Today's entry is drawn from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History online exhibit Documenting the Frontier: South Carolina & The Cherokee.
"For more than fifty years Britain and France struggled to gain control of the interior of North America with indecisive results. The Cherokee frequently found themselves courted by both sides. Although they initially sided with Britain, they were at war with the redcoats by the end of the 1750s. Cultural misunderstandings, trade abuses, and the inept hand of South Carolina’s newly appointed royal governor, William Henry Lyttelton (1756-1760), all contributed to the breakdown.
Responding to isolated Cherokee attacks, Lyttelton placed an embargo on the Indians’ trade goods. In a further attempt to restore order, he gathered an army of militiamen, provincial troops, and a small detachment of Independents and left Charles Town for the Keowee valley in October 1759. After arriving at Fort Prince George, Lyttelton watched fretfully as his force melted away from desertion and disease. He hastily concluded a treaty and retreated to Charles Town, leaving twenty-one Cherokee peace delegates confined in the fort as hostages."
A facsimile of Lyttelton's treaty is currently on display in the Beaufort District Collection Research Room.
William Henry Lyttelton was Royal Governor of South Carolina from 1756 to 1760. Fort Lyttelton which once stood in the present-day neighborhood of Spanish Point off Ribaut Road was named in his honor.
The W. C. Clements Library of the University of Michigan purchased the 142 items William Henry Lyttelton Papers in 1954. It appears that someone has transcribed the Letterbook and posted the information online. The letters provide a running commentary on the relationship between the Cherokee and the colonial government.
We posted a list of our holdings about Fort Lyttelton online last year. A number of the items are available for viewing over the Internet.
Drop by to see the document and/or explore a variety of resources we make available about the colonial period of South Carolina and the Native Americans who once lived here.
The Research Room is usually open Mondays through Fridays 10 am until 5 pm -- except ocassionally when there is only one BDC staff member working on a particular day. When there is only a staff of 2, sometimes we have to make adjustments to our customer service hours. Usually this means that the BDC Research Room will be closed at lunchtime while my assistant takes her lunch period as required by federal law. For example, this situation arises on Thursday, Oct. 28th and Friday, Oct. 29th while I am away at the joint Society of Georgia Archivists and the South Carolina Archival Association conference in Augusta.
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