although governor glen's political foes had him ousted in may 1756, his successor, william henry lyttelton, was committed to the fort's completion. an advance party led by william gibbs crossed the mountains and arrived at great hiwassee in early august, and had reached tomotley on august 6, 1756, where gibbs stayed in the home of cherokee leader attakullakulla. the main body, consisting of 80 british regulars commanded by captain raymond demeré and two provincial companies of 60 men each, departed from fort prince george on the south carolina frontier on september 21, 1756. accompanied by 60 pack horses, the group made the roughly trek in ten days, arriving in tomotley on october 1. they were greeted by the cherokee leader old hop and 200 indians. the herculean task of moving the fort's cannons over the mountains was accomplished by a contractor named john elliott. john stuart, an officer and future indian agent who had accompanied the garrison, negotiated a purchase of corn from the cherokee that helped the garrison avoid starvation.