Turtle-at-Home
Encyclopedia
Turtle-at-Home, or Selukuki Wohelengh, was a Cherokee
warrior and leader, brother of Dragging Canoe
and one of his chief lieutenants during the Chickamauga wars
. In the beginning and the later years, he led war parties against the settlements on the Holston
, Nolichucky
, Watauga
, and Doe River
s in modern East Tennessee
, and against the Cumberland River
settlements in modern Middle Tennessee
. After the second destruction of the Chickamauga Towns in 1782, however, instead of moving to the Five Lower Towns with his brother and the rest of the Chickamauga/Lower Cherokee
, he and his band of seventy warriors headed north to fight alongside their Shawnee
allies.
Turtle-at-Home and his band remained in the north until after the 1791 Battle of the Wabash
, in which he and his warriors along with two parties brought north separately by his brothers Little Owl and The Badger, participated. In that battle, the Indian army of the Shawnee
leader Blue Jacket
and the Miami
leader Little Turtle delivered the single worst defeat ever inflicted upon the United States military by American Indians, far surpassing the more renowned Battle of the Little Bighorn
in 1876, only 48 of Arthur St. Clair
's 1000 troops escaping harm, 623 of those 1000 killed outright.
After that battle, Turtle-at-Home returned south with his two brothers, though his men stayed behind. In 1792, he and The Glass had just returned from a successful raid on the Cumberland River settlements and into Kentucky when his older brother returned from his embassies to the other Southeastern nations, successful with the Choctaw
and Lower Muscogee (the Upper Muscogee had been allies for years) though unsuccessful with the Chickasaw
. After an all-night celebration at Lookout Mountain Town (now Trenton, Georgia
), Dragging Canoe died, and John Watts succeeded him.
When the wars ended, Turtle-at-Home rose to become one of the central leaders of the Lower Cherokee and of the nation as a whole. He was always on the council of the Lower Towns and succeeded as Speaker of the National Council upon the death of Doublehead
. Residing at Nickajack, he operated a ferry across the Tennessee River
that served travellers on the branch of the Federal Road
that ran from Augusta, Georgia
to Nashville, Tennessee
. He was also headman of Nickajack, which after the wars almost totally eclipsed its neighbor, Running Water, becoming so large it straddled the river.
Politically, he was part of the dominant group in the Lower Towns which favored emigration west across the Mississippi River
, a position for which at one point he was expelled from the national council along with several other Lower Cherokee leaders.
When John Norton
, the Mohawk
leader of Cherokee-Scottish ancestry travelled south and stayed in the area during his travels after the War of 1812
, Turtle-at-Home served as his main informant for the history of the area.
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
warrior and leader, brother of Dragging Canoe
Dragging Canoe
Tsiyu Gansini , "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee against colonists and United States settlers...
and one of his chief lieutenants during the Chickamauga wars
Chickamauga wars
The Chickamauga Wars were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles which were a continuation of the Cherokee struggle against encroachment by American frontiersmen from the former British colonies...
. In the beginning and the later years, he led war parties against the settlements on the Holston
Holston River
The Holston River is a major river system of southwestern Virginia and east Tennessee. The three major forks of the Holston rise in southwestern Virginia and have their confluence near Kingsport, Tennessee. The North Fork flows southwest from Sharon Springs in Bland County, Virginia...
, Nolichucky
Nolichucky River
The Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and east Tennessee. The river is long.-Hydrography:...
, Watauga
Watauga River
The Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 60 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain and Peak Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina.-Hydrography:...
, and Doe River
Doe River
The Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
s in modern East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
, and against the Cumberland River
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
settlements in modern Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
. After the second destruction of the Chickamauga Towns in 1782, however, instead of moving to the Five Lower Towns with his brother and the rest of the Chickamauga/Lower Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, he and his band of seventy warriors headed north to fight alongside their Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
allies.
Turtle-at-Home and his band remained in the north until after the 1791 Battle of the Wabash
St. Clair's Defeat
St. Clair's Defeat also known as the Battle of the Wabash, the Battle of Wabash River or the Battle of a Thousand Slain, was fought on November 4, 1791 in the Northwest Territory between the United States and the Western Confederacy of American Indians, as part of the Northwest Indian War...
, in which he and his warriors along with two parties brought north separately by his brothers Little Owl and The Badger, participated. In that battle, the Indian army of the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
leader Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket or Weyapiersenwah was a war chief of the Shawnee people, known for his militant defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country...
and the Miami
Miami tribe
The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...
leader Little Turtle delivered the single worst defeat ever inflicted upon the United States military by American Indians, far surpassing the more renowned Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
in 1876, only 48 of Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
's 1000 troops escaping harm, 623 of those 1000 killed outright.
After that battle, Turtle-at-Home returned south with his two brothers, though his men stayed behind. In 1792, he and The Glass had just returned from a successful raid on the Cumberland River settlements and into Kentucky when his older brother returned from his embassies to the other Southeastern nations, successful with the Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and Lower Muscogee (the Upper Muscogee had been allies for years) though unsuccessful with the Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
. After an all-night celebration at Lookout Mountain Town (now Trenton, Georgia
Trenton, Georgia
Trenton is a city in Dade County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2000 census. It is the only incorporated municipality in the county, and as such it serves as the county seat....
), Dragging Canoe died, and John Watts succeeded him.
When the wars ended, Turtle-at-Home rose to become one of the central leaders of the Lower Cherokee and of the nation as a whole. He was always on the council of the Lower Towns and succeeded as Speaker of the National Council upon the death of Doublehead
Doublehead
Doublehead or Incalatanga , was one of the most feared warriors of the Cherokee during the Chickamauga Wars. In 1788, his brother, Old Tassel, was chief of the Cherokee people, but was killed under a truce by frontier rangers. In 1791 Doublehead was among a delegation of Cherokees who visited U.S...
. Residing at Nickajack, he operated a ferry across the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
that served travellers on the branch of the Federal Road
Federal Road
Federal Road may refer to one of the following:*Federal Road from Athens, Georgia to Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee*Federal Road from Fort Wilkinson Federal Road may refer to one of the following:*Federal Road (Cherokee lands) from Athens, Georgia to Chattanooga and Knoxville,...
that ran from Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. He was also headman of Nickajack, which after the wars almost totally eclipsed its neighbor, Running Water, becoming so large it straddled the river.
Politically, he was part of the dominant group in the Lower Towns which favored emigration west across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, a position for which at one point he was expelled from the national council along with several other Lower Cherokee leaders.
When John Norton
John Norton (Mohawk chief)
The Mohawk Major John Norton played a prominent role in the War of 1812, leading Iroquois warriors from Grand River into battle against American invaders at Queenston Heights, Stoney Creek, and Chippawa.-Early life:...
, the Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
leader of Cherokee-Scottish ancestry travelled south and stayed in the area during his travels after the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Turtle-at-Home served as his main informant for the history of the area.
Sources
- Brown, John P. Old Frontiers: The Story of the Cherokee Indians from Earliest Times to the Date of Their Removal to the West, 1838. (Kingsport: Southern Publishers, 1938).
- Evans, E. Raymond. "Notable Persons in Cherokee History: Dragging Canoe". Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 176–189. (Cherokee: Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 1977).
- Haywood, W.H. The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from its Earliest Settlement up to the Year 1796. (Nashville: Methodist Episcopal Publishing House, 1891).
- Klink, Karl, and James Talman, ed. The Journal of Major John Norton. (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1970).
- McLoughlin, William G.William G. McLoughlinWilliam Gerald McLoughlin was an historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University from 1954 to 1992. His subject areas were the history of religion in the United States, revivalism, the Cherokee, missionaries to Native Americans, abolitionism, and Rhode Island.Born in...
Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992). - Moore, John Trotwood and Austin P. Foster. Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923, Vol. 1. (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923).
- Ramsey, James Gettys McGreadyJ. G. M. RamseyJames Gettys McGready Ramsey was an American historian, physician, and businessman, active primarily in East Tennessee during the nineteenth century. Ramsey is perhaps best known for his book, The Annals of Tennessee, a seminal work documenting the state's frontier and early statehood periods...
. The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century. (Chattanooga: Judge David Campbell, 1926).