The Cherokee War of 1776 was a foundational yet often overlooked episode intertwined with the unfolding American Revolution, particularly within the southern theater. Also known by other significant names like Dragging Canoe’s War or the Chickamauga Wars, this protracted series of conflicts between Anglo-American settlers and the Cherokee Nation spanned more than two decades, profoundly shaping the landscape of the American South.
While the initial skirmishes of the American Revolution raged across the northern colonies of Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey, a distinct and equally vital struggle was brewing in the southern backcountry. From Virginia to Georgia, the newly established Revolutionary governments and eager Patriots cast their gaze westward, intent on expanding beyond the trans-Appalachian boundary that the British Crown had previously established. This vast and fertile land, however, was far from vacant; it had been home to prominent Indigenous groups, including the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee, for centuries, and they were decidedly unwelcoming to encroaching Anglo-American settlers.
Roots of Conflict: Land, Proclamation, and Encroachment
The tensions that ultimately exploded into the Cherokee War of 1776 had been steadily escalating for decades. Following the conclusion of the French and Indian War, the British government issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, a landmark declaration that aimed to stabilize relations with Native American tribes by establishing a definitive “Indian Boundary.” This line explicitly prohibited American settlers from crossing into the Appalachian and trans-Appalachian regions, with the boundary often marked by blazing or stripping bark from trees. British agents consistently reminded the Cherokee that they possessed the right to repel squatters and confiscate their property as a penalty for violating English law.
Despite these clear directives, American colonists found the proclamation deeply insulting, perceiving it as an unjust barrier to territories they believed were now open for settlement after the French cession to Britain. The recognition of Native nations’ rights to evict white settlers, coupled with the commitment of British troops to assist in such evictions, fueled considerable resentment among the land-hungry colonists. Many settlers from the British Isles sought the promise of land ownership, a dream largely unattainable in their homelands. The allure of America’s fertile, unregulated territories proved irresistible, leading to the establishment of farms on ancestral Cherokee hunting grounds and disrupting their traditional way of life.
The Watauga Settlement and the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals
A particularly egregious instance of colonial encroachment was the Watauga settlement, located in present-day Elizabethton, Tennessee. In 1769, British colonists leased a substantial tract of land from a Cherokee noble without the necessary consent of the broader Cherokee leadership. Despite being declared illegal by the governments of Virginia and North Carolina for five years, these determined settlers refused to vacate. John Stuart, the British emissary to the Cherokee, warned the North Carolina governor in February 1774 of the Cherokee’s deep unease regarding these encroachments. Stuart presciently stated that these settlements “may in a little time prove fatal” as the Cherokee would inevitably seek to “redress themselves” if the Watauga settlers failed to withdraw.
The following year, a pivotal and controversial event occurred: North Carolina land speculator Richard Henderson, alongside frontiersman Daniel Boone, negotiated the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals in 1775. This agreement, between the Transylvania Land Company and a faction of the Cherokee, ostensibly involved the sale of approximately 20 million acres of land in what is now Kentucky and Tennessee. Henderson claimed the Cherokee not only ceded the land upon which Watauga was built but also “all of their hunting grounds south of the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers and north of the Cumberland River,” effectively ceding all of what would become Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. This treaty was met with immediate controversy and directly precipitated further violence.
Divided Nation: Dragging Canoe’s Call to Arms
At this critical juncture, the Cherokee Nation was not a monolithic entity but a complex confederation of villages and clans, each with its own leaders and perspectives. As the unauthorized Watauga settlements grew and the implications of the Sycamore Shoals Treaty became apparent, the nation’s most influential leaders convened to address the escalating threat. A significant division emerged: on one side, revered diplomat Little Carpenter and military leader Oconostota advocated for peace; on the other, Dragging Canoe, Little Carpenter’s son, fiercely argued for war. To Dragging Canoe, military force was the only viable path for the Cherokee to retain their sovereignty and ancestral lands.
In a stirring and ultimately prophetic speech, Dragging Canoe passionately articulated the grievances of his people: “We had hoped that the white men would not be willing to travel beyond the mountains. Now that hope is gone. They have passed the mountains and have settled upon Cherokee land. They wish to have that usurpation sanctioned by treaty. When that is gained, the same encroaching spirit will lead them upon other lands of the Cherokee. New cessions will be asked. Finally, the whole country, which the Cherokee and their fathers have so long occupied, will be demanded, and the remnant of Ani-Yunwiya, the Real People, once so great and formidable, will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness. There, they will be permitted to stay only a short while, until they again behold the advancing banners of the same greedy host. Not being able to point out any further retreat for the miserable Cherokee, the extinction of the whole race will be proclaimed. Should we not therefore run all risks and incur all consequences rather than submit to further loss of our country? Such treaties may be alright for men who are too old to hunt or fight. As for me, I have my young warriors about me. We will have our lands. I have spoken.”
Dragging Canoe’s powerful argument resonated deeply, swaying many of his countrymen. While Little Carpenter and Oconostota maintained their reservations, the path to war had become unavoidable. Dragging Canoe subsequently formed a new faction, dedicated to actively resisting the settlers. Ironically, while colonial governments initially repudiated Henderson’s land claims, with the North Carolina governor even issuing a proclamation enjoining settlers to return from
