Ft. Gilmer, obviously in honor of the Georgia governor. Bond’s mounted company would also have required stables for horses and storage facilities for the considerable amount of provisions sent to the post.
Supplies.
Since Ft. Gilmer came under the authority of Col. Cox at New Echota, much of the useful information about the post comes from the relatively thorough quartermaster files.ccxi In late March, just a few days after the company arrived, Hetzel received bills of lading for the post’s subsistence.ccxii Less than one month later, additional bills of lading were received, and the following week Howard commented on the bills for the last four loads of flour he had received as well as the 300 pounds of salt.ccxiii By May 1, Ft. Gilmer had on hand 5,000 bushels of corn and 850 bundles of fodder.ccxiv Four days later, Howard reported 6-700 bushels of corn and 8-900 bundles of fodder. By that time Howard was contracting with a vendor in Bradley County, Tennessee, because forage was running short in Murray County.ccxv
Howard continued to receive subsistence for the post throughout June. He and Bond disagreed on the amount of fodder to distribute to the animals, Bond insisting that it be weighed and Howard wishing to distribute it by the bundle.ccxvi The capture of prisoners necessitated the distribution of more rations, and, in cases where the companies allowed the prisoners to bring their livestock, forage distribution became more complex. At Ft. Gilmer, the ponies and cattle of the prisoners were sent into a ten-acre field owned by prosperous settler Farish Carter, where they completely eliminated the oats.ccxvii As wagons and teams arrived to transport prisoners and their possessions, the responsibilities of the quartermaster increased again. On June 3, Howard issued to the teams 12 bushels of corn, rations for four days.ccxviii By the end of the month, arrangements had been made for the sale of remaining public stores at the post, and Campbell arrived at Ft. Gilmer on Friday, July 6, to supervise the auction.ccxix
Prisoners.
Two days after removal began, Maj. Venable reported that 254 prisoners were under guard at Ft. Gilmer. That same day, by separate letter, Venable stated his reluctance to send the prisoners “in their present condition” since the roundup had been so swift they had not been able to collect their possessions. The wagons had not arrived, which delayed the transport of the Cherokees.ccxx Three days later, Floyd wrote that Venable had escorted 109 Indians to Ross’s Landing, and five days afterwards sent 225 (more?).ccxxi No record has been found that determines whether the “half- hanged” Indian was among them.
In the winter of 1840, new Coosawattee resident Ben Poore wrote to a friend about his thriving plantation that was five miles long and occupied an entire valley between the mountains. With 300 slaves and 3 white overseers, he was raising cattle, sugar beets, and grapes, as well as Indian corn and small grain. “The little cabins and wigwams of the Indians,” he wrote, “which are scattered about among the mountains and on the water courses from which they were driven and also the graves of their friends from which they were so unwilling to be removed makes one melancholy to look at, but still it was no doubt for all the best.”ccxxii He made no mention of the fort.
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SOURCES:
cxcii Gardner, Cherokees and Baptists, 104
cxciii Ibid., 137-38.
cxciv Ibid., 104-06.
cxcv Gardner, Cherokees and Baptists, 185-90.
cxcvi Shadburn, Cherokee Planters, 241-45.
cxcvii July 23, 1836, Gen. Wool to J.A. Bell, Letterbook, 42-4.
cxcviii Vicki Rozema, Footsteps of the Cherokees (Winston- Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1995), 323.
cxcix www.greatlakesofgeorgia.com 11 October, 2004.
ccMarch 23, 1837, Gen. Wool , New Echota, to Capt. Derrick, Wool Letterbook, 332-33..
cci March 25, 1837, Gen. Wool, New Echota, to Capt. Derrick, Wool Lettebook, 339.
ccii GDAH Cherokee Letters Talks Treaties, Vol. 3, 701.
cciii NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3; ibid.
cciv NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0363.
ccv Georgia Military Affairs 1838-1842, typescript, WPA Project 5993 directed by Mrs. J. E. Hays, 1940.
ccvi NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0405; ibid, fr 0430-31.
ccvii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0860-62..
ccviii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0500-01.
ccix NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 6, Entry 357 Box 6.
ccx NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxi NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2, Vol. 2.
ccxii NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 232.
ccxiii NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 260; NA RG
92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxiv NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 p. 137.
ccxv NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxvi NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxvii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0930-32.
ccxviii NA RG 92 Entry 352, Box 3.
ccxix NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxx NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0433-34.
ccxxi NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0577-83.
ccxxii Feb. 18, 1840, Ben Poore, Coosawattee, to Gorham Parsons, https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/dlg_zlna 12 October, 2004.
In mid-March, Capt. Charles W. Bond of Franklin County and his mounted company of 67 men prepared to leave New Echota for Coosawattee., and by March 31 were in place.ccii The company quartermaster was W. S. Howard, a businessman variously described as worthy, intelligent, and new.cciii Although no orders have been found regarding the assignment of additional troops to Ft. Gilmer, a May 24 list of the distribution of companies indicates that Capts. Horton and Brewster were there.cciv John Horton of Jackson County was activated on May 4, and Sherif Brewster of Walton County on May 7.ccv In late May, Maj. Blueford Venable reported the number of prisoners taken, and the same day Capt. Crane and two companies were ordered to Ft. Gilmer to take charge of the prisoners.[ccvi] Crane likely was part of a Tennessee company since his name is not found in the records of Georgia volunteers, nor is that of his commander, Lt. Col. J. B. Crane. Bond’s company mustered out from New Echota on July 1.ccvii
In early June, Floyd wrote to Gen. Scott about an act of violence that had occurred in the vicinity of Ft. Gilmer. Floyd had received word from the post that a bailiff who had beaten and “half-hanged an Indian” near the post had been arrested, presumably by the post authorities, and was in custody.ccviii No other records mention the incident but further research on the subject is important if the final accounting of Cherokee trauma and loss is to be documented.
Construction.
When Bond’s company was order to Coosawattee in late March, they were sent to Rock Springs, four miles west of the Coosawattee River on the Federal Road.ccix The site may have been where Capt. Derrick encamped the previous year when he hunted for the refugee Creeks. Post construction must have proceeded during April, for as May began, quartermaster Howard requested iron suitable for the hinges for the main gate and the cross bar. Apparently he was unable to procure iron in the vicinity.ccx By that time, the post was named Ft. Gilmer, obviously in honor of the Georgia governor. Bond’s mounted company would also have required stables for horses and storage facilities for the considerable amount of provisions sent to the post.
Supplies.
Since Ft. Gilmer came under the authority of Col. Cox at New Echota, much of the useful information about the post comes from the relatively thorough quartermaster files.ccxi In late March, just a few days after the company arrived, Hetzel received bills of lading for the post’s subsistence.ccxii Less than one month later, additional bills of lading were received, and the following week Howard commented on the bills for the last four loads of flour he had received as well as the 300 pounds of salt.ccxiii By May 1, Ft. Gilmer had on hand 5,000 bushels of corn and 850 bundles of fodder.ccxiv Four days later, Howard reported 6-700 bushels of corn and 8-900 bundles of fodder. By that time Howard was contracting with a vendor in Bradley County, Tennessee, because forage was running short in Murray County.ccxv
Howard continued to receive subsistence for the post throughout June. He and Bond disagreed on the amount of fodder to distribute to the animals, Bond insisting that it be weighed and Howard wishing to distribute it by the bundle.ccxvi The capture of prisoners necessitated the distribution of more rations, and, in cases where the companies allowed the prisoners to bring their livestock, forage distribution became more complex. At Ft. Gilmer, the ponies and cattle of the prisoners were sent into a ten-acre field owned by prosperous settler Farish Carter, where they completely eliminated the oats.ccxvii As wagons and teams arrived to transport prisoners and their possessions, the responsibilities of the quartermaster increased again. On June 3, Howard issued to the teams 12 bushels of corn, rations for four days.ccxviii By the end of the month, arrangements had been made for the sale of remaining public stores at the post, and Campbell arrived at Ft. Gilmer on Friday, July 6, to supervise the auction.ccxix
Prisoners.
Two days after removal began, Maj. Venable reported that 254 prisoners were under guard at Ft. Gilmer. That same day, by separate letter, Venable stated his reluctance to send the prisoners “in their present condition” since the roundup had been so swift they had not been able to collect their possessions. The wagons had not arrived, which delayed the transport of the Cherokees.ccxx Three days later, Floyd wrote that Venable had escorted 109 Indians to Ross’s Landing, and five days afterwards sent 225 (more?).ccxxi No record has been found that determines whether the “half- hanged” Indian was among them.
In the winter of 1840, new Coosawattee resident Ben Poore wrote to a friend about his thriving plantation that was five miles long and occupied an entire valley between the mountains. With 300 slaves and 3 white overseers, he was raising cattle, sugar beets, and grapes, as well as Indian corn and small grain. “The little cabins and wigwams of the Indians,” he wrote, “which are scattered about among the mountains and on the water courses from which they were driven and also the graves of their friends from which they were so unwilling to be removed makes one melancholy to look at, but still it was no doubt for all the best.”ccxxii He made no mention of the fort.
More...
SOURCES:
cxcii Gardner, Cherokees and Baptists, 104
cxciii Ibid., 137-38.
cxciv Ibid., 104-06.
cxcv Gardner, Cherokees and Baptists, 185-90.
cxcvi Shadburn, Cherokee Planters, 241-45.
cxcvii July 23, 1836, Gen. Wool to J.A. Bell, Letterbook, 42-4.
cxcviii Vicki Rozema, Footsteps of the Cherokees (Winston- Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1995), 323.
cxcix www.greatlakesofgeorgia.com 11 October, 2004.
ccMarch 23, 1837, Gen. Wool , New Echota, to Capt. Derrick, Wool Letterbook, 332-33..
cci March 25, 1837, Gen. Wool, New Echota, to Capt. Derrick, Wool Lettebook, 339.
ccii GDAH Cherokee Letters Talks Treaties, Vol. 3, 701.
cciii NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3; ibid.
cciv NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0363.
ccv Georgia Military Affairs 1838-1842, typescript, WPA Project 5993 directed by Mrs. J. E. Hays, 1940.
ccvi NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0405; ibid, fr 0430-31.
ccvii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0860-62..
ccviii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0500-01.
ccix NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 6, Entry 357 Box 6.
ccx NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxi NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2, Vol. 2.
ccxii NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 232.
ccxiii NA RG 92 Entry 350 Box 2 Vol. 2 260; NA RG
92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxiv NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 p. 137.
ccxv NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxvi NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxvii NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0930-32.
ccxviii NA RG 92 Entry 352, Box 3.
ccxix NA RG 92 Entry 352 Box 3.
ccxx NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0433-34.
ccxxi NARA RG 393 m1475 r1 fr 0577-83.
ccxxii Feb. 18, 1840, Ben Poore, Coosawattee, to Gorham Parsons, https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/dlg_zlna 12 October, 2004.
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