John Coffee | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | June 2, 1772 Prince Edward County, Virginia |
Died | July 7, 1833 (aged 61) Florence, Alabama |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | Militia |
Rank | Brigadier general |
Battles/wars | |
Spouse(s) | Mary Donelson |
John R. Coffee (June 2, 1772 – July 7, 1833) was an American planter of English descent, and a state militia brigadier general in Tennessee. He commanded troops under General Andrew Jackson during the Creek Wars (1813–14) and the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812.
While president, Jackson appointed Coffee as his representative, along with Secretary of War John Eaton, to negotiate treaties with Southeast American Indian tribes to accomplish removal to the west of the Mississippi River and extinguish their land claims. This policy was authorized by Congressional passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Coffee negotiated the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 with the Choctaw, by which they ceded their lands. He started negotiations with the Chickasaw, but they did not conclude a treaty with the United States until after his death.