The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

      On April 23, 1818, Captain Obed Wright ordered the Georgia militia under his command to attack a Chehaw village in southwest Georgia, resulting in the slaughter of villagers. In this letter, Brigadier General Thomas Glascock reports what he has learned about the encounter to his superior officer, General Andrew Jackson. Written a week after the incident, this account of the Chehaw Affair is important for both its description of how 230 militiamen killed "seven men...one woman and two children" and its role in shaping Jackson's response to the massacre.