Overhill Cherokee

In the early part of the century, the Overhill towns' remote location at the far end of the Trading Path meant they were reached only by those traders and explorers adventurous enough to make the difficult journey to the interior over the mountain range.

By the middle of the century, the Overhill towns were consistently courted by both British and French emissaries, as the two powers struggled for the control of the North American continent and the lucrative fur trade.

During and following the American Revolutionary War, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the westward thrust of Euro-American settlement resulted in conflict and the decline of the Overhill towns.

Many prominent Cherokee leaders, including Attakullakulla, Oconastota, Nancy Ward, and Sequoyah, were born and raised in Overhill towns.

Archaeologists conducted extensive excavations prior to this, during which they identified most of the Overhill towns and extracted thousands of artifacts, helping them develop volumes of invaluable information regarding the region's Cherokee and pre-Cherokee inhabitants.

The northernmost of these three rivers, the Little Tennessee, was the locus of a string of prominent Overhill settlements situated between modern-day Vonore and Calderwood Dam.

"[5] 35°36′55″N 84°14′26″W / 35.61534°N 84.24048°W / 35.61534; -84.24048 Tuskegee (Taskigi) – located at the confluence of the Tellico and Little Tennessee rivers south of modern-day Fort Loudoun State Park.

[6] 35°34′19″N 84°11′13″W / 35.57182°N 84.18697°W / 35.57182; -84.18697 Toqua (Dakwa) – located in present-day Monroe County, at the confluence of Toco Creek and the Little Tennessee River, just south of modern-day Fort Loudoun State Park.

[7] 35°33′00″N 84°08′01″W / 35.55005°N 84.13374°W / 35.55005; -84.13374 Chota (Itsa'sa) – located in present-day Monroe County, along the Little Tennessee River, about 10 miles (16 km) south of modern-day Vonore.

35°33′08″N 84°00′27″W / 35.55231°N 84.00737°W / 35.55231; -84.00737 Tallassee (Ta'lasi) – located in present-day Blount and Monroe counties along the Little Tennessee River, a mile or so downstream from the modern Calderwood Dam.

35°14′35″N 84°34′53″W / 35.24314°N 84.58149°W / 35.24314; -84.58149 The Overhill settlements were connected by a series of well-established Native American trails: Early Euro-American explorers in Southern Appalachia noted that the Cherokee were concentrated around three general regions.

As the fur trade expanded in importance with rising demand in European markets, traders and trappers went to the Overhill settlements for direct contact with the Cherokee and other western tribes.

In 1673, Virginia merchants sent agents James Needham and Gabriel Arthur on a trip west of the Appalachians, hoping to open a direct trade route.

[12] In 1725, South Carolina sent Col. George Chicken on a diplomatic mission to the Overhill towns to address the issue of unlicensed traders, who were underselling merchants conducting business legally.

Although he lacked official diplomatic credentials, Cuming managed to convince several Charlestonians that he was an agent of King George II of Great Britain on a mission to gain the loyalty of the Cherokee.

In just under a month, Cuming had crossed the Unicoi Mountains into the Overhill country, a dangerous place at the time because of the Cherokees' ongoing war with the Creeks.

[17] Cuming learned that Moytoy was trying to gain control of the entire Cherokee people, who were highly decentralized, with power associated with regional settlements.

"[19] Cuming returned to England on June 5, 1730, accompanied by several Cherokee and carrying an opossum-hair headdress, which he referred to as the "Crown of Tannassy."

Although he had planned to present the party and crown to King George II, a delegation from Charleston arrived claiming Cuming had defrauded them.

Claiming the English were fraudulent and greedy, he suggested moving the Cherokee capital to modern-day Alabama, where it would be closer to the French colonial territory of La Louisiane.

The Overhill towns agreed to provide military support, but asked that a fort be built to protect the area's women and children while the warriors were away.

In 1756, the colonies dispatched Captain Raymond Demeré and engineer John DeBrahm to the area with several wagon loads of supplies for the construction of a fort along the Little Tennessee River.

Several Cherokee returning home from battle were killed by settlers, and an increase in horse thefts created tension in Virginia.

To help solidify the peace, Colonel Stephen dispatched Lieutenant Henry Timberlake and Sergeant Thomas Sumter to accompany a Cherokee delegation on a tour of the Overhill towns.

Virginia merchant Isaac Thomas— later a co-founder of Sevierville— was warned of the invasion by Nancy Ward, a Cherokee Beloved Woman and diplomat.

[29] In response to these attacks, several thousand militia members in two groups led by William Christian and General Griffith Rutherford invaded the Overhill towns and burned Tuskegee and Citico.

Upon his return, Colonel John Sevier, who had gained fame as a co-commander at Kings Mountain, was dispatched, along with several thousand militia, to the south on a punitive expedition to the Overhill towns.

Along with several renegade tribesmen from across the Cherokee tribes, they moved south to Chickamauga Creek, in the vicinity of what is now Chattanooga, and set up a series of villages.

With violence spiraling out of control, Hanging Maw petitioned territorial Governor William Blount for a fort to protect the peaceful Overhill villages from vengeful settlers.

In 1794, Hanging Maw donated land at the junction of Nine Mile Creek and the Little Tennessee River to the U.S. government for the construction of the Tellico Blockhouse.