Year: 1879




be inferred from description of the court |
house, in which the Legislature of the State |
of Franklin was wont to assemble. 1t was
built of unhewn logs, and had neither floors
nor windows. Between the logs we're few
cracks where the logs fitted badly, and these
1t was thought, would serve well enough for
ventilation and light. 1t is almost unneces.
sary to say that the State had no printing
press and the only knowledge which the
freeman of Franklin got of the laws of his
Government was through common report
and their annual promulgation on the mill
tia field or from the steps of the court
house.


JOHN SEWER.


The chief interest which the State of
Franklin has for us to-day comes from two
or three striking characters which its history
brought into prominence. The principal of
these, John Sewer, Virginian by birth,
but Huguenot by descent, is one of the
noteworthy characters in the annals of Ten
nessee. Sewer was one of those men who
seemingly without effort or pains, attract
other men instantly To them to form group
of which they are always the centre. He is
said to have been much like Gen. Sam Hous.
ton, of Texas, in this respect. Possessed of
this magnetic influence, he had in addition
to it the bonhomie which is so pleasing to the
men of the frontier, and the fearless spirit
that so commends its possessor to all who
live amid scenes of peril and danger. These
qualities inevitably made Sewer leader
wherever he went and when his fortunes
turned him to the mountains of Tennessee,
from that moment he was the foremost man
in all the councils and enterprises of the
men who afterwards formed the State of
Franklin. He was the commander of the
Tennessee Riflemen at Kings Mountain,
and was chosen as the first Governor, aud
continued to be the only Governor of the
State of Franklin.


Sewer fought hard for the State, but after
the first year of its existence the fight was
a losing one, for North Carolina, after the
first abandonment of her offspring, suddenly
turned about and reasserted her jurisdiction.
She had all the power, and had the commun-
ication between the two States been easy.
and had she asserted her rights with vigor
and promptness, the revolt of the western
counties would have been crushed in its in
cipiency; but the fact that these two conditions
were entirely wanting necessarily made the
policy of North Carolina waiting" one, and
this policy assisted by feuds and divisions in
the State of Franklin, made peaceful and
bloodless settlement of the difficulty posi-
Bile. There was, however, one slight scrm-
mage before the new-State passed out of
existence, which we shall presently refer to.
In order to introduce this episode properly
however, we shall have to refer more par
ticularly to another of the prominent char
acters of the State of franklin.


sPEcK OF WAR.


Major John Upton seems to have been as
unlike Sewer as it is possible for two men to
be. He had none of Sevir rs suavity of
manner he was brusgue and uncompromis-
ing-s man to whom it was impossible to
endure rival, who aspired to leadership,
and who was jealous of all who contended
for it with him. Yet he had qualities which
enabled him to hew his way through diff
culties, and by force of will, if in no other
way, to make himself formidable oppon-
ent This man had supported the State of
Franklin in its early days, but afterwards,
probably because he saw that Sewers infu-
ence was likely to overshadow his own,
threw the whole weight of his influence in
favor of return to the jurisdiction of North
Carolina. He was materially assisted in his
efforts by a general feeling among the
Franks" that North Carolina having again
taken the counties under her protection, and
having set up the requisite Courts, and hav-
ing appointed the necessary Brigadier of
Militia, a return to the old allegiance would
be the wisest course. So rapidly did the
fabric of the new State perish that three
years after it's establishment, in the words
of recent writer upon the subject, "no
Legislature at all could be assembled, and
as it was one of the duties of the Legislature
to elect the Council, and as the Legislature
at its last session had failed to DO this, the
Council was soon thing of the past To
complete this catalogue of misfortunes,
Judge Campbell, the head of the Judiciary,
accepted office under the government OF
North Carolina. Gov. Sewer was left alone
in his official dignity. Even this sole relic
of the Franklin government would NOT, in
the natural course of events, remain long
exempt from the general wreck, for the Gov
ernor's term expired on March l, 17SS,and
it being a constitutional function of the
Legislature to elect the Governor, and there
being no Legislature to perform this duty,
it followed inevitably that after March l,
1888, there would be no Governor of the
State of Franklin


Such were the facts, and the State of
Franklin thus ended, but its closing days
were marked by the elimination of the RI
vslry between Upton and Sewer in an open
encounter between the two and their respec-
tive forces. During temporary absence of
Sewer on the frontier, Upton had confined
in his house certain slaves taken from Sc
vier's homestead by legal process. On hear
ing this, Sewer marched with one hundred
and fifty men to Tipton's house, and for
three days laid siege to it. Upton had few
men with him, and, when SEWER called upon
him to surrender he replied that Sewers
force might sire and be damned" Neither
however, made direct attack upon the 9TH
er, Upton not doing so on account of inferi-
ority of force, and Sewer because he was at
heart a peacesble man, and did not wish to
cause useless bloodshed. At length, on the
morning of the fourth day, q detachment
from Sullivan county came to Tipton's as
sistance. The morning was bitter cold, snow
was falling, and Sewers scouts had all come
into camp 20 warm themselves. Seeing the
state of affairs, the Sullivan militia moved