Did Red Eagle's wife have a premonition as an omen of his death?

William Weatherford

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “The Eagle’s flight: William Weatherford’s exploits, death” was originally published in the April 13, 1972 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Much has been said and written about William Weatherford, “The Red Eagle.” Many stories both true and false, have been spun about his exploits as farmer, settler, landowner and war chief of the Creek Indian Nation. Probably no other man had as much impact on early Monroe County history as this man.

Lomachette, which means “The Red Eagle” in the language of the Creeks, was born in the Indian town of Coose, located near the point where the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers join to make up the Alabama River. His father was Charles Weatherford, a Scotch trader. His mother was “Sehoya,” a Creek Indian princess.

As Weatherford grew into early manhood, the clouds of war between white man and red man had begun to form on the horizon. The ties of his Indian blood proved stronger than those of his white kindred and he cast his fortune with the red man. After the decisive battle at Horseshoe Bend and the defeat of the Creek Nation by Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory) and a ragtag Army of volunteers. Red Eagle eventually returned to Little River, in the lower part of Monroe County. Here he lived the remaining years of his life.

At his death in 1824, William Weatherford was laid to rest across Little River, outside of his native country, only a short distance, as an eagle flies, from his plantation home. During his last years, he spent much of his idle time hunting bear in the swamps along the Alabama River. It was during one of these hunts that he became ill with the sickness (believed to be pneumonia) that resulted in his death.

Just a few days before his return from this last hunt, Weatherford’s wife was sitting in the hallway of their home. Her thoughts were of her husband. She happened to turn and look in the direction of the road, leading up to the gate. There was Red Eagle dismounting his horse and in the process of tying the reins to the hitching post. She rose and went into the main room of the house for a moment before greeting him. When she returned into the hall, he was not to be seen anywhere. She waited for a moment, thinking that her husband had gone to the barn to stable his horse. Strangely though he did not return to the house. She did not see him again for several days. When he did return, he was very ill.

Lomachette, war chief of the Creeks, never recovered.

His wife always regarded her premonition of her husband as an omen of his death.

So it was, the spirit of the Eagle spread its wings for the last time in this world and mounted the winds from the Great Beyond for his final flight in the Realm of Eternity.

[This story also included a photo of William Weatherford’s grave, taken by Singleton, that included the following caption: Here lies Red Eagle.]

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)