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{{short description|American politician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = John Williams
| name = John Williams
|image = Colonel-john-williams-tn1.jpg
| image = Colonel-john-williams-tn1.jpg
|jr/sr = United States Senator
| jr/sr = United States Senator
|state = [[Tennessee]]
| state = [[Tennessee]]
|term_start = October 10, 1815
| term_start = October 10, 1815
|term_end = March 4, 1823
| term_end = March 3, 1823
|predecessor = [[Jesse Wharton]]
| predecessor = [[Jesse Wharton]]
|successor = [[Andrew Jackson]]
| successor = [[Andrew Jackson]]
|birth_date = {{birth date|1778|1|29}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1778|1|29}}
|birth_place = [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]], North Carolina, USA
| birth_place = [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]], North Carolina, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1837|8|10|1778|1|29}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1837|8|10|1778|1|29}}
|death_place = [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]], Tennessee, USA
| death_place = [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]], Tennessee, U.S.
|resting_place = [[First Presbyterian Church Cemetery]]<br/>[[Knoxville, Tennessee]], USA
| resting_place = [[First Presbyterian Church Cemetery]]<br/>[[Knoxville, Tennessee]], U.S.
|party = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]]
| party = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]]
|spouse=Melinda White<ref name=rothrock>Mary Rothrock, ''The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1972), p. 506.</ref>
| spouse = Melinda White<ref name=rothrock>Mary Rothrock, ''The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1972), p. 506.</ref>
| relations= [[Lewis Williams]] (brother)<ref name=bio /><br/>[[Robert Williams (North Carolina politician)|Robert Williams]] (brother)<ref name=bio /><br/>[[James White (General)|James White]] (father-in-law)<ref name=rothrock /><br/>[[Hugh Lawson White]] (brother-in-law)
| relations = [[Lewis Williams (politician)|Lewis Williams]] (brother)<ref name=bio /><br/>[[Robert Williams (North Carolina politician)|Robert Williams]] (brother)<ref name=bio /><br/>[[James White (General)|James White]] (father-in-law)<ref name=rothrock /><br/>[[Hugh Lawson White]] (brother-in-law)
| children = [[Joseph Lanier Williams|Joseph]], John, Mary, Cynthia, Susan<ref name=maiden />{{rp|45–6}}
| children = [[Joseph Lanier Williams|Joseph]], John, Mary, Cynthia, Susan<ref name=maiden />{{rp|45–6}}
| residence = [[Colonel John Williams House]]
| residence = [[Colonel John Williams House]]
Line 23: Line 25:
| profession = Attorney
| profession = Attorney
| religion =
| religion =
|rank =[[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] (1813–1815)<ref name=maiden />{{rp|18, 28}}
| rank = [[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]<ref name=maiden />{{rp|18, 28}}
|branch = [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
| branch = [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
|serviceyears =1813–1815<ref name=maiden />{{rp|18, 28}}
| serviceyears = 1799–1800, 1813–1815<ref name=maiden />{{rp|18, 28}}
|commands =
| commands =
|battles =[[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]]<ref name=heiskell />
| battles = [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]]<ref name=heiskell />
}}
}}
'''John Williams''' (January 29, 1778 – August 10, 1837) was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman, operating primarily out of [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], in the first part of the 19th century. He represented [[Tennessee]] in the [[United States Senate]] from 1815 to 1823, when he lost reelection to [[Andrew Jackson]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|36}} Williams also served as colonel of the 39th U.S. Infantry during the [[Creek Wars]], and played a key role in Jackson's victory at the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]] in 1814.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|23}}
'''John Williams''' (January 29, 1778 – August 10, 1837) was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman, operating primarily out of [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], in the first part of the 19th century. He represented [[Tennessee]] in the [[United States Senate]] from 1815 to 1823, when he lost reelection to [[Andrew Jackson]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|36}} Williams also served as colonel of the [[39th Infantry Regiment (War of 1812)|39th U.S. Infantry Regiment]] during the [[Creek Wars]], and played a key role in Jackson's victory at the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]] in 1814.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|23}}


Williams later distanced himself from Jackson, and aligned himself with [[John Quincy Adams]] and [[Henry Clay]].<ref name=rothrock /> Adams appointed him [[chargé d'affaires]] to the [[Central American Federation]] in 1825.<ref name=rothrock />
Williams later distanced himself from Jackson, and aligned himself with [[John Quincy Adams]] and [[Henry Clay]].<ref name=rothrock /> Adams appointed him [[chargé d'affaires]] to the [[Federal Republic of Central America]] in 1825.<ref name=rothrock />


==Early life==
==Early life==
Williams was born in what is now [[Forsyth County, North Carolina]] (then part of [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]]), the third of twelve children of Joseph and Rebekah Lanier Williams.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|7}} His father was of Welsh descent, and his mother was descended from French Huguenots.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|7}} Two of Williams' brothers, [[Lewis Williams]] and [[Robert Williams (North Carolina politician)|Robert Williams]], served as U.S. congressmen in the 19th century.<ref name=bio /> Another brother, [[Thomas Lanier Williams (judge)|Thomas Lanier Williams]], was a prominent Tennessee judge.<ref name=rothrock /> Williams was also the cousin of Congressman [[Marmaduke Williams]] <!-- and his brother, Mississippi Territory Governor [[Robert Williams (governor)]] // this content is not substantiated by sources-->.<ref name=bio>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000516 William's Congressional Biography]. Retrieved: September 13, 2011.</ref>
Williams was born in what is now [[Forsyth County, North Carolina]] (then part of [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]]), the third of twelve children of Joseph and Rebekah Lanier Williams.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|7}} His father was of Welsh descent, and his mother was descended from French Huguenots.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|7}} Two of Williams' brothers, [[Lewis Williams (politician)|Lewis Williams]] and [[Robert Williams (North Carolina politician)|Robert Williams]], served as U.S. congressmen in the 19th century.<ref name=bio /> Another brother, [[Thomas Lanier Williams (judge)|Thomas Lanier Williams]], was a prominent Tennessee judge.<ref name=rothrock /> Williams was also the cousin of Congressman [[Marmaduke Williams]] <!-- and his brother, Mississippi Territory Governor [[Robert Williams (governor)]] // this content is not substantiated by sources-->.<ref name=bio>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000516 William's Congressional Biography]. Retrieved: September 13, 2011.</ref>


Williams studied law in [[Salisbury, North Carolina]], in the late 1790s, and served as a captain in the 6th U.S. Infantry, from 1799 to 1800.<ref name=heiskell /> Shortly afterward, he relocated to [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], where he was admitted to the bar in 1803.<ref name=rothrock /> Around 1805, he married Melinda White, daughter of Knoxville's founder, [[James White (General)|James White]].<ref name=rothrock />
Williams studied law in [[Salisbury, North Carolina]], in the late 1790s, and served as a captain in the 6th U.S. Infantry, from 1799 to 1800.<ref name=heiskell /> Shortly afterward, he relocated to [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], where he was admitted to the bar in 1803.<ref name=rothrock /> Around 1805, he married Melinda White, daughter of Knoxville's founder, [[James White (General)|James White]].<ref name=rothrock />
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==Military activities (1812–1815)==
==Military activities (1812–1815)==


===Raiding Seminole Villages===
In late 1812, at the outbreak of the [[War of 1812]], Williams raised a small company of some 200 to 250 volunteers, primarily from Tennessee and Georgia, with the intention of invading Florida and attacking the [[Seminole]] tribe.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|14}}<ref>Tom Kanon, [http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/military/1812reg.htm Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812], [[Tennessee State Library and Archives]] website, November 20, 2007</ref> Williams and other leaders on the frontier suspected that Spain would eventually join the British side in the war, and would encourage the Seminoles to attack frontier settlements in southern Georgia. Williams and his volunteers invaded Florida in early February 1813, and destroyed several Seminole villages, burning over 300 houses, and stealing a large number of horses and other livestock.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|16}} After reporting that the Seminole country was "completely in waste,"<ref name=maiden />{{rp|16}} Williams returned to East Tennessee, and his volunteers were mustered out shortly afterward.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|17}}
In December 1812, John Williams assembled 240 Tennessee mounted volunteers with 220 Georgia troops led by Rifleman Colonel [[Thomas Adams Smith]] to conduct a raid on the Seminoles who were reported to be allegedly planning attacks on Americans as allies of the British and Spanish. The combined American militia force marched on Payne's Town on February 8, 1813. The Americans engaged the Seminole warriors for several hours before driving them off. The Americans set their base of operations. The Americans conducted raids on nearby villages destroying homes and crops. The Americans killed 20 Seminole warriors, burned 386 houses, destroyed 2,000 bushels of corn, and destroyed 2,000 deerskins. The Americans took 300 horses, 400 head of cattle, and 9 Seminoles/Africans as prisoners. John Williams and Thomas Adams Smith with their combined raiding force then withdrew back to friendly lines on February 24, 1813.<ref>"In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles" by Sean O'Brien Page.34.</ref> <ref name=maiden />{{rp|14}}<ref>Tom Kanon, [http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/military/1812reg.htm Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927214947/http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/military/1812reg.htm |date=September 27, 2011 }}, [[Tennessee State Library and Archives]] website, November 20, 2007</ref><ref name=maiden />{{rp|16}}"<ref name=maiden />{{rp|16}}<ref name=maiden />{{rp|17}}


===Recruiting Troops for the Creek War===
In June 1813, Williams was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a colonel, and ordered to recruit and organize the 39th U.S. Infantry for the purpose of engaging the hostile [[Red Sticks|Red Stick Creeks]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|18}} Within a few weeks, Williams had managed to recruit and partially equip 600 troops. In early 1814, Williams and the 39th were placed under the command of Andrew Jackson, who was preparing an expedition against the Red Sticks in [[Alabama]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|21–2}}
In June 1813, Williams was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a colonel, and ordered to recruit and organize the 39th U.S. Infantry for the purpose of engaging the hostile [[Red Sticks|Red Stick Creeks]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|18}} Within a few weeks, Williams had managed to recruit and partially equip 600 troops. In early 1814, Williams and the 39th were placed under the command of Andrew Jackson, who was preparing an expedition against the Red Sticks in [[Alabama]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|21–2}}


===Battle of Horseshoe Bend===
On March 27, Jackson attacked the Red Stick camp on the [[Tallapoosa River]], initiating the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. At the height of this battle, Williams and the 39th, which comprised Jackson's main line, charged and captured the log barricade with which the Creeks had fortified the riverbend, forcing the Creeks to flee.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|23}} In his report on the battle, Jackson commended the actions of Williams and several other officers of the 39th.<ref name=maiden /> Soldiers who fought under Williams at this battle included future Arkansas senator [[Thomas Hart Benton (politician)|Thomas Hart Benton]] and future Tennessee and Texas governor, [[Sam Houston]].<ref name=heiskell />
On March 27, Jackson attacked the Red Stick camp on the [[Tallapoosa River]], initiating the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. At the height of this battle, Williams and the 39th, which comprised Jackson's main line, charged and captured the log barricade with which the Creeks had fortified the riverbend, forcing the Creeks to flee.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|23}} In his report on the battle, Jackson commended the actions of Williams and several other officers of the 39th.<ref name=maiden /> Soldiers who fought under Williams at this battle included future Missouri senator [[Thomas Hart Benton (politician)|Thomas Hart Benton]] and future Tennessee and Texas governor, [[Sam Houston]].<ref name=heiskell />


===Handling Weapons Logistics in Washington, D.C.===
Following the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Williams went to Washington, D.C., to raise money for the 39th, and gradually acquired a sizable cache of weapons.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|25}} Throughout 1814, Williams and Jackson bickered over these weapons, with Jackson demanding that Williams give them to a militia company in Tennessee, and Williams arguing that federal arms could not be distributed to militia companies. Jackson questioned Williams' loyalty, and Williams questioned Jackson's authority.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|28}}
Following the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Williams went to Washington, D.C., to raise money for the 39th, and gradually acquired a sizable cache of weapons.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|25}} Throughout 1814, Williams and Jackson bickered over these weapons, with Jackson demanding that Williams give them to a militia company in Tennessee, and Williams arguing that federal arms could not be distributed to militia companies. Jackson questioned Williams' loyalty, and Williams questioned Jackson's authority.<ref name=maiden />{{rp|28}}


Line 68: Line 74:
==Family and legacy==
==Family and legacy==
[[File:Knoxville-williamsburg-1816.png|175px|right|thumb|Map of "Williamsburg"]]
[[File:Knoxville-williamsburg-1816.png|175px|right|thumb|Map of "Williamsburg"]]
In 1816, Williams made plans to develop a subdivision, "Williamsburg," on what was then the outskirts of Knoxville (now part of the [[Downtown Knoxville|Downtown area]]). This subdivision was bounded by what is now Henley Street (which at the time was the city's western boundary), Main Street, the riverfront, and Second Creek.<ref name=heiskell>Samuel G. Heiskell, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=HuwTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=heiskell+andrew+jackson&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History]'' (Nashville: Ambrose Printing Company, 1918), pp. 62, 355–368.</ref> The area is now occupied by Maplehurst Park and the [[Church Street Methodist Church (Knoxville, Tennessee)|Church Street Methodist Church]].
In 1816, Williams made plans to develop a subdivision, "Williamsburg," on what was then the outskirts of Knoxville (now part of the [[Downtown Knoxville|Downtown area]]). This subdivision was bounded by what is now Henley Street (which at the time was the city's western boundary), Main Street, the riverfront, and Second Creek.<ref name=heiskell>Samuel G. Heiskell, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HuwTAAAAYAAJ&q=heiskell+andrew+jackson Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History]'' (Nashville: Ambrose Printing Company, 1918), pp. 62, 355–368.</ref> The area is now occupied by Maplehurst Park and the [[Church Street Methodist Church (Knoxville, Tennessee)|Church Street Methodist Church]].


In 1826, while Williams was in Guatemala, his wife oversaw the construction of a new family home in East Knoxville, now known as the [[Colonel John Williams House]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|39–40}} The house is still standing, and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].
In 1826, while Williams was in Guatemala, his wife oversaw the construction of a new family home in East Knoxville, now known as the [[Colonel John Williams House]].<ref name=maiden />{{rp|39–40}} The house is still standing, and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].


Williams' son, [[Joseph Lanier Williams]], served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1837 to 1843).<ref name=maiden />{{rp|45}} Another son, John Williams II, was a prominent pro-Union leader during the Civil War, and served as vice president of the [[East Tennessee Convention]], which sought to create a separate, Union-aligned state in East Tennessee.<ref>Robert McKenzie, ''Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 191.</ref> John Williams was the great-grandfather of Admiral [[Richmond P. Hobson]],<ref name=maiden />{{rp|46}} and the great-great-grandfather of noted playwright, [[Tennessee Williams]].<ref>"Ask Doc Knox," [http://blogs.metropulse.com/ask_dr_knox/2010/04/a-rare-antebellum-manse-on-riv.html A Rare Antebellum Manse on Riverside Drive], ''Metro Pulse'', April 12, 2010. Retrieved: September 12, 2011.</ref>
Williams' son, [[Joseph Lanier Williams]], served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1837 to 1843).<ref name=maiden />{{rp|45}} Another son, John Williams II, was a prominent pro-Union leader during the Civil War, and served as vice president of the [[East Tennessee Convention]], which sought to create a separate, Union-aligned state in East Tennessee.<ref>Robert McKenzie, ''Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 191.</ref> John Williams was the great-grandfather of Admiral [[Richmond P. Hobson]],<ref name=maiden />{{rp|46}} and the great-great-grandfather of noted playwright, [[Tennessee Williams]].<ref>"Ask Doc Knox," [https://web.archive.org/web/20140724090553/http://blogs.metropulse.com/ask_dr_knox/2010/04/a-rare-antebellum-manse-on-riv.html A Rare Antebellum Manse on Riverside Drive], ''Metro Pulse'', April 12, 2010. Accessed at the Internet Archive, 2 October 2015.</ref>

[[Fort Williams (Alabama)|Fort Williams]], a supply depot built prior to the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]], was named for Williams.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dead Towns of Alabama |last=Harris |first=W. Stuart |year=1977 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |page=56 |isbn=0-8173-1125-4 }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Commons category|John Williams (Tennessee)}}
{{Commons category|John Williams (politician born 1778)}}
{{reflist|30em}}
{{reflist|30em}}


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}}
}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}

{{USSenTN}}
{{USSenTN}}
{{SenArmedServiceCommitteeChairs}}
{{SenArmedServiceCommitteeChairs}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata
|NAME=Williams, John
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Tennessee politician
|DATE OF BIRTH=January 29, 1778
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Surry County, North Carolina]]
|DATE OF DEATH=August 10, 1837
⚫
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Knoxville, Tennessee]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John}}
[[Category:United States Senators from Tennessee]]
[[Category:1778 births]]
[[Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:United States senators from Tennessee]]
⚫
[[Category:Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:People of the Creek War]]
[[Category:People of the Creek War]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Guatemala]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to the Federal Republic of Central America]]
[[Category:1778 births]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:Tennessee Democratic-Republicans]]
[[Category:Tennessee Democratic-Republicans]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States senators]]
[[Category:American people of Huguenot descent]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:19th-century American legislators]]

Latest revision as of 04:57, 21 April 2024

John Williams
United States Senator
from Tennessee
In office
October 10, 1815 – March 3, 1823
Preceded byJesse Wharton
Succeeded byAndrew Jackson
Personal details
Born(1778-01-29)January 29, 1778
Surry County, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedAugust 10, 1837(1837-08-10) (aged 59)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Resting placeFirst Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseMelinda White[1]
RelationsLewis Williams (brother)[2]
Robert Williams (brother)[2]
James White (father-in-law)[1]
Hugh Lawson White (brother-in-law)
ChildrenJoseph, John, Mary, Cynthia, Susan[3]: 45–6 
ResidenceColonel John Williams House
ProfessionAttorney
Military service
Branch/serviceU.S. Army
Years of service1799–1800, 1813–1815[3]: 18, 28 
Rank Colonel[3]: 18, 28 
Battles/warsBattle of Horseshoe Bend[4]

John Williams (January 29, 1778 – August 10, 1837) was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman, operating primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee, in the first part of the 19th century. He represented Tennessee in the United States Senate from 1815 to 1823, when he lost reelection to Andrew Jackson.[3]: 36  Williams also served as colonel of the 39th U.S. Infantry Regiment during the Creek Wars, and played a key role in Jackson's victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814.[3]: 23 

Williams later distanced himself from Jackson, and aligned himself with John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay.[1] Adams appointed him chargé d'affaires to the Federal Republic of Central America in 1825.[1]

Early life[edit]

Williams was born in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina (then part of Surry County), the third of twelve children of Joseph and Rebekah Lanier Williams.[3]: 7  His father was of Welsh descent, and his mother was descended from French Huguenots.[3]: 7  Two of Williams' brothers, Lewis Williams and Robert Williams, served as U.S. congressmen in the 19th century.[2] Another brother, Thomas Lanier Williams, was a prominent Tennessee judge.[1] Williams was also the cousin of Congressman Marmaduke Williams .[2]

Williams studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina, in the late 1790s, and served as a captain in the 6th U.S. Infantry, from 1799 to 1800.[4] Shortly afterward, he relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he was admitted to the bar in 1803.[1] Around 1805, he married Melinda White, daughter of Knoxville's founder, James White.[1]

In 1807, Williams was appointed Tennessee's attorney general, and served in this capacity until the following year.[1] In 1811, he led a mass meeting of Knox County citizens that condemned Archibald Roane for resigning from the state legislature to run for circuit court judge.[3]: 12  In a letter published in a local newspaper, Williams blasted Roane as too selfish and too much of a drunkard to be a faithful judge.[3]: 12 

Military activities (1812–1815)[edit]

Raiding Seminole Villages[edit]

In December 1812, John Williams assembled 240 Tennessee mounted volunteers with 220 Georgia troops led by Rifleman Colonel Thomas Adams Smith to conduct a raid on the Seminoles who were reported to be allegedly planning attacks on Americans as allies of the British and Spanish. The combined American militia force marched on Payne's Town on February 8, 1813. The Americans engaged the Seminole warriors for several hours before driving them off. The Americans set their base of operations. The Americans conducted raids on nearby villages destroying homes and crops. The Americans killed 20 Seminole warriors, burned 386 houses, destroyed 2,000 bushels of corn, and destroyed 2,000 deerskins. The Americans took 300 horses, 400 head of cattle, and 9 Seminoles/Africans as prisoners. John Williams and Thomas Adams Smith with their combined raiding force then withdrew back to friendly lines on February 24, 1813.[5] [3]: 14 [6][3]: 16 "[3]: 16 [3]: 17 

Recruiting Troops for the Creek War[edit]

In June 1813, Williams was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a colonel, and ordered to recruit and organize the 39th U.S. Infantry for the purpose of engaging the hostile Red Stick Creeks.[3]: 18  Within a few weeks, Williams had managed to recruit and partially equip 600 troops. In early 1814, Williams and the 39th were placed under the command of Andrew Jackson, who was preparing an expedition against the Red Sticks in Alabama.[3]: 21–2 

Battle of Horseshoe Bend[edit]

On March 27, Jackson attacked the Red Stick camp on the Tallapoosa River, initiating the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. At the height of this battle, Williams and the 39th, which comprised Jackson's main line, charged and captured the log barricade with which the Creeks had fortified the riverbend, forcing the Creeks to flee.[3]: 23  In his report on the battle, Jackson commended the actions of Williams and several other officers of the 39th.[3] Soldiers who fought under Williams at this battle included future Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton and future Tennessee and Texas governor, Sam Houston.[4]

Handling Weapons Logistics in Washington, D.C.[edit]

Following the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Williams went to Washington, D.C., to raise money for the 39th, and gradually acquired a sizable cache of weapons.[3]: 25  Throughout 1814, Williams and Jackson bickered over these weapons, with Jackson demanding that Williams give them to a militia company in Tennessee, and Williams arguing that federal arms could not be distributed to militia companies. Jackson questioned Williams' loyalty, and Williams questioned Jackson's authority.[3]: 28 

United States Senate[edit]

In 1815, Williams was chosen to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Jesse Wharton (who had been appointed to the seat a few months earlier following the resignation of George W. Campbell).[1] In 1817, Williams was reelected to a full six-year term. Williams voted in favor of the Second Bank of the United States in 1816,[3]: 29  opposed the Bonus Bill of 1817,[7] and voted for the Missouri Compromise of 1820.[3]: 29  He was also chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, and oversaw a reduction of the armed forces.[3]: 29 

In 1819, following Jackson's invasion of Florida (then part of Spain), another dispute erupted between Williams and Jackson. Jackson accused Williams of spreading a rumor that Jackson had launched the invasion to protect personal land investments in the Pensacola area, and argued that Williams was assailing his character in private conversations in Washington.[3]: 31  In 1821, Williams was one of just four senators to vote against the Adams–Onís Treaty, in which Spain ceded Florida to the United States.[3]: 33 

In 1823, Williams made it clear that he was going to support William H. Crawford (another enemy of Jackson) for the presidency, leading Jackson's allies in Tennessee to seek Williams' removal from the Senate.[3]: 35–6  When they were unable to find a candidate with enough support to defeat Williams, Jackson agreed to become a candidate for Williams' seat.[3]: 36  Though Williams had the support of the influential Knoxville Register[7] and rising politician Davy Crockett,[8] he lost to Jackson by a margin of 35 votes to 25 at a contentious meeting of the state legislature on October 1, 1823.[3]: 36 

Later life[edit]

After losing his U.S. Senate seat, Williams ran for Knox County's state senate seat in 1825, but lost to James Anderson by a vote of 982 to 931.[3]: 37  President John Quincy Adams pondered appointing Williams Secretary of War, but was dissuaded by Henry Clay, who thought the appointment should go to someone from New York.[4] Adams eventually appointed Williams chargé d'affaires to the Central American Federation, and Williams thus spent most of 1826 at this post in Guatemala.[3]: 38 

In 1827, Williams again ran for Knox County's state senate seat. In spite of staunch opposition from Jackson's allies (including Williams' brother-in-law, Hugh Lawson White, who referred to Williams as a "mean politician who can get no man to lye upon him"),[3]: 40  Williams won the election, 1,585 to 1,216.[3] During his term, he introduced a bill calling for the construction of a turnpike connecting Anderson County and Kentucky, a bill providing relief for female debtors, and legislation seeking greater oversight of the Bank of Tennessee.[3]: 41  He retired from the state senate in 1829.[1]

Williams spent his later years practicing law and advocating railroad construction.[1] He rejected several invitations to run for Congress, stating he had no desire to go to Washington and serve at the "bow of the emperor," in reference to then-President Jackson.[3]: 42  Williams died on August 10, 1837, and was interred in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Knoxville.[2]

Family and legacy[edit]

Map of "Williamsburg"

In 1816, Williams made plans to develop a subdivision, "Williamsburg," on what was then the outskirts of Knoxville (now part of the Downtown area). This subdivision was bounded by what is now Henley Street (which at the time was the city's western boundary), Main Street, the riverfront, and Second Creek.[4] The area is now occupied by Maplehurst Park and the Church Street Methodist Church.

In 1826, while Williams was in Guatemala, his wife oversaw the construction of a new family home in East Knoxville, now known as the Colonel John Williams House.[3]: 39–40  The house is still standing, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Williams' son, Joseph Lanier Williams, served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1837 to 1843).[3]: 45  Another son, John Williams II, was a prominent pro-Union leader during the Civil War, and served as vice president of the East Tennessee Convention, which sought to create a separate, Union-aligned state in East Tennessee.[9] John Williams was the great-grandfather of Admiral Richmond P. Hobson,[3]: 46  and the great-great-grandfather of noted playwright, Tennessee Williams.[10]

Fort Williams, a supply depot built prior to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, was named for Williams.[11]

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Williams (politician born 1778).
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mary Rothrock, The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1972), p. 506.
  2. ^ a b c d e William's Congressional Biography. Retrieved: September 13, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Leota Driver Maiden, "Colonel John Williams," East Tennessee Historical Society Publications, Vol. 30 (1958), pp. 7–46.
  4. ^ a b c d e Samuel G. Heiskell, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History (Nashville: Ambrose Printing Company, 1918), pp. 62, 355–368.
  5. ^ "In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles" by Sean O'Brien Page.34.
  6. ^ Tom Kanon, Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812 Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Tennessee State Library and Archives website, November 20, 2007
  7. ^ a b Stanley Folmsbee, Sectionalism and Internal Improvements in Tennessee, 1796–1845 (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1939), pp. 41–2, 57n.
  8. ^ John Finger, Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 2001), p. 270.
  9. ^ Robert McKenzie, Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 191.
  10. ^ "Ask Doc Knox," A Rare Antebellum Manse on Riverside Drive, Metro Pulse, April 12, 2010. Accessed at the Internet Archive, 2 October 2015.
  11. ^ Harris, W. Stuart (1977). Dead Towns of Alabama. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-8173-1125-4.
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 2) from Tennessee
1815–1823
Served alongside: George W. Campbell, John Eaton, 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
None
 United States Chargé d'Affaires, Guatemala
May 3, 1826 – December 1, 1826 		Succeeded by
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