James Robertson
And The Wataugans
'■’hoy journey tkd from Wake* County to
th«‘ Watauga Valle* to form Americas
first independent self government.
By VANCE
In the fall of 1771. nearly five years
before the Declaration of Indepen¬
dence. a small group of North Caro¬
linians. led by James Robertson of
Wake County . crossed over the Blue
Ridge Mountains into the Watauga
Valley and settled in what then was
North Carolina Indian Territory,
where, in 1772. they established an in¬
dependent self-government which
they called “Watauga".
"The Watauga Government",
wrote Theodore Roosevelt in his his¬
tory. The Winning of The West, "was
the first independent self government
w ith a written Constitution by native
bom Americans."
following defeat of the "Regula¬
tors" at the Battle of Alamance in 1771
by Royal Governor Tryon’s militia,
many North Carolinians withdrew
from the province rather than take the
new oath of allegiance to the British
Crown. Among those who withdrew
were James Robertson of Wake
County and Daniel Boone of the Yad¬
kin Valley.
Instead of taking the new oath.
Robertson led a small group of dissen¬
ters from vs here the city of Raleigh now
stands to the Watauga Valley beyond
the Blue Ridge Mountains in w hat then
was Indian Territory.
Robertson and his Wake County
Carav an are said to have been joined
in route by a group of dissenters from
the Sandy Creek Baptist Church com¬
munity in Orange (now Randolph)
County, and by Daniel Boone and his
brother. Squire Boone, from the Yad¬
kin Valley neat where the town of
Mocksville now stands.
With their meager possessions
packed on horses, the caravan reached
the Moravian Village of Bethabara. in
what now is Forsyth County, in Sep¬
tember 1771. where the Moravian
Bishop recorded in his diary — "There
were unusually many strangers in our
town today who were moving west to
the Holston River."
Lease From Indians
Traveling through the wilderness
E. SHIFT
they reached the Watauga Valley
where they settled in what they
thought was Virginia, but when the
Donaldson Survey latei showed that
they had settled south of the Virginia
line m North Carolina Indian Territory
where the land, by treaty, had been
ceded to the Indians. Alexander
Cameron, the British Indian agent, or¬
dered them to leave at once. Having
built their cabins and planted their
crops, they were reluctant to leave,
and. knowing that they were prohib¬
ited by treaty from buying land be¬
yond the treaty line from the Indians,
they were in a dilemma, but acting
under the advice of James Robertson
and Daniel Boone, they decided to ig¬
nore the British and deal directly with
the Indians for lease b! the land. This
was a shrewd but desperate strategy.
James Robertson and John Bean,
acting for the settlers, journeyed some
150 miles through the wilderness to
Chota. the sacred city of the Overhill
Cherokee Nation, where they sought
out the chiefs, presented gifts to them,
and made their proposal for lease of
the land. The proposal was accepted
and Attacullaculla. the "Little Car¬
penter". went to Watauga where he
and the Wataugans agreed to "Articles
of Friendship" and a ten year lease of
the land.
The Watauga Constitution
Finding themselves in Indian Terri¬
tory out of the reach of the North Car¬
olina Government, and being without a
government of any kind with power to
negotiate a lease or treaty with the In¬
dians for use of the land, the Watauga
settlers, in May 1772. met at Robert¬
son's Station and formed a govern¬
ment of their own.
Under Robertson’s guidance they
agreed upon "Written Articles of As¬
sociation. or Constitution", which set
up a governing body consisting of five
judges, with executive, legislative, and
judicial powers. includiHg the power to
negotiate treaties, and to maintain
their own militia. A code of laws was
drawn up and signed by the settlers.
Magistrates, or trustees, were elected
by whom all controversies were to be
settled, and provisions were made for
the establishment of a militia.
The Watauga Constitution was free
of class distinction and religious intol¬
erance. and it is said to have been the
most thoroughly democratic instru¬
ment of government ever penned in the
new world.
Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of
Virginia, wrote the Tail of Ports¬
mouth. British Secretary of State for
Colonial Affairs, on May 10. 1774.
saying — " They formed the Republic
of Watauga by a written association,
appointed their own magistrates —
framed their own laws, and set the
dangerous example of erecting them¬
selves into a separate state distinct
from and independent of the authority
of the British King."
Supported Patriot Cause
In the fall of 1775. the Wataugans
met and agreed to support the Ameri¬
can Patriot cause, and. following the
example set by Virginia and North
Carolina, they appointed a Revo-
ТИС
STATe. F«««UAR» 19B3
