Signers

 

In 1766 John McDonald moved to the confluence of Chickamauga Creek and the Tennessee River, deep in Cherokee country. His trading post there developed into Fort Loudon. McDonald developed a private trade route, buying goods in Charleston and shipping goods out of Spanish-held Pensacola in violation of Us trading laws. In 1770, he was appointed an assistant superintendant for Indian Affairs by the British. During the Revolutionary War, he served in the British army as an ensign and commissary agent. In 1779, a Virginia-North Carolina militia expedition destroyed Chickamauga Cherokee towns and confiscated McDonald’s goods. He moved to the Lower Cherokee towns further along Tennessee River. Due to the influence he held among the Cherokee from his family ties, he became a representative for the US in Indian relations after the Revolution. His grandson was John Ross, prominent leader of the Cherokee. For information on his family connections, see his family tree (in "more families") using the link below.