Fort Loudoun (Tennessee) facts for kids
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Fort Loudoun
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Fort Loudoun (20th-century reconstruction) from the outside
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 Location in Tennessee
Location in the United States
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| Location | Vonore, Tennessee, South bank of Little Tennessee River, about 3/4 miles southeast of U.S. 411 |
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| Area | 50 acres (200,000 m2) |
| Built | 1756–1757 |
| Architect | John William G. De Brahm |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000729 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | June 23, 1965 |
Fort Loudoun was an important British fort built in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee. It was constructed between 1756 and 1757. The fort was meant to help the British gain support from the Cherokee people. This was at the start of the Seven Years' War against the French in North America and Europe.
Fort Loudoun was one of the first major British outposts west of the Appalachian Mountains. John William G. De Brahm designed the fort. Captain Raymond Demeré oversaw its building, and his brother, Paul Demeré, commanded the soldiers there. The fort was named after the Earl of Loudoun, who was the leader of British forces in North America.
At first, the soldiers at Fort Loudoun and the local Cherokee got along well. But things changed in 1758. This was because of fighting between Cherokee warriors and European settlers in Virginia and South Carolina. After some Cherokee leaders held captive at Fort Prince George were killed, the Cherokee surrounded Fort Loudoun in March 1760.
The soldiers inside the fort held out for several months. But they ran out of supplies and had to surrender in August 1760. As the soldiers were returning to South Carolina, hostile Cherokee attacked their camp. More than two dozen soldiers were killed, and most of the others were taken prisoner. Many of these prisoners were later set free after a payment was made.
After these events, General James Grant attacked Cherokee towns. When the Cherokee asked for peace, an important peace trip was made to the Overhill country by an Anglo-American named Henry Timberlake.
Fort Loudoun was rebuilt in the 1930s. This was based on detailed descriptions and old maps. It was also helped by digging up old parts of the fort. More work was done in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1965, the fort was named a National Historic Landmark. It was later moved and rebuilt on higher ground when Tellico Lake was created in 1979. Today, it is a main part of Fort Loudoun State Park.
Contents
Why Fort Loudoun Was Built
British officials had thought about building a fort in Cherokee land as early as 1708. The British colony of South Carolina saw trade with the Cherokee as very important. But it was hard to control this trade because most Cherokee towns were far away in the mountains. English traders often took advantage of the Cherokee. This made many Cherokee leaders dislike the English colonists. The British believed a fort with soldiers would help them manage the trade better.
Support for the fort grew a lot in 1743. This was when James Glen became South Carolina's governor. Glen thought such a fort could also help the British expand their control into North America's interior. France had colonies along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The fort also had support during King George's War (1744–1748). The French were threatening to move into the area from their base at Fort Toulouse in modern Alabama.
Many Cherokee in the Carolinas were not keen on the idea at first. But the Overhill Cherokee (who lived west of the Appalachian Mountains in what is now Tennessee) invited South Carolina to build the fort in 1747. They had been attacked by tribes allied with the French. However, support for the fort faded when the war ended.
The start of the French and Indian War in 1754 renewed British interest in the fort. This war was part of the larger Seven Years' War between France and Great Britain. The Cherokee were still allies of the British. But French influence among them had grown. A group of Cherokee from Great Tellico had even started supporting the French. Cherokee towns were very independent, and their chiefs made their own alliances.
The British Crown gave money to Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia to build a fort. But Dinwiddie gave only a small amount to Governor Glen. He spent most of the money on Braddock's Expedition in 1755. After this expedition failed, Dinwiddie asked the Cherokee for help defending Virginia's border. The Cherokee agreed to send 600 warriors. In return, Virginia and South Carolina would build a fort in the west to protect Cherokee families.
Building Fort Loudoun
The fort was planned as a joint effort by Virginia and South Carolina. The group from South Carolina faced many delays. The Virginians, led by Major Andrew Lewis, arrived at the Cherokee town of Chota in the Little Tennessee Valley on June 28, 1756. This was several weeks before the South Carolina group.
Instead of waiting, Lewis's group started building a fort across the Little Tennessee River from Chota. This fort, called the "Virginia Fort," was square. It measured 105 feet (32 m) on each side. Its walls were made of earth mounds topped with a 7-foot (2.1 m) tall wooden fence. Lewis's orders were just to build the fort. So, after finishing it in early August 1756, the Virginians went home.
Governor Glen's political rivals removed him from office in May 1756. But his replacement, William Henry Lyttelton, was determined to finish the fort. An advance group led by William Gibbs crossed the mountains. They arrived at Great Hiwassee in early August. They reached Tomotley on August 6, 1756. Gibbs stayed at the home of Cherokee chief Attakullakulla.
The main group of soldiers left Fort Prince George on September 21, 1756. It included 80 British soldiers led by Captain Raymond Demeré. There were also two local companies of 60 men each. With 60 pack horses, the group traveled about 100-mile (160 km) in ten days. They arrived in Tomotley on October 1. Cherokee leader Old Hop and 200 Native Americans greeted them. Moving the fort's 300-pound (140 kg) cannons over the mountains was a huge task. John Stuart, an officer with the soldiers, bought corn from the Cherokee. This helped the soldiers avoid starvation.
John William Gerard de Brahm, a German engineer, was in charge of designing the fort. De Brahm and Demeré often argued about where to put the fort and how to design it. Demeré liked a spot chosen earlier by a scout. But De Brahm said it was too open. He preferred a spot further upstream with a great view of the river. Demeré disagreed, saying that spot didn't have good land for growing crops. The two finally agreed on the current site of the fort, near where the Tellico River joins the Little Tennessee River. This was a compromise.
Building the fort started on October 5, 1756. De Brahm's design was more complex than a typical frontier fort. It was shaped like a diamond with strong points called bastions at the corners. Each bastion held three cannons. Since the fort was on a hill, two bastions were at the top, and two were lower down. The walls sloped downwards. The bastions were named after the King of Great Britain, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Cumberland. The walls were 300 feet (91 m) long. They were surrounded by a ditch, one yard deep and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide, filled with a thorny honey locust hedge.
Through November and December 1756, Demeré and De Brahm kept arguing about the fort's design. Demeré disliked De Brahm's plan for two sets of outer and inner wooden fences. He also thought De Brahm's plans for two smaller forts near the river were too complicated. The two also disagreed on whether to send home the local soldiers. De Brahm said the building was almost done and they weren't needed. Demeré disagreed, saying the fort was still not ready to live in. On December 24, 1756, De Brahm suddenly left for South Carolina, saying the fort was mostly finished. Demeré strongly criticized him for this. The Cherokee called De Brahm "the warrior who ran away in the night."
After De Brahm left, Demeré changed the fence design. He built a single, stronger wooden fence. The fence walls were made of 15-foot (4.6 m) tall upright logs. Eight feet of these logs stuck out of the ground at a 15-degree angle. The inside of the fort covered about 2 acres (0.81 ha). It included a powder magazine (for storing gunpowder), a blacksmith shop, living quarters for soldiers and officers, and supply buildings. The soldiers built drains, troughs for salting meat, a meat storage house, and a charcoal pit for the blacksmith. The walls and bastions were finished by March 26, 1757. Demeré reported the fort completed on May 30, 1757. Governor Lyttelton named the fort after John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun.
Life at Fort Loudoun
After saying the fort was finished, Demeré asked for someone to take his place because he was sick. On August 6, 1757, his brother, Paul Demeré, arrived with more soldiers to relieve him. By November 1757, the soldiers had built a guardhouse and several storage buildings. A personal house for Demeré was finished by early 1758. The fort's well was completed by June 1758. During this time, the soldiers also planted 700 acres (280 ha) of crops.
Life at the fort was usually quite normal. Guards changed several times a day. At night, five large guard dogs roamed outside the fort. The fort's blacksmith spent a lot of time fixing Cherokee guns and tools. The soldiers got most of their own food by hunting, fishing, and farming. Some food was bought from the Cherokee. Some soldiers even had Cherokee wives. Sixty women and children, who were family members of the soldiers, lived in the fort.
In June 1757, a group of 36 soldiers, led by Lieutenant James Adamson and Ensign Richard Coytmore, attacked some hostile Native Americans. These Native Americans were threatening the Cherokee at Great Tellico. Three of the attackers were killed, and the rest were driven away. In September 1757, Paul Demeré attended the Cherokees' Green Corn Dance. He then spent months encouraging the Cherokee to attack the French and their Native American allies. He convinced some Cherokee, including Attakullakulla, to join the Forbes Expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758.
William Richardson, a Presbyterian missionary, arrived at Fort Loudoun in late 1758. He baptized a child of one of the soldiers. He also gave sermons on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He noted that the Little Tennessee River had frozen on December 19. He also heard a rumor about a French attack coming soon. Richardson said the Cherokee were not interested in his religious message. Feeling frustrated, he left the fort on February 6, 1759.
Conflict with the Cherokee
Relations between the Cherokee and the English started to get worse in late 1758. During the Forbes Expedition, some Cherokee warriors, who were supposed to fight northern Native Americans allied with the French, attacked and killed white settlers. In response, the settlers killed several Cherokee. The situation quickly got out of control. In April 1759, Moytoy of Citico led a raid into Virginia that killed several settlers. Both Demeré and Attakullakulla asked for the surrender of those responsible. But no Cherokee were given up.
Fearing that the situation would lead to open war, Governor Lyttelton stopped the sale of guns and ammunition to the Cherokee in August 1759. Several Cherokee, especially in Great Tellico and Citico, began to get weapons from the French. In early September, a soldier from Fort Loudoun, an English merchant, and an English horseman were killed. Their deaths were traded for French ammunition.
After Demeré reported that the Cherokee were blocking roads into the Overhill country, Governor Lyttelton began to prepare for a march against the Cherokee in October 1759. At this time, a Cherokee group led by Oconostota arrived in Charleston to ask for peace. Lyttelton doubted their intentions and ordered them held captive, supposedly for their protection. He left for Fort Prince George with 1,700 troops and the Cherokee captives. He arrived on December 9, 1759. Soon after, he made a peace treaty with Attakullakulla. This freed Oconostota and several other Cherokee captives. He promised to release the remaining captives when the Cherokee who had killed white settlers were handed over.
Oconostota and Attakullakulla returned to Fort Prince George in February 1760. They demanded the release of the remaining captives. But Richard Coytmore, the new commander of Fort Prince George, refused. On February 16, Oconostota asked for a meeting with Coytmore. When Coytmore arrived outside the fort for the meeting, he was badly wounded in a surprise attack planned by Oconostota. The angry soldiers inside the fort responded by killing the remaining Cherokee captives.
The Siege of Fort Loudoun
Because of rising tensions, Demeré had started preparing Fort Loudoun for a siege in September 1759. On September 9, after the Cherokee tried to drive away the fort's cattle, Demeré ordered the cattle brought inside the fort. They were butchered, and their meat was salted to preserve it. In November of that year, John Stuart arrived with 70 more soldiers. This increased the fort's soldiers to 200. In January 1760, Demeré reported the fort had enough meat for four months and enough corn for several weeks.
The Cherokee were very angry about the killings at Fort Prince George. Led by Standing Turkey and Willenawah, they attacked Fort Loudoun on March 20, 1760. The fort's cannons stopped them from getting close enough to cause serious damage. After firing on the fort for four days, the Cherokee settled in for a long siege. In June 1760, a force of 1,300 British soldiers led by Archibald Montgomerie destroyed several Cherokee towns in South and North Carolina. But after facing strong resistance, they retreated.
Attakullakulla, who remained friendly with the soldiers, was removed from the Cherokee Council at Chota. This was because he warned the soldiers that Oconostota had planned a trick to lure them out of the fort. In early June 1760, Demeré reduced food portions to one quart of corn for three men. In early July, the soldiers ran out of bread. They had to eat horse meat to survive. A message in late July described the soldiers' condition as "miserable beyond description." News of Montgomerie's retreat further discouraged the soldiers, and men began to leave.
On August 6, 1760, Demeré called a meeting of war leaders. They decided it was "impossible to hold out any longer." John Stuart and James Adamson met with Oconostota and Standing Turkey at Chota to discuss the fort's surrender. The fort, its cannons, and gunpowder would be given to the Cherokee. The soldiers would be allowed to keep their personal weapons and belongings.
The flag was lowered at the fort for the last time on August 8, 1760. The soldiers left for Fort Prince George the next day. They camped for the night at the mouth of Cane Creek, near modern Tellico Plains. On the morning of August 10, about 700 Cherokee suddenly attacked the camp. The soldiers briefly fought back before surrendering. In the chaos, three officers and twenty-three soldiers were killed. Captain Demeré was killed. Stuart, the only officer to survive, was set free after Attakullakulla paid for him. The remaining soldiers and their families were taken captive. Most were later set free in the following months.
Before leaving the fort, the soldiers had buried several bags of gunpowder. This was against the surrender terms. This action has been suggested as a possible reason for the Cherokee attack at Cane Creek. But John Stevens, a soldier who survived the attack, thought the Cherokee had planned the attack all along.
After the War and Later History
After hearing about the fort's capture, Governor Kerlerec of Louisiana sent French ships to try and take over the fort. But the ships could not travel up the Tennessee River. In the summer of 1761, James Grant led an invasion that destroyed many Cherokee towns. Seeing they could not win, the Cherokee made a peace treaty with Grant. It was signed on September 23, 1761.
In November, Old Hop made a peace treaty with Byrd's men at Long Island of the Holston. Henry Timberlake and Thomas Sumter, soldiers from Byrd's group, visited the Overhill towns in 1761–1762 as part of a peace mission. In his writings, Timberlake noted that Fort Loudoun was in ruins.
Sequoyah, a Cherokee craftsman from the 1800s, was born around 1770 at Tuskegee. This village was just south of the fort. Sequoyah is famous for creating a writing system for the Cherokee language.
Americans might have used stones from Fort Loudoun to build the Tellico Blockhouse in the 1790s. This was an outpost across the river from the fort. Louis Phillipe, who later became King of France, visited the Blockhouse in 1797 while in exile. He noted that Fort Loudoun was mostly rubble and overgrown. He thought the fort's location had been poorly chosen. After the Cherokee gave up control of the area in 1819, the fort's ruins changed owners many times.
In 1897, historian P.M. Radford wrote an article about the fort called Old Fort Loudoun. He said that all traces of the fort, except for the well, had disappeared. The next year, author Mary Noailles Murfree published a novel about the fort, The Story of Old Fort Loudon. It included drawings by Ernest Peixotto. The Colonial Dames of America placed a marker at the fort's site in 1917. In a 1925 article, historian Philip Hamer suggested that the fort's earthworks could still be seen.
Starting in 1935, preservationists began researching and rebuilding the fort. They had some support from the state and from the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. The Fort Loudoun Association, founded in 1933, kept the rebuilt fort as a public park. They also arranged for more digging over the next thirty years. The fort was named a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
The Fort Loudoun Association was one of several groups that opposed the Tennessee Valley Authority's plan for the Tellico Dam in the 1960s. This was because the dam's lake would flood the fort. At a public meeting in 1964, local judge Sue K. Hicks, who was president of the Fort Loudoun Association, argued with TVA Chairman Aubrey Wagner.
TVA eventually agreed to pay for raising the land and rebuilding the fort on the new, higher site. This would keep it above the lake's water level. Because the flooding would cover old historical and Native American sites, TVA also paid for surveys and extensive archaeological digs in the valley. These were done by the Tennessee Division of Archaeology in 1975–1976. The Fort Loudoun Association gave ownership of the fort to the State of Tennessee in 1978. This was so it could become a state park.
Archaeology and Reconstruction
The Fort Loudoun Association and the Works Progress Administration started the "Fort Loudoun Restoration Project" in September 1935. Their goal was to rebuild the fort based on historical and archaeological research. Digging at the site began in February 1936. Hobart S. Cooper supervised these digs. He was advised by archaeologists William S. Webb and Thomas M.N. Lewis. Historians Samuel Cole Williams, Philip Hamer, and Mary Rothrock provided historical information. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave engineering advice. These digs helped find the locations of the inner and outer wooden fences, the powder magazine, and the bases of several chimneys.
Starting in 1955, Ellsworth Brown, Director of the Fort Loudoun Association, led several smaller digs. These digs tried to find the location of the fort's flag pole. They also explored a building in the northern part of the fort thought to be Paul Demeré's living quarters. Brown did more digs in 1957 to explore the fort's eastern entrance, called the "Rivergate."
In the late 1960s and 1970s, the Tennessee Valley Authority paid for a series of digs at the Fort Loudoun site and other nearby sites. This was part of their efforts to make up for flooding areas for the Tellico Reservoir. The biggest digs happened from May 1975 to August 1976. Carl Kuttruff of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology led them. About 93% of the fort's inside area was explored by hand digging during this time.
Researchers also explored the area south of the fort. They found artifacts from the Archaic period (7500 BC), Woodland, and Southern Appalachia Mississippian culture (1000-1500 CE) periods. They also found items related to the historic Cherokee village of Tuskegee. This village grew south of the fort in the late 1750s. There was also an older site nearby called Old Taskagi.
TVA provided 250,000 cubic yards (190,000 m3) of dirt to raise the fort's site by 8 metres (26 ft). This brought it above the lake's water levels. Great care was taken to keep the original shape of the land. Soon after this was done, the wooden fence, powder magazine, blacksmith shop, two soldiers' barracks, a temporary barracks, a storehouse, one of the gun platforms, and a Cherokee house (representing Tuskegee) were rebuilt there. Many artifacts from the digs were put on display inside the visitor's center.
The location and purpose of several buildings were figured out by combining archaeology and historical records. A map of the fort drawn by De Brahm showed the powder magazine in the northwest corner of the fort. In this area, diggers found evidence of the only building in the fort made with stone walls. This matched the design of powder magazines from that time. Diggers found what was likely an ash pit from a forge in the southeast corner of the fort. This was where De Brahm's map showed the fort's blacksmith shop. A 1757 letter from Demeré said the fort's guardhouse had a double chimney. Diggers noted the only building in the fort with a double chimney was a long building next to the east gate. This was a common spot for guardhouses back then. A line of fireplaces in the western part of the fort showed where the fort's barracks were located.
Fort Loudoun State Park Today
Fort Loudoun is now on an island created by Tellico Lake. This is where the Little Tennessee and Tellico rivers meet. State Route 360 passes across the island. It connects the state park to Vonore to the north. It also connects to rural areas of Monroe County and the Cherokee National Forest to the south. The park's visitor center is next to the fort. It has a small museum with a model of the fort and several artifacts from the digs. Several miles of hiking trails wind through the woods around the fort. There are also trails in the McGhee-Carson Unit across the lake to the south.
The Cherokee scholar Sequoyah was born at Tuskegee, just south of the fort, around 1770. The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum is just west of the fort, across Highway 360. It is run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The museum includes a burial mound with over 200 burials. These were found during the Tellico Archaeological Project. This project explored several Cherokee town sites before the valley was flooded by Tellico Dam. Monuments to the Overhill towns of Tanasi and Chota are located along Bacon Ferry Road. This is just off Highway 360, about 12 miles (19 km) south of Fort Loudoun.
The site of the Tellico Blockhouse is across the Little Tennessee River to the east of Fort Loudoun. This was an American outpost that operated from 1794 to 1807. Researchers found the blockhouse and its related buildings during the Tellico Archaeological Project. They are now marked by wooden posts and stones. Several artifacts found at the blockhouse site are on display at the Fort Loudoun visitor center.
Legacy
Loudon County, Tennessee, and its main town, Loudon, are both named after the fort. Loudon County is just north of Monroe County. The Tennessee Valley Authority's Fort Loudoun Dam, located north in Lenoir City, and its lake are also named for the fort. Other things named after the fort include Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative, a local electricity company; Fort Loudoun Medical Center in Lenoir City; and Fort Loudoun Middle School in Loudon.
