The Rhea Letter was an American political scandal. On January the 6th, 1818, Andrew Jackson, then department commander in the South-west, wrote to President Monroe regarding the Seminole troubles in Florida and advising the prompt seizure of East Florida, which he declared could be done 'without implicating the Government'. He offered to accomplish the seizure himself within sixty days, if. it should be indicated to him that it were desirable. John Rhea, a Congressman from Tennessee, was the secret channel through which he hoped Monroe's assent might be signified. It was not. In 1831, during Andrew Jackson's administration, in the height of his quarrel with Calhoun, which turned in part upon the Seminole affair, John Rhea wrote to Monroe, hoping to elicit from him something that would implicate him as approving Andrew Jackson's plan. Monroe, on his death-bed in New York, denounced John Rhea's insinuations as utterly false. Research Rhea Letter
Braxton Bragg was an American Confederate general. He was born in 1817 at Warren County, North Carolina and died in 1876. He graduated at West Point in 1837, was engaged in the Seminole War of 1837 to 1839 and served with distinction at Buena Vista during the Mexican War of 1846 to 1848 under General Taylor, after which he retired from the army in 1856 and became a planter in Louisiana. When the Civil War broke out, Braxton Bragg was made in 1861 commander-in-chief of all the state troops in Louisiana. In February 1862 he became a major-general, with his headquarters at Mobile, in command of the second division of the Confederate army, the centre of which he commanded at the Battle of Shiloh. In the summer of 1862 he invaded Kentucky, and was defeated in the West. He was defeated again at Murfreesboro', but in 1863 won the Battle of Chickamauga. Grant defeated his army at the battles around Chattanooga, and General Bragg was removed from his command. Research Braxton Bragg
The Creek Indians (Muskogee) are an aboriginal North American people of the Muskogean family who originally lived on the Flint, Chattahoochee, Coosa and Alabama Rivers and in the peninsular of Florida. The Muskogee were called the Creeks by the British in allusion to their villages being located close to rivers and creeks. They were farmers planting maize, beans, millet, tobacco and sunflowers, hunters who hunted deer and bison in the west, and gatherers who collected and stored nuts and wild fruits. The Creek Indians lived in settlements comprising a main town surrounded by small villages. The main town contained a 'square' where public and religious gatherings were held. The houses were originally built of logs with mud or thatched roofs, later the styles of frontier home built by the Europeans were adopted.
During the 17th century attacks by Europeans had decimated many of the coastal dwelling Creek people, but it was not until the overthrow of the French that they came completely under English influence. During the American War of Independence the Creeks joined the British, assisting in an attack on Wayne's army in 1782. In 1790 they made a friendly treaty, but renewed hostilities in 1792. Another treaty was made in 1796 and in 1802 and 1805 they began to cedelands. Joining the English in the American War of 1812, they attacked Fort Mimms on August the 30th 1813 and massacred 400 people. The Creek Indians suffered repeated defeats, and were completely overthrown by General Jackson at Horseshoe Bend on March the 27th 1814. A peace treaty followed in which the Creeks surrendered large tracts of land. Early in the 19th century a part of the Creeks removed to Louisiana and later to Texas. A treaty was made on 1825 by William McIntosh, a mixed bloodCreek of a Scottish father and Creek mother ceding more lands which resulted in his murder for 'selling the graves of the ancestors' and the treaty was repudiated. The Creeknation then divided, one party favouring emigration, the other opposing it. In 1836 a part aided the US Government against the Seminole Indians, but the remainder attacked the frontier towns of Georgia and Alabama. General Scott killed large numbers of the Creek Indians and the survivors were removed to a reservation between the Arkansas and the Canadian. The American Civil War again divided the tribe, those supporting the Union being defeated by those supporting the Confederacy. In 1866 the Creeklands were further reduced with a large tract being ceded to the US Government. Research Creek Indians
Darius N Couch was an American soldier. He was born in 1822 at New York and died in 1897. Educated at the US Military Academy, he served against the Seminole Indians in 1849 and 1850. During the American Civil War he served as colonel and brigadier-general, and commanded the Second Army Corps at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. He was quartermaster-general of Connecticut from 1877 until 1878 and adjutant-general from 1883 until 1884. Research Darius Couch
Edmund P Games was an American soldier. He was born in 1777 and died in 1849. He served during the War of 1812, and was promoted major-general for services in defense of Fort Brie in 1814. He was commissioner to the Seminole Indians in 1816, and took command against them in 1817. Research Edmund Games
Edward Donaldson was an American sailor. He was born in 1816 and died in 1889. A rear-admiral, he served in the US navy from 1835 to 1876. In the American Civil War he took part in the capture of New Orleans and in the passage of Vicksburg, and at the battle of Mobile Bay commanded the 'Seminole'. Research Edward Donaldson
James Gadsden was an American soldier. He was born in 1788 and died in 1858. He served in the War of 1812, was aide-de-camp to General Jackson in the subjugation of the Seminole Indians, and constructed works for the defense of the Gulf. He was appointed Minister to Mexico in 1853 by President Pierce, and negotiated the Gadsden Treaty, which secured the purchase of the southern portion of Arizona and New Mexico by the United States. Research James Gadsen
James Monroe was the fifth president of the USA. He was born in 1758 at Westmoreland County, Virginia and died in 1831. He entered William and Mary College, but left it in 1776 to enter the army. He was present at Trenton, Brandywine, Monmouth, etc., and in 1782 was already a member of the Virginia Assembly. He was soon a member of the State Council, and a delegate to the Continental Congress. In the Ratifying Convention of 1788, he ardently upheld the Anti-Federalist side. As US Senator from 1790 to 1794, envoy to France from 1794 to 1796, and Governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802, he was naturally a Republican and an exponent of Jefferson's views. President Jefferson sent him in 1803 as additional envoy to France, where he helped Livingston to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Thence he was sent as Minister to London, where he remained until 1807.
He had just commenced another term as Governor in 1811, when he was appointed Secretary of State. This office he held until 1817, combining with it in 1814 to 1815 the War portfolio. As Republican candidate for President in 1816, Monroe received 183 electoral votes, and in 1820 he had almost no opposition; the eight years of his administrations are in fact embalmed in American history as the so-called 'era of good feeling'. His Cabinet included John Quincy Adams in the State Department, Crawford Treasury, John Calhoun War, and WirtAttorney-General. The period is marked by the acquisition of Florida, the Seminole War, Missouri Compromise, seaboard defence policy, the visit of Lafayette, and the Monroe Doctrine. Research James Monroe
Osceola was a chief of the Seminole Indian. He was born in 1804 and died in 1838. He inaugurated the second Seminole War in 1836 by killing General Thompson in revenge for the kidnapping and enslavement of his wife by the whites. He conducted the war for over a year, fighting at the Withlacoochee River, Micanopy and Port Drane. He was treacherously seized while negotiating a treaty under a. flag of truce with General Jesup near St Augustine in 1837, and was imprisoned. Research Osceola
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Rhea Letter
