Fort Newnan Cherokee Internment Site
Cemetery at Fort Newnan = junction of Highway 136 and Antioch Church Road, Blaine, GA
This article is adapted from "Cherokee Removal: Forts Along the Georgia Trail of Tears" by Sarah H. Hill.
Information about Ft. Newnan was recovered at the National Archives records of the quartermaster’s department and the collection of Cherokee removal records on microfilm at the National Archives Records Administration in East Point, Georgia. The records from these repositories seem relatively thin for the post, particularly in light of the discipline problems that arose soon after removal. As with other posts east of Dahlonega, Ft. Newnan was in the Eastern Military District commanded by Gen. Eustis, and when his records are located it is likely we will find additional information about all of Georgia’s eastern posts.
Ft. Newnan was built in the Hickory Log District of the Cherokee Nation and stood on the south side of the Federal Road, south of Talking Rock Creek near its confluence with Town Creek. The post was likely named to honor Gen. Daniel Newnan, a Revolutionary War hero, Georgia Secretary of State (1825), and U.S. Congressman.
The Rev. Charles Walker and other local citizens are confident the post was at the junction of Highway 136 and Antioch Church Road, east of and adjacent to the present-day Blaine Masonic Lodge. Rev. Walker produced two books about Cherokee history in Pickens County. In one of them, he specifies the fort’s location and states that a cemetery behind the Lodge contains the burials of Cherokees who died at the fort. He also claims that the Antioch Baptist Church was organized in one of the fort’s buildings and that Fransis Mullinax [sic] purchased the church building, moved it, and rebuilt it as his home. According to Walker, in 1989 the fort-church-Mullinax home was dismantled and moved to Cherokee County, North Carolina.ccxxiii
Although his books do not identify his sources, Walker is locally regarded as an expert on Cherokee history. Primarily on the basis of his opinion, the
Georgia chapter of the Trail of Tears Association erected a marker at the site on March 25, 2000.
Blaine is the modern name for the former communities of Talking Rock and Sanderstown. The Cherokee settlement nearest Ft. Newnan was the community referred to as Sanderstown, which took its name from the family of Mitchell Sanders (also spelled Saunders), a white man who married a Cherokee woman, Susannah, and settled in the area. They had five sons who lived in close proximity. Their son George was the wealthy owner of several houses and slaves, stables, corncribs, smokehouses, a fish trap, and orchards, as well as a hundred acres of cleared and fenced upland. His brother John was also wealthy, with homes, slaves, 93 acres of valuable cleared land, orchards, a fish trap, a tavern, and a grist mill.ccxxiv The prominence and wealth of the Sanders family make sense of the repeated references to a fort to be built “near Sanders’.” Both lived on the Federal Road, and Walker places the fort on the southwest portion of John Sanders’ property.ccxxv
The connection between the Sanders family and the Carmel Mission may have influenced the location of the fort. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions established the Taloney (Talona, later Carmel) Mission and school (opened 1819) on Talking Rock Creek where the Ellijay Road joined the Federal Road. The missionaries also served as postmasters, which meant the location was familiar to Cherokees and whites, and stages had traveled to the site over the years. George Sanders lived directly across the Federal Road from the mission, and his brother John owned the lot on the southwest side of George’s property. When Carmel missionary Daniel S. Butrick left Georgia in 1835, he entrusted the mission improvements to brother Andrew Sanders, who had converted to Christianity and served as the interpreter and deacon at Carmel.ccxxvi The mission’s fields, gardens, and buildings may have been useful to the men stationed at Ft. Newnan. The role of missionaries, particularly Butrick, as defender of the Cherokees should be noted in any signage placed at Georgia removal sites.
Cherokee communities near Ft. Newnan included Talking Rock, Talona, and Mountain Town. The 1835 census recorded at least 14 families on Seare (also spelled Scare) Corn Creek, and 24 on Talking Rock Creek. The 1836 evaluations recorded improvements of nine families on Taloney Creek and 20 families in Mountain Town.ccxxvii At the time of removal, the military records list 85 Cherokees living on Polecat Creek, 60 in Talona Town, 70 on Town Creek, 90 in Talking Rock, 100 on “Tearcorn” Creek, 12 on the head of “Seticoa,” 200 on Hickory Log and Long Swamp Creeks, 300 on Little River, and 100 at “Tensawattee Bread Town.”ccxxviii Doubtless, some people were removed from Ft. Hetzel by the militia; many would have been the responsibility of the company at Ft. Newnan.
Military Occupation.
Ft. Newnan was established near Sanders’ on the Federal Road but for a time, consideration was given to a post near Blackburn’s public house, which was also located on the Federal Road. Blackburn married a Cherokee woman and opened his public house soon after the War of 1812. In 1819, President Monroe and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun stayed at Blackburn’s on a tour of the South. In 1825, Blackburn opened a trade store in the same area “occupied advantagely [sic] by a Mr. Scudders.”ccxxix Early letters propose posts at Dahlonega, Coosawattee, Ellijay, and Blackburn’s.ccxxx
References to a “post at Sanders’” began in late March 1838 and continued until the end of April, when the post was identified as Ft. Newnan.ccxxxi The Rev. John Dorsey, captain, and his mounted company of 64 men were ordered to the post at the end of March.ccxxxii A businessman named N. J. Mays, who was not a member of the company, was appointed quartermaster.ccxxxiii As with other posts east of Dahlonega, Ft. Newnan was assigned to the Eastern Military District under Eustis’s command, and, as with other eastern posts, data is limited at this point.
In late March, Hetzel decided to subdivide the quartermaster departments in Georgia, and he assigned Ft. Newnan to Col. Campbell at Ft. Floyd.ccxxxiv When the disposition of Georgia troops was made just prior to the removal of Indians, an unidentified lieutenant colonel was ordered to take command at Ft. Newnan.ccxxxv Although the May 17 report of the volunteer posts in the Cherokee Nation lists only one company stationed at Ft. Newnan, Eustis wrote in late June that he would order Ft. Newnan’s two companies to report in to Gen. Floyd.ccxxxvi Since all other data indicate the post was occupied by one company, we assume that Eustis was mistaken.
Following the roundup, conditions at Ft. Newnan deteriorated. In defiance of orders, Capt. Dorsey refused to abandon the post or turn over government property. Capt. William Derrick of Ft. Hetzel, having sent someone to investigate, reported that Dorsey’s company was a “complete mob,” Dorsey had gone home to Hall County, and half the men were absent.ccxxxvii In the meantime, Dorsey wrote to Eustis “begging” to have the company retained until September, but Eustis refused. Dorsey was again ordered to leave and Derrick was ordered to arrest him if he failed to comply in a reasonable time.ccxxxviii
No information has surfaced to explain Dorsey’s behavior or his request to continue in service, and on the morning of June 30, Maj. Payne mustered out Dorsey and his company. Dorsey’s dismissal may have circumvented disciplinary action since Payne wrote that he had mustered them out before receiving the letter from Lt. Anderson at Ft. Cass. ccxxxix In early July, Capt. N. P. Dodson of the Tennessee Volunteers wrote from Ft. Newnan that he had arrived to convey Indian prisoners to Ft. Cass, although 20 were too sick to travel.ccxl The use of a Tennessee commander at a Georgia post all but confirms that Dorsey left his command abruptly.
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Information about Ft. Newnan was recovered at the National Archives records of the quartermaster’s department and the collection of Cherokee removal records on microfilm at the National Archives Records Administration in East Point, Georgia. The records from these repositories seem relatively thin for the post, particularly in light of the discipline problems that arose soon after removal. As with other posts east of Dahlonega, Ft. Newnan was in the Eastern Military District commanded by Gen. Eustis, and when his records are located it is likely we will find additional information about all of Georgia’s eastern posts.
Ft. Newnan was built in the Hickory Log District of the Cherokee Nation and stood on the south side of the Federal Road, south of Talking Rock Creek near its confluence with Town Creek. The post was likely named to honor Gen. Daniel Newnan, a Revolutionary War hero, Georgia Secretary of State (1825), and U.S. Congressman.
The Rev. Charles Walker and other local citizens are confident the post was at the junction of Highway 136 and Antioch Church Road, east of and adjacent to the present-day Blaine Masonic Lodge. Rev. Walker produced two books about Cherokee history in Pickens County. In one of them, he specifies the fort’s location and states that a cemetery behind the Lodge contains the burials of Cherokees who died at the fort. He also claims that the Antioch Baptist Church was organized in one of the fort’s buildings and that Fransis Mullinax [sic] purchased the church building, moved it, and rebuilt it as his home. According to Walker, in 1989 the fort-church-Mullinax home was dismantled and moved to Cherokee County, North Carolina.ccxxiii
Although his books do not identify his sources, Walker is locally regarded as an expert on Cherokee history. Primarily on the basis of his opinion, the
Georgia chapter of the Trail of Tears Association erected a marker at the site on March 25, 2000.
Blaine is the modern name for the former communities of Talking Rock and Sanderstown. The Cherokee settlement nearest Ft. Newnan was the community referred to as Sanderstown, which took its name from the family of Mitchell Sanders (also spelled Saunders), a white man who married a Cherokee woman, Susannah, and settled in the area. They had five sons who lived in close proximity. Their son George was the wealthy owner of several houses and slaves, stables, corncribs, smokehouses, a fish trap, and orchards, as well as a hundred acres of cleared and fenced upland. His brother John was also wealthy, with homes, slaves, 93 acres of valuable cleared land, orchards, a fish trap, a tavern, and a grist mill.ccxxiv The prominence and wealth of the Sanders family make sense of the repeated references to a fort to be built “near Sanders’.” Both lived on the Federal Road, and Walker places the fort on the southwest portion of John Sanders’ property.ccxxv
The connection between the Sanders family and the Carmel Mission may have influenced the location of the fort. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions established the Taloney (Talona, later Carmel) Mission and school (opened 1819) on Talking Rock Creek where the Ellijay Road joined the Federal Road. The missionaries also served as postmasters, which meant the location was familiar to Cherokees and whites, and stages had traveled to the site over the years. George Sanders lived directly across the Federal Road from the mission, and his brother John owned the lot on the southwest side of George’s property. When Carmel missionary Daniel S. Butrick left Georgia in 1835, he entrusted the mission improvements to brother Andrew Sanders, who had converted to Christianity and served as the interpreter and deacon at Carmel.ccxxvi The mission’s fields, gardens, and buildings may have been useful to the men stationed at Ft. Newnan. The role of missionaries, particularly Butrick, as defender of the Cherokees should be noted in any signage placed at Georgia removal sites.
Cherokee communities near Ft. Newnan included Talking Rock, Talona, and Mountain Town. The 1835 census recorded at least 14 families on Seare (also spelled Scare) Corn Creek, and 24 on Talking Rock Creek. The 1836 evaluations recorded improvements of nine families on Taloney Creek and 20 families in Mountain Town.ccxxvii At the time of removal, the military records list 85 Cherokees living on Polecat Creek, 60 in Talona Town, 70 on Town Creek, 90 in Talking Rock, 100 on “Tearcorn” Creek, 12 on the head of “Seticoa,” 200 on Hickory Log and Long Swamp Creeks, 300 on Little River, and 100 at “Tensawattee Bread Town.”ccxxviii Doubtless, some people were removed from Ft. Hetzel by the militia; many would have been the responsibility of the company at Ft. Newnan.
Military Occupation.
Ft. Newnan was established near Sanders’ on the Federal Road but for a time, consideration was given to a post near Blackburn’s public house, which was also located on the Federal Road. Blackburn married a Cherokee woman and opened his public house soon after the War of 1812. In 1819, President Monroe and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun stayed at Blackburn’s on a tour of the South. In 1825, Blackburn opened a trade store in the same area “occupied advantagely [sic] by a Mr. Scudders.”ccxxix Early letters propose posts at Dahlonega, Coosawattee, Ellijay, and Blackburn’s.ccxxx
References to a “post at Sanders’” began in late March 1838 and continued until the end of April, when the post was identified as Ft. Newnan.ccxxxi The Rev. John Dorsey, captain, and his mounted company of 64 men were ordered to the post at the end of March.ccxxxii A businessman named N. J. Mays, who was not a member of the company, was appointed quartermaster.ccxxxiii As with other posts east of Dahlonega, Ft. Newnan was assigned to the Eastern Military District under Eustis’s command, and, as with other eastern posts, data is limited at this point.
In late March, Hetzel decided to subdivide the quartermaster departments in Georgia, and he assigned Ft. Newnan to Col. Campbell at Ft. Floyd.ccxxxiv When the disposition of Georgia troops was made just prior to the removal of Indians, an unidentified lieutenant colonel was ordered to take command at Ft. Newnan.ccxxxv Although the May 17 report of the volunteer posts in the Cherokee Nation lists only one company stationed at Ft. Newnan, Eustis wrote in late June that he would order Ft. Newnan’s two companies to report in to Gen. Floyd.ccxxxvi Since all other data indicate the post was occupied by one company, we assume that Eustis was mistaken.
Following the roundup, conditions at Ft. Newnan deteriorated. In defiance of orders, Capt. Dorsey refused to abandon the post or turn over government property. Capt. William Derrick of Ft. Hetzel, having sent someone to investigate, reported that Dorsey’s company was a “complete mob,” Dorsey had gone home to Hall County, and half the men were absent.ccxxxvii In the meantime, Dorsey wrote to Eustis “begging” to have the company retained until September, but Eustis refused. Dorsey was again ordered to leave and Derrick was ordered to arrest him if he failed to comply in a reasonable time.ccxxxviii
No information has surfaced to explain Dorsey’s behavior or his request to continue in service, and on the morning of June 30, Maj. Payne mustered out Dorsey and his company. Dorsey’s dismissal may have circumvented disciplinary action since Payne wrote that he had mustered them out before receiving the letter from Lt. Anderson at Ft. Cass. ccxxxix In early July, Capt. N. P. Dodson of the Tennessee Volunteers wrote from Ft. Newnan that he had arrived to convey Indian prisoners to Ft. Cass, although 20 were too sick to travel.ccxl The use of a Tennessee commander at a Georgia post all but confirms that Dorsey left his command abruptly.
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