some time. Hicks later became a chief of the Cherokee. Meigs' role as military agent ended in 1813 when the Federal soldiers stationed at Hiwassee Garrison were withdrawn. He continued as Cherokee agent on the Hiwassee River until his death on January 28, 1823. The government's trading or factory operations were linked with Indian relations in the War Department during these years. As Cherokee agent, Meigs promoted the well-being of the Cherokee, defended their rights in treaty negotiations, and encouraged Cherokee efforts to establish a republican form of government. His death was attributed to pneumonia contracted from sleeping outdoors in a tent while giving a visiting Indian chief his own living quarters. Meigs is buried in the Garrison Cemetery in Rhea County, Tennessee, near the site of the former Hiwassee Garrison. Legacy His son Return J. Meigs Jr. was elected as Ohio governor and later, by the legislature, as U.S. Senator. A grandson, Return J. Meigs IV, married Jennie Ross, daughter of principal Cherokee chief John Ross. They emigrated with her father to Indian Territory in 1838, forced out on the Trail of Tears. Two Tennessee place names honor Meigs: Meigs County, which was formed in 1836 from part of Rhea County, and Meigs Mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains. Notes References External links 1740 births 1823 deaths American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain American surveyors Continental Army officers from Connecticut American pioneers Northwest Territory judges Northwest Territory House of Representatives People from Tennessee Burials in Tennessee United States Indian agents Politicians from Middletown, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut Meigs County, Tennessee People from Middletown, Connecticut