Indian agent
In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson appointed 60-year old Meigs to the combined position of US Indian agent to the Cherokee and military agent for the United States War Department. The government's trading or factory operations were linked with Indian relations in the War Department during these years.Initially Meigs' office and the Cherokee Agency were at Fort Southwest Point in what is now Kingston, Tennessee. In 1807 he relocated these operations to a new post further south, named Hiwassee Garrison. It was near the mouth of the Hiwassee River, at its confluence with the Tennessee River. Charles R. Hicks, a mixed-race (European and Cherokee) and bilingual Cherokee, worked as his interpreter for some time. Hicks later became a chief of the Cherokee. Meigs' role as military agent ended in 1813 when the Federal soldiers stationed at Hiwassee Garrison were withdrawn. He continued as Cherokee agent on the Hiwassee River until his death on January 28, 1823.
The job of an Indian agent was multi-faceted. He was to prevent wars between the Indian tribes and the United States, eliminate any influence by other countries over the Indians, foster agriculture and the "arts of civilization", distribute annuities granted tribes by treaties, regulate commerce between Indians and white traders, and prohibit whites from settling on Indian land. In exchange for these benefits, the Indians were to sell or cede excess land they owned to the United States. It was the issue of land that characterized Meig's tenure as agent to the Cherokees. During his 22 years as agent, Cherokee land cessions to the United States totalled 25,665 sq mi (66,470 km2) leaving the Cherokee in possession of 12,316 sq mi (31,900 km2) of land, mostly in northern Georgia.
The Cherokee at this time were divided by dissention, although the majority opposed land sales or cessions to the United States. Meigs worked with tribal leaders favorable to ceding land, providing them "special considerations" (bribes) for their cooperation. Meigs believed that the Cherokee should move west of the Mississippi River, as some were doing. In 1808, he said, "It is my opinion that there will never be quietness on any of these frontiers until the Indians are removed over the Mississippi." Removal across the Mississippi was envisioned by many as a permanent solution to the Indian problem. Thomas Jefferson believed that white settlement of the trans-Mississippi region would take 1,000 years. In reality, it was only two decades later, in 1828, before the Cherokee in Arkansas were surrounded by white settlers.
His promotion of Cherokee land cessions notwithstanding, Meigs was in some respects a competent and dedicated agent. He was diligent in attempting to have U.S. the government prosecute crimes, of which there were many, by whites against Cherokee and expelling squatters on Cherokee land. "Meigs endeavored honestly and fairly to support the rights of the Indians." In 1823, he died of pneumonia after giving his quarters to a visiting Cherokee chief and sleeping outside in a tent. Meigs is buried in the Garrison Cemetery in Rhea County, Tennessee, near the site of the former Hiwassee Garrison.
