CHARACTERS

Lead Characters

William Hambly

An obscure historical figure who finds himself at the center of Jackson’s schemes in Florida. About 37 years old in 1818. Fled Bristol, England, for the West Indies at the age of 17 to avoid a British Navy press gang. Befriended by Arbuthnot, who takes him on as a business apprentice. Marries a Creek woman, buys a plantation on Spanish Bluff, and becomes an experienced guide. An opportunist, he is always looking for the next big thing and is bitterly resentful when fortune inevitably eludes him. As a point of pride, he always pays his bills, and he never drinks to excess. During the War of 1812, he works as an interpreter for the British. He invests in land on Prospect Bluff, but the British give his property to their black and Native allies after the war, leaving him deeply in debt--and making him easy prey for Jackson.

Milly Francis

Seventeen-year-old daughter of Prophet Francis. For most of her childhood, she is a war refugee. During Jackson’s invasion of Florida, she defies her father and saves the life of an American soldier. Newspapers across the country christen her “the Creek Pocahontas,” a label that she recognizes as a patronizing sop to the conscience of the whites who appropriated indigenous land. Shortly thereafter, Jackson executes her father and her lover before her eyes. Years later, Jackson’s Indian Removal Act puts her on the Trail of Tears. Due to the lobbying efforts of Ethan Hitchcock, Congress awards her a pension and Medal of Honor for her actions, but she dies of tuberculosis in present-day Oklahoma before receiving either.

Andrew Jackson

In 1818, a prominent figure in Tennessee frontier politics; but he craves a position of power in the elite circles of Washington City. Arrogant, mercurial, and quick to take offense; he carries a bullet in his chest until the day he dies from a duel over a perceived slight to his wife’s honor. He loathes the British, blaming them for the deaths of his family during the Revolutionary War. A passionate proponent of chattel slavery, a gambler, and a reckless land speculator. Jackson invades Florida in the name of national self-defense and to finish his war with the Red Stick Creeks. His baser motivations, though, include a determination to preserve slavery in the southern United States and a desire to enrich his real estate fortunes. He goes on to win the Presidency in a populist campaign that prefigures modern presidential elections.

Prophet Francis (Hillis Hadjo)

A Lower Creek chief in Alabama, spiritual leader of the Red Stick movement, and Milly’s father. Rejects assimilation with white culture and leads the Lower Creeks in the war against the United States and its Upper Creek allies. A worthy match to Jackson—equally wily, courageous, and sometimes capable of cruelty. He is defeated by Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, loses his ancestral lands, and relocates to Spanish Florida. Travels to Great Britain to plead the Creeks’ case for the return of their lands. In an attempt to save his people, he allows himself to be captured and killed by Jackson in 1818.

Robert Ambrister

Scion of a wealthy British family in the Bahamas, about 21 years old in 1818, and Milly’s lover. During the War of 1812, he serves as a protégé of abolitionist-minded British officers. He is drummed out of the British Marines for an illegal duel over an officer’s wife. He returns to Florida with a plan to marshal a Black Seminole army in Florida and lead them in a revolution for independence from Spain. Handsome, charming, and idealistic—but not naïve. In fact, he has more pragmatic moral insight than most people give him credit for. He is willing to give up his military project for Milly, but not his honor—and it costs him his life at Jackson’s hands.

Alexander Arbuthnot

A Scottish businessman, around 70 years old. Has operated a successful trading business in Florida and the West Indies for decades. A friend of Francis and a grandfather figure to Milly. After the War of 1812, he lobbies the British government on behalf of the Creeks. Opinionated, unsophisticated, and gruffly compassionate. He also drinks too much and cheats at cards. Although history clearly shows that he was innocent of any war crime, he is convicted in a sham trial and hanged from the yardarm of his own ship on Jackson's orders.

Supporting Cast

Duncan McCrimmon

A member of the Georgia militia, about 20 years old, and not much of a soldier. He wanders away from Fort Gadsden to go fishing and gets lost in the swamp. He is captured by Creek warriors who prepare to torture and execute him to avenge the rape and murder of their younger sister. Milly intervenes and saves his life. He later betrays Francis’ whereabouts to Jackson. After the war, he proposes marriage to Milly, but she refuses him.

Colonel Ethan Allen Hitchcock

Hambly’s alter ego a generation later. Grandson of a Revolutionary War hero. Career military officer. Investigates corruption in Indian Country and keeps a careful diary of what he finds. Locates Milly in 1842, records her story, and lobbies Congress for a pension and Medal of Honor for her. A man of integrity, he carries a burden of guilt for what Jackson, and by extension the United States, did to the indigenous people of the Southeast; but he has no idea how to pay the debt. (Note: in the stage version, Hitchcock is played by the same actor who plays Hambly.)

Rachel Jackson

Jackson’s wife. Pious, loyal, unsophisticated. Humiliated by persistent rumors of bigamy—she and Jackson were married before her divorce from an abusive husband was finalized. She loves Jackson deeply, although she is not blind to his faults. Dies of a heart attack a few weeks before Jackson’s inauguration.

James Monroe

President of the United States in 1818. Known to be indecisive and vague. Dislikes confrontation of any sort. Desires Florida for the United States but is reluctant to create an international incident with Britain or Spain. Ultimately covers up Jackson’s actions for pragmatic reasons.

John Quincy Adams

Secretary of State under Monroe. Smart and subtle. Successfully negotiates with Spain and acquires Florida and a new southern border all the way to the Pacific. Despises Jackson as unprincipled, uneducated, and crude. Defeats Jackson in the 1824 presidential election but loses to him in 1828.

John C. Calhoun

Secretary of War under Monroe. A slave-owner from South Carolina. Resents Jackson for not following his orders but supports him during Congressional efforts to censure him. Shares Jackson’s support for slavery and patronizing attitude toward indigenous peoples.

Henry Clay

Statesman from Kentucky and Speaker of the House in 1818. Fierce political rival of Jackson. Foresees the dangers of allowing Jackson’s actions in Florida to go unpunished. Argues for Jackson’s censure on the grounds of law and morality. Votes against the Indian Removal Act. A slave owner who questions the morality of slavery, he becomes the architect of the Missouri Compromise.

Elizabeth Stewart

Lone female survivor of Scott Massacre. Kidnapped by Red Sticks and held for several months. Collects the paper money the warriors discard after raids on white settlements and ends up a wealthy plantation owner in Fort Gaines, Georgia.

General Gaines

Jackson’s second in command. Believes wholeheartedly in the military hierarchy but is not a very talented general. Seems to viscerally fear and despise Indians. Carries out Jackson’s orders to “take care of” the Negro Fort with callous brutality.

Luis de Onís y González-Vara

Earnest, well-educated, and savvy diplomat. Appointed Spanish ambassador to the United States. Negotiates the treaty that cedes Florida to the United States and defines the new southern border of the United States.