Corridors of Violence in the Wiregrass Region: Accounts of Determination and Regional Identity Formation in the early to mid-1800s
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Authors
Everitte, Vickie Leigh
Issue Date
2025-08-06
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Academic theses , History , American frontier , Indian Removal (United States : 1813-1903) , Land settlement , Militia , Georgia , Southern States , 19th century , Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma , Georgia--Wiregrass Country , United States--Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
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Abstract
This thesis analyzes letters written by militia members and settlers in theWiregrass Region to the governors in Milledgeville, Georgia, between 1825 and 1850, with most of the correspondence dated 1836 and 1838. The Wiregrass Region, acquired through the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson, spans the southern Coastal Plain in the Southeastern United States and is characterized by pine trees, sandy soil, and numerous waterways, including creeks, marshes, rivers, and swamps. The region gets its name from the native wiregrass that grows abundantly there. This thesis contends that settlers, many of whom were militia, used the environment of the transitional frontier - a dynamic, in-flux area - to influence their actions and organize against Native Americans. These settlers, who migrated to the region, received smaller land grants - 490 acres or less - compared to other parts of Georgia, significantly boosting the population of yeoman landowners in southern Georgia. This unique environment, along with settlement patterns, created fertile ground for the development of a distinct Anglo identity in the area. The Native Southerners referenced in these letters used waterways to reach safe locations during the height of the U.S. Indian Removal Policy. Their perseverance, from the Anglo perspective, shows how they leveraged the environment not only for survival but also to assert their agency. The unique terrain of the Wiregrass Region and the spatial settlement patterns from the 1820 Land Lottery directly influenced the shaping of Anglo regional identity and the behaviors of both settlers and Native peoples.
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.