Below is the test of a letter I sent to my Comissioner, Ben Riden, and to the Zoning and Planning Director. I wanted to post it here so the documents I sent them would be easily accessible and shareable. The buttons below my letter will link you to the pdf files I sent.

Mr. Riden, et. al.,

Attached please find a sampling of some research I have done over the past 6-7 years that will be impacted by the Rivian site and GDOT Project No.P.I. No. 0018361. In that time I have been researching the events and location associated with the War of 1812 (and the Red Stick War) in the areas north of Fort Hawkins (Macon, GA). On November 9th, 1813 Georgia Governor Peter Early ordered the construction of Forts at 10-20 miles along the frontier as protection. You can see a sample of these forts by visiting the Fort Daniel site in Gwinnett County. (i'll encourage you to go to www.fortdaniel.com)

Morgan County had 2 forts constructed under the Governor's Orders, Fort High Shoals and Fort Defiance. Fort High Shoals was located at High Shoals (across the River from Fort Smith) and Fort Defiance was located at the Native Trail connecting to the Hightower trail on the 1805 Treaty line which is within the Rivian site. I am attaching a few samples of documents from my research. The "Incursions into Morgan County" and the "Ambush" give location context to the conflict in the area.The "June 8th Transcription" details the services of the two spies stationed at Fort Defiance. Spies were more like rangers in 1812. The "Roster Fort Smith" is the roster of men who were stationed opposite Fort High Shoals. A similar roster exists for Fort Defiance at the State Archives , but i do not have a copy of it. "Settlers" is a list of those people who illegally lived in the area before the Treaty lines were extended. The "1814 Spies list" details the spies who were station at each Fort. and the "Accounting records" are a sample of the vouchers used by the state to pay for supplies for the Forts.

Again, these items are only samples of my research which is only a fraction of the information available for the location of the Rivian site and GDOT project number P.I. No. 0018361. As you consider zoning, construction, and cultural resources I hope you will ensure we save the Fort Defiance site, the associated Muscogee Creek Trail, and ancillary items that will be discovered along the way. I will be happy to assist in explaining my research, sharing documents, or directing others to the proper resources to fully interpret the site culturally and historically.

Thank You,

Eli Stancel

Ambush