The War of 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence: (Library of America #232) by Various

Author:Various
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781598532654
Publisher: Library of America
Published: 2013-04-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chiefs and warriors of the Cherokee Nation, and the friendly Creeks.

Friends and Brothers,

You have fought, with the armies of the united States, against the hostile creeks; many of you have fought by my side. I am happy to meet and shake you by the hand, and rejoice with you in the pleasing prospects of returning peace. You have shewn yourselves worthy the friendship of your father the President of the United States—in battle you have been brave—in friendship stedfast. You have given proofs, that you cannot be lead astray by the deceptions of bad men and lying Prophets, sent among you by the agents of all our enemies the British. I am charged by your father the President of the United States, to say to you chiefs and warriors, that your conduct has met with his entire approbation.

Chiefs and warriors of the creek nation who have been at war with your own nation and the United States; I am happy to meet you once more at peace with the United States and your own nation; and to call you friends and Brothers—War is a dreadful calamity—it has reduced your whole nation to misery and ruin.

Your father, the President of the United States, is rejoiced that you are again his friends; that you have found out the truth; that you have found your Prophets to be impostures—but, he laments that such bad men, with vagabonds employed by his enemies to deceive you, have ever had influence over your councils to reduce a nation like yours to such distress.

Brothers, The President of the United States, for your own good, advises you always hereafter to hear the counsel of your wise chiefs and good men; to listen to the words of your chiefs and warriors who have always held him by the hand. Had you listened to them, you would yet have been a rich, powerful and happy people. Your woods would yet have been filled with flocks, and herds of cattle—your fields with corn. Your towns and villages would not have been burned, nor your women and children wandering in the woods, exposed to starvation and cold. But you listened to Prophets and bad men; your warriors have been slain, your nation is defenceless—you are reduced to such want as to receive food from your father the President of the United States.

Friends and Brothers, You have followed the counsel of bad men, and made war on a part of your own nation and the United States. This war has cost the United States a large sum. You must yield as much of your land as will pay this sum. But it must be taken from your whole nation, in such a manner as to destroy the communication with our enemies every where. Your brothers the friendly creeks will agree to it; for wherever we take any of their land to cut off all communication with foreign powers, we will give them land of yours to which we are intitled by conquest in the place of it.

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