Trans-Oconee Republic
| Trans-Oconee Republic | ||||||||||
| Unrecognized state | ||||||||||
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| Capital | Not specified | |||||||||
| Languages | English (de facto) | |||||||||
| Government | Republic | |||||||||
| General | Elijah Clarke | |||||||||
| Historical era | American Revolution | |||||||||
| • | Established | May 1794 | ||||||||
| • | Republic dissolved | September 1794 | ||||||||
| Area | 3,598.71 km2 (1,389.47 sq mi) | |||||||||
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| Today part of |
 United States
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The Trans-Oconee Republic was a short-lived, independent state west of the Oconee River (in the state of Georgia). Established by General Elijah Clarke in May 1794, it was an attempt to head off the new Federal government's ceding of lands claimed by Georgia back to the Creek. In September 1794, state and federal troops forced Clarke and his followers to surrender and leave the settlements. The armed forces destroyed the houses and forts.
In February 1794, General Elijah Clarke, a popular veteran of the American Revolutionary War, resigned his current commission in the Georgia state militia in order to lead an expedition against the East Florida colony. Clarke had become involved in a French-supported scheme to invade East Florida, which was then controlled by the Kingdom of Spain.
When the invasion failed to develop, General Clarke and several hundred of his followers moved instead to establish an independent state west of the Oconee River —on hunting grounds reserved by the federal Treaty of New York (1790) exclusively for the Creek Indians. Georgia had not been consulted on the original treaty —which included giving titled lands back to the Creek. Many European American settlers in Georgia resented the treaty because they saw it as limiting the possibilities for the future expansion of their state.
Clarke's frontiersmen made settlements on lands in present-day Greene, Morgan, Putnam, and Baldwin counties of Georgia. The settlers built several towns and forts over the next few months. They also wrote and ratified their own constitution, indicating the permanent intention of their endeavor. With little overt opposition from the Creek, they were taking control of the lands before the state or federal governments could react.
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Wikipedia