 In 1774 and 1775, both British Superintendent of Indian Affairs John Stuart and North Carolina governor Josiah Martin issued repeated calls for settlers south of the Holston to leave Cherokee lands.The outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775 further agitated the tense situation on the Appalachian frontier.The Watauga and Nolichucky settlers generally supported separation from Britain, and formed a Committee of Safety, and founded the "Washington District."