subduing the savages

archibald montgomerie, 11th earl of eglinton (1726-1796), scottish general, m.p., colleague of washington, and the patron of the poet george burns --- that's him all done up for joshua reynolds --- what's not to like?

he was up in northeast georgia way back when, seeing what he could do about those pesky cherokee ---

In June, 1760, a strong force of over L,600 men. under Colonel Montgomery, started to reduce the Cherokee towns . . . . Crossing the Indian frontier. Montgomery quickly drove the enemy from about Fort Prince George and then, rapidly advancing, surprised Little Keow'ee, killing every man of the defenders, and destroyed in succession every one of the Lower Cherokee towns, burning them to the ground, cutting down the cornfields and orchards, killing and taking more than a hundred of their men. and driving the whole population into the mountains before him. As the army advanced every house in every settlement met was burned ninety houses in one settlement alone and detachments were sent into the fields to destroy the corn, of which the smallest town was estimated to have two hundred acre-, besides potatoes, beans, and orchards of peach trees. The store- of dressed deerskins and other valuables were carried off. Everything was swept clean, and the Indians who were not killed or taken were driven, homeless refugees, into the dark recesses of Nantahala or painfully made their way across to the Overhill towns in Tennessee, which were already menaced by another invasion from the north.

it happened again in late september 1776 --- different general, same result for the lower and middle towns of the cherokee ---

The inhabitants having fled, the soldiers burned the town, together with an unfinished townhouse ready for the roof, cut down the standing corn, killed one or two straggling Indians, and then proceeded on their mission of destruction. Every town upon Oconaluftee, Tuekasegee, and the upper part of Little Tennessee, and on Hiwassee to below the junction of Valley river—thirty-six towns in all—was destroyed in turn, the corn cut down or trampled under the hoofs of the stock driven into the fields for that purpose, and the stock itself killed or carried off.

a hard winter after that history is depressing sometimes --- but no more indians for a while: i finished chpt 1-3 today and put away the indian books