Ahumada and his soldiers, accompanied by political…
February 1827 CE
Although the Cherokee had not raised arms against Mexico, their treaty with the Fredonian revolutionaries causes Mexican authorities to question the tribe's loyalty.
To demonstrate loyalty to Mexico, the Cherokee council orders both Fields and Hunter to be executed.
Under tribal law, certain offenses such as aiding an enemy of the tribe are punishable by death.
By sentencing Fields and Hunter to death for this reason, the Cherokee affirm that Edwards and his cohorts are their enemies.
Both men fled but are soon captured and executed.
When the executions are reported to Mexican authorities on February 28, the commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces, Anastasio Bustamante, praises the Cherokee for their prompt action.
Bustamante ultimately offers a general amnesty for all who participated in the conflict except for Haden and Benjamin Edwards, Martin Parmer, and Adolphus Sterne, a local merchant who had provided supplies to the rebel force.
Like the Edwards brothers, Parmer escapes into Louisiana.
Sterne remains and is sentenced to death for treason but is paroled after he swears allegiance to Mexico and to never again take up arms against the Mexican government.