The governor of Louisiana and founder of New Orleans, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville determined to stop Chickasaw trade with the British.

In 1721 he was able to incite the Choctaw who began to raid Chickasaw villages, and to ambush pack trains along the Trader's Path leading to Charleston, South Carolina.

In response, the Chickasaw regrouped their villages more tightly for defense, and cemented relations with their British source of guns by establishing a settlement at Savannah Town, South Carolina, in 1723.

They blocked French traffic on the Mississippi River by occupying Chickasaw Bluff near present-day Memphis, and bargained for peace with the Choctaw.

On March 25, 1736, the northern force, a mixture of French with their allies the Illini led by Chief Chicagou, met with disaster while attacking the village of Ogoula Tchetoka near present-day northwest Tupelo, Mississippi.

Dawson A. Phelps determined that the grand effort never took place (Atkinson p. 78), although there was a strong Choctaw attack (one of many over the years) instigated and supported by the French.

Armed to the teeth in their remote and heavily fortified villages, the Chickasaw maintained themselves albeit with great loss to both population and way of life.