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Timothy Pickering and "The Trans-Oconee Republic Affair" Georgia's Expanse Into "The West"
Timothy Pickering and "The Trans-Oconee Republic Affair" Georgia's Expanse Into "The West"
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Pickering Timothy

Timothy Pickering and "The Trans-Oconee Republic Affair"—Georgia's Expanse Into "The West"

 

AN INTERESTING DOCUMENT THAT DEALS WITH ONE OF THE EARLY  GEORGIA LAND GRABS BY A REVOLUTIONARY HERO...A STATES RIGHTS MATTER

 

Timothy Pickering (1745-1829)*, ALS dated "January 18, 1796", signed by Timothy Pickering "T. Pickering" as Secretary of War, 7.5" x 12". Light edgewear, expected folds with reinforcments placed along the verso of the fold lines. Overall toning, with vibrant strong contrasting ink.

 

(1/1/1795-1/27/1796)

 

[at the time he was also Secretary of State (8/20/1795-5/12/1800)]

 

An important letter to Jared Irwin (1750-1818), the new Governor of Georgia(1/15/1796-1/12/1798 and 9/23/1806-11/10/1809) regarding reimbursement of the costs of a militia action to enforce the Treaty of New York with the Creek Indians against the fiercely independent Georgian's hungry for land to the west of the state and even beyond original state lines. This was a first in a forty five year struggle against Indians and Georgia settlers. While Irwin was a General in the Georgia militia, he and John Twiggs in September of 1794 led 1200 Georgia militia in a series of actions against General Elijah Clarke's (1742-1799) ** fortification on the Oconee, part of the "Trans-Oconee Republic". The "Republic" was the result of a reaction to the new Federal government's ceding of land claimed by the Creek Indians by the 1790 Treaty of New York. Clarke and his followers erected as many as six fortified settlements, wrote a constitution, and elected their own officials. But after a few months, pressure from the federal government forced the governor to take action, and Clarke's independent state came to an end. That Treaty was negotiated by Alexander Knox (1750-1806), then Secretary of War and Alexander McGillory (1750-1793). By that Treaty, President Washington had pressured Georgia Governor George Matthews (1739-1812) to remove Clarke's settlements in Western Georgia in violation of that Treaty. Matthews ignored the pressure  because the Treaty was highly unpopular. This letter was written, ironically, at the height of another Georgia land grab, the Yazoo land fraud scheme. The Yazoo land fraud was one of the most significant events in the post—Revolutionary War history of Georgia. The bizarre climax to a decade of frenzied speculation in the state's public lands, the Yazoo sale of 1795 did much to shape Georgia politics and to continue strained relations with the federal government for a generation.

 

* Pickering was one of the key patriot leaders after the Revolutionary War. Washington appointed Pickering to the position of Postmaster General in 1791. After briefly serving as Secretary of War, Pickering became the Secretary of State in 1795, and remained in that office after President Adams was inaugurated. As Secretary of State, Pickering favored close relations with Britain. President Adams dismissed him in 1800 due to Pickering's opposition to peace with France during the Quasi-War. Pickering won election to represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate in 1803, becoming an ardent opponent of the Embargo Act of 1807. He continued to support Britain in the Napoleonic Wars, famously describing the country as "The World's last hope - Britain's Fast-anchored Isle." He left the Senate in 1811 but served in the United States House of Representatives from 1813 to 1817. During the War of 1812 he became a leader of the New England secession movement and helped organize the Hartford Convention. The fallout from the convention ended Pickering's political career. He lived as a farmer in Salem until his death in 1829.

 

** In February 1794 Clarke, a Revolutionary war hero from Georgia, had resigned from the Georgia militia after two decades of distinguished service. Around that same time he received a French commission as a major general and began recruiting soldiers for an attack on Spanish Florida. The invasion never materialized, and he decided to use the remnants of his army to seize Indian  lands west of the Oconee in May of that year. The Creeks did not resist, and the independent state quickly took shape. With promises of land to those who would join the venture, Clarke hoped to fill Creek lands with settlers before the state and federal government had time to react. Many Georgians were skeptical of his dubious plan, and no more than a few hundred crossed the river.  nevertheless, Clarke persisted, and military action was necessary to put an end  to the Republic. Judge George Walton, one of Georgia's signers of the Declaration of Independence and a staunch Federalist. In his charge to an Augusta grand jury, Walton carefully explained why Clarke's actions were in violation of both state and federal laws. Allowing Clarke's settlements to continue, Walton argued, would disrupt the stability of the new federal government and set a dangerous precedent. If Clarke could occupy "the richest jewel the state of Georgia possesses" before the lands were legally opened, then nothing would prevent others from doing the same, and federal treaties would be worthless.

 

With Walton's eloquence and reputation on his side, Governor Mathews felt confident enough to send the militia against the illegal settlements. As 1,200 militiamen under Generals Jared Irwin and John Twiggs marched to the Oconee in late September 1794, Clarke vowed to defend his independent state with his life. However, when Irwin offered full amnesty to those who would peacefully  return east of the river, Clarke and virtually all of his men surrendered and went back to their homes. Mathews wrote to the secretary of war in October, declaring that "the whole business happily terminated without the loss of blood." Thus Georgia peacefully ended a tense standoff and avoided a clash with the federal government.

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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