John Ross Quotes
Major General Thomas Jesup has committed an unprecedented violation of that sacred rule which has ever been recognized by every nation, civilized and uncivilized, of treating with all due respect those who had ever presented themselves under a flag of truce before the enemy, for the purpose of proposing the termination of warfare.
During the Seminole War, Ross, as a very respected Cherokee Chief and leader, had been asked to persuade some if the Seminole Chief’s to come to a conference to discuss and negotiate a settlement to the conflict. Ross was successful . Seminole Chief Micanopy, twelve other chieftains, and a number of Seminole warriors accompanied the Cherokee deputation to the headquarters of the United States Army at Fort Mellon, where they were to discuss the matter. When they arrived General Thomas Jesup arrested the Seminoles instead of negotiating. Ross, a very educated man who was literate in English, o the Secretary of War. Jesup in retrospect was one of the disgraces in the history of the U. S. Army was admired, not for his fighting or his lack of ethics, but for his management and logistics as the Quartermaster General. For more quotations showing Jesup’s character, see quotations 643611 and 643612.
Ross, John. "Letter to Hon. Joel R. Poinsett, Secretary of War, January 2, 1838." The Papers of Chief John Ross, Vol. 1: 1807-1839, edited by Gary E. Moulton, University of Oklahoma Press, 1985.
He was a brutal officer who by modern standards committed various war crimes.
This notorious order issued by the General in the Seminole War was a throwback to ore primitive days where armies were allowed to pillage enemy towns and residences and steal whatever they wanted and keep it for themselves or divide it amongst the troops. There was no specific legal authority for this kind if theft, but there was also nothing prohibiting it. It would not be until the Civil War when the United States military would issue a written set of rules of warfare that must be followed by all troops.
John Ross (Cherokee: ᎫᏫᏍᎫᏫ, romanized: guwisguwi), (meaning in Cherokee: "Mysterious Little White Bird"), was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828 to 1866 and served longer in that position than any other person. Described as the Moses of his people, Ross influenced the Indian nation through such tumultuous events as the relocation to Indian Territory and the American Civil War.
