Bethabara Native Relations

1752-1774
Jason Melius

Throughout the course of its relatively short life, Bethabara, the first Moravian settlement in Wachovia, North Carolina, shared an experience with Native Americans which ran from warm and friendly to fear and hatred. Wachovia was established not with an eye on missionary work, but as a plantation. As such, it was not prepared for large scale interaction with the Indian nations of the American southeast. Regardless of its preparations and intentions, the settlers of Bethabara would be forced to deal with Cherokee, Catawba and Tuscarora Indians almost from the beginning through its end as the central town of Wachovia.

Bethabara is intended for nothing other than a Unity plantation

-Spangenberg to the Brothers and Sisters in Wachovia, Oct 18, 1757

There is a long held belief that Wachovia was established with an eye on missionary work among the Native Americans of the southeast. This thought stems in part from a rewriting of the Moravian records which occurred in 1794. This is most clearly seen in a comparison of the 1772 Historischer Berict vom Anfang und Fortganze der Bruder Etablissement in der Wachau 1753-1772 and the 1794 translation, An Account of the Rise and Progress of the United Brethrens Settlement in North Carolina. The 1772 version states very simply, that it should become an entire land in which people who belonged to the Brethren lived. The re-written1794 English version added the statement, in hopes to come nigh the Indian nations, to preach the Gospel to them. This added
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statement, not found in the earlier work, is a clear attempt to back date the Moravian intent of the Wachovia settlements to include missionary work. When Bishop Spangenberg was exploring North Carolina in 1752 for the perfect location of the new Wachovia settlement, he had been directed by Zinzendorf to find land far enough removed that the settlers would be free of the influence of strangers and distant enough from Native nations that they would not be in danger of their proximity. In short, they wanted a buffer zone around their new plantation. In 1755, a conference was held in Bethlehem, PA regarding the conduct of relations in Bethabara. The proceedings, translated by Daniel Crews, clearly lay out that mission work was not to be undertaken in the Carolinas: Do not seek, however, [personal] acquaintance with the Catabes or with the Tuscarores*, nor with the Schirikihen[Cherokee] L[eague?].* This maxim must be brought home among our Brethren in Wachovia, and become general, that where they see Indians, they deal in a friendly manner and manifest good to them. They are not to act fearful, but receive them and treat them confidently and with friendliness (Crews n.d.). The Moravians are well known for their mission work. By the time Bethabara was established in 1753, they had missions in Surinam, Jamaica, Paachgatgoch, and Greenland. Reverend Zeistberger, Christian Fredrick Post and others were actively and effectively working with the Lenape Nation in Pennsylvania and Onondaga Nation in New York. With all of their successes in mission work elsewhere in America, it is important to note there were no plans for similar interactions in the south east.

There were, however, those who clearly did have mission work on their minds. While in the vicinity of Rich Mountain in Virginia on December 5, 1752, Bishop Spangenberg recorded in his diary; Probably this would make an admirable place for an Indian Settlement, like Gnadenhutten in PA, for it has wood, mast game, fish and is open in all directions for hunting. The soil is suitable for the raising of corn, potatoes, etc. But Spangenberg knew this was not within the scope of the plan for Bethabara. The Moravian church was experiencing legal and financial problems in the early 1750s (Thorpe 1989, 24). These troubles forced a shift in focus away from missionary work. The Moravian church needed to create a prosperous community able to support itself and contribute to the economy of Bethlehem, PA.

They camped by the fence of our first field.

-Bethabara Diary, March 4, 1758.

It was not long after the news of the start of hostilities in what became known as the French and Indian War reached Bethabara that the Moravians recognized the exposed position Wachovia was in. While the frontier was guarded by Fort Dobbs 40 miles to the west after 1756, Bethabara and the surrounding settlements were still quite exposed to attack (Fort Dobbs.org n.d.). In January of 1756, a man named Captain Guest told of a number of attacks on the Moravian settlements in Pennsylvania by French allied Indians. More dreadful news of attacks by Indians arrived throughout the month of February. Then, on March 10, a man came from the New River settlements bringing news that two people had been killed by Indians in that area. The danger was creeping closer. Finally, July 2 brought word to Bethabara of the June 25th
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attack on Ft Vass (near present day Blacksburg, VA). A large party of Shawnee and French attacked and destroyed the frontier fort, killing or capturing all inside (The New York Mercury, Number 260 1757). While the Cherokee were not involved in the destruction of Ft Vass, a series of events had occurred a couple months prior which caused the Moravians to be suspicious. The first, on May 18th, appears to be the Moravians first direct contact with members of the Cherokee nation. Jacob Loesch was stopped by eleven Cherokee warriors and one white woman on a road near Bethabara. The Cherokee demanded Loeschs horse from him. Loesch managed to keep his horse by telling the Indians where he lived and promising to feed them. The un-named white woman with the Cherokee berated him, calling him a fool and yelling that they would rob him of everything he owned. While they did not bother Loesch at his home, later it was learned that they stopped at several homes around Wachovia taking horses, saddles, money, clothing and food1. Fifteen men gathered to give chase but could not find the offending party. However, two days later, they came to Justice Hughes house and evidently acted very politely. They explained to him that they had been serving at the Haw River Fort2. Their food ran out, so they left. Hughes sent them to another fort 70 miles away, possibly Fort Dobbs. (Fries 1922, 165) On May 25th, 1756, another party of Cherokee came to the Bethabara Mill. This visit was much more amiable. The eight Cherokee stated they were from the Fort.3 The Bethabara Diary states they were very polite, stopping to shake everyones hands. The Brethren gave them
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It would not be fair to use this as an argument to support the view that Native Americans were thieves with no th care for personal property ownership. The authors fifteen years of study of 18 century Native American culture concludes that Native Americans simply had a different understanding of ownership from that of Europeans. It is likely that these Cherokee were instructed to find provisions at specific points along their path of travel from their point of departure to their ultimate destination, as was standard practice at the time by colonial governments. The Cherokees probable interpretation was not that certain whites would provide them with the supplies needed, but that any white person would be a source of supply. This same cultural misunderstanding would lead to similar problems in 1758, causing the Cherokee War. 2 The Haw River Fort is an unidentified fort believed by the author to be near present day Hillsboro or Eden, NC. 3 Possibly the same Haw River Fort referenced above.

a few clay pipes, which they were very grateful for. The Cherokee were fed and elected to camp near the mill. Despite their friendly nature, the Moravians kept twelve men on watch all night long in case the Cherokees intentions were not honest. The next morning, however, the Cherokee were fed breakfast, exchanged pleasantries and left. (Fries 1922, 164) Just four days later, a messenger arrived from Salisbury stating that the Cherokee who had plundered the local communities had been apprehended. The stolen property was sent to Salisbury to be retrieved by its owners. (Fries 1922, 164) Armed with the news of the attacks in Virginia and the recent negative experiences with the Cherokee, the Brethren came to the conclusion during a meeting on July 4th, 1756 that the Cherokee must be allied to the French. It was clear that the community was isolated and vulnerable to attack. If a strong fortification could be destroyed, what would keep Bethabara safe? In light of this, it was decided half of the community would be dedicated to the harvest and the other half would complete the fortification of the town (Starbuck and Crews 2010, 5). The rest of 1756 proved to be quiet. The only other interaction with Native Americans recorded in the Bethabara Diary came on October 6. Col Lowis passed through the town on his way to Virginia with a body of Cherokee warriors (Starbuck and Crews 2010, 6). Col Lowis was actually Major Andrew Lewis of the Virginia Regiment. The group was returning from building a fort in the Cherokee Overhill towns for the defense of that nation (Mays 1999, 3). The year 1757 saw an increase in both alarms and interactions. In the month of April, 40 refugees arrived, primarily from the Town Fork settlement, seeking shelter because rumors of Indian attacks spread like wild fire through the piedmont region (Fries 1922, 180).

July brought proof that the Moravians were wrong about the political leanings of the Cherokee. On July 3rd, the first of a large number of groups of Cherokee stopped in Bethabara. Hundreds of Cherokee warriors and their families stopped in Bethabara throughout the rest of 1757 to rest and eat while traveling north (Fries 1922). The Cherokee had been courted by the colonial government of Virginia to assist with guarding the western frontier against attack by French and French allied Indians such as the Shawnee, Mingo and Wyandot. With the successful cooperation on the frontier, the Colonial governments and British military leaders enticed more Cherokee, Catawba and Creeks to come to Pennsylvania for a planned expedition against the French Fort Duquesne (Anderson 2001, 258). The year 1758 saw a total of 538 Cherokee warriors pass through Bethabara bound for northwestern Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. They were fed and camped at the Bethabara Tavern and Mill during these stop overs (Fries 1922, 195-196). The Cherokee began to return home in small groups in the middle of June, 1758. The Bethabara Diary records 234 Cherokee, often carrying enemy scalps, who stopped in the town for food and rest between June 12 and October 27th (Fries 1922, 189-192). On one occasion, Brother Ettwein asked the Cherokee if they would accept two Brethren to learn their language and customs. The Cherokee replied, they should be proud of it and that Bethabara was known to them as dutch fort where there are good people and plenty of bread (Starbuck and Crews 2010, 8). There is no record found in the Moravian archives which tells if any of the Brethren actually went to the Cherokee towns. The Moravians clearly understood the good fortune of their positive interactions with the Cherokee. Bishop Spangenberg, writing to the Select Conference in Wachovia made it a point to state that the Indians acted more politely and fairly in their visits to Bethabara than the soldiers

of the French and Austrian empires had in the Moravian towns in Europe. He still cautioned the Brethren not to get into altercations with their Native guests over food or any other goods (Spangenberg, To the Area Board from Spangenberg 1758). In spite of these positive interactions, it must be recognized that the Cherokee chose not to pass through Bethabara after October 27th. Unfortunately the 1758 campaign against Ft Duquesne, while ultimately successful for Great Britain, led directly to the outbreak of the Cherokee War in early 1759. Supply problems plagued the British Army so badly during the campaign that they were unable to fully equip their provincial soldiers, much less deliver on all that was promised to the Cherokee and other Natives who had joined the campaign. Adding to the supply problems, the Cherokee came in such large numbers and much earlier than General Forbes or anyone else anticipated. They were unable to supply the estimated 700 warriors much less find missions for them. To add insult, Little Carpenter, an important Cherokee leader, was arrested by Forbes as a deserter when he tried to leave the campaign (Anderson 2001, 267-268). This was an incredibly horrible mistake with long reaching effects. The Cherokee believed they were now seen as subordinates rather than as the allies they truly were. September of 1758 saw the first groups of warriors leaving for home in complete disgust. The Cherokee had traveled over 700 miles to help their British allies, leaving their families shorthanded to hunt, tend the fields and protect the towns. Further, General Forbes demanded back the clothing, weapons and supplies that had been given out in exchange for their services. On their return trip, because they were provided with no food, they ended up killing several cattle belonging to civilians in Virginia. In turn, the Virginians murdered a number of Cherokee (Johnson 1962, 207). By the time news of these murders spread throughout the Cherokee nation,

it was too late. The Cherokee declared a war of revenge and began to attack settlements from Georgia to Virginia. Wachovia and the surrounding settlements became a prime target4.

Dutchi are a dreadfull people. We had seen into their forts

-Bethabara Diary, Nov 10, 1760

Native American societies demanded balance; the murder of a Cherokee person demanded retribution. This is the same concept expressed in the Christian Bible; an eye for an eye. However, it did not matter if the person whose life was taken was the one who actually killed the Cherokee. Any white persons life would suffice. When 30 Cherokee warriors were

murdered by Virginians in late 1758, revenge was demanded5. News of attacks by Indians as close as 30 miles away reached Bethabara on April 24th, 1759, long before the Brethren learn that the Cherokee had declared war on all of the subjects of England (Fries 1922, 209). It would not be long before the effects of the war would be felt in Wachovia. On May 6th, a man came to Bethabara claiming that the Cherokee were attacking every white person along the Yadkin River and that refugees would soon be arriving. The very next day, scouts brought news that Indian signs had been found near The Hollow, the secluded settlement which would eventually become known as Mount Airy (Fries 1922, 210). Sheriff Edward Hughes home was in the Bryant Settlement, just to the west of the Wachovia border and just south of where modern Interstate 40 crosses the Yadkin River (Ramsey 1964, 32). A party of Cherokee warriors surrounded his house on May 9th, trapping

Similar to the issues of property ownership, Native Americans did not typically distinguish between the people of one colony and another. Their warriors had been killed by whites so retaliation against any white person was justified. 5 Fred Anderson tells us there were at least 30 Cherokee killed while returning home from the Forbes Expedition. The actual number of murdered was quite possibly significantly higher. (Anderson 2001)

him inside. The Cherokee ran when they saw a large force of armed men approaching. Hughes was saved by a rescue party sent from Bethabara (Fries 1922, 210). Because Bethabara and its mill were fortified, hundreds of refugees flocked to Wachovia. A false report of peace saw 120 families leave on May 22 only to return four days later when one man was killed and another wounded on the Ararat River, only 20 miles away. While the refugees remained, unsure of their safety outside of the forts, the summer stayed relatively quiet. The Bethabara Diary relates only of Provincial soldiers passing through Wachovia, bound for Fort Dobbs and the forks of the Yadkin, near Salisbury (Fries 1922, 211-213). October and November 1759 proved to be very trying months, foreshadowing the trouble that loomed on the horizon for Wachovia. The Brethren learned that seven soldiers had been killed at Fort Loudoun (south of present day Knoxville, TN), in the heart of the Cherokee Overhill towns. Even worse for the Moravians, the North Carolina militia had been ordered to Salisbury in preparation for an expedition against the Cherokee. The Brethren worried that they would be forced to bear arms in aggression. Moravians had no qualms about defending their homes and neighbors, but believed it wrong to actively seek a fight. On November 19th, they learned none of the Brethren would be required to participate in the campaign (Fries 1922, 213214). The Moravians would need every man in their community during the coming year for their defense. Alarms began in earnest in early February, 1760 sending more refugees flooding into Bethabara from all along the Yadkin River. On the 21st, reports arrived of a large body of Indians near Salisbury. They were believed to be traveling northward through the hills along the Yadkin River. Just 4 days later, tracks were found around Bethabara announcing the return of

the war parties. The same day the tracks were discovered, a shipment of black powder arrived from Fort Dobbs (Fries 1922, 229). Though the Brethren were not to find out until later, a group of approximately 60 Cherokee attacked Fort Dobbs on the evening of February 27th (Fort Dobbs.org n.d.). The danger crept closer and closer. On March 8th, a man staggered into the Bethabara fort, having been shot with arrows. He related the following: William Fish and his son had asked him to go with them to their farm to get provisions for their families gathered at a certain place on the Yadkin. Some miles up the river they happened up on a party of Indians, who fired at them and then shot many arrows. Fish and his son fell, but this man, longing to reach Bethabara, for his souls sake rode into the river to escape them. On the further side he found more Indians, but they paid no attention to him and he re-crossed the river, plunged into the woods, where in the darkness and rain he soon lost his way, and wounded by two arrows wandered for many hours, but finally reached the Moravian town where Dr Bonn took out the arrow and saved his life (Fries 1922, 230). The militia who set out to bury the bodies of Fish and his son were soon turned back by an overwhelming number of Cherokee warriors. Instead of caring for the dead, they collected as many people in outlying areas and brought them into Bethabara for safety. Many of the deserted houses along the Yadkin were burned by the marauding Indians (Fries 1922, 230).

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The next five days saw an escalation of attacks in and around Wachovia. The bridge which stood over the Wach6 was burned and two men were killed. The Townfork Settlement7 witnessed four more killed and a cabin surrounded. One man survived an ambush on the road which lead from Bethabara to Bethania and two more were attacked just outside of the Mill Fort, one of whom was killed. Town watchmen in Bethania exchanged fire with Cherokee inside the town itself well after dark on at least one occasion. The Bethabara Diary relates Here, at the Mill and at Bethania, there were Indian spies every night (Fries 1922, 227,230). The Moravians were surrounded. The most deadly single day proved to be March 16th, 1760. The previous day a heavy snow had fallen. The Moravians could see the fires from the Cherokee camps surrounding Bethabara. That day, fifteen of their neighbors were murdered (Fries 1922, 230). The records do not provide any further details about the identities of the victims or where they lived. Clearly, because the killed are called neighbors, they resided nearby but outside of Wachovia, most likely in the vicinity of the Townfork Settlement. The final recorded violence within the boundaries of Wachovia occurred on March 20th, 1760. On the 20th, word came that John Thomas, a Baptist minister, had been killed between the Wach and the Ens, on the road to Ebits Creek [Abbotts Creek]; another of the party was missing, wile the third escaped (Fries 1922, 230). This attack took place in the vicinity of modern Waughtown on the south eastern side of Winston-Salem. Despite the lack of further attacks in Wachovia, the threat was clearly not gone. The Bethabara Diary relates that three more people were attacked in the months of April and May;

Comparing the 1770 Collet map of North Carolina, The 1770 Reuter map Wachovia or Dobbs Parish, the 1773 Reuter Map Wachau in North Carolina, and modern city maps of Winston -Salem, the mostly likely location for this bridge is the present Broad St bridge over Salem Creek. 7 The area between Germanton and Walnut Cove, NC according to the same maps referenced above.

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two at The Hollow and another somewhere between Fort Dobbs and Wachovia. As late as October, warriors were spotted inside Wachovia frequently, though no one was killed. Fortunately for the Brethren, the war seemed to move farther west as reports of attacks along the Catawba River filtered in as late as December of 1760 (Fries 1922, 232-233). While Bethania, Mill Fort and the other outlying settlements suffered, no direct attacks on Bethabara seem to have occurred during the war. Speculation for this ranges from ideas of supposed treaties between the two groups to a fear of the Moravians. The latter idea comes closest to the truth. Little Carpenter, who was always a close ally of the British even during the darkest days in the Cherokee War, provided the truth for the sparing of Bethabara in October of 1760. He spoke of, a great town where there were a great many white people, where a great bell rang often and during the night time after time a horn was blown, so that they feared to attack the town, and had taken no prisoners (Fries 1922, 232). This great town has been identified by Thorpe, Fries, and Crews as Bethabara, as it was the only town within 200 miles known to have had a bell. Clearly, the Moravians practice of bell ringing and telling off the hours throughout the night kept the town safe from marauding warriors. Bethabara may have been preserved from direct assault; but the Cherokee and other Native warriors wreaked havoc on the lands surrounding the town, within less than a mile of the towns stockade. The final casualties of the French and Indian War and Cherokee War for Wachovia and the surrounding non-Moravian settlements were staggering for an area so far removed from the bulk of the heaviest action. 1758: 4 Killed by Shawnee near Eden, NC 1759: 1 Killed on the Ararat River 4 Killed on the Yadkin

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1760: 1 Killed, 1 wounded, 1 captured on the road to Abbots Creek 3 Killed in the Bryant Settlement, 1 wounded 2 Killed at the Bridge over the Wach 1 Killed, 2 wounded near the Mill Fort 17 Killed in Townfork Settlement 1 Wounded at the Forks of the Yadkin 1 Wounded, 1 captured at the Hollow Total: 33 Killed, 6 Wounded, 2 Captured (Fries 1922)

They are hiding from the hawks under the wings of the dove!
-Spangenberg to the Brothers and Sisters in Wachovia. Oct 18, 1757.

In addition to the stresses of Indian attacks on the community, another threat of a different nature began to affect the Moravian community. Because Bethabara was the largest town in the region and fortified, refugees came in droves seeking shelter. People from as far away as the New River Settlement in Virginia, and as close as the Townfork Settlement sought refuge with the Brethren in Wachovia (Fries 1922, 180,181,210,211,229,273,274). Wachovia had been established as a secluded settlement with an eye on being free of constant contact with outsiders. The presence of so many outsiders tried the nature of the Moravian settlement. With so many refugees to assist, the Moravians were happy to share their way of life, but they did not wish for anyone to establish any sort of permanent settlement within the confines of Wachovia. In 1757, Spangenberg wrote to the Brethren in Bethabara: That you proceed cautiously and permit no one to build for himself a hut [or] a house in Wachovia of which he could later say: This is my house!that
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as soon as it is quiet, you let the people move back to their plantations and treat them like a Disporia, in the same way in which we treat the country brothers and sisters in Pennsylvania for Wachovia has the purpose not to receive families with their already spoiled children, but they [the Wachovia settlements] shall become the Lords Villages. of course, you will not chase away the people from you as long as they know that they and their children are in danger. But when they want to move away of their own accord, then do not prevent them (Spangenberg, Spangenberg to the Brothers and Sisters in Wachovia 1757). Clearly, the Moravians would not turn away refugees as they believed it was their duty to protect them, but they would not allow them to stay for it caused a potential threat to their way of life. That was all to change during the course of the Cherokee War. The influx of refugees led directly to the creation of a new town; Bethania. In early 1759, Spangenberg was sent to Bethabara to find a solution to the overcrowding. Initially, he intended to establish a second Moravian village. While Bethabara was overflowing with refugees, the number of surplus Moravians was too small to survive alone, especially in the face of the ongoing hostilities. Spangenbergs solution was to create an integrated village. The Brethren chose eight Moravian couples by Lot to live in the new town. Several days later, eight select refugee families were allowed to move to Bethania. The Brethren saw this as an opportunity to bring more people into their faith as well as ease the burden of protecting so many people in one area (Thorpe 1989, 46-47). In addition to the refugees, the Cherokee War of 1759 1761 brought dozens of soldiers, militia, and Tuscarora Indians through Wachovia. The Tuscarora, like the white outsiders, were on their way to join a combined North Carolina and Virginia army gathering on the Holston

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River8 to invade the Cherokee country in support of a British campaign coming through South Carolina (Mays 1999, 286). On at least one occasion, the Moravians were asked if they would like to have portions of the troops garrison their forts (Fries 1922, 232). The Brethren declined; presumably they recognized there were other areas far more exposed to attack such as the Forks of the Yadkin, The Hollow and Townfork Settlement. North Carolina, like the rest of the American colonies had its fair share of less than desirable people in the form of highwaymen and cattle thieves. The Sauratown Mountains, just to the north of Wachovia was a haven for bandits. The highwaymen, in particular, capitalized on the terror that the image of painted Cherokee warriors instilled in the honest, law abiding citizens. Throughout 1762, there were rumors and reports of renewed attacks by Native American warriors from the New River to the Yadkin River. On September 6th, refugees arrived at the Mill following news of the sighting of Indians along the Yadkin River. The Bethabara Diary relates, A little later came the word that three white highwaymen, painted red, had caused the fright (Fries 1922, 270-275). Even though it was found that the cause of many of the reports of Indian warriors was actually due to white men in disguise, many of the attacks in farther away areas were legitimate. Another war flared up on the heels of the Cherokee War: Pontiacs Rebellion, which lasted from 1763 to 1765 (Anderson 2001, 617-631). Luckily, the violence never reached the borders of Wachovia. The threat, however, was enough to cause the Moravians to keep their defensive works in place through 1765 when the last blockhouse was finally torn down and rebuilt as a stable (Fries 1922, 306).

The army was gathering at the Stalnakers plantation on the middle fork of the Holston River. The site is on the north end of the South Holston Reservoir near Abingdon, VA.

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The Cherokees adored the sun and moon, but really worshipped the God who made all.
-Bethabara Diary, April 9th, 1763.

In spite of the violence brought upon Wachovia and its environs, the first seeds of desire for a mission amongst the Cherokee can be found before peace was officially reached. When the prominent South Carolina business man and militia commander Henry Laurens visited Bethabara in January 1761, the Brethren asked if he would support a mission to the Cherokee after the close of hostilities. Laurens not only offered his support, but he also promised to help fund the effort (Fries 1922, 235-236). This is the earliest straight forward reference to any planning of missionary work amongst the Native Americans of the south east in the Moravian records located thus far. In 1763, a Virginia Indian trader related, The Chief [Little Carpenter] wished better instruction for his people, and would ask the Government for a minister for them. The Cherokees adored the sun and moon, but really worshipped the God who made all (Fries 1922, 270-271). Later in 1765, John Hammerer, a Lutheran missionary from Strasburg, went from London to the Cherokee nation. He intended to establish a mission among the Cherokee and the following year attempted to enlist the assistance of the Moravians who were well known for their mission work throughout the rest of the world (Starbuck and Crews 2010, 19-23). While the Moravians in Wachovia, and even the Cherokee, were raising the issue of mission work, it was clear that Bethlehem was not supportive. A response to Hammerers request was sent in early 1767 which applauded his efforts, but advised that they were unable to take advantage of his proposal at the time (Starbuck and Crews 2010, 29-31). A letter written by Johannas Ettwein in Bethlehem to the Brethern in Wachovia later in 1767 encouraged the giving of an English account of the Moravian mission in Greenland to the North Carolina governor, bragged about the success of Br. David Zeisberger among the Lenape, and mentions Hammerers
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mission in South Carolina (Ettwein 1767). However, it is completely devoid of any direct support for the mission work among the Cherokee. The final interactions between the Cherokee and the Moravians of Bethabara occurred several years after the balance of power was shifted from that town to Salem. In 1770, a Cherokee chief named Young Warrior made a special stop in Bethabara while on his way to Williamsburg, VA to discuss land disputes with the Governor. He related that he had been through Bethabara in 1758 while on his way to assist the British Crown in Pennsylvania. Young Warrior attended the evening service at the Saal and departed the next morning (Fries 1922, 413). Little Carpenter, (who had spoken fondly of the Moravians in years prior), another Cherokee dignitary and woman were the last Cherokee to visit Bethabara. On November 23, 1774, the party arrived on their way to Virginia. They asked to see inside the organ, as they had been told that the beautiful sound produced by the organ was actually made by singing children which the Moravians kept inside of it. The organ was opened so they could see the inner workings. After their curiosity was satisfied, the Brethren asked if they would like to have a Moravian missionary in their towns. Little Carpenter said they would love to have someone to teach their children (Starbuck and Crews 2010, 34-35). It was a fitting end to the interactions between the two groups. The Moravians had come to Wachovia to establish a plantation, not a mission. However, through the turmoil of a war raging to the north, which first brought the Cherokee to the town of Bethabara and through another war which brought the Cherokee to Bethabara for vengeance, an earnest desire for peace and understanding was cultivated. Bethlehem would eventually establish a mission among the

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Cherokee, based on the relationship created during the life of Bethabara, but not until the beginning of the next century.

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Cherokee known to have participated in the Forbes Expedition and likely to have passed through Bethabara between 1757 and 1758.
Attakullakulla (Little Carpenter) Bench Cappy Captain Chocuary of Chota, and his wife Oustenaika (Judds Friend/Mankiller of Tomautly) Korasustikee of Estatie, and his wife Norhisd Outeyreky Quallasee Mahec of Keowee Quallaset Takee Songquostoskty of Keowee Swallow Warrior of Estatoe Swallows Nephew Testoe of Keowee, and his wife The Warrior of Tallasee Wauhatchee Young Warrior Whehondosea of Estatoe (Mays 1999)

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Works Cited
The New York Mercury, Number 260. New York City, August 1, 1757. Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War. New York: Vintge Books, 2001. Crews, C. Daniel. "Helfer Conferenz, meeting in Bethlehem, 1755." Ettwein, Johannes. "Letter to Graff from Johannas Ettwein." Translated by Kenneth G. Hammilton. Bethlehem: unpublished, November 11, 1767. Fort Dobbs.org. http://www.fortdobbs.org/history-fortdobbs.htm (accessed July 26, 2011). Fries, Adelaide L. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina Vol I. Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission, 1922. Johnson, Sir William. "The Papers of Sir William Johnson." Vol. XIII. Compiled by Phd Milton W. Hamilton. Albany, New York: University of the State of New York, 1962. Mays, Edith. Amherst Papers, 1756-1763 The Southern Sector: Dispatches from South Carolina, Virginia and His Majesty's Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc, 1999. Ramsey, Robert W. Carolina Cradle; Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier, 1747-1762. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1964. Spangenberg, Bishop August Gottlieb. "Spangenberg to the Brothers and Sisters in Wachovia." Translated by Elizabeth Marx. Bethlehem: Unpublished, October 18, 1757. . "To the Area Board from Spangenberg." Translated by Elizabeth Marx. Bethlehem: unpublished, June 20, 1758. Starbuck, Richard W., and C. Daniel Crews, . Records of the Moravians Among the Cherokees, Early Contact and the Establishment of the First Mission, 1752 1802. Vol. Vol. I. University of Oklahoma Press, 2010. Thorpe, Daniel B. Moravian Community in NC, Pluralism on the Southern Frontier. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1989.

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