Tennessee's Lincoln County was established in 1809 and named in honor of Major General Benjamin Lincoln of the Revolutionary Army. After service at Saratoga, he was put in chief command in the Southern Colonies. Later, he was Secretary of War under the Confederation from 1781 to 1783. Alabama is derived from a Creek Indian phrase meaning "Here We Rest." In the early 1700s, several Spanish expeditions visited the state. In 1702 the French founded Mobile and settled near Tallapoosa. Alabama became a territory in 1817 and a state in 1819, and Montgomery was also the first capital of the Confederacy.