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Doublehead (c. 1744–1807), orIncalatanga (Tal-tsu'tsa, ᏔᎵᏧᏍᎦ [Talitsus'ga] in Cherokee), was one of the most feared warriors of theCherokee during theCherokee–American wars in theUpper South region. Following the peace treaty at theTellico Blockhouse in 1794, he served as one of the leaders of theChickamauga Cherokee (or "Lower Cherokee"), and was chosen as the leader of Chickamauga (taking on the titleChuqualataque) in 1802.[1]
It is thought that Doublehead's father was Great Eagle (orWillenewa), a nephew of ChiefOld Hop and a cousin of ChiefAttakullakulla (or Little Carpenter)[citation needed]. He was a brother ofOld Tassel, "First Beloved Man" of the Overhill Cherokee. Two of his relatives,Tahlonteeskee andJohn Jolly, were also leaders among the Chickamauga and both later became Principal Chiefs of theCherokee Nation. Doublehead's last wife was Nancy Drumgoole. Their youngest son, Bird Doublehead, was only twelve years old at the time of Doublehead's assassination.
Living in theOverhill Towns on theLittle Tennessee River, he sporadically took part in the campaigns ofDragging Canoe as they were under a flag of truce during an embassy to theState of Franklin in 1788, until the murder of his brother, and anotherpacifist chief, Abraham of Chilhowee. Thereafter, he became one of the most vicious fighters and most capable leaders of the Cherokee during war.[citation needed]
Doublehead's first act in his 1788 crusade was to lead a party of warriors in concert with those of Dragging Canoe in an assault onWhite's Fort inEast Tennessee. Thereafter, he and his warriors operated somewhat independently, though occasionally joining Dragging Canoe's campaigns, operating from his new settlement of Coldwater at the head of theMuscle Shoals on theTennessee River in what is now the state ofAlabama. The location at the time was within the territory claimed by theChickasaw, but Doublehead solved that problem by marrying two daughters toGeorge Colbert, the chief of the Chickasaw town at the foot of the Shoals. Doublehead's band included not only Cherokee, butMuskogee,Shawnee, and renegade Chickasaw (whose council and chiefs were adamantly opposed to the wars).
Beginning in 1791, Doublehead began operating closely with the parties of his great-nephew,Bob Benge, who was to become one of the most feared warriors on the frontier, and Benge's brother, The Tail, who was then based inWillstown.
In 1791, Doublehead was among a delegation of Cherokees who visited U.S. PresidentGeorge Washington in Philadelphia.
Following the death of Dragging Canoe in 1792, he became part of a triumvirate of leaders among the Chickamauga, along with Bloody Fellow and his nephew, John Watts, who was recognized as the chief of them.
In September 1792, Watts orchestrated a large campaign into the Cumberland region of combined Cherokee and Muskogee forces which included a contingent of cavalry. It was to be a three-pronged attack in whichTahlonteeskee (orTalotiskee) of the Muskogee (who was either a Creek chief or a relative of Doublehead by that name) led a force to ambush the Kentucky road;Middle Striker led another to do the same on the Walton road; while Watts himself led the main army which was made up of 280 Cherokee, Shawnee, and Muskogee warriors and cavalry, against a settlement on theCumberland River known asBuchanan's Station on Sept. 30, 1792. Among the attackers were "Shawnee Warrior" (also known asChiksika);Tahlonteeskee; and Dragging Canoe's brother, Little Owl—all of whom died in the encounter. Also wounded in the attack was Pumpkin Boy, a younger brother of Doublehead.
Following the three failed attacks on theMero District, Doublehead, Pumpkin Boy, and their nephewBob Benge led a raid into southwesternKentucky during which their warriors, in an act initiated by Doublehead,cannibalized the enemies they had just killed.[citation needed] Their act was in imitation of theIroquois, particularly theMohawk, who were alleged to have done so to intimidate their enemies (especially during theBeaver Wars)[citation needed]. Though every warrior present partook, Benge never operated with Doublehead afterward, sickened at his actions and at his own, nor did the later leader,The Ridge, who also took part.[2]
In 1793, a delegation of Shawnee stopped inUstanali, the principal city of the Cherokee, on their way to call on the Muskogee andChoctaw to punish the Chickasaw for joining St. Clair's army in the north. Watts sent envoys toKnoxville, then the capital of theSouthwest Territory, to meet with GovernorWilliam Blount to discuss terms for peace. This party, which included Bob McLemore, Tahlonteeskee, Captain Charley of Running Water, and Doublehead, along with the white delegation, was attacked by militia during a stop at the Overhill town of Coyatee.Hanging Maw was wounded, and several others, including his wife, daughter, and one of the white delegates, were killed. The Cherokee agreed to await the outcome of the subsequent trial, which was later proven to be a farce because the man who was responsible was a close friend ofJohn Sevier.
Watts responded by invading the Holston area with one of the largest Indian forces ever seen in the region —over one thousand Cherokee, Muskogee, and Shawnee — intending to attack Knoxville itself. On the way, the Cherokee leaders were discussing among themselves whether to kill all the inhabitants of Knoxville, or just the men,James Vann advocating the latter while Doublehead argued for the former. Further on the way, they encountered a small settlement called Cavett's Station. After they had surrounded the place, Benge negotiated with the inhabitants, agreeing that if they surrendered, their lives would be spared. However, after the settlers had walked out, Doublehead's group and his Muskogee allies attacked and began killing them over the pleas of Benge and the others. Vann managed to grab one small boy and pull him onto his saddle, only to have Doublehead smash the boy's skull with an axe. Watts intervened in time to save another young boy, handing him to Vann, who put the boy behind him on his horse and later handed him over to three of the Muskogee for safe keeping. Unfortunately, one of the Muskogee chiefs killed the boy and scalped him a few days later.
Because of this incident, Vann called Doublehead "Babykiller" for the remainder of his life. This incident also started a lengthy feud that defined the politics of the early 19th-century Cherokee Nation.
Doublehead was elected first Speaker of the Cherokee National Council when the Cherokee formed its first nascent national government in 1794. He became one of the foremost advocates of acculturation and became one of the richest men in The Cherokee Nation — the Lower Towns where he was a leader were then the wealthiest section of the entire country. He was also a chief advocate of land sales, along with several older chiefs in the Lower Towns, whose number included Dragging Canoe's brother, Turtle at Home. This only increased the enmity between him and his chief rival, James Vann.
Upon the death of his nephew,Principal ChiefJohn Watts, in 1802, Doublehead was chosen as the leader of Chickamauga (taking on the titleChuqualataque).[3]
A treaty was signed on 25 October 1805 for the location of a fort (the Hiwassee Garrison) opposite and below the mouth of the Hiwassee River and on the North Bank of the Tennessee River. As part of this treaty, a secret article was applicable to a small tract of land at and below the mouth of the Clinch River: one mile square at the foot of the Cumberland Mountains for the benefit of Chief Doublehead, and one square mile on the north bank of the Tennessee River where Cherokee Talootiske lived.
In August 1807, because of his ongoing machinations with U.S. Indian Affairs CommissionerReturn J. Meigs, Jr. regarding under-the-table land deals, as well as personal animosity going back nearly two decades, several of the younger leaders of the Nation, led byJames Vann, conspired to assassinate Doublehead. Meanwhile, Doublehead lost part of his thumb in a scuffle with a Cherokee named Bone Polisher. James Vann had initially planned to lead the assault but had become too drunk to take part.
The Ridge (later known asMajor Ridge) and Alexander Sanders, shot the injured chief in McIntosh's Tavern at the Hiwassee Garrison near the Cherokee Agency (nowCalhoun, Tennessee). The badly wounded Doublehead sought safety in the attic of schoolmaster Jonathan Blacke's house, where the assassins finished the job with knives and tomahawks.[4]
At the time of the murder of Chief Doublehead, Thomas Norris Clark, John D. Chisholm, and Major Return J. Meigs had been appointed the executors of the estate by Chief Doublehead, and he wished that his estate be disposed of in the manner of white people and his wishes were read and approved by the Cherokee Council. Chief Doublehead's son Birdsong Doublehead, who was twelve years old and living in the Clarks' home at the time of his father's murder, stayed there until his father's estate could be settled, and then Clark took him down to Mussel Shoals Alabama to be with his mother Nancy Drumgoole, the last wife of Chief Doublehead.
Several related events followed. Walker's Ferry on the Hiwasssee River was owned by John Walker, Jr., a mixed-blood who was one of Vann's associates. In July 1834, because of his advocacy of removal in the years leading up to theTreaty of New Echota, Walker was assassinated on the road home from Red Clay, Tennessee, after a meeting of the Cherokee National Council. His killers were James Foreman and his-half brother Anderson Springston. In June 1839, after the Cherokee Removal to Indian Territory, Major Ridge, his sonJohn Ridge, and nephewElias Boudinot were accused of the same crime as that of Doublehead and themselves became the targets of assassins. Among the killers of Major Ridge were James Foreman, Anderson Springston, Isaac Springston, and Bird Doublehead. In the traditional Cherokee matrilineal worldview, these men were all full brothers. They each shared the same mother: Nannie Drumgoole, last wife of Doublehead. Drumgoole was a descendant of Alexander Drumgoole, a trader to the Cherokees.
A fictional version of Doublehead's execution is inDee Brown's novelCreek Mary's Blood.
| Preceded by | Leader of the Chickamauga/Lower Cherokee 1802–1807 | Succeeded by |
