JAMES AND CHARLOTTE ROBERTSON

- April 09, 2013

James Robertson was called the" father of middle Tennessee" and he is known as the founder of Nashville. He was born in Virginia in 1742 and married Charlotte Reeves Robertson in 1768. They would have thirteen children together but two died in infancy. Charlotte Tennessee and Charlotte Avenue are named after Charlotte Robertson. James and Charlotte are buried in Nashville's old City Cemetery. They crossed the Appalachians into the Upper Holston region of East Tennessee called the Watauga settlement in 1769. In 1777 Richard Henderson, a wealthy land speculator, who Hendersonville is named after, negotiated for a large track of land. This land supposedly belonged to the Cherokee's and included Middle Tennessee. The only problem was that they did not legitimately lay claim to the land. It was not their's to sale. Complicating the situation was the fact that the Nashville area was considered a sacred hunting ground. It was called the French Lick after a salt deposit that was created from a sulpher spring that was located where the Werthan Bag Co. The area swarmed with buffalo, deer, elk, and a variety of wildlife.

Henderson commissioned Robertson to lead an expedition into the area and report back to him. In the spring of 1779 Robertson's group arrived and they not only scouted the area but planted crops. The area along the river was rich bottom land. The corn grew over nine foot tall and that area was named "black bottom". It was called this until the 1950's. After Robertson's return to East Tennessee he organized settlers that would move into Nashville or Nashboro to build settlements. Nashboro was named after his friend Francis Nash who fought with him at the battle of Alamance in 1771. In early 1779 two parties of settlers were organized for the trip. John Donelson would bring the women and children on a thousand mile trip by water. They would endure Indian attacks and disease. Charlotte and Donelson's young daughter Rachel were in his party. Rachel Donelson would eventually marry Andrew Jackson. James Robertson's led most of the men overland. They arrived on Christmas day 1779. The Cumberland River was frozen and Robertson's party crossed over from Edgefield to the area near the present day Stockyard Restaurant. The Donelson party would not arrive until April.

The Chickamauga Indians belonged to the Cherokee tribe and they were determined to keep the settlers out of their sacred hunting grounds. Robertson's settlers established a group of stations or forts. The largest was Fort Nashboro. Some settlers would stand guard while others would plant crops. Robertson was shot on two different occasions by the Indians. Once through the foot and the second time through both wrists. He lost two sons to the Indians. One was killed and scalped on present day capital hill while Charlotte watched in horror from the fort. Another son was scalped but survived. James Robertson eventually developed a surgical treatment for scalp victims. In 1781 he led a group of men on a hunting trip near the fort. They were cut off by a band of Indians at what today is lower Broad & 1st Ave. Charlotte could see the men's predicament and she opened the gates to the fort allowing their dogs to attack the Indians. Chaos ensued among the Indians which enabled Robertson to lead his men back into the fort. The 1780's were a dark time for the settlers. Many settlers left and it is estimated that at least half of the remaining settlers were killed. After Congress established Tennessee as a territory in the early 1790's Robertson was made a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army. At the end of the American Revolution the Indians, who were allies of the British, decided that it was best to negotiate peace treaties with the settlers. Robertson negotiated several. The last Indian attack in Nashville occurred in 1792 at Buchanan's station on Elm Hill pike. Robertson would die on September 4, 1814 and Charlotte would die in 1843 at age 92.