The Tennessee side of the mountains is
home to many sites of importance to the history of the Cherokee Nation…and to
American history in general. Among these
sites are the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, (http://www.sequoyahmuseum.org/)
Fort Loudoun, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Loudoun_(Tennessee)
or http://fortloudoun.com/), and the sites of the former Cherokee de-facto capitals of Tanasi and Chota. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chota_(Cherokee_town)
But on this drive through Polk County Tennessee…it was all about Nancy or
Nanyehi…
This is the entrance to the memorial and gravesite for
Nanyehi…”One who goes about”, also known in English as Nancy Ward. Nanyehi was born ca. 1738 at Chota in what is
now East Tennessee. She was a ‘Ghigau’,
a Beloved Woman of the Cherokee Nation.
This meant that she was allowed to sit in councils and make decisions,
along with the chiefs and other Beloved Women.
Nanyehi was born as ‘Tsituna-Gus-Ke’ or
Wild Rose. Her parents were Tame Doe and
Francis Ward “Fivekiller”, the son of Francis Ward of Ireland. (Note: Some sources claim that her father was
a member of the Delaware tribe) Tame Doe’s father was Attakullakulla…a famed
and influential Cherokee leader. In any
case, Tsituna-Gus-Ke learned the English language from her mother. As she was growing up, it is said that she
had visions of helping spirits…and she was renamed “Nanye’hi”
or “One who is with the Spirit People”.
Note: The plaque at the beginning of the
path to Nanyehi’s grave site, shows a painting or drawing of a beautiful young
Indian woman. One wonders why that picture
was used at the memorial as it is artist George Catlin’s 1836 portrait of and
Indian woman named Ah-hee-te-wah-chee.
Nancy Ward/Nanyehi died at least 12 years prior to Catlin's work...
Nanyehi married ‘Kingfisher’ when she was
14 years old. In 1755, her reputation
grew after she fought in the battle of Taliwa against the Creeks. After both her father and her husband were
killed in battle, she picked up Kingfisher’s weapon and kept fighting, leading
her people to victory.
At the age of 18, she was awarded the
title of ‘Ghigau’. She was also named
the leader of the Women’s Council of Clan Representatives and she took over the
role of ambassador and negotiator for her people. Nanyehi remarried, this time to her cousin, a
South Carolina colonist and trader, Bryant Ward…a nephew of Francis Ward.
Note: It sounds a bit strange…or a bit
like some of the early arrangements amongst European royalty…but Nanyehi and
Bryant Ward had a daughter named Elizabeth.
She became the wife of Revolutionary War General Joseph Martin…who
already had a wife. Actually the General
was married, became a widower and then remarried…all while being married to
Elizabeth. He claimed that it was common
on the frontier and that it made good diplomatic sense. For more on this interesting character, go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Martin_(general).
As a Ghigau, Nanyehi had the power to
save captives and in 1776, following an attack on Fort Watauga, (now Elizabethton
Tennessee); she used that power to spare a Mrs. William Bean…who Nanyehi nursed
back to health.
From Mrs. Bean, Nanyehi
learned a new loom weaving technique, revolutionizing the Cherokee garments and
changing the roles of women in Cherokee society. The women took on the task of weaving and the
men were now left to do the planting.
Two dairy cows had also been rescued and the Cherokee learned to raise
cattle and eat dairy products…very helpful when hunting was bad. This all contributed to transforming the
Cherokee society from a communal agricultural society to a society very similar
to the European-American model. As such,
with family farms and the need for more labor, some Cherokee adopted the
practice of slavery…
During the Revolutionary War, the
Cherokee were divided on whether to help the British against the settlers or to
support the settlers. Nanyehi supported
the settlers. After attacks by other
Cherokee against the settlers resulted in the retaliatory attacks which
destroyed many Cherokee villages and caused the loss of more land, Nanyehi
sought a peaceful resolution. This
culminated in a treaty between her people and the Americans…which allowed the
Americans to free up more troops to support General Washington’s army in his
struggles against British General Cornwallis.
In the years that followed, Nanyehi pushed
for the expansion of Cherokee farms while she and the Women’s Council opposed
the sale of more and more land to the whites…but their objections were largely
ignored. In the early 1800’s,
Nancy/Nanyehi and her son Fivekiller opened an inn on Womankiller Ford of the
Ocoee River. Her son took care of her
until her death. She was in her 80’s
when she died. She died before the
Cherokee were forced from their remaining lands in the east and were forced to
follow “The Trail of Tears” west beyond the Mississippi River. In her final years, she reportedly had a
vision showing a “great line of our people marching on foot…with the ‘Unaka’/white
soldiers behind them.”
This memorial to Nanyehi/Nancy Ward is
located just south of Benton Tennessee on old US Hwy. 411. Her son Fivekiller, as well as another family
member, is buried beside her. The
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore Tennessee holds an annual Nancy Ward
Cherokee Heritage Days celebration in her honor. Nanyehi is not only remembered as an
important figure to the Cherokee people, but she’s also considered as an early
pioneer for women in American politics.
Most of the information contained in this
blog came from the plaque at her grave site and from Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Ward. For those history buffs from East Tennessee, you
might want to check out what happened when she met with John Sevier in 1781…
Just click on any of the photos to
enlarge them…
Thanks for riding along and sharing this
historical stop along the byways of America!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Nice write up David
ReplyDeleteI love this post David, I have to read again I love!
ReplyDeleteand I love american indian history!!and love cherokee (always I wanna be an indian woman!
Have a nice weekend you both!
what a history lesson...fascinating!
ReplyDeleteMrs William Bean was Lydia Russell. The Bean's son Russell Bean was the first child born in Tennessee. Lydia's brother George Russell is my direct ancestor.
ReplyDelete