 The following day, a Cherokee contingent led by Old Abraham of Chilhowee reached Fort Watauga.The Wataugans, led by John Carter, James Robertson, and John Sevier, were well-prepared, having been warned of the invasion by Nancy Ward.Ward also used her powers as a Cherokee Beloved Woman to spare the life of Lydia Russell Bean (wife of early settler William Bean), who had been captured during the invasion and had been sentenced to be burned at the stake.