ANNIVERSARY REVIVES SPIRITS AND HISTORY OF BATTLE OF JACK’S CREEK

          Recently I was happily reminded of Monroe High School’s legendary American History teacher, the late Nanette S. Robison, when a reader queried me about gleaning information on the battle of Jack’s Creek and the area.

          I vaguely remembered Nanette sending me something years ago about the battle in one of the many letters we shared in our twenty-something years of communication.  Leafing through the large manila folder of her letters I found the folded document in one of her letters from the late 80’s. After reading the two paged account, I opened “Wayfarers in Walton” for Anita Sams’ detailed information on the battle. In Nanette’s letter she mentioned how often she wanted to integrate the local battle into one of her classes but deferred that to her friend, the late Mindell Hester, who taught Georgia History to her seventh grade students. The topic came up on one of my visits when I asked her when she and husband Jim moved to their house just outside of Monroe.  She told me she would dig out an article she had kept for years and send it to me, which she did.

          September 27, 2019 marks the 232^nd anniversary of the Battle of Jack’s Creek and for those history buffs among the readers, here is a glimpse of how the battle came to be and a bit of the aftermath. As the anniversary approaches I think Nanette would be pleased that at long last she was able to get this part of her history lesson passed on to many of her former students.

          “Legend says that spirits of the displaced red men of long ago return each fall to their favorite sites and that the autumn haze so prevalent now is smoke from their campfires.

          If so, Walton County should be well populated with spirits, for this was a choice hunting ground, bitterly contested at times by the Creeks and their northern neighbors, the Cherokees.

          But contested hunting grounds were not the biggest problem confronting local Indians of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.  Far more serious were the encroachments of the white man, and the last Indian activity of note took place about three miles east of present-day Monroe, Sept. 27, 1787.  The clash between 80 to 100 Creeks and 130 white men became known in history as the Battle of Jack’s Creek.

          Revolutionary veteran and foremost frontiersman Elijah Clarke was in charge of Indian defense in this area at that time.  When he was informed that Indian had killed a man Sept. 17^th near Greensbrough and that on the 18^th Col. George Barber was waylaid, wounded and three of his party killed, Clarke determined to punish the perpetrators.

          Within 24 hours he collected 160 men, chiefly volunteers and Revolutionary veterans, went to the place where Col. Barber had been attacked, buried the slain men and set out in pursuit of the Indians.

          When Gen. Clarke and his men reached the south fork of the Ocmulgee River they gave up the chase.  Turning about the went up stream.  Suddenly they happened upon a fresh trail, and following it the whites came upon an Indian band which had just crossed Jack’s Creek through a thick cane-break and was cooking on an embankment.

          The white force then consisted of 130 men, 30 having been sent back because of exhaustion or lost horses.  Among those remaining were Clarke’s son, John, barely 21, whose future held two terms as governor of the state.  The Indians were under command of noted half-breed chief Alexander McGillivray.

          The whites fell upon the Indians from three directions, one group led by Col. Holman Freeman, a second by by Major John Clarke, and the third by Clarke himself.  The battle continued until 4:30 p.m.

          After the encounter, the six slain folloeres of Gen. Clarke were carried by their comrades up to a tributary of Jack’s Creek and buried.  For many years thereafter the little stream was known as Dead Men’s Branch or Battle Prong.  The wounded were hospitalized in Washington, Georgia

          In his battle report, General Clarke claimed a complete victory, estimating that 25 Indians were killed and telling of the capture of provisions, clothing, guns, 32 brass kettles and 37 packs containing blankets and other items.  But Chief McGillivary denied this, stating emphatically that “Clarke was certainly completely defeated by the Otassie Captain and Ninne Waketche, who fell , and likewise as to the Indian’s clothes and blankets is partially true as some were lost in shifting their ground to prevent the Americans from taking too great an advantage from their numbers.”

          An addendum to this report says, “Who can say which leader’s version is correct?  Another question is more troubling…..Did Clarke attack the guilty Indians or an innocent band?  We will never know.”

          A more detailed accounting of the battle is contained in Anita Sams’ county history, “Wayfarers in Walton” on pages 11-14, which give a factual accounting of the battle from General Clarke and other events leading up to discussions and finally treaties dealing with the Indians. These pages contain letters between various leaders giving accounts of not only the war but the events leading up to the treaties and beyond, giving an almost complete scenario for the reader as to what happened on the day of the battle and afterwards.  For any history enthusiast, this is “must” reading to find out how a section of our county endured a battle and how the name became a faction of our history and a road was named in its honor.