William McIntosh

For other uses, see William McIntosh (disambiguation).
William McIntosh
Tustunnuggee Hutke
William McIntosh (1838), painting by Charles Bird King
Born
William

c. 1775
Coweta, Muscogee Creek Nation (present-day Georgia, U.S.)
DiedApril 30, 1825
Carroll County, Georgia
Cause of deathExecution
Resting placeCarroll County, Georgia
Occupation(s)Chief, military commander, planter, businessman
Spouse(s)(1) Eliza Hawkins
(2) Susannah Ree (or Roe, Rowe, or Coe)
(3) Peggy
ChildrenChilly McIntosh, Rebecca, D. N. McIntosh (notables)
RelativesAlexander McGillivray, William Weatherford

William McIntosh (c. 1775 – April 30, 1825),[1] also known as Tustunnuggee Hutke (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Muscogee Creek Nation between the turn of the 19th-century and his execution in 1825. He was a chief of Coweta tribal town and commander of a mounted police force. He became a large-scale planter, built and managed a successful inn, and operated a commercial ferry business.

Early European-American historians attributed McIntosh's achievements and influence to his mixed-race Scottish ancestry. Since the late 20th century, historians have argued much of McIntosh's political influence stemmed more from his Muscogee upbringing and cultural standing, particularly his mother's prominent Wind Clan in the Muscogee matrilineal system, and to other aspects of Muscogee culture.[2]

Because McIntosh led a group that negotiated and signed the Treaty of Indian Springs in February 1825, which ceded much of remaining Muscogee lands to the United States in violation of Muscogee law, for the first time the Muscogee Creek National Council ordered that a Muscogee be executed for crimes against the Nation.[3] It sentenced him and other signatories to death. McIntosh was executed by his long-time political nemesis Menawa and a large force of Law Menders [clarification needed] in late April 1825. Two other signatories were executed. McIntosh's son Chilly was shot at but escaped unharmed. Menawa signed a treaty in 1826 that was very similar in both language and benefits, but one which the Muscogee Creek National Council had agreed to and was therefore considered a legitimate treaty according to contemporary Muscogee law.

The majority of Chief McIntosh's descendants migrated to Indian Territory before 1831, when the U.S. federal government began forcibly removing tribes west in the Trail of Tears. Two of Chief McIntosh's sons, Chilly and Daniel, served as Confederate officers during the American Civil War. Daughter Kate and her family became pre-statehood pioneers of the Florida Panhandle. Daughters Rebecca and Delilah moved to East Texas with their husbands and developed plantations there. Rebecca married again after her first husband died young, and by 1860 was the wealthiest woman in Texas, owning three plantations with a total of 12,800 acres and 120 enslaved people.[4][5]

  1. ^ Hoxie, Frederick (1996), pp. 367-369
  2. ^ Andrew K. Frank (15 November 2018). Creeks and Southerners: Biculturalism on the Early American Frontier. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803268418.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Green was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference steger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "A Guide to the Rebecca McIntosh Hawkins Hagerty Papers: Biographical Note", Rebecca McIntosh Hawkins Hagerty Papers, (1823–1901), 1974, 1991, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin