MILLY FRANCIS

Backstory

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ANDREW JACKSON rises to prominence in Tennessee as a slave owner, land speculator, and horse trader. At the start of the War of 1812, he seizes the opportunity to become the commander of the Tennessee militia. He has no military experience, but he is ambitious, ruthless, and charismatic--and he believes his own fictions about himself. 

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Jackson’s political ambitions are threatened by persistent rumors that his wife, RACHEL JACKSON, was still married to another man when they eloped. In fact, she was. But Jackson is quick to challenge anyone who repeats that rumor to a duel, sometimes with fatal outcomes.

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Around the same time, the press of white settlers farther and farther west encroaches on Indigenous lands. In 1811 and 1812, the appearance of the Great Comet (visible for nearly a year around the world) and the New Madrid earthquakes in the Mississippi Valley (the largest earthquakes ever recorded in continental America) are seen as portents, and a militant faction of traditionalists organizes among the Creeks. Soon the Red Sticks, led by the charismatic PROPHET FRANCIS, go to war against both the whites and other Creeks who want to accommodate them. 

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In 1814 Jackson crushes the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and forces the entire Creek nation (including the Creeks who fought with the Americans against the Red Sticks) to surrender more than 20 million acres in Alabama and Georgia. MILLY FRANCIS escapes from Holy Ground, her father’s stronghold in Alabama, with the rest of the Red Stick survivors. Now Milly and her family have resettled in Wakulla Springs, near the fort of San Marcos Apalche in the panhandle of Spanish Florida.

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In 1815 Jackson leads his starving and vastly outnumbered militia to a shocking (and lucky) defeat of the British army at the Battle of New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812 had been signed weeks earlier, but the news had not reached America. Newspapers across the country hail Jackson as the "Hero of New Orleans," a brand that he will trade on throughout his political career.

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Spanish Florida becomes the center of a seething mix of political ambitions. Britain, which had been using the Gulf coast as a staging ground, abandons Florida, leaving behind a large contingent of former allies: both freed black slaves and Indigenous people. The abandoned fort on Prospect Bluff becomes a beacon for slaves escaping from both the Caribbean sugar plantations and the southern states.

 

Jackson sees Florida as an opportunity to cash in on new land grants and expand the cotton economy; but he is driven mostly by his existential fear of the thriving community of free blacks just over the border, as well as the continued resistance of Francis and the Creek remnant. He is enraged when ROBERT AMBRISTER, a former British naval officer, arrives in Florida to lead the Freedmen in a revolt against Spain.

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British traders, such as ALEXANDER ARBUTHNOT and WILLIAM HAMBLY, continue to work in the region. Arbuthnot owns a schooner, the Chance; does a thriving business in the region; and vocally supports the Creeks’ efforts to regain their lost lands. Hambly is married to a Creek woman and owns a plantation near the Georgia border. His aspirations to take over the trading post on Prospect Bluff are thwarted when the British give the property to their black allies, leaving Hambly deeply in debt.

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Prologue: 1842

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Milly is living in poverty in Indian territory (present-day Oklahoma). ETHAN ALLEN HITCHCOCK, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, comes to find her. 

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Hitchcock's pretext is that he is sorting out the account books for the government after widespread reports of corruption in Indian Territory. He has discovered that Milly's is legally entitled to compensation for some of her property--namely, any slaves she inherited from her father, which includes Hannah and her children. 

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Hitchcock's real reason is that he remembers the story of the Creek Pocahontas and wants to meet her. ​Milly denies knowing anything about the Creek Pocahontas and sends Hitchcock away.

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Note: In the stage version, Hitchcock is played by the same actor who plays Hambly. This is by design: Hambly's arc of guilt and redemption is completed by Hitchcock.

 

1816

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Hambly strikes a bargain with Jackson: in exchange for the return of his land on Prospect Bluff, he will use his connections in Spanish Florida to spy for the American military and to guide them to the location of the so called "Negro Fort." Hambly thinks that he can outplay Jackson, but he has actually been neatly caught in Jackson's schemes.

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Arbuthnot brings HANNAH, an escaped black slave who was recaptured and then sold to Francis, the news that her husband, JEREMIAH, has escaped from his owner and is on his way to Prospect Bluff. Arbuthnot offers to take her to the fort. Milly, who considers Hannah her only friend, tries to stop her but ultimately lets her go.

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Hambly persuades Arbuthnot to take him to Prospect Bluff, too. Unbeknownst to his friends, Hambly is working for Jackson.

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With Hambly’s assistance, an American Navy gunboat taunts the guards at the fort from the river below. After one of the guards fires a random shot at them, the captain directs the crew to aim a hot cannonball into the powder magazine.

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The fort explodes, instantly killing 270 of the 300 men, women, and children who live there. The survivors die of horrendous injuries or are executed. A handful are recaptured and taken to the slave auctions in Atlanta. Hambly is deeply shaken by what he sees: he did not expect this violent outcome.

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President JAMES MONROE is threatened by Jackson’s insubordination. His secretary of war, JAMES CALHOUN, wants him to rein Jackson in.

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HENRY CLAY, Speaker of the House and a long-time political rival of Jackson, warns that Jackson is impulsive and liable to do anything—but the Hero of New Orleans is too popular to openly oppose.

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Monroe’s secretary of state, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, advises Monroe to let Jackson have his way. Adams wants Florida for the United States and sees an opportunity for leverage in the negotiations with Spain.

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Indecisive and anxious to avoid an international incident with Britain or Spain, Monroe tries to have it both ways by giving Jackson ambiguous orders--Monroe bets on Jackson’s lack of self-control and presumes that he will invade Florida.

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1817

After witnessing the annihilation of the fort, Hambly goes to Nashville and tries to extricate himself from Jackson’s web.

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Jackson has already resolved to defy orders from the War Office forbidding him to take his army into Spanish Florida. He plots to incite the Creeks into a fight by attacking Fowltown, a Creek village just over the border. He needs Hambly to guide the army to Fowltown, and he uses Hambly’s role in the destruction on Prospect Bluff to pressure him.

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Jackson tries to conceal newspaper articles from Rachel, which allude to her tarnished reputation. She accuses him of keeping the scandal alive by fighting so many duels over her honor.

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In the spring, Arbuthnot docks at San Marcos with news  from Prospect Bluff. Milly learns that Hannah may have arrived at the fort before the explosion and is probably dead.

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Arbuthnot brings two passengers. Francis has returned from Britain without getting any official support for regaining his land in Alabama. Britain is more interested in furthering its economic alliance with the United States--especially the cotton-growing states. However, the British government has given Francis enough money to establish an independent Creek nation in Florida.

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Ambrister has also arrived in Florida to lead his revolution. He and Milly meet and are immediately drawn to one another.

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Ambrister and Milly’s romance deepens over the summer. Francis has brought her a Regency costume from London, which she has no idea how to wear. Ambrister transforms her into the image of a British lady. Milly’s fierceness is undimmed, however, and Ambrister falls in love with her.​

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In the late fall, after the harvest, GENERAL GAINES, Jackson’s second in command, attacks Fowltown in the middle of the night and burns it to the ground. Hambly accompanies him as a scout and interpreter. The leader of Fowltown manages to get most of his people away before the attack, but several elderly people are shot as they run into the woods.

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Gaines’ soldiers steal or destroy the stores of corn and shoot the cattle, which means that the Creeks will face the winter without their food supply.

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Arbuthnot arrives in San Marcos to complete a scheduled trade with Francis: weapons and ammunition in exchange for dried corn and deer hides. News of the battle at Fowltown has reached San Marcos. Francis anticipates an outright war with Jackson and asks Arbuthnot for more weapons to defend his people in Florida.

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Ambrister is also in San Marcos, hoping to buy gunpowder and other supplies for his army of Freedmen, which is now based in Billy Bowleg’s town on the mouth of Suwannee River, about 100 miles to the southeast.

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Hambly shows up in San Marcos as well. He knows about a hidden cache of weapons that the British left behind on Prospect Bluff, and he is hoping to make some money. He is also collecting information for Jackson about both Francis and Ambrister.

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Arbuthnot is reluctant to sell Francis more weapons. He fears that the Creeks will be crushed by Jackson’s invading army. He still hopes that the British will intervene on the Creeks’ behalf. But Francis is determined.

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When Hambly steps in and offers to make the deal with Francis, Arbuthnot relents. He writes a receipt for the new transactions, and Francis signs it.

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Arbuthnot, Hambly, and Ambrister play cards. Arbuthnot wins (we learn later that he is a consummate card cheat). Hambly gets him drunk and steals the receipt from his pocket.

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Hambly and Francis question Ambrister about his plans. Francis is sympathetic and sells Ambrister some of the gunpowder. Ambrister is suspicious of Hambly’s motives. He has heard reports that Hambly was involved in the destruction of the fort on Prospect Bluff and, indirectly, in Hannah’s apparent death.

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The Red Sticks retaliate violently after Fowltown. A U.S. army boat carrying wounded soldiers and their families sails up the Apalachicola River from the Gulf, headed for Fort Scott, just over the border with Georgia. Lieutenant Scott is in command. When the boat comes around a bend near the confluence of two rivers, it drifts against the bank.

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A concealed party of about 500 Creek soldiers attacks. Most of the Scott party are killed in the first volley. The survivors, including women and children, are brutally killed. Lieutenant Scott is tortured to death. A few soldiers escape by jumping into the river. They return to the fort to tell the tale. One woman, ELIZABETH STEWART, is carried off as a captive.

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When Jackson learns about the Scott Massacre, he vows to defy orders from PRESIDENT MONROE and to invade Spanish Florida without delay.

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When Arbuthnot learns about the Scott Massacre, he confronts Francis in San Marcos and condemns the attack.

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Hambly is caught trying to flee to his home on Spanish Bluff, which is upriver from Prospect Bluff. Arbuthnot tells Francis about Hambly’s involvement in both the destruction of the fort and the attack on Fowltown. Francis orders Hambly’s arrest, and Arbuthnot takes him to Billy Bowleg’s town on the Suwannee River.

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Milly is completely disillusioned by her father’s actions.

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1818

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Ambrister resolves to return to the camp in Billy Bowleg’ town, deliver the gunpowder, and then resign his position as general of the Freedmen. He believes that they can complete the mission without him.

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Ambrister teaches Milly the art of navigating by the stars using a sextant. They debate the various possible meanings of the Great Comet. He asks Milly to marry him when he returns.

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Jackson marches his army to Prospect Bluff and builds a new fort on top of the ruins of the “Negro Fort.” Hambly has been ransomed from the Creeks thanks to Ambrister's intervention. Jackson has also paid a ransom of one barrel of whiskey. Hambly meets Jackson at the new fort on his way home to Spanish Bluff.

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Jackson refuses to allow Hambly to escape him. He threatens to hold Hambly responsible for arming the Creeks who attacked the Scott party. Hambly is forced to agree to testify against Arbuthnot, but he believes that the worst Arbuthnot will suffer is financial ruin. Hambly also inadvertently reveals Ambrister’s location to Jackson.

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Jackson arrives in San Marcos and convenes a military tribunal. He arrests and tries Arbuthnot. The trial is a sham: there is no real evidence against Arbuthnot. But Hambly has the receipt from the deal with Francis. Jackson orders Arbuthnot’s immediate hanging and does not allow him to appeal. 

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Shaken and guilt-stricken by the outcome of the trial, Hambly gets drunk and wanders into the forest. He comes upon Milly and a captured American private, DUNCAN MCKRIMMON.

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The Creeks are preparing to execute Duncan for the rape and murder of a young Creek girl. This is consistent with their law: the life a member of your clan for the life of a member of ours. However, Milly appeals to Francis to override Creek law and show mercy to Duncan. Hambly argues against mercy. He also reveals that Jackson is about to execute Arbuthnot.

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Francis frees Duncan and sends him back to San Marcos. He advises Milly to go to Ambrister and tells her that he is going to meet a British ship.

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Milly goes to where Arbuthnot is imprisoned instead to say goodbye.

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There is no British ship. When Jackson learns from Duncan that Francis believes there is one, he replaces the American flag on a U.S. Navy ship with a British flag to lure Francis in.

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Milly learns from Arbuthnot that there are no British ships anywhere near San Marcos. She tries to warn her father, but Jackson orders the Navy ship to fire on her canoe.

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Jackson captures Francis. Francis already knows about the false flag; he is sacrificing himself for his people. He does his best to negotiate a peace with Jackson, but he refuses to give away Ambrister. Jackson orders him hanged immediately. Milly and Arbuthnot witness the hanging.

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Jackson arrives in Billy Bowleg’s town. He seizes the Chance, which is loaded with gunpowder. He rescues Elizabeth Stewart. Ambrister and his second-in-command, BLACK ABRAHAM, walk into the village and straight into Jackson. Abraham is shot dead. Ambrister is arrested and taken back to San Marcos for trial.

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Ambrister refuses to defend himself. He trusts in the integrity of his fellow officers and throws himself on their mercy. They find him guilty and sentence him to fifty lashes and a year of hard labor. Jackson overrules them, illegally, and orders Ambrister’s execution by firing squad the following morning.

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Jackson throws a ball to celebrate his victory in Florida. Milly shows up at the ball, dressed in her Regency costume, to plead for Ambrister. Hambly tries to help her. He introduces her to Jackson as the Spanish ambassador’s daughter. Milly plays the part, and Jackson is completely fooled. But he will not relent on Ambrister.

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Hambly arranges for Ambrister and Milly to escape together. Milly visits Ambrister in prison, but he refuses to go. He is afraid for her safety. He also believes that Jackson is bluffing.

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The following morning, Ambrister is executed by firing squad. Milly and Hambly witness his death. Hambly vows to make Jackson pay.

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1819

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Senator Henry Clay leads the effort in Congress to officially censure Jackson for his actions in Florida. Clay fears that Jackson is an authoritarian threat to the Republic.

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Jackson arrives in Washington to defend himself. Hambly is with him. Unbeknownst to Jackson, Hambly has been telling the story to the newspapers and painting Jackson as an unprincipled villain.

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Jackson asks Hambly to plead his case with President Monroe. Hambly agrees because this is his best chance to get revenge against Jackson and also to get his land in Florida.

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Hambly discovers that Monroe already knows the story and is more interested in preserving American’s diplomatic efforts to buy Florida from Spain. In fact, Monroe and JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, his Secretary of State, wanted Jackson to invade Florida. A conflict with Britain now over the execution of two of its citizens would be detrimental to the cause. Monroe offers Hambly land in exchange for keeping an eye on Jackson in Florida.

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Jackson rounds up the Creek survivors in San Marcos and orders them taken back to Alabama. Milly is taken to Prospect Bluff on the way. Hambly has gotten back his land near the old fort. He is helping Jackson capture the survivors of the explosion, who will be taken to the slave auctions in Atlanta. One of them is Hannah.

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Milly runs into Hannah and Hambly at the new Fort Gadsden. Hannah is tied up. Milly pleads with Hambly to release Hannah.

They are interrupted by Duncan McKrimmon. News of his miraculous rescue has made its way into the newspapers. Milly has been portrayed as a highly romantic figure and christened the “Creek Pocahontas.”

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Duncan’s town takes up a collection for her. Duncan’s mother has decided he should marry Milly. Duncan gives her a purse full of money and falls to his knees to propose. Milly keeps the money but refuses the proposal. She sends Duncan home.

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Duncan’s gift is not enough for Milly to purchase Hannah’s freedom by buying her. But Milly pressures Hambly to accept it in exchange for forged manumission papers. Forging freedom documents is a crime, but Hambly has blank forms in his pocket.

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Hambly resists, but he eventually realizes that he owes Milly too great a debt to refuse her. This moment is his best chance at redemption. He gives Milly a knife to cuts Hannah’s bonds and draws up the documents. Milly gives the money to Hannah. Hannah leaves.

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Milly returns to Alabama, where she marries a Creek soldier and has several children.

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1830

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Andrew Jackson runs a nasty campaign and wins the White House, after losing to John Quincy Adams in the previous election. The right to vote is expanded in 1828 to include all men over the age of 21 whether or not they have property or education. Jackson appeals to their grievances against the elites in Washington. He uses “fake news” in the form of paid newspaper editors to demonize Adams. Adams’ supporters retaliate by dredging up Rachel Jackson’s scandalous past.

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Jackson wins. Rachel dies of a heart attack a few weeks later, and Jackson goes to Washington alone. Jackson’s inauguration turns into a drunken brawl as the crowd trashes the White House.

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One of his first acts as President is to ram the Indian Removal Act through Congress. It passes narrowly. On the night he is to sign it, he has a private crisis of conscience. He imagines that Rachel is still alive. He argues with himself about the morality of forcing the Indians to move west of the Mississippi. He confronts his guilt over Rachel’s death. In the end, consumed with grief, he signs the Act.

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Epilogue: 1842

 

Hitchcock returns to Milly's cabin. He is determined to compensate her somehow and to get her to admit her identity as the Creek Pocahontas. Milly tells him the real story of the Trail of Tears--a genocide.

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Hitchcock admits that he was a soldier Jackson's army and that he was in San Marcos when Ambrister was executed, although he did not participate directly. He wants absolution.

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Milly imagines that Ambrister comes back to her. 

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Hitchcock presses her to accept a pension from Congress and a medal of honor in return for saving Duncan McKrimmon. Milly refuses both. She also utterly rejects the sentimentalized title "Creek Pocahontas." Instead, she lays Jackson's sins and Hambly's sins and the sins of white America at Hitchcock's feet. 

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