Anglo-Cherokee War

Overview

The Anglo-Cherokee War was a lengthy conflict between the Cherokee Nation and the British colonies of Virginia and South Carolina that took place during the latter years of the French and Indian War. The war was caused by distrust, frontier violence, and the harsh treatment of the Cherokee. Hostilities included ambushes, massacres, sieges, and military expeditions led by Colonel Archibald Montgomery and Colonel James Grant. Grant’s expedition led to the destruction of Cherokee towns and crops, forcing the Cherokee to agree to the Treaty of Charleston in 1761.

Essential Facts

• Also Known As: Cherokee War, First Cherokee War.
• Participants: Cherokee Nation, Great Britain (Virginia and South Carolina).
• Key British Leaders: William Henry Lyttleton, William Bull Jr., Archibald Montgomery, James Grant.
• Key Cherokee Leaders: Old Hop, Attakullakulla (Little Carpenter), Oconostota (the “Great Warrior”).
• Who Won: Great Britain.
• Part Of: French and Indian War, North American Indian Wars.

Key Details

• The Anglo-Cherokee War occurred within the Southern Theater of the French and Indian War (1754–1763).
• It was caused by the poor treatment of the Cherokee, who retaliated with raids in the Backcountry as early as 1758.
• Hostilities escalated with the Fort Prince George Massacre (1759) and the Long Canes Massacre (1760).
• In 1760, Archibald Montgomery led a British expedition that attacked Cherokee towns.
• Hostilities continued with the Siege of Fort Loudoun (1761).
• James Grant led a second expedition that destroyed 15 towns and 15,000 acres of crops.
• The Cherokee Nation and South Carolina agreed to the Treaty of Charleston.

History

The Cherokee and the French and Indian War

In 1753, Governor James Glen of the Province of South Carolina acquired land from the Cherokee. Glen had Fort Prince George built along the Cherokee Path, on the Keowee River, across from the Cherokee town of Keowee. 

• Glen intended to use the fort for the defense of the frontier and as a trading post with the Cherokee Nation.
• The new land and presence of the fort contributed to the influx of new settlers into the Backcountry, some of whom encroached on Cherokee lands.

Following the outbreak of the French and Indian War in Pennsylvania, Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia sought to form an alliance with the Cherokee.

• He sent Nathaniel Gist to Chota, a Cherokee town in East Tennessee that was considered the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
• Gist was tasked with asking the Cherokee to provide warriors for the British war effort, which planned to conduct three offensives against the French in 1755.
• In return, Virginia offered to trade with the Cherokee.

In 1755, Cherokee warriors from Settico attacked settlers living along the Yadkin River and Catawba River in North Carolina.

• Two Cherokee chiefs, Old Hop and Attakullakulla (Little Carpenter), sent a delegation to meet with Glen and restore peace.
• Glen agreed to meet with the chiefs and traveled to Saluda Old Town.
• On July 2, 1755, they agreed to a treaty at Saluda Old Town, which ceded land to South Carolina, which became part of the Ninety-Six District.

Meanwhile, Governor Glen had his own designs for an alliance with the Cherokee. He wanted them to help defend the South Carolina Backcountry against potential attacks from the French and their Indian allies. This would essentially allow his trade network with the Cherokee to continue to operate.

• Glen and Dinwidde proceeded to argue with each other over the Cherokee.
• Dinwiddie eventually agreed to pay a portion of the cost for Fort Prince George.

Now that the Cherokees were allied with Virginia and South Carolina, they helped support the British war effort. Oconostota, the “Great Warrior,” led Cherokee warriors from Chota on raids against French allies in the Illinois Country and north Georgia.

At the same time, both colonies continued to build fortifications in the region.

• Major Andrew Lewis went to Chota and built a log fort on the Little Tennessee River, approximately a mile north of the town, on behalf of Virginia.
• Captain Raymond DeMere led an expedition to Fort Prince George that included William De Brahm, an engineer. The expedition was escorted by provincial troops under the command of Captain John Stuart. The expedition continued to Chota and built Fort Loudoun near present-day Knoxville, Tennessee. When it was completed, it marked the westernmost point of defense for the colonies.

Causes of the Cherokee War

As the French and Indian War proceeded, Virginia continued to ask the Cherokee Nation to send warriors to help fight the French and their Indian allies. The Cherokee honored the request, but the warriors were mistreated by the British and the Americans.

• While they were returning home, some of the Cherokees seized horses and food to make up for a lack of supplies.
• Virginia frontiersmen retaliated by killing several Cherokees and then selling the scalps.
• The Virginians claimed they mistook the Cherokees for enemy Indians.
• In May 1759, warriors from Settico retaliated by killing approximately 20 settlers living along the Yadkin River and the Catawba River.

Another cause of the war was the harsh treatment of Cherokee women at Fort Prince George that occurred after Lieutenant Richard Coytmore replaced Lachlan McIntosh as commander.

• Around this same time, settlers living in the area around the Tugaloo and Keowee Rivers were killed by Cherokee warriors.
• These attacks were apparently encouraged by the French.

Massacre at Fort Prince George

Governor William Henry Lyttleton in Charles Town (Charleston) immediately banned the Cherokee Nation from trading with South Carolina merchants and prepared to take military action against them. 

The Cherokee countered by sending a delegation to meet with Lyttleton and apologize for the attacks. Lyttleton led a small army of 1,300 troops to the meeting. The army camped near Keowee, where some of his men contracted smallpox. The outbreak forced Lyttleton to abandon the mission.

• He took the Cherokee delegates to Fort Prince George, where they were held in captivity.
• He designated Little Carpenter, who was pro-British, as the only Cherokee he would negotiate with.
• Some soldiers returned to Charleston, where they spread smallpox, creating an outbreak.

At Fort Prince George, Lyttleton told Little Carpenter that he would release the prisoners and restore trade, but only if the Cherokee surrendered 24 warriors who had been involved with the frontier raids.

• Little Carpenter gave up two warriors and convinced Lyttleton to release all but 24 hostages. One of the people released was Oconostota, the “Great Warrior.”
• Further attempts to convince Lyttleton to release the remaining hostages failed. 
• Little Carpenter, Oconostota, and others agreed to Lyttleton’s terms and signed a treaty on December 22, 1759.

Long Canes Massacre

Within six weeks, hostilities resumed as Cherokee warriors renewed their attacks in the Backcountry. Settlers started to flee for safety. On February 1, 1760, a wagon train making its way to Fort Moore, near Augusta, Georgia, was attacked.

• The settlers were led by Patrick Calhoun, the father of John C. Calhoun.
• 23 settlers were killed, including Catherine Montgomery Calhoun, John C. Calhoun’s grandmother
• 15-year-old Rebecca Calhoun survived the attack. She went on to marry Andrew Pickens in 1765.
• This incident is known as the “Long Canes Massacre.”

AHC Note — John C. Calhoun, the future Vice-President, was not born until 1782.

Attack on Fort Prince George

Meanwhile, Oconostota planned to carry out an attack on Fort Prince George to free the Cherokee hostages.

• He asked Lieutenant Coytmore to meet him outside the fort to negotiate.
• Once Coytmore was outside the fort, Oconostota signaled for his warriors to attack.
• Coytmore suffered mortal wounds, and the Cherokee attacked the fort.
• The garrison retaliated by killing the Cherokee hostages.

Lyttleton Appeals to Amherst

Lyttleton was outraged over the attack on the fort and asked General Jeffery Amherst to send British forces to South Carolina to deal with the Cherokee. 

• Soon after, Lyttleton left South Carolina and sailed to England. 
• This made Lieutenant Governor William Bull Jr. the Acting Governor.
• Meanwhile, in March 1760, Cherokee warriors laid siege to Fort Loudoun in present-day Vonore, Tennessee.

Montgomery’s Campaign

Amherst sent Colonel Archibald Montgomery and 1,600 men to carry out attacks against the Cherokee Nation. 

• Montgomery marched to Fort Prince George and then relieved the garrison.
• He burned the Cherokee towns of Keowee and Estatoe, and then marched toward the Cherokee towns in western North Carolina.
• Montgomery intended to relieve the garrison at Fort Loudoun.

Montgomery requested a meeting with Little Carpenter and was near Etchoe on June 27, 1760, when his expedition was ambushed by Oconostota and Cherokee warriors.

• The Cherokee killed 20 men and wounded 70, including Montgomery.
• Montgomery advanced to Etchoe, burned it, and returned to Fort Prince George before finally making his way back to Charleston.
• The garrison at Fort Loudoun remained under siege.

AHC Note — Oconostota’s attack on Montgomery is known as the Battle of Etchoe.

Siege of Fort Loudoun

In July 1760, the settlers in Fort Loudoun ran out of food. Some accounts suggest that Little Carpenter arranged for women to secretly deliver food into the fort. Over the next month, soldier started abandoning their posts, weakening the fort’s defenses.

• On August 7, Captain Paul Demere surrendered the fort to the Cherokee forces.
• Per the Articles of Capitulation signed by Demere, the garrison and settlers were promised safe passage to Fort Prince George.

On August 8, Demere and the column of survivors (180 men, 60 women and children) started marching to South Carolina.

• The next morning, August 9, Cherokee warriors attacked the column, claiming they had violated the peace by burying gunpowder.
• 24 men were killed, including Demere.
• This equaled the number of Cherokee hostages that had been killed in the Fort Prince George Massacre.
• The remaining captives were tortured, ransomed by Virginia and South Carolina, or stayed with the Cherokees.

Only one officer from Fort Loudoun was spared, and that was John Stuart. He convinced the Cherokees to take him to Little Carpenter, with whom he was on friendly terms. 

• Some accounts indicate Stuart escaped to freedom, while others say that Virginia officials paid for his release.
• In 1762, Stuart was appointed Superintendent of Indians in the Southern District.
• He was tasked with managing relations with Indians living south of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.

Prisoner Exchanges

In early 1761, South Carolina sent a large supply of non-military goods to Fort Prince George.

• These goods were traded for some of the captives held by the Cherokees.
• By the end of May 1761, 115 captives had been freed.

Grant’s Expedition

Despite the negotiations, South Carolina was preparing to send another large military expedition against the Cherokee.

• Lieutenant Colonel James Grant, who had been part of Montgomery’s earlier expedition, was given command of more than 2,400 men.
• Little Carpenter returned 12 of the Fort Loudoun survivors and requested peace from Grant.
• Grant declined the request because he intended to punish the Cherokee for abandoning their alliance with the British.
• He marched west to attack Cherokee towns.

In May 1761, Cherokee warriors tried to ambush Grant’s expedition two miles south of where they had attacked Montgomery at the Battle of Etchoe.

• Grant’s advance scouts discovered the ambush, leading to nearly six hours of fighting.
• The Cherokees ran out of ammunition and retreated.
• Grant’s expedition destroyed 15 towns and 15,000 acres of crops, forcing roughly 5,000 people to flee into the mountains for safety. Sadly, many of them starved due to a lack of food.

AHC Notes

• Christopher Gadsden, Francis Marion, William Moultrie, and Andrew Pickens were part of Grant’s expedition.
• Marion condemned the destruction of villages and crops.

Treaty of Charleston

Grant returned to Fort Prince George in early June 1761 and notified the Cherokee that he was ready to negotiate a peace treaty. In August, Cherokee leaders, including Little Carpenter and Ostenaco, met with Grant.

• Grant demanded the execution of four Cherokee warriors, a condition which Little Carpenter rejected.
• Little Carpenter requested a meeting with Active Governor Bull, which was granted. 
• After the meeting, the execution demand was dropped.

A preliminary treaty was signed between the Province of South Carolina and the Cherokee Nation on September 23. The final treaty was signed on December 18. The terms of the treaty stipulated:

• Both sides agreed to exchange captives. 
• Little Carpenter was recognized as the Emperor of the Cherokee.
• The Cherokee agreed to expel the French from their territory.
• A boundary line was established that separated Cherokee territory from South Carolina. 
• The Cherokee ceded territory to South Carolina, which included much of their hunting grounds.

Aftermath

Indian trader and historian James Adair published History of the American Indians in 1775. He estimated that the war reduced the Cherokee population to 6,900 people, including 2,300 warriors.

Appendix

Account of the Anglo-Cherokee War

AHC Note — This account of the Anglo-Cherokee War is taken from The History of South Carolina by William Gilmore Simms (1918). Please note that text corrections have been made, and we have added headings and spacing to improve the text.

Forts in the Cherokee Country

The South Carolinians were at peace with the Cherokees after the treaty made with them by Sir Alexander Gumming in 1730. Every effort was made to keep this peace, as the Cherokees, with their several thousand gunmen, constituted a very formidable enemy when aroused. 

This nation had, for several years prior to 1753, been urging Governor Glen to erect a fort near their principal town, Keowee, as a protection to the Indian trade. 

In October 1753, Governor Glen made a trip to the Cherokee Nation and purchased a tract of several thousand acres of land on the Keowee River opposite the town, upon which he immediately erected a fort, which was called Fort Prince George. 

Later, another fort, named Fort Loudoun, was built on the Tennessee River, about 500 miles from Charles Town. These strongholds were garrisoned by regular troops.

Cherokee Resentful

At this time, France and England were at war. This meant that the war was fought in America as well as in Europe. The fighting had been carried on for three years in the north, and South Carolina sent troops in 1758 to assist the English. Among these troops were some Indian chiefs from the Cherokee Nation. 

Attakullakulla, the chief who had accompanied Sir Alexander Gumming to England in 1730, was one of the number. With the fickleness of the Indian, he and nine other warriors deserted the expedition on the way and were making their way homeward when they were arrested, disarmed, and brought back. They showed no open resentment at their capture. 

Another party of Cherokees deserted the expedition some time later and, on their return trip through North Carolina, committed murders and reached their towns of Settiquo and Telliquo with twenty-two scalps. 

A third party of Cherokees, having lost their horses, stole a number of horses from whites as they passed through the back parts of Virginia. These men pursued the Indians and killed ten or twelve of them. This treatment aroused the bitterest resentment among the Cherokees, which resentment, fomented by the French emissaries who were always ready to make capital out of any ill feeling against the English, brought on a massacre of the whites along the border settlements.

Governor Lyttleton’s Bad Policy

Governor Glen was succeeded in 1756 by Wilham Henry Lyttelton, a man of very little tact and judgment, who became the means of bringing South Carolina into a terrible war with the powerful Cherokees. Upon hearing of the massacres by the Indians, Governor Lyttelton demanded that the murderers should be delivered up to be put to death. 

The commander of Fort Loudoun called for the surrender of the chiefs of Settiquo and Telliquo, and the commander at Fort Prince George intercepted ammunition that was on its way to the Cherokees. The old men of the Cherokees, among whom was Attakullakulla, opposed war, but the young men grasped the tomahawk, “…the warriors spoke much together concerning Telliquo and Settiquo, and hostile speeches were sent around.”

So many of the Cherokee chiefs were anxious to avoid war that, through the Governor of Georgia, a “talk” was arranged between them and Governor Lyttelton. About thirty chiefs, among whom was Oconostota, who had also gone to England in 1730, went to Charles Town. The Indian chiefs wished to tell the Governor that it was only the young Indians, the “red sticks,” who had committed the murders and who wished for war. 

Governor Lyttelton, it seemed, was determined to have war. He refused to hear the chiefs and treated them with great indignity. William Bull and other members of the Council, who were more familiar with Indian affairs than the governor and who understood better the Indian nature, urged Governor Lyttelton to hear the chiefs, but he was obdurate (stubborn). The chiefs were, of course, indignant at this treatment.

Governor Lyttelton’s Expedition

In October 1759, Governor Lyttelton, accompanied by the returning chiefs, whom he promised safe conduct to the Cherokee country, set out upon his expedition against the Cherokees. 

A rendezvous was appointed at the Congarees, near the present site of Columbia, and here gathered many prominent men of the province. Among these were Christopher Gadsden, William Moultrie, and Francis Marion. About 1,500 men gathered at the Congarees. 

After leaving the Congarees, the Indian chiefs, though they had been promised safe conduct, were treated as prisoners and carefully guarded. Upon arriving at Fort Prince George, they were imprisoned in a miserable little hut which was not large enough for half their number.

By this time, Governor Lyttelton realized that his small, untrained force was not sufficient to begin a war with the Cherokees. He sent a messenger to Attakullakulla to meet him at Fort Prince George, whereupon he informed the old chief that he would carry on the war if the Indian murderers were not given up. 

Oconostota was released to help Attakullakulla bring in the murderers. Several of the offenders were surrendered, but the chiefs found it impossible to surrender all of them. 

In December 1759, a treaty was made, signed by Attakullakulla, Oconostota, and four others. By this treaty, it was agreed that the Indian chiefs who were imprisoned at Fort Prince George should be held until an equal number of Indian murderers should be given up.

Lyttelton returned to Charles Town in January 1760. His conduct with the Indians was most dishonorable. He had broken his word after promising the chiefs safe conduct. A treaty of peace had been made by which war was averted, but the peace was not for long.

Cherokees on the War Path

Soon after Governor Lyttelton’s return to Charles Town, fourteen South Carolinians were killed by the Cherokees within a mile of Fort Prince George. 

Fort Prince George was next besieged by a large force under Oconostota, who, by the governor’s treatment, had become an implacable enemy of the province. The commander of the fort was enticed outside on the pretense of a conference and killed, and the two lieutenants who were with him were wounded. The garrison, in retaliation, fell upon the Indian hostages and butchered them. 

This meant war. There were few men of the Cherokee Nation who had not lost a friend or relative by the massacre of the hostages. They seized the hatchet, singing their songs of war, and, burning for revenge, they rushed down upon the frontiers of the province. Men, women, and children fell victim to their merciless fury. 

The family of Calhouns, in attempting to escape with a party of friends, was set upon in the Long Canes section and killed. The Indians fell upon them while they were making their camp for the night. In the darkness, a few escaped, but most of the party were murdered. Afterward, a number of children were found wandering in the woods, some fearfully cut and others lying on the ground, scalped but still living. Patrick Calhoun, returning to bury the dead, found twenty bodies in the woods, his mother’s among them, all horribly mutilated by the Cherokees.

Expedition Against the Cherokees

In February 1760, the General Assembly of South Carolina convened and authorized the raising of seven companies of rangers for the protection of the “Backcountry.” Governor Lyttelton, humiliated at the failure of his treaty of peace, left the province, and Lieutenant Governor Bull, son of the former lieutenant governor of the same name, took over the administration of the government. 

Governor Bull called upon Virginia and North Carolina for assistance in the war, and at this time, seven vessels arrived in the harbor of Charles Town with about 1,200 troops aboard under the command of Colonel Montgomery. 

In May, these troops, together with the provincial companies, rendezvoused at the Congarees. With this force, Colonel Montgomery moved to Ninety Six and from there to the Cherokee towns, killing all the Indians in their path and burning every house upon the way. 

The Indians fled to the mountains, where they were seen gazing upon their homes in flames. At Fort Prince George, Colonel Montgomery summoned the upper and middle towns to make peace. They paid no attention to his demand, so he marched through the upper towns into North Carolina. 

At one narrow pass in North Carolina, the Indians lay in ambush for the army. A bloody fight ensued in which the Indians were defeated, but Montgomery decided to retire and returned to Fort Prince George in July. He was then recalled to take part in the war, which was still raging in the northern provinces, so he returned to Charles Town, from whence he sailed to New York, leaving a force of 400 men at the Congarees for the protection of the Backcountry.

The Capture of Fort Loudoun

During this time, the Cherokees had been besieging Fort Loudoun on the Tennessee River. With the withdrawal of Montgomery, the garrison surrendered to the Indians on the condition that they be allowed to return to their homes. 

The next day, the garrison was overtaken, and the commander and 26 others were murdered. The rest of the garrison were taken prisoners. Among these was Captain John Stuart, of the South Carolina provincial regiment. It happened that Captain Stuart was a close friend of Attakullakulla, who bought him from the Indian who had captured him and helped him to escape. Captain Stuart reported to Governor Bull that the Indians were planning an attack upon Fort Prince George.

Conquering the Cherokees

Fort Prince George was immediately reinforced with men and supplies, and an appeal for help was made to the British forces in the north. Lieutenant Colonel James Grant, with about 1,200 men, was sent to the aid of South Carolina. Again, the regular and the provincial troops rendezvoused at the Congarees and, in May 1761, marched in the direction of Fort Prince George. The expedition, which numbered about 2,600 men, entered the Cherokee country. On the 10th of June, they were attacked by the Indians. They darted fearlessly forward to close combat with knife and tomahawk. At the end of three hours of fierce fighting, the Cherokees were driven from the field. They fled fighting — grimly delivering their fire from every shelter in their retreat.

The Indians were not allowed to reunite in force. The victory opened the way to the nation. Estatoe, one of their largest towns, was burned, and about fifteen other towns shared the same fate. Their granaries and cornfields were destroyed. The wretched families were driven to the shelter of the barren mountains, which yielded them little food. They are said to have perished in large numbers. For thirty days, the army marched into the heart of the Cherokee country and then returned to Fort Prince George.

Peace with the Cherokees

It was not long before Attakullakulla and other chiefs of the Cherokee Nation appeared at Fort Prince George to sue for peace. They were given a safe conduct to Charles Town to talk with Governor Bull, who met the party at Ashley Ferry and received them with great kindness. 

A fire was kindled, and for a long while they all smoked together in silence. At last, Attakullakulla began a speech, in which he pleaded with great pathos for peace for his nation. It is said that he told Governor Bull that he had come to see what could be done for his people, that they were in great distress, and that they asked for forgiveness. “I believe that it has been decreed by the Great Master, who is above,” he said. “He is the father of red men and white. We all live in one land — let us live as one people.”

Governor Bull, satisfied that the Cherokees were sufficiently humbled, granted the old chief’s plea. A peace was made which ended the war.