Anglo-Cherokee War

Anglo-Cherokee War (1758-1761) - Started in 1758 when the Virginia militia attacked the Cherokee Moytoy of Citico in retaliation for the theft of some horses.

The conflict escalated when the governor of South Carolina embargoed all gunpowder shipments to the Cherokee and raised an army of 1,100 men to march on the Lower Towns of the Cherokee.

The Cherokee required ammunition for their fall and winter hunts and the embargo hit them especially hard. A delegation of 29 chiefs was sent to negotiate but they were taken hostage and sent to Fort Prince George. In February 1760, the Cherokee attacked Fort Prince George in an attempt to rescue their hostages. The fort commander was ambushed and killed and his second in command massacred all of the hostages and fended off the attack.

The Cherokee also unsuccessfully attacked Fort Ninety-Six and Fort Dobbs in North Carolina but smaller settlements in the back-country were successfully attacked.

The British commander in North America sent Archibald Montgomerie with an army of 1,200 troops to South Carolina. Montgomerie's campaign razed some of the Cherokee Lower Towns but it ended with his defeat at Echoee Pass when he tried to enter the Cherokee Middle Towns territory.

On 8 Aug 1760 Fort Loudoun in Tennessee and its garrison were surrendered to the Overhill Cherokee who had besieged the fortress. After first allowing the garrison to march out unmolested the Cherokee later attacked the retreating column massacring some and ransoming the remainder.

In 1761, Montgomerie was replaced by James Brant who then led an army of 2,600 men against the Cherokee. His army moved through the Lower Towns, defeating the Cherokee at Echoee Pass, and proceeding to raze about 15 Middle Towns while burning fields of crops along the way.

The beginning of the end of the war came in November 1761 with the Treaty of Long-Island-on-the-Holston (1761) between the Cherokee and the Colony of Virginia. The Treaty of Charlestown (1762) ended the conflict between the Cherokee and the Colony of South Carolina and signaled the end of the overall conflict but incidents continued to occur for some after the treaties were signed.

See Also:
 * Anglo-Cherokee War Forts Category

Links:
 * Wikipedia - Anglo-Cherokee War