Anglo-Cherokee War
Encyclopedia
The Anglo-Cherokee War (Cherokee
: "War with those in the red coats
" or "War with the English"), also known (from the Anglo-European perspective) as the Cherokee War, the Cherokee Uprising, the Cherokee Rebellion, was a conflict between British
forces in North America
and Cherokee
Indians during the French and Indian War
. The British and the Cherokee were formally allies at the start of the war, but each party repeatedly suspected the other of betrayal. Tensions between British-American settlers and the Cherokee increased during the 1750s.
is correct, the first conflict of the Cherokee with the British occurred in 1654 when a force from Jamestown, Virginia
supported by a large party of Pamunkey
attacked a town of the "Rechaherians" (referred to as the "Rickohakan" by German traveller James Lederer when he passed through in 1670) that had between six and seven hundred warriors, only to be driven off.
After siding with the Province of South Carolina
in the Tuscarora War
of 1711–1715, the Cherokee turned on their erstwhile British allies in the Yamasee War
of 1715–1717 along with the other tribes until switching sides again midway, which ensured the defeat of the latter. They remained allies of the British until the French and Indian War
of 1754–1763.
At the outbreak of the war, the Cherokee were allies of the British taking part in campaigns against Fort Duquesne
(at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
) and the Shawnee
of the Ohio Country
. In 1755, a band of Cherokee 130-strong under Ostenaco
(Ustanakwa) of Tomotley
(Tamali) took up residence in a fortified town at the mouth of the Ohio River
at the behest of their fellow British allies, the Iroquois.
For several years, French agents from Fort Toulouse
had been visiting the Overhill Cherokee
on the Hiwassee
and Tellico River
s, and made in-roads into those places. The strongest pro-French Cherokee leaders were Mankiller (Utsidihi) of Great Tellico
(Talikwa), Old Caesar of Chatuga (Tsatugi), and Raven (Kalanu) of Great Hiwassee
(Ayuhwasi). The First "Beloved Man" (Uku) of the nation, Kanagatucko (Kanagatoga, or "Stalking Turkey", aka 'Old Hop'), was himself very pro-French, as was the nephew who was succeeded at his death in 1760, Standing Turkey
(Kunagadoga).
The former site of the Coosa chiefdom
during the 16th century Spanish explorations was reoccupied in 1759 by a Muscogee contingent under Big Mortar (Yayatustanage) in support of the pro-French Cherokee in Great Tellico and Chatuga, and as a step toward his planned alliance of Muscogee, Cherokee, Shawnee
, Chickasaw
, and Catawba, which would have been the first of its kind in the South. Though such an alliance did not come into being until Dragging Canoe, Big Mortar still rose to be the leading chief of the Muscogee after the French and Indian War.
near Keowee
and the massacre of the garrison of Fort Loudoun
near Chota
.
Those two connected events catapulted the whole nation into war until the actual fighting ended in 1761, with the Cherokee led by Oconostota
(Aganstata) of Chota (Itsati), Attakullakulla (Atagulgalu) of Tanasi
, Ostenaco of Tomotley, Wauhatchie (Wayatsi) of the Lower Towns, and Round O of the Middle Towns.
During the second year of the French and Indian War, the British had sought Cherokee assistance against the French enemies and their Indian allies.
This came after they had accurate reports that the French were planning to build forts in Cherokee territory as they had already done with Ft. Charleville at the Great Salt Lick (now Nashville, Tennessee
, on the middle Cumberland River
), Ft. Toulouse, near the present Montgomery, Alabama
, Ft. Rosalie at Natchez, Mississippi
, Ft. St. Pierre at Yazoo, Mississippi, and Ft. Tombeckbe on the Tombigbee River
). After the Cherokee agreed to be their allies, the British hastened to build forts of their own, completing Fort Prince George
near Keowee
(in South Carolina) among the Lower Towns; in 1756, and Fort Loudoun
near Chota at the mouth of the Tellico River
. Once the forts were built, the Cherokee raised 400 warriors to fight in western Virginia
under Ostenaco
. Oconostota
and Attakullakulla led another large group to attack Fort Toulouse, located in present-day Alabama
.
In 1758 the Cherokee participated in the taking of Fort Duquesne
(present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.) Feeling their effort unappreciated, Kanagatucko, then the leading chief of the Cherokee, ordered his warriors home. Later a contingent of Cherokee warriors (under Moytoy of Citico) accompanied Virginian troops on a campaign against the Shawnee
of Ohio Country
. During the expedition, the enemy proved elusive. After several weeks, the Tuscarora contingent left, while that of the Cherokee dwindled. The Cherokee and Virginians fell to fighting each other, with the Virginians' defeating the Cherokee, killing and scalping about 20 of them. Later, the Virginians claimed the scalps as those of Shawnees and collected bounties for them.
. A number of Muskogee
under Big Mortar moved up to Coosawatie, the original Coosa chiefdom
at the time of de Soto
. These people had long been French allies in support of the Cherokee pro-French faction at Great Tellico.
The governor of South Carolina
, William Henry Lyttelton
raised an army of 1,100 men and marched to confront the Lower Towns of the Cherokee, which quickly agreed to peace. Two Cherokee warriors accused of the murder of white settlers were turned over for execution. Twenty-nine chiefs given as hostages were imprisoned at Fort Prince George.
Governor Lyttleton returned to Charleston, but the Cherokee were still angry and continued to attack frontier settlements into 1760. In February of 1760, the Cherokees attacked Fort Prince George in an attempt to rescue their hostages. The fort's commander was killed. His replacement executed all of the hostages and fended off the attack. The Cherokee also attacked the town of Fort Ninety Six
, but it withstood the siege. Lesser posts in the South Carolina backcountry did fall to Cherokee raids.
Governor Lyttleton appealed to Jeffrey Amherst
, the British commander in North America, who sent Archibald Montgomerie
with an army of 1,200 troops (the Royal Scots
and the 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders)
) to South Carolina. Montgomerie's campaign razed some of the Cherokee Lower Towns, including Keowee. It ended with a defeat at Echoee (Itseyi) Pass when Montgomerie tried to enter the Middle Towns territory. Later in 1760, the Overhill Cherokee
defeated the British colonists at Fort Loudoun
and took it over.
In 1761, Montgomerie was replaced by James Grant. He led an army of 2,600 men, the largest force to enter the southern Appalachians to date against the Cherokee. His army moved through the Lower Towns, defeated the Cherokee at Echoee Pass, and proceeded to raze about 15 Middle Towns, burning fields of crops along the way.
, Sgt. Thomas Sumter
, an African slave, and the interpreter William Shorey traveled into the Overhills to deliver a copy of the treaty with Virginia to the Cherokee. Timberlake's diary and map of his journey (see to the right of text), were published in 1765. His diary contained what historians assessed was an accurate description of Cherokee culture.
Pro-French Standing Turkey was deposed and replaced as First Beloved Man with pro-British Attakullakulla. John Stuart
became British Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern District, out of Charlestown, South Carolina, and was the main contact of the Cherokee with the British government. His first deputy, Alexander Cameron, lived among them, first at Keowee, then at Toqua on the Little Tennessee, while his second deputy, John McDonald, set up a hundred miles to the southwest on the west side of Chickamauga River, where it was crossed by the Great Indian Warpath
.
During the war, a number of major Cherokee towns were destroyed by the army under British general James Grant and never reoccupied, most notably Kituwa, the inhabitants of which migrated west and took up residence at Great Island Town on the Little Tennessee River
among the Overhill Cherokee
.
east of the Mississippi
went to the British along with Canada, while Louisiana west of the Mississippi went to Spain; in return, Spanish Florida
went to Britain, which divided it into East Florida
and West Florida
.
After the conclusion of the treaties, Henry Timberlake
visited London
with three Cherokee leaders: Ostenaco, Standing Turkey, and Wood Pigeon (Ata-wayi). The Cherokee visited the Tower of London
, met the playwright Oliver Goldsmith
, drew massive crowds, and had an audience with King George III. On the way, their interpreter William Shorey died, making communication nearly impossible. Hearing of the Cherokees' warm welcome in London, South Carolinians viewed their reception as a sign of imperial favoritism at the colonists' expense, especially in view of the Royal Proclamation of 1763
prohibiting settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
, laying the foundation of one of the major irritants for the colonials leading to the Revolution.
Cherokee language
Cherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people which uses a unique syllabary writing system. It is the only Southern Iroquoian language that remains spoken. Cherokee is a polysynthetic language.-North American etymology:...
: "War with those in the red coats
Red coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
" or "War with the English"), also known (from the Anglo-European perspective) as the Cherokee War, the Cherokee Uprising, the Cherokee Rebellion, was a conflict between British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
forces in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
Indians during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. The British and the Cherokee were formally allies at the start of the war, but each party repeatedly suspected the other of betrayal. Tensions between British-American settlers and the Cherokee increased during the 1750s.
Prelude
If James MooneyJames Mooney
James Mooney was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. He did major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as those on the Great Plains...
is correct, the first conflict of the Cherokee with the British occurred in 1654 when a force from Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
supported by a large party of Pamunkey
Pamunkey
The Pamunkey nation are one of eleven Virginia Indian tribes recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The historical tribe was part of the Powhatan paramountcy, made up of Algonquian-speaking tribes. The Powhatan paramount chiefdom was made up over 30 tribes, estimated to total about...
attacked a town of the "Rechaherians" (referred to as the "Rickohakan" by German traveller James Lederer when he passed through in 1670) that had between six and seven hundred warriors, only to be driven off.
After siding with the Province of South Carolina
Province of South Carolina
The South Carolina Colony, or Province of South Carolina, was originally part of the Province of Carolina, which was chartered in 1663. The colony later became the U.S. state of South Carolina....
in the Tuscarora War
Tuscarora War
The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina during the autumn of 1711 until 11 February 1715 between the British, Dutch, and German settlers and the Tuscarora Native Americans. A treaty was signed in 1715....
of 1711–1715, the Cherokee turned on their erstwhile British allies in the Yamasee War
Yamasee War
The Yamasee War was a conflict between British settlers of colonial South Carolina and various Native American Indian tribes, including the Yamasee, Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Catawba, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Yuchi, Savannah River Shawnee, Congaree, Waxhaw, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Cheraw, and...
of 1715–1717 along with the other tribes until switching sides again midway, which ensured the defeat of the latter. They remained allies of the British until the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
of 1754–1763.
At the outbreak of the war, the Cherokee were allies of the British taking part in campaigns against Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
(at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
) and the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
of the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
. In 1755, a band of Cherokee 130-strong under Ostenaco
Ostenaco
Ostenaco , who preferred to go by the warrior's title he earned at any early age, "Mankiller" , also known as Judd's Friend, who lived c...
(Ustanakwa) of Tomotley
Tomotley
Tomotley is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Occupied as early as the Archaic period, the Tomotley site had the most substantial periods of habitation during the Mississippian period, likely when the earthwork mounds...
(Tamali) took up residence in a fortified town at the mouth of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
at the behest of their fellow British allies, the Iroquois.
For several years, French agents from Fort Toulouse
Fort Toulouse
Fort Toulouse is a historic fort near the city of Wetumpka, Alabama, United States, that is now maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. The French founded the fort in 1717, naming it for Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse...
had been visiting the Overhill Cherokee
Overhill Cherokee
The term Overhill Cherokee refers to the former Cherokee settlements located in what is now Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The name was given by 18th century European traders and explorers who had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to reach these settlements when traveling from...
on the Hiwassee
Hiwassee River
The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in northern Georgia and flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee River a few miles west of State Route 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee...
and Tellico River
Tellico River
The Tellico River rises in the westernmost mountains of North Carolina, but it flows mainly through Monroe County, Tennessee. It is a major tributary of the Little Tennessee River and the namesake of Tellico Reservoir, a reservoir created by Tellico Dam, which impounds the lower reaches of the...
s, and made in-roads into those places. The strongest pro-French Cherokee leaders were Mankiller (Utsidihi) of Great Tellico
Great Tellico
Great Tellico was a Cherokee town at the site of present-day Tellico Plains, Tennessee, where the Tellico River emerges from the Appalachian Mountains. Great Tellico was one of the largest Cherokee towns in the region, and had a sister town nearby named Chatuga. Its name in Cherokee is more...
(Talikwa), Old Caesar of Chatuga (Tsatugi), and Raven (Kalanu) of Great Hiwassee
Great Hiwassee
Great Hiwassee was an important Overhill Cherokee town from the late 17th through the early 19th centuries. It was located on the Hiwassee River in present-day Polk County, Tennessee, on the north bank of the river where modern U.S. Route 411 crosses the river...
(Ayuhwasi). The First "Beloved Man" (Uku) of the nation, Kanagatucko (Kanagatoga, or "Stalking Turkey", aka 'Old Hop'), was himself very pro-French, as was the nephew who was succeeded at his death in 1760, Standing Turkey
Standing Turkey
Standing Turkey — also known as Cunne Shote or Kunagadoga — succeeded his uncle, Kanagatucko, or Old Hop, as First Beloved Man of the Cherokee upon the latter's death in 1760...
(Kunagadoga).
The former site of the Coosa chiefdom
Coosa chiefdom
The Coosa chiefdom was a powerful Native American paramount chiefdom near what are now Gordon and Murray counties in Georgia, in the United States. It was inhabited from about 1400 until about 1600, and dominated several smaller chiefdoms...
during the 16th century Spanish explorations was reoccupied in 1759 by a Muscogee contingent under Big Mortar (Yayatustanage) in support of the pro-French Cherokee in Great Tellico and Chatuga, and as a step toward his planned alliance of Muscogee, Cherokee, Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
, Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, and Catawba, which would have been the first of its kind in the South. Though such an alliance did not come into being until Dragging Canoe, Big Mortar still rose to be the leading chief of the Muscogee after the French and Indian War.
Early stages
The Anglo-Cherokee War was initiated in 1758 by Moytoy (Amo-adawehi) of Citico in retaliation for mistreatment of Cherokee warriors at the hands of their British and colonial allies. Moytoy's horse-stealing began the domino effect that ended with the murders of Cherokee hostages at Fort Prince GeorgeFort Prince George
Fort Prince George was an uncompleted fort on what is now the site of Pittsburgh, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The site was originally a trading post established by Ohio Company trader William Trent in the 1740s...
near Keowee
Keowee
Keowee was a Cherokee town in the north of present-day South Carolina. It was settled in what is present day Oconee County, the westernmost county of South Carolina, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just north of Clemson...
and the massacre of the garrison of Fort Loudoun
Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)
Fort Loudoun was a British colonial fort in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, near the towns of the Overhill Cherokee. The fort was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.-History:...
near Chota
Chota (Cherokee town)
Chota is a historic Overhill Cherokee site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. For much of its history, Chota was the most important of the Overhill towns, serving as the de facto capital of the Cherokee people from the late 1740s until 1788...
.
Those two connected events catapulted the whole nation into war until the actual fighting ended in 1761, with the Cherokee led by Oconostota
Oconostota
Oconostota was the Warrior of Chota and the First Beloved Man of the Cherokee from 1775 to 1781.-Meaning of the name:...
(Aganstata) of Chota (Itsati), Attakullakulla (Atagulgalu) of Tanasi
Tanasi
Tanasi is a historic Overhill Cherokee village site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The village is best known as the namesake for the state of Tennessee...
, Ostenaco of Tomotley, Wauhatchie (Wayatsi) of the Lower Towns, and Round O of the Middle Towns.
During the second year of the French and Indian War, the British had sought Cherokee assistance against the French enemies and their Indian allies.
This came after they had accurate reports that the French were planning to build forts in Cherokee territory as they had already done with Ft. Charleville at the Great Salt Lick (now Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, on the middle Cumberland River
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
), Ft. Toulouse, near the present Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Ft. Rosalie at Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, Ft. St. Pierre at Yazoo, Mississippi, and Ft. Tombeckbe on the Tombigbee River
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. It is one of two major rivers, along with the Alabama River, that unite to form the short Mobile River before it empties into Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico...
). After the Cherokee agreed to be their allies, the British hastened to build forts of their own, completing Fort Prince George
Fort Prince George (South Carolina)
Fort Prince George was constructed in 1753 in northwest South Carolina, on the Cherokee Path. It was named for the Prince of Wales, who would later become King George III of the United Kingdom...
near Keowee
Keowee
Keowee was a Cherokee town in the north of present-day South Carolina. It was settled in what is present day Oconee County, the westernmost county of South Carolina, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just north of Clemson...
(in South Carolina) among the Lower Towns; in 1756, and Fort Loudoun
Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)
Fort Loudoun was a British colonial fort in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, near the towns of the Overhill Cherokee. The fort was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.-History:...
near Chota at the mouth of the Tellico River
Tellico River
The Tellico River rises in the westernmost mountains of North Carolina, but it flows mainly through Monroe County, Tennessee. It is a major tributary of the Little Tennessee River and the namesake of Tellico Reservoir, a reservoir created by Tellico Dam, which impounds the lower reaches of the...
. Once the forts were built, the Cherokee raised 400 warriors to fight in western Virginia
Colony and Dominion of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution...
under Ostenaco
Ostenaco
Ostenaco , who preferred to go by the warrior's title he earned at any early age, "Mankiller" , also known as Judd's Friend, who lived c...
. Oconostota
Oconostota
Oconostota was the Warrior of Chota and the First Beloved Man of the Cherokee from 1775 to 1781.-Meaning of the name:...
and Attakullakulla led another large group to attack Fort Toulouse, located in present-day Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
In 1758 the Cherokee participated in the taking of Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
(present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.) Feeling their effort unappreciated, Kanagatucko, then the leading chief of the Cherokee, ordered his warriors home. Later a contingent of Cherokee warriors (under Moytoy of Citico) accompanied Virginian troops on a campaign against the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
of Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
. During the expedition, the enemy proved elusive. After several weeks, the Tuscarora contingent left, while that of the Cherokee dwindled. The Cherokee and Virginians fell to fighting each other, with the Virginians' defeating the Cherokee, killing and scalping about 20 of them. Later, the Virginians claimed the scalps as those of Shawnees and collected bounties for them.
War
While some Cherokee leaders still called for peace, others led retaliatory raids on outlying pioneer settlements. The Cherokee finally declared open war against the British in 1759, fighting independently and not as allies of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. A number of Muskogee
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
under Big Mortar moved up to Coosawatie, the original Coosa chiefdom
Coosa chiefdom
The Coosa chiefdom was a powerful Native American paramount chiefdom near what are now Gordon and Murray counties in Georgia, in the United States. It was inhabited from about 1400 until about 1600, and dominated several smaller chiefdoms...
at the time of de Soto
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
. These people had long been French allies in support of the Cherokee pro-French faction at Great Tellico.
The governor of South Carolina
Province of South Carolina
The South Carolina Colony, or Province of South Carolina, was originally part of the Province of Carolina, which was chartered in 1663. The colony later became the U.S. state of South Carolina....
, William Henry Lyttelton
William Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton
William Henry Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton was the youngest son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet.As the youngest son, he did not expect to inherit the family estates and served in various government appointments. He became governor of colonial South Carolina in 1755, Governor of Jamaica in...
raised an army of 1,100 men and marched to confront the Lower Towns of the Cherokee, which quickly agreed to peace. Two Cherokee warriors accused of the murder of white settlers were turned over for execution. Twenty-nine chiefs given as hostages were imprisoned at Fort Prince George.
Governor Lyttleton returned to Charleston, but the Cherokee were still angry and continued to attack frontier settlements into 1760. In February of 1760, the Cherokees attacked Fort Prince George in an attempt to rescue their hostages. The fort's commander was killed. His replacement executed all of the hostages and fended off the attack. The Cherokee also attacked the town of Fort Ninety Six
Ninety Six, South Carolina
Ninety Six is a town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,936 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ninety Six is located at ....
, but it withstood the siege. Lesser posts in the South Carolina backcountry did fall to Cherokee raids.
Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst
Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst KCB served as an officer in the British Army and as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.Amherst is best known as one of the victors of the French and Indian War, when he conquered Louisbourg, Quebec City and...
, the British commander in North America, who sent Archibald Montgomerie
Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton
Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton was a Scottish General, and Member of Parliament in the British Parliament. He was also the Clan Chief of the Clan Montgomery. Montgomerie fought in the Seven Years' War, where he served with George Washington...
with an army of 1,200 troops (the Royal Scots
The Royal Scots
The Royal Scots , once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest, and therefore most senior, infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland...
and the 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders)
77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders)
The 77th Regiment of Foot was a Highland Scots Regiment raised under Major Archibald Montgomerie, son of the Earl of Eglinton. It was originally raised as the "First Highland Battalion" in 1757, around Stirling, Scotland, with thirteen companies...
) to South Carolina. Montgomerie's campaign razed some of the Cherokee Lower Towns, including Keowee. It ended with a defeat at Echoee (Itseyi) Pass when Montgomerie tried to enter the Middle Towns territory. Later in 1760, the Overhill Cherokee
Overhill Cherokee
The term Overhill Cherokee refers to the former Cherokee settlements located in what is now Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The name was given by 18th century European traders and explorers who had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to reach these settlements when traveling from...
defeated the British colonists at Fort Loudoun
Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)
Fort Loudoun was a British colonial fort in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, near the towns of the Overhill Cherokee. The fort was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.-History:...
and took it over.
In 1761, Montgomerie was replaced by James Grant. He led an army of 2,600 men, the largest force to enter the southern Appalachians to date against the Cherokee. His army moved through the Lower Towns, defeated the Cherokee at Echoee Pass, and proceeded to raze about 15 Middle Towns, burning fields of crops along the way.
Treaties
In November 1761, the Cherokee signed a peace treaty with Virginia and another with South Carolina the following year. Lt. Henry TimberlakeHenry Timberlake
Henry Timberlake was a colonial Anglo-American officer, journalist, and cartographer. He was born in Virginia in 1730 and died in England...
, Sgt. Thomas Sumter
Thomas Sumter
Thomas Sumter nicknamed the "Carolina Gamecock" , was a hero of the American Revolution and went on to become a longtime member of the Congress of the United States.-Early life:Thomas Sumter was born near Charlottesville in Hanover County, Virginia in 1734...
, an African slave, and the interpreter William Shorey traveled into the Overhills to deliver a copy of the treaty with Virginia to the Cherokee. Timberlake's diary and map of his journey (see to the right of text), were published in 1765. His diary contained what historians assessed was an accurate description of Cherokee culture.
Pro-French Standing Turkey was deposed and replaced as First Beloved Man with pro-British Attakullakulla. John Stuart
John Stuart (loyalist)
John Stuart was a Scottish-born official of the British Empire in North America. He was the superintendent for the southern district of the British Indian Department from 1761 to 1779; his northern counterpart was Sir William Johnson.Born in Inverness, by 1748 Stuart had emigrated to South...
became British Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern District, out of Charlestown, South Carolina, and was the main contact of the Cherokee with the British government. His first deputy, Alexander Cameron, lived among them, first at Keowee, then at Toqua on the Little Tennessee, while his second deputy, John McDonald, set up a hundred miles to the southwest on the west side of Chickamauga River, where it was crossed by the Great Indian Warpath
Great Indian Warpath
The Great Indian Warpath — also known as the Great Indian War and Trading Path, or the Seneca Trail — was that part of the network of trails in eastern North America developed and used by Native Americans which ran through the Great Appalachian Valley...
.
During the war, a number of major Cherokee towns were destroyed by the army under British general James Grant and never reoccupied, most notably Kituwa, the inhabitants of which migrated west and took up residence at Great Island Town on the Little Tennessee River
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Geography:...
among the Overhill Cherokee
Overhill Cherokee
The term Overhill Cherokee refers to the former Cherokee settlements located in what is now Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The name was given by 18th century European traders and explorers who had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to reach these settlements when traveling from...
.
Aftermath
In the aftermath of the overall war, French LouisianaLouisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
east of the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
went to the British along with Canada, while Louisiana west of the Mississippi went to Spain; in return, Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
went to Britain, which divided it into East Florida
East Florida
East Florida was a colony of Great Britain from 1763–1783 and of Spain from 1783–1822. East Florida was established by the British colonial government in 1763; as its name implies it consisted of the eastern part of the region of Florida, with West Florida comprising the western parts. Its capital...
and West Florida
West Florida
West Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
.
After the conclusion of the treaties, Henry Timberlake
Henry Timberlake
Henry Timberlake was a colonial Anglo-American officer, journalist, and cartographer. He was born in Virginia in 1730 and died in England...
visited London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with three Cherokee leaders: Ostenaco, Standing Turkey, and Wood Pigeon (Ata-wayi). The Cherokee visited the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, met the playwright Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
, drew massive crowds, and had an audience with King George III. On the way, their interpreter William Shorey died, making communication nearly impossible. Hearing of the Cherokees' warm welcome in London, South Carolinians viewed their reception as a sign of imperial favoritism at the colonists' expense, especially in view of the Royal Proclamation of 1763
Royal Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
prohibiting settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
, laying the foundation of one of the major irritants for the colonials leading to the Revolution.
See also
- Chickamauga Wars (1776–1794)
- Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)Fort Loudoun was a British colonial fort in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, near the towns of the Overhill Cherokee. The fort was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.-History:...
- Fort Prince George (South Carolina)Fort Prince George (South Carolina)Fort Prince George was constructed in 1753 in northwest South Carolina, on the Cherokee Path. It was named for the Prince of Wales, who would later become King George III of the United Kingdom...
Sources
- "Cherokee War (1760–1762), Rice Hope Plantation Inn
- American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol, I. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1816).
- Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766. New York: Knopf, 2000. ISBN 0-375-40642-5. See ch. 47, "The Cherokee War and Amherst's Reforms in Indian Policy", pp. 457–71.
- Brown, John P. Old Frontiers: The Story of the Cherokee Indians from Earliest Times to the Date of Their Removal to the West, 1838. (Kingsport: Southern Publishers, 1938).
- Evans, E. Raymond. "Notable Persons in Cherokee History: Ostenaco". Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 41–54. (Cherokee: Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 1976).
- French, Captain Christopher. "Journal of an Expedition to South Carolina", Journal of Cherokee Studies (Summer 1977): 275–302.
- Hamer, Philip M. Tennessee: A History, 1673–1932. (New York: American History Association, 1933).
- Hatley, Thomas. The Dividing Paths: Cherokees and South Carolinians through the Era of Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
- Haywood, W.H. The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from its Earliest Settlement up to the Year 1796. (Nashville: Methodist Episcopal Publishing House, 1891).
- Henderson, Archibald. The Conquest Of The Old Southwest: The Romantic Story Of The Early Pioneers Into Virginia, The Carolinas, Tennessee And Kentucky 1740 To 1790. (Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing, 2004).
- Hoig, Stanley. The Cherokees and Their Chiefs: In the Wake of Empire. (Fayeteeville: University of Arkansas Press, 1998)
- King, Duane H. The Cherokee Indian Nation: A Troubled History. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1979).
- Kneberg, Madeline and Thomas M.N. Lewis. Tribes That Slumber. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1958).
- Mooney, James. Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee. (Nashville: Charles and Randy Elder-Booksellers, 1982).
- Moore, John Trotwood and Austin P. Foster. Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769–1923, Vol. 1. (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923).
- Oliphant, John. Peace and War on the Anglo-Cherokee Frontier, 1756–63. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2001.
- Ramsey, James Gettys McGregor. The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century. (Chattanooga: Judge David Campbell, 1926).
- Royce, C.C. "The Cherokee Nation of Indians: A narrative of their official relations with the Colonial and Federal Governments". Fifth Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology, 1883–1884. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1889).
- Starr, Emmet. History of the Cherokee Indians, and their Legends and Folklore. (Fayetteville: Indian Heritage Assn., 1967).
- Williams, Samuel Cole. Early Travels in the Tennessee Country, 1540–1800. (Johnson City: Watauga Press, 1928).