Cherokee Timeline, 1450-1838
1450(?)

First Cherokee enter the state in the vicinity of Traveler's Rest. Tugaloo Old Town (now covered by Lake Tugaloo) is the first major Cherokee village.

1540-1

deSoto "visits" the Cherokee and is supposedly one of the first whites seen by the tribe, although written descriptions of the tribe by the Spanish note the wide range of colors in the tribe, from "negro" (black) to light skinned and "fair," according to Moyano and Pardo.

1715

Massive uprising against North and South Carolina.

1721

First treaty with whites (South Carolina).

1738

Smallpox eradicates 25% of the Cherokee Nation. Nancy Ward is born

1753

Smallpox epidemic.

1755(?)

Battle of Taliwa (numerous other spellings) - Accounts differ on exact events, however, the Creek, who greatly outnumber the Cherokee, attack the Cherokee line five times. During the fifth attack elderly Cherokee leader Kingfisher is slain. His teenage wife picks up his weapon, and chanting a Cherokee war song, Nancy Ward leads the Cherokee to victory, routing the Creek. The battle marked successful expulsion of the Creek from much of North Georgia. The only major remaining Creek settlement was near present Rome, Georgia.

1760-1762

Cherokee War (SC)

1771

Sequoyah born. Ridge born.

1773

First cession of Cherokee land in Georgia.

1776-1783

Impressed by the British during the French and Indian War, the Cherokee side with them during the American Revolution. The price for the decision is immense. Colonel Pickens destroys Long Swamp village (1782) and forces the Cherokee to cede land to settlers.

1786

Treaty of Hopewell (SC)- The Cherokee thought this would be the end of the settlers' invasion of Cherokee land. Within 3 years bitter fighting had erupted as settlers continued to move into the Cherokee Nation. This treaty is the basis for the term "Talking Leaves," the name of the tribe's written language. The Cherokee felt that written words were like leaves, when they were no longer of use they withered and died.

1790

John Ross born.

1791

Treaty of Holston-Cherokee cede land in eastern Tennessee in exchange for President Washington's guarantee that the Cherokee Nation will never again be invaded by settlers. This treaty forces Americans to obtain passports to enter Cherokee lands, and granted Cherokee the right to evict settlers.

1792

The town of Hightower moves from the vicinity of Rome, Georgia to present-day Cartersville, further east on the Etowah River after a brutal attack on the village by Tennessee governor John Sevier(more).

1794

Chickamauga Cherokee (Lower Towns) cease fighting, begin westward move.

1799

Formation of the Lighthorse, a loose knit Cherokee police force headed by The Ridge and James Vann.

1799-1804

Building of the Augusta to Nashville Road, later known as the Federal Road.

1801

Return J. Meigs appointed "indian agent." Morovians start mission at Spring Place.

1802

President Thomas Jefferson agrees with the state of Georgia to removal of all American Indians in exchange for the state's claim of western lands.

1804

Cherokee cede Wafford's Tract.

1806

Start of a complex series of events known as Revolt of the Young Chiefs

1809

Death of Doublehead at the hands of Ridge, James Vann and Alexander Saunders

1810

Death of James Vann.

1811

New Madrid earthquake. Actually 3 separate earthquakes with an epicenter near the town of New Madrid, Missouri in the southeastern border with Kentucky. The quakes were felt throughout the Cherokee Nation and sparked what is best described as a religious revival among the Cherokee. Writer James Mooney would call this movement the "Ghost Dance," after a similar Western Indian revival.

1812

Shawnee warrior Tecumseh agitates American Indians on the frontier to rise up and destroy the settlers. A faction of the Creek Indians, the "Red Sticks," revolt, attacking Fort Mims, Alabama and massacre 250 men, women and children.

1813-1814

Cherokee warriors fight alongside future president Andrew Jackson during two campaigns (5 major battles) against the Red Sticks, saving both his army and his life in separate battles.

1814

Jackson demands cessions of 2.2 million acres from the Cherokee.

1817

Cession of land east of the Unicoi Turnpike. (Treaty of Turkey Town, instead of the 2.2 million acres demanded by Jackson.)

1819

Final cession of land in Georgia, and part of a much larger cession, the Cherokee give up claims to all land east of the Chattahoochee River.

1821

Cherokee warrior Sequoyah finishes his work on a written language (syllabary) for the tribe. Within six months more than 25% of the Cherokee Nation learns how to read and write.

1822

Georgia begins press for cession of remaining Cherokee lands, citing Jefferson's
1802 commitment to the state.

1828

Gold discovered in Georgia. This discovery was on Cherokee land ceded to the U. S. in 1817 (Duke's Creek), however, gold was soon found inside the Cherokee Nation; Publication of the Cherokee Phoenix begins with Elias Boudinot, editor.

1830

Cherokee evict encroachers in Beaver Dam on Cedar Creek, a few miles south of present-day Rome, Georgia. Passage of the Indian Removal Act.

1831

Chief Justice John Marshall rules that the Cherokee have no standing to file suit in the United States in Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia. He then instructs attorney William Wirt on how to correctly file; Samuel Worcester and others arrested for violation of Georgia law requiring whites to get permits to work in the Cherokee territory.

1832

The Supreme Court of the United States declares the Cherokee Nation to be sovereign (Worcester v. Georgia). This has constitutional implications, disallowing the state of Georgia from passing any law governing the Cherokee;Elias Boudinot resigns as publisher of the Cherokee Phoenix under pressure from John Ross because of his editorial support for removal;Georgia's sixth land lottery and the gold lottery.

1834

The Georgia Guard with the help of Stand Watie destroys the printing press in the offices of The Cherokee Phoenix.

1835

• Nov. 7 Ross and John Howard Payne, in Red Clay, Tennessee, are illegally detained by the Georgia Guard.
• Dec. 29 Treaty of New Echota signed in Elias Boudinot's home by members of the Treaty Party.

1838

• May 23 Deadline for voluntary removal. Georgia Guard had begun round-up 5 days earlier. U. S. forces under command of Winfield Scott begin roundup in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina. Cherokee are herded into "forts," gradually making their way north to the Cherokee Agency (Rattlesnake Springs) or Ross's Landing in southeastern Tennessee. This is generally recognized as the beginning of The Cherokee Trail of Tears

Cherokee Index

The Cherokee called North Georgia "The Enchanted Land," living in the hills and valleys of our home.

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