Leadership Lessons from John Sevier

Lately, I've spent a lot of time reading books about leadership. One of the most interesting books I've read on this topic was Richard Brookhiser's George Washington on Leadership. In the book, Brookhiser distills seven key leadership lessons from Washington’s three occupations -- business operator, military officer, and politician -- and suggests that the lessons Washington learned in the 18th century can be applied to personnel and task management in the 21st century. It's an interesting take on how history has contemporary applications in the workplace, and a book that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in this subject.

Since reading Brookhiser's book, I've wondered if similar leadership lessons can be learned from the life and experiences of one of Tennessee's own founding fathers, John Sevier. The month of September seems to be an appropriate time to delve into this topic. John Sevier was born during the month of September, died in the month of September, and gathered his men at Sycamore Shoals in late September in advance of his march to King's Mountain, where his legend as a Revolutionary War hero and leader was born.

Throughout my research on this subject, I've noticed deliberate attempts on the part of the early writers of Tennessee history to draw similarities between John Sevier's leadership qualities and those of George Washington. The comparisons are often striking and dramatic.

James Gilmore once wrote that John Sevier "was a gentleman born and bred; and in his veins flowed some of the best blood of the French and English nations. He had the force and fire of the Navarre Huguenots combined with the solid Anglo-Saxon elements which had here, perhaps, their highest expression in our venerated Washington."

Another writer went so far as to say that John Sevier's leadership qualities exceeded those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. In his biographical sketch of John Sevier, prepared in 1893 for the dedication ceremony of a monument erected in Sevier's honor, Oliver Perry Temple wrote, "Washington's skill saved his country, the genius of Hamilton rescued it from bankruptcy and ruin... and Jefferson was a great scholar, thinker, philosopher, an accomplished writer, and a far-seeing statesman," but "not one of them left a permanent impression on the hearts and affections of the people" like John Sevier. According to Temple, Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton "held sway over the mind, not the heart," but in John Sevier "We recognize a friend, a relative, the leader of our clan." Temple went on to write, "In justice, in the capacity for war and for administration -- the three strong points in Washington's character -- Sevier had unquestionably high ability."

Charles Willson Peale's portraits of George Washington (1776) and John Sevier (1790) are strikingly similar in composition. Both men were soldiers and statesman, revered by their contemporaries, and by their early chroniclers. Washington and Sevier also had a commanding physical presence, which is evident in Peale's portraits of these two great leaders of the Early Republic.

As I've written on previous occasions, hagiography is quite evident throughout these early narratives, and admiration for John Sevier often exceeded mere mortal expectations. Yet, through these aspirational characterizations of John Sevier we can learn a great deal about the leadership qualities that inspired men to follow "Nolichucky Jack" into the wilderness of Watauga, on the slopes of King's Mountain, into the uncertainty of the State of Franklin, and eventually into the halls of government in the State of Tennessee.

So with that introduction, allow me to share with you a few leadership lessons that I have distilled from the writings of these early chroniclers of the life of John Sevier, "Tennessee's First Hero"...


Act decisively

"He was impulsive, but his impulses were high and honourable." [Ramsey, 108]

"His tactics were simple. He moved with such celerity as to be always the herald of his own coming. Then he dashed on the Indians, overwhelming and dismaying them by the impetuosity of the charge. It was the rush of the tempest." [Perry, 19]

Be calm and fearless in the face of adversity

"He loved a battle for its own sake, and was never so much at ease as when under fire." [Roosevelt, 295-296]

"His personal magnetism, his cool bravery and presence of mind, and his sound judgment won the confidence and admiration of his neighbors." [Turner, 81]

Be generous and kind

"His magnetism sprang from his overflowing kindliness and goodness of heart, and this it was, with his commanding abilities, which caused him to be recognized from the outset as their leader by these people, and made him, during a long life, the very soul of the Western commonwealth." [Gilmore, 17]

Communicate clearly and be persuasive

"He was fluent, colloquial and gallant—frolicsome, generous and convivial–well informed, rather than well read. Of books, he knew little. Men, he had studied well and accurately. Oral communications had been the source of his mental culture and his knowledge." [Ramsey, 108]

"Sevier could persuade the backwoodsmen to come round to his own way of thinking, while at the same time making them believe that they were acting on their own ideas... whatever he had was at the service of his friends and for the promotion of the Sevier party, which sometimes embraced nearly all the population." [Roosevelt, 181]

Treat your professional colleagues as equals

"He gave his commands as to equals, and, because these orders appealed to his men as being wise and practical, they gave unquestioned obedience. This loyalty of his friends formed one of the outstanding features of his success throughout his whole career." [Driver, 24]

Surround yourself with people who are good at what they do

"Much of his success was due to his adroit use of scouts or spies. He always chose for these the best woodsmen of the district, men who could endure as much, see as much, and pass through the woods as silently, as the red men themselves." [Roosevelt, 296]

Win friends and influence people

"He wielded great influence over his own followers, whose love for and trust in 'Chucky Jack' were absolutely unbounded... He was open-hearted and hospitable, with winning ways towards all." [Roosevelt, 295]

"His success in any line seems to have been determined by his genial good nature and by his ability to make loyal friends. He was a natural leader of men." [Driver, 24]

"His house was always open, and not unfrequently crowded with his old soldiers and comrades in arms. A wandering pilgrim from Natchez or the Missouri, or his countrymen from Cumberland or elsewhere, passing anywhere through the country, would find out the abode of their old captain, and was sure there to receive an old-fashioned welcome." [Ramsey, 710]

Ambition drives success

"He was without pride—if that feeling is not one of the ingredients that constitute a laudable ambition—for he was ambitious—not of anything low or ignoble: he was ambitious of fame, character, distinction and achievement. With such traits of character, it is not strange that Captain Sevier at once became a favourite in the wilds of Watauga." [Ramsey, 108-109]

Have a passion for everything you do

"John Sevier's love of pleasure provided welcome relief in a border country where daily life was laborious and relentless. Sevier could dance all night or fight all day, pursuing each with equal skill and enthusiasm." [Dykeman, 39]

Conclusion

Of course, no leader is perfect, and as I have stated on previous occasions, John Sevier's ambitions certainly led him to some questionable decisions. However, in the end, John Sevier was admired and followed because he had all of the qualities that you would expect out of a great leader. His reputation as a feared but respected Indian fighter, the unquestioned loyalty of his followers, and the longevity of his political career are all certainly a testament to that fact.


 
Gordon Belt is the Director of Public Services for the Tennessee State Library & Archives, and past president of the Society of Tennessee Archivists. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee. His book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory.




Selected Sources:

• Carl S. Driver. John Sevier: Pioneer of the Old Southwest. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1932.

• Wilma Dykeman. With Fire and Sword. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 1978.

• James Gilmore. John Sevier as a Commonwealth-Builder. D. Appleton and Company, 1887.

• J. G. M. Ramsey. The Annals of Tennessee. Charleston, S.C.: John Russell, 1853.

• Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1889.

• Oliver Perry Temple. John Sevier: Citizen, Soldier, Legislator, Governor, Statesman. Knoxville, Tenn.: The Zi-Lo Press, Printers, 1910.

• Francis Marion Turner. Life of General John Sevier. Neale Publishing Company, 1910.

George Washington's Posterity Project...

Today is George Washington's birthday. Since George Washington's memory has served as an inspiration for the creation of this blog, I thought it would be fitting on this day to share the story of his own "Posterity Project."

Joseph J. Ellis notes in his book, "His Excellency: George Washington" that "Most of the prominent leaders of the revolutionary generation recognized that they were making history, and took care to preserve their correspondence and edit their memoirs with an eye on posterity's judgment. But none of them, including such assiduous memorialists as Franklin, Jefferson, and John Adams, were as earnest in courting posterity as Washington."

In his new biography, "Washington: A Life," Ron Chernow also recounts Washington's "persistent concern for his personal papers, which he saw as guaranteeing his posthumous fame and preserving his record from distortion by posterity." Chernow writes, "The way Washington fussed over these documents confirms that he knew he was a historic personage and reflected his awareness that his personal saga was inextricably entwined with that of the new nation."

As early as August 1776, while still a general in the Continental Army, George Washington sent a box of his personal papers to Philadelphia for safekeeping, and sometime during the following year he had a chest with strong hinges constructed to hold them. As the war against Britain raged on, Washington wrote a letter to the president of the Continental Congress on April 4, 1781 to express his frustration that so many of his "valuable documents which may be of equal public utility and private satisfaction" were in such disarray. According to Chernow:

"Washington asked Congress to hire secretaries to make copies of his wartime correspondence. 'Unless a set of writers are employed for the sole purpose of recording them,' he explained, 'it will not be in my power to accomplish this necessary work and equally impracticable perhaps to preserve from injury and loss such valuable papers.'" Instead of the rough originals, Washington wanted clerks who wrote 'a fair hand' to produce a magnificent set of bound papers." [p. 395]

Washington suggested hiring a team of writers led by an officer named Richard Varick, who would work under Washington’s direct supervision, "to preserve from injury and loss such valuable papers." Washington gave Varick detailed instructions for organizing his personal papers and transcribing his correspondence. Washington's military orders and instructions were to be organized meticulously and his letters transcribed in a "clear and intelligent manner, that there may be no difficulty in the references." In "His Excellency," Joseph Ellis writes:

"Varick and his team worked eight hours a day for two years in Poughkeepsie, New York, before producing twenty-eight volumes. When they were completed and about to be shipped to Mount Vernon, Washington assured Varick that 'neither the present age or posterity will consider the time and labour which have been employed in accomplishing it, unprofitably spent.'" [p. 151-152]

Once the material was transcribed, Varick returned the original documents to Washington, but Washington would insist that both the transcripts and original documents belonged to the people, "as species of Public property, sacred in my hands." I for one am glad that the "Father of our Country" had such foresight. Happy Birthday, Mr. President!


 
Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.

"He is little known little is said about him yet..."

I love historical research. You really get a feel for what the key players in a drama are thinking when you read their correspondence. Witness this exchange of letters that I ran across while researching John Sevier's time as Governor of Tennessee. While today John Sevier is hailed as a hero among his fellow Tennesseans, it seems that the "Father of our Country," George Washington, had little regard for our state's first governor.

Sevier's admirers and descendants often drew favorable comparisons between George Washington and "Tennessee's First Hero." The novelist James Gilmore wrote, "He was a gentleman born and bred; and in his veins flowed some of the best blood of the French and English nations... This peculiar blending of qualities was seen even in his face, which, while in contour and lineament strikingly that of Washington."

When the threat of war between the United States and France developed in 1798, John Sevier received an appointment as one of the brigadiers in the provisional army, and quickly sought the approval of the federal government. On April 25, 1798 Sevier writes:

"Should it be deemed necessary by the president to raise the Army contemplated in case of an eventual necessity, I shall hold myself ready to accept the appointment I had the honor of being nominated for in the provisional army, provided I may be thought adequate to such a command.

Permit me to assure you, Sir, nothing but a real desire to serve my Country in the time of imminent danger could induce me to accept such a Command, filling already the most respectable My country can confer..."

Your Honors etc.,

John Sevier

While George Washington was no longer President by this time, his Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, remained in office during John Adams' administration. Washington still held considerable influence in the Federalist government and wrote to Pickering regarding Sevier's appointment. Needless to say, he was not impressed with "Nolichucky Jack":

"What in the name of military prudence could have induced the appointments of [Gen. James] White and Severe [sic] as Brigadiers? The latter never was celebrated for anything except the murder of Indians... To give two to that State [Tennessee] when more important ones furnished none... is to me inconceivable... as to Severe, as he is little known little is said abt. him yet."

- Washington to Pickering, September 9, 1798

In hindsight, Washington's opinion of John Sevier seems out of step from conventional views of Tennessee's frontier hero and first governor. But it was many years after his death that anyone outside the states of Tennessee and North Carolina knew of John Sevier. Efforts to embrace Sevier on a national scale began after the Civil War as a means to heal the region from the ravages of battle and of Reconstruction. Tennessee's Centennial celebration also resulted in efforts to forge a unique state identity, with John Sevier as its standard bearer.

One cannot fault George Washington for not seeing in John Sevier what many of his fellow Tennesseans saw in him. At the time Washington was on the national stage, and Sevier had not yet reached that plateau of statesmanship.  But one could argue that first impressions are far more accurate than hindsight.  If this is true, Washington's first impression of John Sevier was so negative that it's little wonder knowledge of Sevier's exploits never really crossed the borders of the Volunteer State until well after his death.


SOURCES:

• Carl S. Driver, John Sevier: Pioneer of the Old Southwest. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1932.

• Timothy Pickering papers, Massachusetts Historical Society

 

Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.