George Colbert

George Colbert (; November 7, 1839) was an early 19th-century Chickasaw leader who commanded 350 Chickasaw auxiliary troops who fought under Major General Andrew Jackson during the Creek War. He also served as an officer in Major Blue's Detachment of Chickasaw Indians during the later part of the War of 1812.

Colbert temporarily became principal chief of the Chickasaw, succeeding his older brother Levi who died in 1834. A planter who owned significant cotton lands and numerous slaves in Mississippi, he operated a ferry across the Tennessee in northwest Alabama. In 1834, he signed the treaty that finalized the tribe's removal.

Early life and military service George Colbert was born around 1764 in the Chickasaw Nation (present-day Alabama). He was the second of six sons of James Colbert (–1784), a British trader, and his second wife Minta Hoye, a Chickasaw woman. The tribe practiced matrilineal kinship, and all children were considered to be born into their mother's family and clan, and gained their status from her. Property and positions of hereditary leadership were passed through the mother's line. Minta Hoye's clan was one from which hereditary chiefs were drawn. As a youth George Colbert began to rise in prominence among the Chickasaw, as he also gained status by his bravery in battle and other actions.

Colbert was said to serve with American troops under Arthur St. Clair in 1791 and Anthony Wayne in 1794 during the Northwest Indian Wars. During the Creek War, he recruited 350 Chickasaw warriors and assisted Andrew Jackson against the Red Sticks, the more conservative portion of the people. During the later part of the War of 1812, he served as an officer in Major Blue's Detachment of Chickasaw Indians. He was the commander of 350 Chickasaws who fought for Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend against the Red Stick Creeks.

He acquired land and became an influential cotton planter; he also raised livestock and was a trader. Due to his clan, he was eligible for the position of Chief. The Chickasaw communally owned an estimated 150 slaves as labor on their lands, as was custom with many intercultural tribes in the region. In April 1823 Colbert placed a runaway slave ad seeking the recovery of Trouble, Philip, and July. Trouble was 55 years old and an African by birth; Philip was "an excellent hunter," and both he and July were "raised by" Colbert, meaning they grew up in his household. Philip and July were bilingual Chickasaw and English speakers.