William McIntosh was one of the leading spokesmen for the Creek during the early 1800s. He headed the group of warriors appointed by the Creek National Council known as “Law Menders.” These warriors were responsible for apprehending and punishing by beatings, ear cropping, or execution of those who had committed crimes against Americans.
The actions of McIntosh and his Law Menders in executing a number of Upper Creek warriors responsible for murders and robberies along the Tennessee border directly led to a rebellion by many Creeks against the Creek government. That civil war quickly became an American-Creek war after the rebellious Creeks, known as Red Sticks, attacked the hastily constructed Fort Mims in the Mississippi Territory.
During the Creek War, McIntosh was appointed as major of a regiment of Creek Indians who fought alongside American forces against Red Stick Creeks. He later fought with the United States during the First Seminole War.
After the Creek war, McIntosh rose to the prominent role in the National Council as a Chief and became one of the most powerful and wealthy Creeks of his generation. He owned a sizeable plantation and inn operated by slave labor, as well as other business operations.
McIntosh's prestige as a high-ranking member of the Creeks was enhanced by his American father's relationship and family connections to George McIntosh Troup, who served as the governor of Georgia from 1823 to 1827. During Troup’s term, McIntosh signed the unauthorized Treaty of Indian Springs (1825) which surrendered all Creek lands in Georgia as well as substantial property in Alabama.
The Treaty of Indian Springs provided for the cession of virtually all Creek land remaining in the state of Georgia in exchange for a payment of $200,000. A controversial article in the treaty provided additional payment to McIntosh for the lands granted to him in the treaty. McIntosh's motives have since been debated. His supporters suggest that he acted realistically, believing that the Georgians' relentless demand for Creek land made its loss unavoidable.
Whatever his motivations were, McIntosh's participation in the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs cost him his life. According to a Creek law that McIntosh himself had supported, a sentence of execution awaited any Creek leader who ceded land to the United States without the full assent of the entire Creek Nation. Just before dawn on April 30, 1825, Upper Creek chief Menawa, accompanied by 200 Creek warriors, attacked McIntosh at his inn to carry out the sentence. They set fire to his home, and shot and stabbed McIntosh to death.
