Joseph Erwin was born in 1762 in North Carolina and served as an officer in the American Revolutionary War, ending as a captain.

After that, there was a long run of masculine posturing, snippy newspaper columns, hostile letters,[4] and all manner of 1805 Tennessee interpersonal drama, including an episode where Jackson caned a man in a tavern because he wasn't good enough to duel with.

"[6] After the fact, Erwin wrote in a public letter, "It may not be improper before this subject is dismissed to enquire whether the proceedings on the field were strictly proper?

A snap not to be considered as a fire was not committed to writing , consequently, it was not one of the stipulations in the agreement, neither was it warranted by the usual practice; yet such was the cruel fate of the unfortunate Dickinson, he gallantly maintained his ground, and fell a victim to this unguarded, illiberal and unjust advantage.

"[9] In 1807, Joseph Erwin and his wife relocated to Iberville Parish, Territory of Orleans, where they established a plantation just below Plaquemine.

[2] In 1807 he had a trunk stolen at the Natchez, Mississippi boat landing containing six weeks worth of "bills of sale for negroes" and 50-odd promissory notes totaling US$20,000 (equivalent to $416,182 in 2023).

In April 1807, Erwin and his partner Abraham Wright placed an ad in the Mississippi Messenger under the heading "CAUTION AGAINST IMPOSITION."

[11] The following month they placed a similar ad in a Nashville newspaper, stating that the total value of the notes was approximately US$20,000 (equivalent to $416,182 in 2023), and that they were all dated to between March 24 and May 4, 1807.

[13] According to his major biographer, "Erwin was by nature and practice a trader and 'trafficker' and he found the less highly developed section just to his liking.

He began building his estate by buying up small adjacent farms and organizing them into great plantations, or by selling them to others, most often at large profits, for the same purpose.

"[14] In 1808, Erwin, Spraggins & Wright offered a $100 reward for the capture of 24-year-old Jacob and 21-year-old, who had been enslaved by them near the Bayou Plaquemines, Iberville Parish, Orleans Territory.

"[19] On September 29, 1813, the Feliciana Parish jailor took in "a negro fellow; named Sam, very large and well made, says he belongs to Joseph Erwin on the coast.

"[20] In February 1813 Erwin's agent was looking for an 18-year-old Creole slave named Jim who had a "handsome countenance," was "burned on both cheeks," spoke fluent French but minimal English, and had "come down on a raft last week and has since absconded.

"[22] In April 1817 Louis de Aury, a pioneer of the "privateer" settlement at Galveston in Spanish Texas, sold 300 African-born slaves to Erwin, James Still, and Christopher Adams.

[27] As early as 1825, family friends began to describe Erwin as "mentally imbalanced, drinking heavily, and in financial distress.

Erwin was a wealthy sugar planter...those who have experienced his munificent hospitality, will long deplore the act of infatuation which led to his tragical end.

"[31] When Erwin died in 1829, his estate included a "splendid...first rate" 3,000-acre sugar and cotton plantation in Iberville Parish, which was to be sold "with or without negroes.

"[32] After Erwin's death, hundreds of slaves, a son-in-law, and his widow Lavinia Erwin ably managed the Home and Irion plantations; "The inventories reveal seventeen skilled laborers among Mrs. Erwin's slaves: Moses, the driver; Bill, the ginner; Caesar, the blacksmith; Pollard and Alfred, carpenters; Bill, the miller; Peter and Moses, coopers; Dick, the cook; William, the coachman; Clem, a bricklayer; Bill, the gamer; John, the drummer; Lem, the sugarmaker; and Suckey, the weaver.

"[38] His biographer reluctantly concedes the point with "However, from the number of individual purchases and sales, Erwin would be classified as an intrastate or small town trader, a career which was facilitated by the constant flow of newcomers to Louisiana.