JOHN SEVIER
Another daring leader who did much to build up the settlements in
Tennessee was John Sevier.
[Illustration: John Sevier.]
Born in 1745, Sevier was but three years younger than Robertson, and was
closely associated with him in later life. Sevier's birthplace was in the
western part of Virginia, but while he was still a young boy, the family
was driven from their home by the Indians and went to Fredericksburg,
Virginia. There he went to the same school which George Washington had
attended not many years before.
John's mother had taught him to read, and at school he learned some useful
things; still he was not fond of books, and learned most from people and
what was going on about him.
He left school when he was sixteen and married before he was seventeen.
About six miles from his father's house he put up a building which was
dwelling, storehouse, and fort all in one. Here on the frontier he carried
on a thriving trade with settlers and Indians, and was so successful that
by the time he was twenty-six he was looked upon as a rich man.
He was attractive in appearance, being tall, slender, and erect, with
frank blue eyes, fair skin, and brown hair. He was a man of commanding
presence, and his athletic figure seemed well suited to the fringed
hunting-suit which every pioneer wore.
His merry disposition and great charm of manner easily won many friends;
and these he kept by his natural kindness and courtesy. He was never
happier than when entertaining generously those who came to his home. Yet
these gentle and lovable qualities did not prevent him from being a brave
and skilful warrior, who could carry terror to the hearts of his foes.
It was while he was engaged in his trading business that Sevier heard of
Robertson's settlement in the west, and became interested in it as a
possible home for himself and his family. In 1772 he decided to ride
through the forests to the Watauga settlement and find out what kind of
place it was.
Alone over the mountains and through the woods he made the journey. At the
journey's end, when he met Robertson, they became friends at once, for in
spirit and aims they were much alike. Both were brave and fearless, and
both were seeking better homes for their families.
Sevier decided to join the settlement on the Watauga, and went back to
bring his wife and two children. Returning with them, he entered heartily
into the common life of the frontier, with its many hardships and
pleasures, and soon became a prominent man in the little colony.
For a time after their arrival the settlement was not much troubled by the
Indians. The Cherokees had given their consent to have the land taken up,
and all went well for a period.
But, as we have already seen in the case of Boone, the breaking out of the
Revolution, and the action of the British in arming the Indians with guns
and rewarding them for bringing in captives, disturbed this peace and
stirred up the tribes against the backwoodsmen.
The Cherokees then broke their agreement with the settlers and in large
numbers made bold and murderous attacks upon the many back-country
settlements in southwestern Virginia, the eastern Carolinas, northwestern
Georgia, and what is now eastern Tennessee.
As Watauga was the nearest settlement to the Cherokee towns and villages,
it was likely to suffer most from the attack. Robertson commanded the
fort, with Sevier as his lieutenant. Only forty or fifty men were in the
fort when it was attacked, although it was crowded with women and
children. But these few men were resolute, well armed, and on their guard.
It was in the gray light of the early morning that the Indians stole up
for the attack. But a friendly squaw had given warning of danger, and the
settlers were ready. The loopholes opened upon the Indians and they were
at once beaten back with loss. This was the beginning of a long, dreary
siege. As the stockade was too strong to be taken by an assault, the
Indians tried to starve the colonists out. For about three weeks they
lurked about so that the people within the fort dared not go outside for
food, and had to live mostly on parched corn.
It was a weary time. As you may imagine, all became very tired of that
diet and very impatient at being kept shut up within the palisades for so
long, and from time to time some one would venture out, heedless of
warning and of danger. In running this risk, three or four men were shot
by the Indians, and one boy was carried off to an Indian village and
burned at the stake. A woman also was captured.
You will be interested in the thrilling experience of another woman. Her
name was Kate Sherrill. She was tall and beautiful, graceful and gentle in
manner, and, as we shall see, not lacking courage.
One day, taking a pitcher to get water from the river, she had ventured
some distance from the fort, when Indians dashed out of the forest and
sprang toward her. Seeing her danger, she darted swiftly back, with her
bloodthirsty foes close at her heels.
It was a race for life, and she knew it. There was not time to reach the
gate; so she ran the shortest way to the fort, caught hold of the top of
the pickets, and, by an almost superhuman effort sprung over to the other
side. She did not fall to the ground as she expected, but into the arms of
John Sevier, for he was standing at a loophole close by, and caught her.
He had witnessed her danger and helped her to escape by shooting the
Indian closest in the chase. A romance is connected with this, for we are
told that John Sevier, who was then a young widower of thirty-one, married
Kate Sherrill during the siege.
Although the Indian braves were eager for the scalps of the Watauga
settlers, they failed to capture the fort and finally went away, just as
they did from the neighboring settlements. For a while, but only for a
while, the pioneers were left free from Indian ravages.
SEVIER A HERO AMONG THE TENNESSEE SETTLERS
In spite of the danger, however, daring men kept coming to join the
pioneers at the Watauga settlements. Sevier continued to be a leading man
in that backwoods region, and when, some years later, Robertson, as you
remember, left Watauga to go to the Cumberland valley, Sevier became the
most prominent man in the colony.
He was so prosperous that he could surround himself with much comfort. He
built a rambling, one-story house on the Nolichucky Creek, a branch of the
French Broad River. It was the largest in the settlement and was noted for
the lavish entertainments given there, for Sevier was the same generous
host as of old. His house consisted of two groups of rooms connected by a
covered porch. Sevier with his family lived in one of the groups, and
housed his guests in the other. There were large verandas and huge
fireplaces, in which, during cold weather, cheerful wood-fires blazed.
[Illustration: A Barbecue of 1780.]
Here to all, rich and poor alike, and especially to the men who had
followed him in the many battles against the Indians, Sevier gave a hearty
welcome. Rarely was his hospitable home without guests, and the table was
heaped with such plain and wholesome food as woods and fields afforded.
It was Sevier's delight at weddings or special merrymakings to feast all
the backwoods people of the neighborhood at a barbecue, where an ox was
roasted whole over the fire, and where, in fair weather, board tables were
set under the trees. These were loaded with wild fowl, bear's meat,
venison, beef, johnny-cakes, ash-cakes, hominy, and applejack. Should you
not like to have been one of the guests?
During one of these merrymaking feasts (1780) news was brought that Major
Ferguson, one of the ablest officers in Cornwallis's army, was threatening
to make an attack on the back-country settlements. At once Sevier, along
with Isaac Shelby and others, set out to raise an army of frontiersmen to
march against Ferguson. Soon a thousand men were riding through the
forests to find the British force, of which every man except the commander
was an American Tory.
They came upon it in a strong position on King's Mountain. Without delay
the Americans made a furious attack. They fought with great heroism,
charging up the steep mountainside with reckless bravery.
They were divided into three bodies, one on the right of the British, one
on the left, and another in front. Sevier commanded the division on the
left. At just the right moment he led his men in a resistless rush up the
mountainside and made victory certain for the Americans. The British
raised the white flag of surrender. All of Ferguson's soldiers who had not
been killed or wounded were made prisoners.
By this victory the backwoods hunters greatly weakened the British cause
in the south and made easier General Greene's victory over Cornwallis, of
which we have already learned. Thus they took their part in winning the
nation's liberty.
[Illustration: Battle of King's Mountain.]
On returning from King's Mountain to their homes, these pioneer warriors
had to meet the Cherokees again in stubborn warfare. In his usual way
Sevier struck a swift, crushing blow by marching to the mountain homes of
his savage foes, where he burned a thousand of their cabins and destroyed
fifty thousand bushels of their corn.
In spite of this defeat, however, the Indians kept on fighting. So Sevier
determined to strike another blow. At the head of one hundred and fifty
picked horsemen, he rode for one hundred and fifty miles through the
mountain wilds and completely surprised the Indians, who did not think it
possible for an enemy to reach them. After taking the main town, burning
two other towns and three villages, capturing two hundred horses,
destroying a large quantity of provisions, and doing other damage, he
withdrew and returned home in safety. He had made the Indians afraid, and
they were quiet for a time.
These glimpses into the life of John Sevier must help you to understand
why he became a hero among all the people of the frontier. They admired
him for his brilliant leadership; they were grateful for his protection;
and they loved him as a friend. They fondly called him "Nolichucky Jack";
and when, later, the settlements became the State of Tennessee, again and
again they elected him governor, and sent him to Congress.
Without doubt few men of his day were his equal as a fighter against the
Indians. It is said that in all his warfare with them he won thirty-five
victories and never lost a battle. As we have seen, he moved with great
swiftness in attacking his foes. Through his able scouts he learned the
strength and weakness of his enemies and, before they realized what was
going on, with a wild shout he and his bold followers swept down upon them
like a hurricane, striking terror to the hearts of even the bravest.
Sevier was active in public interests even to the last years of his long
life. When eighty years old, he was at the head of a body of men who were
marking the border line between Georgia and the lands of the Indians. The
labor proved too great for his bodily strength, and the aged man died
(1815), in his tent, with only a few soldiers and Indians around him.
He was buried where he died, and a simple slab, with the two words, "John
Sevier," inscribed upon it, indicates the spot where his body rests.
In the homes of eastern Tennessee stories of his brave deeds are still
told to eager, listening children, for his memory is held dear in the
hearts of old and young alike. Tennessee owes much to this brave, loyal,
and high-minded man, who played a large part in shaping her destiny.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
1. Why did Sevier go with his family to the Watauga settlement?
2. Imagine yourself in the Watauga Fort when the Cherokees were trying to
capture it, and give an account of what happened.
3. Describe Sevier's hospitable home, and tell something about the kind of
feast he prepared for a wedding there.
4. What kind of Indian fighter was Sevier?
5. Tell all you can about his personal appearance. What do you admire
about him?