Under pressure from the Continental Congress, North Carolina finally ceded its western lands to the U.S. Government, but Congress did not immediately accept the property, leading to a space owned by no one party. Sevier and others became leaders in the area, named the State of Franklin. Soon, however, North Carolina wished for the return of the land, and the two quasi-states competed for the loyalties of the area’s residents. Sevier, meanwhile, attempted to gain control of Cherokee lands in present-day Alabama, participating in several battles against the Indians. Upon his return, some of Sevier’s land was seized by North Carolina, and in retribution he and his militia laid siege to the farm of John Tipton. Tipton, backed by his own militia, emerged successful, and so marked the end of the State of Franklin. Sevier was arrested in 1788 on charges of treason, but he escaped, and a year later he was elected to the North Carolina Senate, after which he received an official pardon from the state’s governor. Sevier was later elected to the First U.S. Congress, where he served until 1791.
When Tennessee became a state in 1796, Sevier served as its first governor for six years, and in 1803 he again took up the position until 1809. After the conclusion of his final term, he was elected to the Tennessee State Senate, and in 1811 he joined the United States House of Representatives. He passed away in 1815, one day after his seventieth birthday, while surveying the boundary between Georgia and the Creek Nation in Alabama.
Born. | |
Served in Lord Dunmore’s War. | |
Cherokee siege of Fort Caswell. | |
Laid siege to the property of John Tipton. | |
Arrested on a charge of treason. | |
Elected to the North Carolina Senate. | |
Present-day Tennessee was ceded to the U.S. Gov’t. | |
Elected to the First U.S. Congress. | |
Tennessee became a state. | |
Served as first governor of Tennessee. | |
Served as third governor of Tennessee. | |
Attempted to duel Andrew Jackson. | |
Elected to the Tennessee State Senate. | |
Joined the U.S. House of Representatives. | |
Died. |
Nolichucky Jack in | America First—100 Stories from Our History by Lawton B. Evans |
Indian leader who tried to be neutral during the Revolutionary War, but was murdered. | |
Revolutionary war hero who fought both British and Indians in the Ohio Valley. | |
Davy Crockett | Tennessee Frontiersman and congressman. Involved with Texas independence. Died at the Alamo. |
Explored the Kentucky and Tennessee Valley. Opened a road for settlers through Cumberland Gap. |