In 1782, the General Assembly of Georgia chose Elbert, General Lachlan McIntosh, Edward Telfair and a number of other prominent Georgians to serve as commissioners at a conference with the Creek and Cherokee Indians regarding their title to certain Georgia lands. A meeting took place at Augusta in May 1783. In a May 31 treaty, the Cherokee ceded a tract between the Tugaloo and Oconee Rivers. According to Hugh McCall's "The History of Georgia", Before the conference had ended, the news reached Georgia that a peace treaty had been concluded between Great Britain and her former colonies.