Our Connection – Parker and Johnson Lines. James Tuggle is the father of Jane Tuggle Parker.
Georgia, Gwinnett County,
February 7th, 1838.
To your Excelency, George R. Gilmer.
Sir our Capt. James Tuggle Received your letter Dated 30th January 1838 on yesterday and on this day had a muster and we the members of said Company receiving information that probably an additional force will in a short time be Called for by Col Lindsey and upon reconsidering the matter we unanimously agree to hold our selves in readiniss as a mounted Volunteer Company to aid and assist in defence of our neighbouring Cherokee Counties should the Indians become hostile and hoping that when your Excelency should be call’d on for a company of mounted Volunteers to go into United States service in said Cherokee nation that your Excelency will give us an opportunity to fill the Call should it be immediately We pray the opportunity and also we request your Excelency to organize our Company in the Commissioning of our officers according to the return of the former Election and we the members of said Company think it entirely unnessessary to furnish your Excelency with a roll of our names to this agreement as your Excelency has already a roll of said members with the Exception of a few additional names.
We remain your Humble Subjects
from members of Capt. Tuggles Company
In this letter, the members of the militia unit seem eager to respond to the Governor’s request.
On the western borders of Gwinnett, Hall, Habersham and Rabun counties lay the Cherokee lands. The Treaty of New Echota was signed in 1836 by 3 members of the Cherokee Nation who didn’t have the authority to sell the lands. This treaty required the Cherokees to move to Oklahoma by 1838. In the 1832 Land Lottery, the state of Georgia awarded 160 acres to each of the “fortunate drawers”. Believing that the Indians supported the treaty, many Georgians had grown quite inpatient that the Cherokees were still on “their” land. I read several newspaper articles from 1838 which reflected an intense readiness of Georgians to remove the Cherokees.
Much to my surprise, the removal of the Cherokee Indians from their homes North Georgia was a precision military operation that was carried out in 2-3 weeks. It had been planned for almost 3 years. Prior to the removal, 14 wooden stockades (forts) were constructed in 10 counties throughout North Georgia to house the military units, support staff & equipment as well as soldiers, horses and provisions . Military correspondence still exists providing a glimpse into the wait and work life of the soldiers. Requisition orders and correspondence between officers provide a glimpse into that period. The book “Carrying Off the Cherokees” by John W. Latty is about Captain Buffington’s Militia Unit from Hall County, GA that served 1837-1838. This book provides a glimpse into a soldier’s daily life and the military’s planning and logistics.
Located near present-day Calhoun, GA, several companies encamped at Fort Wool. From correspondence reflecting provision orders that would supply multiple companies, it is estimated that between 1000 – 2000 soldiers were stationed at Fort Wool, later known at New Echota.
The soldiers in Captain Tuggle’s company of the Georgia Infantry were enrolled in Gwinnett County on March 8, 1838. They were ordered into service of the United States by the Secretary of War for a period of 12 months, unless discharged sooner. They traveled about 100 miles to New Echota, GA (near Calhoun, GA) mustering into service on March 22, 1838.
Each post was required to report the number of Indians living within a 10-mile radius. In the area near Fort Wool, “Captain Tuggle estimated 316 Cherokees to be, none of whom evidenced any hostility and all of whom agreed to emigrate if Principal Chief John Ross directed them to do so.” The Treaty gave the Cherokees two years to sell their property and move. Some did move prior to the deadline of March 1838.
What about that!! A quote from James Tuggle. I don’t think I have ever found a quote by an ancestor. I found information about the removal forts and this quote in the book “Cherokee Removal: Forts Along the Georgia Trail of Tears” page 27. It was written by Sarah H. Hill in joint partnership with the National Park Service and GA Dept of Natural Resources/ Historic Preservation Division. These agencies produce some great research. I have used other documents they have created.