George Colbert (November 7, 1839) was an early
19th-century
The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolished in ...
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...
leader who commanded 350 Chickasaw auxiliary troops who fought under Major General
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
during the
Creek War
The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...
. He also served as an
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
in Major Blue's Detachment of Chickasaw Indians during the later part of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
.
Colbert temporarily became principal chief of the Chickasaw, succeeding his older brother
Levi
Levi ( ; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelites, Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron ...
who died in 1834. A
planter who owned significant cotton lands and numerous slaves in
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, he operated a ferry across the
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
in northwest
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
. In 1834, he signed the treaty that finalized the
tribe's removal.
Early life and military service
George Colbert was born around 1764 in the
Chickasaw Nation (present-day
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
).
[Pate, James P.,]
George Colbert
," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' (accessed November 3, 2009). He was the second of six sons of
James Colbert (–1784), a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
trader, and his second wife ''Minta Hoye'', a Chickasaw woman. The tribe practiced
matrilineal
Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...
kinship, and all children were considered to be born into their mother's family and
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
, and gained their status from her. Property and positions of hereditary leadership were passed through the mother's line. Minta Hoye's clan was one from which hereditary chiefs were drawn. As a youth George Colbert began to rise in prominence among the Chickasaw, as he also gained status by his bravery in battle and other actions.
Colbert was said to serve with American troops under
Arthur St. Clair in 1791 and
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...
in 1794 during the
Northwest Indian Wars
The Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native Americans in the United States, Native American na ...
. During the Creek War, he recruited 350 Chickasaw warriors and assisted Andrew Jackson against the
Red Sticks
Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs)—the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creek—refers to an early 19th century traditionalist faction of Muscogee Creek people in the Southeastern Uni ...
, the more conservative portion of the people. During the later part of the War of 1812, he served as an officer in Major Blue's Detachment of Chickasaw Indians.
Career

By the early 1800s, Colbert established
Colbert's ferry near
Cherokee, Alabama. It was a significant crossing of the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...
along the
Natchez Trace
The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland River, Cumberland, Tennessee River, ...
, an important trade route. On June 23, during the
Creek War
The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...
, he was paid "for two beeves, $32; two bushels salt, $6; ferriage for 600 men and horses, $150."
He was the commander of 350 Chickasaws who fought for Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend against the Red Stick Creeks.
He acquired land and became an influential cotton planter; he also raised livestock and was a trader. Due to his clan, he was eligible for the position of Chief. The Chickasaw communally owned an estimated 150
slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
as labor on their lands, as was custom with many intercultural tribes in the region. In April 1823 Colbert placed a
runaway slave ad seeking the recovery of Trouble, Philip, and July. Trouble was 55 years old and an African by birth; Philip was "an excellent hunter," and both he and July were "raised by" Colbert, meaning they grew up in his household. Philip and July were bilingual Chickasaw and English speakers.
A few slaves escaped during the confusion of the eventual removal.
Colbert and his brothers, Levi and James, were among the primary negotiators between his people and the United States government in the early 19th century.
The Chickasaw ended up ceding much of their land to the United States after Levi died en route to Washington D.C during negotiations in 1834. Having grown up with both Chickasaw and "white" language and culture, the Colbert brothers were strongly relied upon to act on the tribe's behalf. After Levi died, their negotiations abruptly ceased. In 1834, most of the Chickasaw joined members of other Southeast tribes in forced removal to
Indian Territory
Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
west of the Mississippi River. This removal became known among the Indians as the
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...
.
Before removal, Colbert served again temporarily as chief of the Chickasaw. The year 1834 was the beginning of the forced removal process, accomplished by overland march and travel by rivers. Most of it took place in the later 1830s. ''
Tishomingo'' became chief of the Chickasaw when they started on the trail and led the people until his death in 1838 en route, near the Arkansas River. Neither he nor Colbert, who died en route in 1839 at age 75, reached the new Chickasaw territory. He died near
Fort Towson
Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Located on Gates Creek near the confluen ...
, Indian Territory, just before the people reached their new lands.
Personal life
Colbert married two times. The women were sisters from the Wind Clan
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
; their father was Chief
Doublehead
Doublehead (c. 1744–1807), or Incalatanga (''Tal-tsu'tsa'', ᏔᎵᏧᏍᎦ alitsus'gain Cherokee), was one of the most feared warriors of the Cherokee during the Cherokee–American wars in the Upper South region. Following the peace treaty a ...
. Colbert first married ''Tuskiahooto''. When she proved to be
barren, he also married ''Saleechie'', the younger sister. (The Chickasaw allowed the men in the tribe to marry multiple wives, per tribal law). Colbert fathered a total of six sons and two daughters. He never reached the Chickasaw section of ''Oka Homa''.
Honors
*
Colbert County, Alabama, is named after both him and his brother Levi.
Notes
:
References
Further reading
* Arrell M. Gibson, ''The Chickasaws'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971).
* Don Martini, ''Who Was Who Among the Southern Indians: A Genealogical Notebook '' (Falkner, Miss.: N.p., 1997).
External links
*
*
George Colbert Memorialat
Historical Marker Database
The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbert, George
1760s births
1839 deaths
18th-century Native American people
19th-century American planters
19th-century Native American leaders
American military officers
American military personnel of the War of 1812
American people of Scottish descent
American people of the Northwest Indian War
Burials in Oklahoma
Captains
Chickasaw slave owners
People of the Creek War
Trail of Tears
Colbert family (Chickasaw)