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William Augustus Bowles

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Not to be confused with William A. Bowles.

William Augustus Bowles
Director General and Commander-In-Chief of the Muskogee Nation
In office
1799 – May 24, 1803
Personal details
Bornc. 1763
Frederick County, Maryland
Died1805 (aged 41–42)
Castillo Morro, Havana, Cuba
Military service
Allegiance Great Britain
State of Muskogee
Branch/serviceBritish Army
UnitMaryland Loyalists Battalion
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

William Augustus Bowles (c. 1763 – c. 1805) was an American-born military officer and adventurer. Born in Frederick County, Maryland, Bowles was commissioned into the Maryland Loyalists Battalion at the rank of ensign, seeing action during the American Revolutionary War, including the 1781 siege of Pensacola. He subsequently established an alliance with the Muscogee and founded the State of Muskogee. In 1803, Bowles was betrayed and handed over to the Spanish, who imprisoned him in Morro Castle, where he died two years later.

Early life

Bowles was born on November 2, 1763 in Frederick County, Maryland[1], and joined the Maryland Loyalist Battalion at the age of thirteen with the junior officer rank of ensign, traveling with the battalion when it was ordered to form part of the garrison of Pensacola, Florida.[2] Well-known in his ties to the British Army, Bowles motivations for establishing a native nation, whether for economic reasons or principles, is heavily debated among scholars. He is described as "colorful"[1], an "adventurer"[3], "Director General"[3], "thorn in Spain's side"[4], "trouble-maker"[3], etc. Described as possessing "machinating talents"[1], Bowles proved to be a cunning adversary to both Spain and the United States, both often debating to what end they persecute Bowles' attempts at disrupting each nation's campaigns to expand political and military power. Much of Bowles' accomplishments are found in his relations with the Creek natives and the establishment of the Muskogee Nation.

Military Involvement and Introduction to the Creeks

After enlisting in a British Regiment after he ran from home in 1765[1], Bowles was sent to Pensacola, Florida in 1778[1] to aid other British militarists in West Florida against an expected attack from Spain[1]. During this, he was dismissed from military duty, and as some historians postulate, for insubordination against the British army[1].  It was at this point he was introduced and formed a bond with the native Creek Nation[1] where he would later endow himself as the "Director General of the State of Muskogee."[1] Through the progression of his writings and letters, Bowles began to embrace a physical and outward styling resembling the Creeks and natives he was working with to make a public announcement of his alignment with the indigenous tribes[5]. From this, Bowles fashions himself as an "adopted Creek,"[5] with no intentions to make a play at American nationalism but rather a re-identification of self[5].

Soon after his arrival in Pensacola, Bowles left with a group of Lower Creeks to an area by the Chattahoochee River[6], where he married a Creek woman[6], a daughter to Chief Perryman[1], and a Cherokee women[6]. This gave Bowles further ties to the natives living on the land in West Florida and the Georgia Frontier[6]. Interracial marriages were common among the Seminoles and Muskogee according to historian James Leitch Wright,[7] but historian Kevin Mulroy disagrees strongly with Wright's contention.[8]

Pensacola, Florida, 18th Century

Under the influence of Alexander McGillivray and Lord Dunmore during Spain's almost complete monopoly of the trading markets in the region[1], Bowles wanted to bring together Creeks while expanding British interests[6]. In doing so, this endeavor would give him greater control of the trade ports and markets[6]. Further accounts discovered from the Creeks reveal that many saw him as an "imposter"[4] as he exhibited "little interest"[4] in Creek's definitions of nationality and pursuits[4]. The focus Bowles put on establishing the Muskogee Nation as an independent entity viable for trade and political relations highlights the potential weaknesses within expansion enterprises by both the United States and Spain during this period. Many people in the United States worried that if Bowles were to successfully establish this nation, "he would turn Florida into a British dependency"[4].

Spain viewed Bowles as a constant threat to the monopoly they operated in Florida[1]. Often debating upon Bowles several imprisonments to either killing him outright or giving him a salary of a military officer[1].

1791 Arrest and Deportation

In 1791, Bowles wrote a letter to the Conde de Floridablanca[9] asking for greater Spanish protection for the Creeks and Cherokees[9]. Within the letter, he continues to request greater alliance between "Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Creeks"[9] and for Spain to remove the Panton trade monopoly in place for a Muskogee-preferential free trading market[9]. Spain sees Bowles as a clear threat as he plans to drive out the Spaniards from Florida with the help of Creek sentiments stirred up against Spanish presence[9]. In response, the Governor-General of Louisiana, Luis Francisco Héctor orders engineer and former military commandant, Luis Bertucat, to capture Bowles along the Ochlockonee River [9]. Though this attempt did not end with Bowles' capture, advisors to Bertucat and Governor-General Héctor warned that approaching Bowles would need to be done carefully as to avoid upsetting the Creeks and other natives that have amassed a large support of Bowles[10].

Present Day Ochlockonee River

Bertucat's second attempt to capture Bowles ended not with Bowles but the capturing of one of his men, David McLeash, leading Bowles to the Governor in New Orleans to negotiate a trade after Bowles' occupation of the St. Mark's trading post[9]. During this negotiation, Bowles was taken prisoner by Spain and eventually sent to Spain for further detainment[1]. Over the next five years[3], the Spanish Government proceeds to send Bowles from Spain to the Philippines as a way of "safe keeping" to make sure Bowles' influence is contained[1]. However, soon he escapes and heads back to Pensacola, Florida, where he would then establish the "Supreme Council of Muskogee"[1] and name himself "Director General"[1].

Bowles' Proclamation of War

By 1799, through the help of British officers who sympathized with his efforts, Bowles was back in his ranks of the Creeks[3]. Soon after the establishment of the Muskogee Nation in 1800, Bowles announces an official Proclamation of War towards Spain[3]. In the announcement issued on April 5, 1800[3], Bowles states the Spanish government has violated the rights of the Muskogee Nation as independent peoples through open hostilities and violence[3]. Further, Bowles claims the Spanish government forces their hand to defend themselves as their ports are blocked from trade and commerce, ultimately forcing the new nation to either surrender to oppressing arms or defend their rights[3]. In a tribute to his Anglo-American roots, Bowles ends the announcement with "God Save the Muskogee"[3].

San Marcos Fort and Bowles' Death

Following his return to Florida in 1791, Bowles focused more on evaluating West Florida and Apalachicola as this was an area of his greater assets[10]. In 1800, Bowles captures the San Marcos Fort, which had been constructed by Bertucat[9], causing Spain to prioritize recapturing Bowles as this was a prominent port for the nation. Fort San Marcos was not constructed with the intention to withstand significant force and seizure[6]. Bowles entered the fort under the impression of economic and commercial relief[6], revealing the reason for capture was under poor conditions and a lack of proper resources[6].

While he was living with the Creek Tribe, a Spanish expeditionary force mustered and began to lay siege to British forts along the Gulf Coast[6]. Bowles convinced the Creeks to support the British garrison stationed in Pensacola against the invading Spanish force, but the garrison surrendered when the powder magazine at the fortress was hit by artillery fire from a Spanish warship. The survivors of the garrison were taken as prisoners of war, but Bowles escaped into the wilderness with his Creek allies.

Morro Castle, Havana, Cuba

In a letter from Bertucat to Arturo O'Neill, Bertucat's third attempt at capturing Bowles for the Spanish government proved more successful[9]. Following information given by natives in along the Apalachicola River, in 1803 the Spanish government makes a deal with the native Creeks in the region by promising a "reward" to give up Bowles to the authorities[6]. By giving his location of where Bowles would be hiding out with his small contingent of sympathizers, Bertucat followed the river to a fortified area and eventually captured Bowles under surrender[9]. Bowles is then taken to Morro Castle in Havana, Cuba where he died as a prisoner in 1805[9].

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Corbitt, Duvon C.; Lanning, John Tate (1945-05). "A Letter of Marque Issued by William Augustus Bowles as Director General of the State of Muskogee". The Journal of Southern History. 11 (2): 246. doi:10.2307/2198175. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ McAlister, Lyle (April 1962). "William Augustus Bowles and the State of Muskogee". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 40.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j McAlister, Lyle (1953). ""The Marine Forces of William Augustus Bowles and His 'State of Muskogee' Illustrative Documents"". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 32 (1): 25 – via JSTOR.
  4. ^ a b c d e Gould, Eliga (2017). "Independence and Interdependence: The American Revolution and the Problem of Postcolonial Nationhood, circa 1802". The William and Mary Quarterly. 74 (4): 729–752. doi:10.5309/willmaryquar.74.4.0729. ISSN 0043-5597.
  5. ^ a b c Hill, James (Fall 2016). ""Muskogee Internationalism in An Age of Revolution". The William and Mary Quarterly. 74 (4): 729–752.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Din, Gilbert C. (2004). "William Augustus Bowles on the Georgia Frontier: A Reexamination of the Spanish Surrender of Fort San Marcos de Apalache in 1800". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 88 (3): 305–337. ISSN 0016-8297.
  7. ^ James Leitch Wright (1986). Creeks & Seminoles: The Destruction and Regeneration of the Muscogulge People. U of Nebraska Press. p. 80. ISBN 0-8032-9728-9.
  8. ^ Kevin Mulroy (September 2003). Freedom on the Border: The Seminole Maroons in Florida, the Indian Territory, Coahuila, and Texas. Texas Tech University Press. pp. 186–. ISBN 978-0-89672-516-4.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Holmes, Jack D. L.; Wright, J. Leitch (1970). "Luis Bertucat and William Augustus Bowles: West Florida Adversaries in 1791". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 49 (1): 49–62. ISSN 0015-4113.
  10. ^ a b Hough, Clinton (January 9, 2017). "Florida Entanglements: The 1791 William Augustus Bowles Rebellion". Thesis.

Notes

  • Jasanoff, Maya, Liberty's Exiles, American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World, Knopf, 2011
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