William McIntosh was born in the Cowetacountry, Creek Nation, on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River, in the present limits of Carroll County, Ga. His father was William McIntosh, captain in the British army, and agent to the Creek Indians; his mother, a full-blooded Indian woman of unknown name. The sister of his father, Catherine, became the mother of George M. Troup, and with the career of his cousin that of the Indian chief was closely intertwined.
McIntosh emerges from obscurity as leader of the Lower Creeks, friendly to the Americans in the War of 1812, in which the Upper Creeks sided with the British. After the Indian wars McIntosh was known as the friend of the white man and of Georgia. Troup became governor in 1823 and endeavored to secure the removal of the Creek and Cherokee Indians still occupying choice lands in the western part of the state. The Upper Creeks or "Red Sticks, " resident in Alabama and long hostile to the whites, were determined to make no cession of tribal lands. The Lower Creeks, on the Georgia side of the river, influenced by McIntosh, were disposed to conclude treaties of cession. McIntosh was proscribed by the hostile faction of Creeks, and expelled from the Cherokee council as a renegade. After the failure of treaty negotiations at Broken Arrow, Ala. , December 1, 1824, United States commissioners arranged a council at Indian Springs, Ga. , February 7, 1825. Here the Upper Creeks continued to oppose any cession and succeeded in breaking up the council. On February 12, however, the McIntosh party signed a treaty of cession. Its fairness was at least doubtful, and McIntosh's disinterestedness was called in question. The Upper Creeks, supported by the United States agent, Crowell, protested the treaty; but eventually its provisions went into effect. The vengeance of the Upper Creeks was not long delayed. McIntosh's house on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River was surrounded during the night of April 30, and set on fire, and in the ensuing mêlée McIntosh was slain.
Quotations:
“That letter generated in excess of $350, 000. Some of the gifts were low-five-figure gifts. Most were high-three-figure gifts. They involved some real sacrificial giving on the part of many, many people. ”
“To take that step and invest in the future of the memorial at the time they did it … it was an extremely generous act and one of importance because it showed material support against a real backdrop of moral support. ”
“It solidifies that I really need to learn more so I can make an informed decision when it comes time to vote. ”
In person, McIntosh is described as "tall, finely formed and of graceful and commanding manner. " He had much of the polish of the gentleman. In his life and death, he illustrates the not infrequent tragedy of the American half-breed Indian.
McIntosh had several Indian wives, and left Indian progeny.
1745 - 1794
1798 - 1851
1809 - 1849
15 October 1818 - 13 September 1885
Born in 1801.
1815 - 1888
1820 - 28 May 1887
1820 - 15 February 1903
1804 - October 1875
20 September 1822 - 10 April 1896
