Sequoyah and His Talking Symbols

Vonore, Tennessee. The wind whipped around me like bitterness.

"These grounds are not yours," the whispering past said.

"I come with respect," I said replied silently and for a few moments, there was no wind, no coldness. This was familiar territory and my footsteps, leaving nothing behind on the pavement of the parking lot, were perhaps remembered. So many dark and cold nights, I had walked here, learning basic Cherokee. It does not get much more romantic than this - learning a language where its academic record began. This is the site where Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee Syllabary, a method for recording and communicating the language in a written form was born.

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• MUSEUM LOCATION:
• Latitude: 35.585192,
• Longitude: -84.220438
• 576 Highway 360 - Vonore, TN 37885

• A LITTLE HISTORY:
• The museum is located very near the site of Tuskeegee, the village where Sequoyah was born.
• Sequoyah was born in 1776.
  
• He created the Cherokee Syllabary in 1821.
• The syllabary is composed of 85 symbols.
  
• It took him 12 years to create it.
  

• STRUCTURES:
• Museum and grounds.
  

• CURRENT USAGE:
  
• Museum

• REFERENCE
1. Sequoyah Birthplace Museum
   

Lost Landscape

Vonore, TN. The pictures have waited on my hard drive patiently. Perhaps they wondered if I would call them the "New Hiking Boots" pictures or if I would correlate them to a historic site. So, I will just say that I went for a short hike in nearby Vonore, Tennessee to break in my new hiking boots (they were sorely needed as my sneaker's have had a long, slow death). These are special hiking boots, real hiking boots, made for walking off the beaten path we photographers follow. LOL.

My new boots took me to a trail that I am presently trying to track down, as well as the history behind it. I have spent way too many hours trying to find it on the web. Finally, it was suggested that I go offline and look on a local map of Monroe County. Found! Now I plod along. But alas dear reader, you will have to wait awhile longer while I compile the information. So today, I leave you with the above landscape from that excursion.

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• LOCATION:
• Latitude: 35.57889
• Longitude: -84.20583
• The Toqua Cemetery, Vonore, Tennessee

Fort Loudoun

Vonore, Tennessee. What can I really say about historic Fort Loudoun? It has been a part of my life for two years (come November). Often I am struck with awe at the beauty of landscape (though it is a bit marred by the new housing development that has gone up on the other side of the lake - realize I speak for myself here, no one else). Sometimes I get lost in time when the park has closed to visitors and we remain in in the 18th century, watching the sunset, swimming in the lake, and singing old tavern songs. It is really amazing in the fading light of an exhausted sun to watch a random person wall across the hill, lantern light shining the way towards the comfort of the barracks. Sometimes I look for the original occupants, trying to understand, but then I feel like an impostor on 17 feet of new soil that covers the original fort, a necessary change thanks to the work of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

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• LOCATION:
• Latitude: 35.598485
• Longitude: ,-84.216642
• 338 Fort Loudoun Road Vonore, Tennessee 37885

• A LITTLE HISTORY:
• The fort was built to house the Independent Company of South Carolina (1756) and to help protect the British Colony of South Carolina interests from the French during the French and Indian War.
  
• It was named after John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun, who was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America from 1756 to 1758. (3)
  
• This secured an alliance between the British and the Overhill Cherokee Nation. (1)
• In 1759, the British and Cherokees began warring over suspicions and betrayals by one another. (2)
• These included the execution of 23 Cherokee at Fort Prince George in South Carolina in late 1759. (3)
• In response, the Cherokees halted Fort Loudoun's supply line through the mountains to Fort Prince George. (3)
  
• By June 1760, rations were reduced to one quart of corn per day divided among three persons. (3)
• On August 6, 1760, the Cherokees laid siege to the fort and the Independent Company of South Carolina Surrendered. (2)
• On August 9, 1760, the British garrison left the fort with 180 men and 60 women and children. (3)
  
• On August 10, 1760, the retreating garrison was ambushed by the Cherokee and many of the garrison were killed or sold off into slavery. Those killed included all the officers, except for one, and twenty to thirty others. (3)
• The fort was later burnt down by the Cherokee.
  

• STRUCTURES:
• This the second reconstruction of the fort.
• The first was reconstructed by the Works Project Administration.
• The current site is now 17 feet above the original site and has ongoing reconstruction. (4)
  

• CURRENT USAGE: Historic Site, Museum, and Recreational State Park
  

• REFERENCE
1. www.fortloudoun.com/
2. Historic Fort Loudoun, Paul Kelley, Fort Loudoun Association, 1958.
3. www.tennessee.gov
4. www.wikipedia.org
   

Living Fort Loudoun

Vonore, Tennessee. You will probably notice that this posting is a little different from my explorations of history. You may have also missed that I did not post this past Saturday. The following pictures will explain the reason. Rather than sitting at the computer, I went about another huge interest of mine. I have long been into living history and currently, one of my personas is a laundress (not laundry wench, L-A-U-N-D-R-E-S-S, thank you very much) with the Independent Company of South Carolina. We portray the life at Historic Fort Loudoun, where the British Redcoats, the Provincials, the Cherokees, the laundress and like, lived during the 1750s (French and Indian War). I will feature Fort Loudoun as I have the other sites, but for now, I give you the people who bring it to life...