WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 Picture this. It's midnight, September 30th, 00:00:03.459 --> 00:00:08.679 1792. Okay. You are standing inside this tiny, 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.380 really hastily built wooden fort. And you are 00:00:12.380 --> 00:00:15.779 in the absolute middle of the untamed wilderness. 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:19.519 Right. Completely isolated. Exactly. And outside 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:21.480 these wooden walls, hidden in the pitch black, 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:25.510 there are over 300 warriors. And they are quietly 00:00:25.510 --> 00:00:28.250 preparing to attack. It's terrifying just to 00:00:28.250 --> 00:00:30.230 think about. It really is. So you look around 00:00:30.230 --> 00:00:32.149 at your defenses, right? And what do you actually 00:00:32.149 --> 00:00:35.380 see? You see 15 gunmen. That's it. Just 15. Just 00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:38.679 15. And right beside them is an 18 -year -old 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:40.780 woman. She's nine months pregnant. The noise 00:00:40.780 --> 00:00:43.179 of this impending battle is getting terrifyingly 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:45.299 close. What is she doing? Well, she's definitely 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:47.840 not panicking. No, she is calmly melting down 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.200 her own dinnerware over a fire to make bullets. 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:52.380 It sounds, I mean, it sounds like a scene crafted 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:54.579 for a blockbuster film. Yeah, totally. But it 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:57.200 is an entirely real documented piece of history. 00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:00.460 And that tense high stakes moment is exactly 00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:02.920 what we are going to explore today. Welcome to 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.879 our deep dive. Today's mission is to explore 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:08.459 a really fascinating Wikipedia article about 00:01:08.459 --> 00:01:11.519 Major John Buchanan. He was an American frontiersman 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:13.799 and literally one of the founders of present 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:15.760 -day Nashville, Tennessee. A hugely important 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.480 figure. Definitely. And we are going to extract 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.280 the most thrilling nuggets of knowledge from 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:24.159 this source today. Because our goal isn't just 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:27.000 to look at a single incredibly dramatic battle. 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:29.099 Right. There is so much more to it. There is. 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:32.019 We want to help you understand the complex global 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:35.319 geopolitical chess game that was actually defining 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:38.700 the early American frontier. We have this staggering 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:41.140 set of facts to work with and a story that I 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:43.099 guarantee will leave you rethinking everything 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:45.280 you thought you knew about pioneer history. It 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.040 really is a story of survival at its core. But 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:50.569 beyond that. It demonstrates how profoundly vast 00:01:50.569 --> 00:01:52.750 and connected the world was even back in the 00:01:52.750 --> 00:01:55.049 18th century. Yeah, which is so easy to forget. 00:01:55.150 --> 00:01:57.769 It is, because when you envision a lonely wooden 00:01:57.769 --> 00:02:01.650 fort in 1792, international diplomacy, proxy 00:02:01.650 --> 00:02:04.590 wars, and European empires probably do not cross 00:02:04.590 --> 00:02:06.849 your mind at all. Not even a little bit. Yet. 00:02:07.260 --> 00:02:09.939 All of those seemingly distant global forces 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.120 converge right at the gates of Buchanan Station. 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.659 Okay, let's unpack this by starting at the very 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:18.939 beginning of John Buchanan's origins. To really 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:21.659 understand the man who built this fort, you have 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:23.599 to look at the generational journey of his family. 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:26.719 You really do. He was born in 1759 in Harrisburg, 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:30.520 Pennsylvania. Yeah. But his family story doesn't 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:33.300 actually start there. John's family had essentially 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:35.819 been on the run, or at least on the move, for... 00:02:36.169 --> 00:02:38.229 nearly 80 years by that point. Yeah, they were 00:02:38.229 --> 00:02:40.949 not a stationary group of people. No. His great 00:02:40.949 --> 00:02:43.870 -grandfather Thomas packed up his siblings, fled 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:46.909 Scotland for Ireland in 1702, and eventually 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:49.449 made that incredibly dangerous month -long leap 00:02:49.449 --> 00:02:51.930 across the Atlantic to become early North American 00:02:51.930 --> 00:02:54.830 colonists. Migration and survival were literally 00:02:54.830 --> 00:02:57.110 in John's blood. By the time he comes into the 00:02:57.110 --> 00:02:59.650 picture, generational resilience and this constant 00:02:59.650 --> 00:03:01.889 movement are practically baked into his DNA. 00:03:02.229 --> 00:03:04.629 Yeah. He descends from a long line of people 00:03:04.629 --> 00:03:07.430 who just do not... shy away from packing up everything 00:03:07.430 --> 00:03:09.389 they own and heading straight into the absolute 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:11.949 unknown. And how do you even prepare for that 00:03:11.949 --> 00:03:14.490 kind of lifestyle? I mean, that DNA is severely 00:03:14.490 --> 00:03:17.129 put to the test when John is just 20 years old. 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:20.199 His family makes another monumental move. They 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:22.500 arrive at the future site of Nashville during 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:26.080 the unusually cold winter of 1779 to 1780. Which 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.699 was a brutal winter. Brutal. And according to 00:03:28.699 --> 00:03:31.520 several historians mentioned in our source, Buchanan's 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.680 family actually arrived ahead of James Robertson's 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:36.300 founding party. They were the literal tip of 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:38.889 the spear in this unforgiving environment. Unforgiving 00:03:38.889 --> 00:03:40.810 almost feels like an understatement here. The 00:03:40.810 --> 00:03:43.409 brutal reality of the early frontier is something 00:03:43.409 --> 00:03:45.930 that is really hard for us to fully grasp today. 00:03:46.150 --> 00:03:48.090 Definitely. The source includes this chilling 00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:50.370 account from historian G .R. McGee in his book 00:03:50.370 --> 00:03:54.569 A History of Tennessee from 1663 to 1905. He 00:03:54.569 --> 00:03:56.669 described the situation starting in the summer 00:03:56.669 --> 00:03:59.580 of 1780. What does he say? He notes that Native 00:03:59.580 --> 00:04:01.840 Americans began killing settlers and hunters 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:04.479 who were found alone or in small parties. And 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:06.960 this incredible tension was maintained all season 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.599 long. There were no open attacks at first, just 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:12.620 this constant hidden danger. The way McGee describes 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:15.580 it paints such a vivid picture. It wasn't about 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:18.000 open, formalized battles at this point. It was 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:20.459 just this constant suffocating dread. You were 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:23.240 just trying to survive. Right. But if you went 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:26.040 out to gather corn or to hunt or to simply feed 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:29.100 your livestock, you were stepping into a potential 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:32.279 ambush. every single time. Yeah, McGee specifically 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:35.379 mentions the danger of being shot by an Indian 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.019 hidden away in a thicket or a cane break. Stop 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:41.199 right there. What exactly is a cane break? I 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:43.740 see that word in historical texts a lot, but 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:46.000 it's not something we run into on a typical afternoon 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.339 walk today. It's definitely not. A cane break 00:04:48.339 --> 00:04:51.819 is essentially a dense, towering thicket of giant 00:04:51.819 --> 00:04:55.879 native river grass or bamboo. Oh, wow. Like actual 00:04:55.879 --> 00:04:58.160 bamboo. Yeah, basically. These stalks can grow 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:00.620 over 20 feet tall, and they are packed so tightly 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:02.540 together that it's nearly impossible to see through 00:05:02.540 --> 00:05:05.019 them. They line the riverbanks of the early south, 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:07.199 which made them the absolute perfect natural 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:10.139 cover for an ambush. That is terrifying. Try 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:12.480 to imagine living with that psychological weight. 00:05:13.290 --> 00:05:15.709 Every time you step outside your door to simply 00:05:15.709 --> 00:05:19.170 fetch water or feed a horse, the landscape itself 00:05:19.170 --> 00:05:22.550 feels hostile. You might not come back. Exactly. 00:05:22.550 --> 00:05:24.829 You might not come back. It was a low -level 00:05:24.829 --> 00:05:27.209 perpetual state of terror. Which brings me to 00:05:27.209 --> 00:05:29.470 a fact in this source that completely stopped 00:05:29.470 --> 00:05:31.970 me in my tracks. It's a massive contradiction 00:05:31.970 --> 00:05:34.649 that tells you everything you need to know about 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:38.149 John Buchanan's mindset. Oh, the book. Yes. In 00:05:38.149 --> 00:05:41.149 1781, just a year after that terrifying summer, 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:44.720 John's brother, Alexander, is killed. He dies 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:46.540 at what is known as the Battle of the Bluff at 00:05:46.540 --> 00:05:49.500 Fort Nashville. A horrific loss. Right. So John 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:51.620 has just suffered a horrific personal tragedy, 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:54.560 losing his own brother to this violent reality. 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:57.860 And how does he respond that very same year? 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:01.040 It's wild. He sits down and writes a book. And 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.060 not just any book. He writes Nashville's first 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:05.279 ever book, John Buchanan's Book of Arithmetic. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:08.220 What's fascinating here is the incredible duality 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:11.279 of the frontier experience. You have a man deeply 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:13.879 entrenched in a violent, unpredictable world, 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.660 actively mourning the fresh loss of his brother. 00:06:17.069 --> 00:06:20.050 And his response is to sit down and write a comprehensive 00:06:20.050 --> 00:06:22.509 guide to mathematics. I mean, people cope with 00:06:22.509 --> 00:06:24.490 grief in different ways. Sure. Some people take 00:06:24.490 --> 00:06:27.490 up woodworking. Some people run. John Buchanan 00:06:27.490 --> 00:06:29.889 apparently decides to write the frontier's first 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:33.339 Sudoku puzzle. It really is. It's the ultimate 00:06:33.339 --> 00:06:35.800 nerd reaction to wilderness trauma, but it makes 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:37.620 total sense when you think about his desperate 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:40.199 need for control. It highlights something profound 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:42.600 about the human spirit, I think. In the face 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.579 of utter chaos, he dedicates his time to preserving 00:06:45.579 --> 00:06:48.699 civilization, education, and logic. That's a 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:51.939 great point. Math is the ultimate form of order. 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:55.000 In a world where you could be ambushed just stepping 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:58.240 into a cane break, 2 plus 2 always equals 4. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.779 It provides an anchor of certainty when absolutely 00:07:01.779 --> 00:07:04.540 nothing else is certain. It humanizes him so 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:07.319 much. So John lives at Fort Nashville for about 00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:09.939 four years, but then he decides to move a few 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:12.459 miles east to establish his own place, which 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:14.819 becomes known as Buchanan Station. His own piece 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.439 of land. Exactly. And for those of you listening 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.660 who know the Nashville area today, we have a 00:07:19.660 --> 00:07:22.540 modern day anchor for you. This station was located 00:07:22.540 --> 00:07:25.220 on Mill Creek. right at what is now Elm Hill 00:07:25.220 --> 00:07:28.019 Pike and Mass Man Drive. It's so strange to picture 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:31.160 a fort there now. I know. The source mentions 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:33.459 he builds a few buildings, surrounds them with 00:07:33.459 --> 00:07:36.180 a picket stockade, and constructs a blockhouse 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:39.120 at the front gate overlooking the creek. So what 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.220 does that architecture actually look like for 00:07:41.220 --> 00:07:43.660 a small family fort back then? Well, a picket 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:46.120 stockade is essentially a high fence made from 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:49.000 heavy logs. They are driven vertically deep into 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.680 the ground and then sharpened at the top to prevent 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.689 anyone from climbing over. Okay, so a classic 00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:57.670 wooden fort wall. Right. And the blockhouse is 00:07:57.670 --> 00:08:00.209 the key defensive structure. It's usually a two 00:08:00.209 --> 00:08:02.629 -story sturdy timber building where the upper 00:08:02.629 --> 00:08:05.149 floor actually overhangs the lower floor. Oh, 00:08:05.209 --> 00:08:07.329 why the overhang? That overhang allows the defenders 00:08:07.329 --> 00:08:09.910 to look down and shoot straight down at anyone 00:08:09.910 --> 00:08:11.790 trying to set fire to the walls or breach the 00:08:11.790 --> 00:08:15.199 doors. It's brilliant defensively. He is physically 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.939 carving out a space for his family and trying 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:21.100 to build some semblance of security. And he really 00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:23.579 needs it. He marries his first wife, Margaret 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:27.500 Kennedy, around 1786. Tragically, Margaret dies 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:29.920 after giving birth to their first and only child 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:34.120 on May 15, 1787. Another devastating blow for 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:36.899 him. It's just relentless. But John holds his 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:38.720 ground at the station. He eventually marries 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:41.059 his second wife, Sarah Ridley, who goes by Sally. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.019 And here's where it gets really interesting, 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:45.340 because we have to zoom out and look at the year 00:08:45.340 --> 00:08:48.740 1792. We need to talk about the broader context 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:51.259 of the world surrounding this little wooden fort 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:54.279 on Mill Creek. The context is crucial for understanding 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:57.220 why this specific battle happens at all. Because 00:08:57.220 --> 00:09:00.200 by 1792, Nashville is an isolated settlement 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:03.759 of just 60 families. 60. Let that sink in. 60 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:06.340 families completely surrounded by a hostile wilderness. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.919 If they needed help or even just needed to send 00:09:08.919 --> 00:09:11.539 a message, communication was precariously long. 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:14.179 Where were the closest towns even located? The 00:09:14.179 --> 00:09:16.340 nearest settlements were Knoxville way over to 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:18.740 the east and Natchez much further south down 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:20.879 the Mississippi River. They were essentially 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:22.970 living on an island in the middle of a forest. 00:09:23.210 --> 00:09:25.950 To make matters more complicated, the political 00:09:25.950 --> 00:09:29.850 situation is an absolute mess. The ultimate responsibility 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:31.970 to this area had just been transferred from North 00:09:31.970 --> 00:09:34.389 Carolina to the brand new United States federal 00:09:34.389 --> 00:09:38.470 government in 1790. And that new federal government 00:09:38.470 --> 00:09:41.450 lacked both the political will and the actual 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:44.210 physical resources to offer the small outpost 00:09:44.210 --> 00:09:48.039 any effective protection. Now, we have to look 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:50.879 at this impartially to really understand the 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:53.399 motivations of everyone involved. Right, because 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:56.120 it's not a one -sided story. Not at all. On one 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:58.399 side, you have the Native Americans who are... 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:01.480 quite understandably aggrieved. They are watching 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:04.139 their traditional territory being steadily encroached 00:10:04.139 --> 00:10:06.379 upon by these settlers. To them, these wooden 00:10:06.379 --> 00:10:08.759 forts are not just annoyances. They are existential 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:10.860 threats to their hunting grounds and their entire 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.740 way of life. They are facing a slow, steady loss 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:16.039 of their land. And then on the other side, you 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:18.399 have European global powers who are watching 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.340 the rise of the new American republic with a 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:24.360 lot of anxiety. But how do international empires 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:27.480 get wrapped up in a dispute between 60 frontier 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:30.960 families and local Native American tribes? It 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.399 seems so disconnected. If we connect this to 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:35.559 the bigger picture, this was not just a local 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:38.799 skirmish over land. It was a proxy war on a global 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:42.759 chessboard. Britain and Spain both felt severely 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:45.019 threatened by the expansion of the United States. 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:47.720 They didn't want the competition. Exactly. They 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.500 didn't want this new enterprising republic pushing 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.740 into their colonial territories. So both nations 00:10:53.740 --> 00:10:57.000 actively encouraged Indian confederacies to resist 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:59.559 American expansion and create a buffer zone. 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:01.860 So the British are up north of the Ohio River, 00:11:02.059 --> 00:11:04.620 seeing the Native Americans as an essential part 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:07.220 of the defense of Canada. But down south, near 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:09.179 Nashville, things are even more direct, right? 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:12.259 Yes. South of the 31st parallel, which is basically 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:14.379 the latitudinal line that currently forms the 00:11:14.379 --> 00:11:16.250 border between Mississippi and Louisiana. You 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.490 have Spanish territory. And the Spanish governor 00:11:18.490 --> 00:11:21.210 there, Baron Carondelet, was not watching passively. 00:11:21.330 --> 00:11:22.990 He's getting involved. Very involved. He was 00:11:22.990 --> 00:11:25.450 actively arming the southern Indians and urging 00:11:25.450 --> 00:11:27.789 them to unite against the Americans. The logistics 00:11:27.789 --> 00:11:30.330 of that are fascinating to me. We're talking 00:11:30.330 --> 00:11:33.450 about a philosophical proxy war turning into 00:11:33.450 --> 00:11:36.870 a literal gunpowder trail. Exactly. The Spanish 00:11:36.870 --> 00:11:40.090 utilized the massive river networks. They would 00:11:40.090 --> 00:11:43.250 smuggle muskets, lead and black powder from coastal 00:11:43.250 --> 00:11:45.700 ports like Pensacola up. through the rivers and 00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:47.840 tributary systems directly into the Tennessee 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:51.200 Valley to supply these confederacies. Our source 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:53.080 includes a quote from a Spanish correspondent 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:56.120 of the time who explicitly stated that the goal 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:59.100 was to place an obstacle to the rapid Western 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:01.799 progress of the Americans and raise a barrier 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.399 between these enterprising people and the Spanish 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:07.159 possessions. That drastically changes the perspective 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:10.000 on this little station of 60 families. They aren't 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.100 just local farmers anymore. They're suddenly 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:14.539 a major target for international empire. They 00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:16.340 are on the front lines of a global conflict. 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:19.029 Which brings us to the attack itself. The source 00:12:19.029 --> 00:12:21.129 makes it clear that the assault on Buchanan Station 00:12:21.129 --> 00:12:24.169 was not meant to be a simple hit -and -run raid. 00:12:24.309 --> 00:12:27.169 No, it was a major operation. It was a coordinated 00:12:27.169 --> 00:12:29.309 attempt to wipe out the Nashville settlements 00:12:29.309 --> 00:12:32.250 entirely, backed by those Hispanic arms secured 00:12:32.250 --> 00:12:35.889 all the way down in Pensacola. Who exactly was 00:12:35.889 --> 00:12:38.389 leading this charge against the settlers? The 00:12:38.389 --> 00:12:41.070 approaching threat was a combined force of over 00:12:41.070 --> 00:12:45.129 300 warriors. This comprised Lower Cherokees, 00:12:45.149 --> 00:12:49.120 Creeks, and Shawnees. the command of a highly 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:52.299 capable, mixed -blood Cherokee leader named John 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:55.100 Watts. Okay. They advance from their towns on 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:57.340 the lower Tennessee River, moving steadily and 00:12:57.340 --> 00:12:59.779 quietly toward the settlements. But out of all 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:03.159 the places to strike first, why target Buchanan 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:06.240 Station specifically? The tactical thinking makes 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:08.639 perfect sense from John Watts' perspective. Buchanan 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:10.860 Station is an outlying fort. It's relatively 00:13:10.860 --> 00:13:13.580 small. The assumption is that this isolated stockade 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:16.120 can be disposed of quickly and easily. A quick 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:19.059 win. Exactly. Watts wants a swift victory there 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:21.620 to build momentum, secure a foothold, and then 00:13:21.620 --> 00:13:23.860 move on to systematically destroy the remainder 00:13:23.860 --> 00:13:26.620 of the area's settlements. So Watts plans a midnight 00:13:26.620 --> 00:13:29.039 surprise attack. And this is where we return 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:31.679 to that terrifying scene we started with. It 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:34.620 is pitch black. The attackers vastly outnumber 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:37.259 the defenders. Inside Buchanan Station, there 00:13:37.259 --> 00:13:40.220 are only about 20 defenders total. 20 people. 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.240 Yes. And of those 20, only 15 are gunmen. So 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.820 you have 15 men manning the portholes against 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:50.240 a well -armed, supplied force of over 300 warriors. 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.529 The imbalance of power is staggering. By any 00:13:53.529 --> 00:13:55.730 conventional military logic, the station should 00:13:55.730 --> 00:13:58.269 have fallen in minutes. I mean, the attackers 00:13:58.269 --> 00:14:00.769 used the darkness to creep up to the very walls 00:14:00.769 --> 00:14:03.110 of the fort before they were even detected. But 00:14:03.110 --> 00:14:05.269 conventional logic did not account for Sally 00:14:05.269 --> 00:14:08.090 Ridley Buchanan. No, it did not. Remember, John's 00:14:08.090 --> 00:14:11.840 first wife had passed away. By 1792, his second 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:15.139 wife, Sally, is just 18 years old. She is in 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:17.440 her ninth month of pregnancy with the first of 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:19.919 what would eventually be their 13 children. The 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:23.440 battle erupts into a furious two -hour firefight 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.960 in the dead of night. Two hours. Two hours of 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:28.659 relentless shooting is an absolute eternity in 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:31.669 combat. The attackers are not holding back. They 00:14:31.669 --> 00:14:33.970 repeatedly attempt to storm the wooden palisade. 00:14:34.110 --> 00:14:36.250 They try to find blind spots in the blockhouse 00:14:36.250 --> 00:14:39.029 defenses. They even managed to try and set fire 00:14:39.029 --> 00:14:41.190 to the roof, attempting to smoke the defenders 00:14:41.190 --> 00:14:43.610 out or just burn the station to the ground. And 00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:46.610 inside this absolute pandemonium, Sally takes 00:14:46.610 --> 00:14:49.809 complete charge. The 15 gunmen are locked at 00:14:49.809 --> 00:14:52.370 the portholes, firing as fast as they can to 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:55.009 keep the attackers from scaling the walls. But 00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:57.330 they need ammunition. They need loaded weapons. 00:14:57.490 --> 00:15:00.649 And they... desperately need morale. Right. They're 00:15:00.649 --> 00:15:03.269 fighting for their lives in the dark. So Sally 00:15:03.269 --> 00:15:05.730 steps up. She organizes the women and children 00:15:05.730 --> 00:15:08.669 inside. She reassures them, keeping panic at 00:15:08.669 --> 00:15:10.830 bay while the walls around them are literally 00:15:10.830 --> 00:15:13.370 splintering from Spanish musket balls. She also 00:15:13.370 --> 00:15:15.730 solves the immediate fatal tactical problem. 00:15:15.950 --> 00:15:18.149 They are running out of bullets. You can't just 00:15:18.149 --> 00:15:20.990 pause a siege to forge more lead. Time out, guys. 00:15:21.049 --> 00:15:22.909 We need to make some ammo. Exactly. It doesn't 00:15:22.909 --> 00:15:25.980 work that way. So Sally reportedly takes her 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:28.860 own dinnerware pewter plates and whatever meltable 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:31.480 metal she can find and begins melting it down 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:33.519 right there over the fire in the middle of the 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:36.360 battle to mold desperately needed ammunition. 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:39.039 You can just imagine her husband asking where 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:40.899 the plates went the next morning. We had guests 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:43.799 coming. But in the moment, it is a stroke of 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:47.639 absolute genius. Not only is she keeping the 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.500 guns loaded, but she acts as the literal voice 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:53.669 of victory throughout the entire siege. Imagine 00:15:53.669 --> 00:15:56.789 the noise for a second. 300 warriors firing muskets, 00:15:56.830 --> 00:15:59.649 the defenders firing back, men shouting, fire 00:15:59.649 --> 00:16:02.570 crackling on the roof. And cutting through all 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:04.649 of that is the voice of a pregnant 18 -year -old 00:16:04.649 --> 00:16:07.570 woman encouraging the men, telling them they're 00:16:07.570 --> 00:16:10.090 going to win, handing them freshly molded bullets 00:16:10.090 --> 00:16:12.470 that are still hot from her dinner plates. It 00:16:12.470 --> 00:16:14.690 is an unprecedented display of leadership and 00:16:14.690 --> 00:16:17.250 pure nerve. From a tactical standpoint, sieges 00:16:17.250 --> 00:16:20.289 often fail or succeed based on morale and supply. 00:16:20.570 --> 00:16:23.129 She provided the sustenance, the ammunition, 00:16:23.330 --> 00:16:25.330 and the psychological fortitude the defenders 00:16:25.330 --> 00:16:28.169 needed to keep firing into the dark. Without 00:16:28.169 --> 00:16:30.649 her taking command of the logistics inside the 00:16:30.649 --> 00:16:32.769 blockhouse, the men on the walls would have run 00:16:32.769 --> 00:16:35.539 dry and been overrun. Absolutely no question. 00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:38.860 The outcome is just astonishing. Against all 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:42.700 odds, the attackers are repelled. After two hours 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:45.360 of intense combat, unable to breach the stockade 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:47.639 or burn down the blockhouse, the Native American 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:50.659 forces pull back into the wilderness. Incredible. 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:53.419 But here is the most miraculous part of the entire 00:16:53.419 --> 00:16:56.860 article. The station didn't lose a single person. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:00.980 Not one stationer was lost in the defense. Zero 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:04.299 casualties on the inside. Which completely halted 00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:06.819 the broader plan to wipe out Nashville. Because 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:09.240 Buchanan Station held, the momentum was broken, 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:11.759 Watts' force retreated, and the rest of the 60 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:13.779 families in the area were saved. That's amazing. 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:16.259 The Spanish -backed objective to push back the 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:18.400 American frontier failed right there at that 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.460 wooden wall. It was such a monumental event that 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:25.660 19th century historian J .G .M. Ramsey is quoted 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:29.289 in the source calling it a feat of bravery which 00:17:29.289 --> 00:17:31.809 has scarcely been surpassed in all the annals 00:17:31.809 --> 00:17:34.329 of border warfare. And he is absolutely right 00:17:34.329 --> 00:17:36.650 to highlight it. It is a defining moment for 00:17:36.650 --> 00:17:39.289 the entire region, shifting the balance of power 00:17:39.289 --> 00:17:41.890 in the territory. So what does this all mean? 00:17:42.309 --> 00:17:45.809 Why does a two -hour battle in 1792 matter to 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:48.930 you today? Well, for most of the 19th century, 00:17:49.190 --> 00:17:52.009 Buchanan Station was widely remembered as a powerful 00:17:52.009 --> 00:17:54.589 symbol of the determination that... literally 00:17:54.589 --> 00:17:56.890 created the state of Tennessee. It really embodies 00:17:56.890 --> 00:17:59.569 that spirit. It represents that refusal to yield, 00:17:59.630 --> 00:18:01.910 no matter the odds. But what happened to Sally? 00:18:02.109 --> 00:18:04.549 Did she just fade into local folklore? Or did 00:18:04.549 --> 00:18:06.250 the rest of the country actually know what she 00:18:06.250 --> 00:18:08.589 did? She actually became a national phenomenon. 00:18:08.809 --> 00:18:11.869 She was featured in major 19th century encyclopedias 00:18:11.869 --> 00:18:15.109 of biography, specifically Appleton's and Herringshaw's. 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:17.210 That's huge for that time. It was incredibly 00:18:17.210 --> 00:18:20.740 rare for a frontierswoman of that era. She wasn't 00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:23.380 relegated to a footnote. She was recognized as 00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:26.579 a central tactical figure of the battle. Biographer 00:18:26.579 --> 00:18:29.160 Elizabeth Ellett even dubbed her the greatest 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:32.940 heroine of the West. Her story is a masterclass 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:34.880 in performing under pressure when everything 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.099 is on the line. She wasn't a trained soldier. 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.079 She was an expecting mother who looked at an 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.720 impossible situation and decided to literally 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:45.440 forge her own ammunition to survive it. This 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:47.299 raises an important question, something I really 00:18:47.299 --> 00:18:50.160 want you, the listener, to mull over as we wrap 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:52.380 up today. Okay, what is it? When you look at 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:54.640 the entire timeline of John Buchanan's life, 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.900 the cycle of profound loss and immediate creation 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:00.400 is staggering. Think about the psychological 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:02.779 toll of this era. Yeah, we talked about that 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:05.799 a bit with his brother. Right. In 1781, he loses 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:07.880 his brother to brutal violence, his immediate 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:10.759 response. He writes a strict, logical book of 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:14.019 arithmetic. In 1787, he suffers the devastating 00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:16.839 loss of his first wife to childbirth. His response, 00:19:17.059 --> 00:19:19.740 he moves and builds a highly structured physical 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:22.519 fortress. Wow. When you put it like that. He 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:26.059 survives a terrifying siege of 300 warriors against 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:29.400 15 men with zero casualties. And his second wife 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:31.880 goes on to have 13 children. It's an unbelievable 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:33.960 sequence of events when you lay it all out like 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:36.799 that. It really asks us to consider the profound 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:40.460 mental fortitude of these early pioneers. Does 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:43.259 the act of creating strict structure, whether 00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:45.359 that means writing down the unbending rules of 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:49.359 a math book or building a physical wooden palisade, 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:52.740 serve as a vital human coping mechanism for grief? 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.180 That's a really deep thought. It strongly suggests 00:19:55.180 --> 00:19:57.480 that the foundation of early America wasn't built 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:00.200 merely on physical bravery or the capacity to 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:02.819 fight. It was built on a desperate psychological 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:05.700 need to force order onto a completely chaotic, 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:08.559 terrifying and unforgiving world. They didn't 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:10.589 just fight back with bull. They fought back by 00:20:10.589 --> 00:20:13.130 building systems, creating families, and laying 00:20:13.130 --> 00:20:15.710 down literal foundations in the wilderness. That 00:20:15.710 --> 00:20:18.329 is such a powerful way to look at it. It wasn't 00:20:18.329 --> 00:20:20.869 just survival. It was the active creation of 00:20:20.869 --> 00:20:23.210 order in the face of the darkest, most terrifying 00:20:23.210 --> 00:20:26.200 nights imaginable. Thank you so much for joining 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:28.799 us on this deep dive into the resilient, chaotic 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.380 and globally connected world of the early frontier. 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:34.400 There are stories of incredible heroism and international 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.880 intrigue hidden everywhere, maybe even right 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:38.799 down the street from where you live. So keep 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.400 questioning, keep learning and keep exploring 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:43.119 the history hidden in your own backyard.