Did You Know?
Not all Cherokee people were removed from their homelands to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears. The Oconaluftee Cherokees had treaty rights, and they, along with fugitives fleeing the army, became the Eastern Band of Cherokees, still residing in North Carolina.

Cherokee Indian Removal
1838

Fort Gibson served as the primary military staging area in the west during the Cherokee emigration. The forces in this post helped shield the Cherokees from the hostile Osage tribe during their trek to the Indian Territory, administered supplies, and dealt with rivalries among the Cherokees.

GA - Bartow/Cass Co.
     Capt. Berry W. Gideon

GA - Cherokee Co  - Rifle Rangers

GA - Clarke Co - 1st GA Militia
     Capt Isaac Vincent

GA - Forsyth Co - 80th Reg. 7th Div
     Capt Green Bennett and
     Capt James Gaston

GA - Franklin Co. - Lindsay's Militia
       Bond's Co.,

GA - Franklin Co., 2nd Militia
     Capt Benj. Cleveland
     Capt Michael Cox
     Capt J. Shackleford
     Capt Wm. Turk

GA - Gordon/Habersham Cos., 2nd Militia
Capt Elihu King

GA - Hall Co. 1st Reg., 1st Brigade, Mtd Vols.; Capt Samuel Beck

GA Hall Co. Lindsay's Militia
     Capt Ezekiel L. Buffington
     Capt John Dorsey

GA - Madison Co. 1st Vols
     Capt James Daniel

GA - Murray Co. - Highland Battl.
     Capt Absalom Bishop

GA - Oglethorpe Co.  2nd Militia
     Capt J. W. Cook

NC Indian Removal Regiment

The Removal of the Cherokees from Georgia 1827-1841 -

Abstracts of Letters of Resignations of Militia Officers in North Carolina 1779-1840  - by Timothy Kearney

After the Trail of Tears: The Cherokees' Struggle for Sovereignty, 1839-1880
This powerful narrative traces the social, cultural, and political history of the Cherokee Nation during the forty-year period after its members were forcibly removed from the Southern Appalachians and re-settled in what is now Oklahoma. In this master work, completed just before his death, the author not only explains how the Cherokees rebuilt their lives and society, but also recounts their fight to govern themselves as a separate nation within the borders of the United States.

Military Page     |     Home Page