The Exiles of Florida: or, The crimes committed by our government against the Maroons, who fled from South Carolina and other slave states, seeking protection under Spanish laws.Giddings, Joshua R. (Joshua Reed)
Philosophy
The Exiles of Florida: or, The crimes committed by our government against the Maroons, who fled from South Carolina and other slave states, seeking protection under Spanish laws.
Giddings, Joshua R. (Joshua Reed)
Maroons; Seminole War, 1st, 1817-1818; Seminole War, 2nd, 1835-1842
"Without prejudging the claim of the Creek Indians to the negroes,
from the nature of things it is wholly impracticable for the
claimants to make a proper designation of the negroes claimed.
_There are no witnesses here that can identify the negroes_--not
even the person setting up the claim. And had the Government
intended to dispose of those negroes to the Creek Indians, it
should have been done in Florida, and not bring Indians and negroes
into Arkansas, the vicinity of their future residence, and then
_irritate_ the Indians to madness, and turn them loose on our
frontier, where we have no adequate protection--the massacre of our
citizens would be the inevitable consequence.
"I have just visited the chiefs of your command, and assured them
that their negroes should not be taken from them, and they have
pledged themselves that their people should go on to their country
peaceably. Your immediate departure will insure peace and avert the
outrages you had such good cause to expect.
"You will transmit this note to the proper Department at Washington
as a justification of the course you may pursue in accordance with
it.
I am, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
JNO. G. REYNOLDS, SAM. C. ROANE.
1st Lieut. U. S. M. C., and Disb'g Agent, Ind. Dep't."
This letter of Governor Roane certainly indicated to Mr. Collins a
strong repugnance to the policy adopted by the War Department, and must
have convinced him that his mission was, at least, unpopular among men
removed from the moral atmosphere in which the Executive appeared to
live. We are not informed of its effects upon Mr. Reynolds; but that
gentleman could not have been very greatly disappointed, as he had
clearly predicted the failure of all attempts to separate the Indians
and negroes.
A rise in the Arkansas River enabled them to resume their journey. They
reached Fort Gibson on the twelfth of June, and both Indians and negroes
were turned over to the care of Captain Stephenson, the agent appointed
to reside with the Western Seminoles. Here Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Collins
expected to make a final effort to separate the Indians and negroes, in
order that the latter might be transported back to that interminable
slavery which all knew awaited their return to Georgia. For this
purpose, Lieutenant Reynolds addressed Brigadier General Arbuckle, in
command at Fort Gibson; but, as the correspondence between these
officers brought the important mission of Mr. Collins in that Western
Country to a close, we will present these letters to the reader.
On the twelfth of June, the day of his arrival, Lieutenant Reynolds
addressed General Arbuckle the following note:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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