The Nickajack Expedition in 1794 was a long-running battle fought from late summer to fall between American

frontiersmen A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a Border, boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that ...

and the

Chickamauga Cherokee The Chickamauga Cherokee refers to a group that separated from the greater body of the Cherokee during the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the Cherokee people wished to make peace with the Americans near the end of 1776, following se ...

. This Cherokee band had resisted the increasing American encroachment into their territory and raided American settlements in the region. The military expedition was a decisive success for the American settlers of what was then called the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States a ...

and surrounding regions. It eventually became known to Americans as the "Last Battle of the Cherokee". Other Cherokee defeats followed shortly, and the US forced them to agree to another treaty ceding some of their land. A total of 39 Cherokee chiefs and leaders, including Chickamauga, signed the 1798

Treaty of Tellico The Treaty With The Cherokee, 1798, also known as the First Treaty of Tellico, was signed on October 2, 1798, in the Overhill Cherokee settlement of Great Tellico near Tellico Blockhouse in Tennessee. This treaty served as an addendum to the T ...

, ceding a large territory in East Tennessee to the United States.

Background

Following a 1777

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

between Native Americans and the American settlers of the Overhill settlements west of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

during the American War of Independence, followers of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

chief

Dragging Canoe Dragging Canoe (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ, pronounced ''Tsiyu Gansini'', "he is dragging his canoe") (c. 1738 – February 29, 1792) was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee warriors who resisted colonists and United States settlers in the ...

(who opposed the peace), separated from the tribe and relocated to what is today southeastern Tennessee, near the borders with

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and the area later known as

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. They were joined by bands of

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

and Creek at this new settlement, which had been established along

Chickamauga Creek Chickamauga Creek refers to two short tributaries of the Tennessee River, which join the river near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The two streams are North Chickamauga Creek and South Chickamauga Creek, joining the Tennessee from the north and south s ...

; it became their namesake. During the Revolutionary War, the Chickamauga Cherokee engaged in ongoing

raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

s against American settlers, often with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

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military aid. Shortly after the conclusion to the war, the Cherokee moved again, this time west of

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-cen ...

, using Nickajack Cave as a

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

. Violence between them and European Americans continued for decades. Notwithstanding the December 1791

Treaty of Holston The Treaty of Holston (or Treaty of the Holston) was a treaty between the United States government and the Cherokee signed on July 2, 1791, and proclaimed on February 7, 1792. It was negotiated and signed by William Blount, governor of the South ...

between Territorial Governor

William Blount William Blount (March 26, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention o ...

and most Cherokee bands, settlers in the " Cumberland Region" (especially around the Nashville area) still feared for their lives. They had been frequently raided by the Chickamauga and their allies to the south. By 1792, Blount was engaged in continuing peace negotiations with the Chickamauga. In September 1792 when the Nickajack native peoples launched their attack against the Mero District that was foiled at the Battle of Buchanan's Station those negotiations failed, and resulted in two more years of defensive engagements on the part of the American settlers.Slate, Mike
''Buchanan's Station : The battle that saved the Cumberland settlements''
WebPage; Nashville Historical Newsletter online; retrieved December 2022 When the sons of Colonel Anthony Bledsoe (1739-1788) and Major General George Winchester were killed in 1794, however, Blount finally sanctioned military action.

The expedition

Governor Blount appointed Major James Ore to head an expedition against the Chickamauga, or "Lower Cherokee" as they had come to be known. Col. John Montgomery commanded the territorial militia, and Col. William Whitley of Kentucky (whose state had also been subject to Cherokee attack from this area ) commanded his 6th Regiment of militia. They singled out two Chickamauga villages, Nickajack Town and Running Water Town, as targets, as these had been the source of many raiding parties. In the mountainous areas, the American force struggled to find the sites and plan attacks. The expeditions finally reached Nickajack Town in mid-August, but found only a hundred or so warriors present. Many of the villagers had heard of the army's approach and had fled to Running Water Town before Ore's men could reach the village. Warriors from Running Water Town were on their way to Nickajack to investigate the activity and encountered the fleeing villagers. The Nickajack warriors joined with those from Running Water, and together they returned to engage the Americans. By this time the militias had begun to pursue the fleeing villagers. The soldiers and warriors met at "the Narrows" along the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

and engaged in battle. It proved to be a disaster for the Chickamauga. They were routed after wounding only three Americans, and killing none. The state militias left 70 dead and destroyed both villages, including food stores.

Aftermath

Coupled with other military victories by the Americans after the Cherokee defeat at Nickajack and Running Water towns, the Cherokee agreed to treaty. A total of 39 Cherokee chiefs and leaders, including those representing the Chickamauga band, finally signed the 1798

, ceding a large amount of land in East Tennessee to the United States.

References

*Albright, E. (1909).''Early History of Middle Tennessee'' Nashville: Branden
Chapter 38
available from the RootsWeb.com website for

Sumner County, Tennessee Sumner County is a county located on the central northern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee, in what is called Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 196,281. Its county seat is Gallatin, and its largest city is Hen ...

Conflicts in 1794 1794 in the United States Cherokee Nation (1794–1907) Pre-statehood history of Tennessee Colonial American and Indian wars 1794 in the Southwest Territory {{Cherokee