The Rutherford Expedition was, depending on which sources you consult, either a formative frontier experience that may have been crucial to the success of the American Revolution, destroying dozens of villages and driving hundreds of Cherokee into Tennessee and Florida; or a minor and halting action that burned an empty town at Cullowhee [or Cowee -- see comments] and maybe as many as five more.
What is clear is that it was a reprisal, though, for Cherokee raids following their decision to align with the British against the frontier settlements. Cherokee leadership decided to align with the distant British in order to drive out the proximate settlers, struck first, and lost in the resulting action. That's not a moral judgment against the Cherokee, for whom that might have made strategic sense had the British proven a reliable ally that could help them against the frontiersmen they decided to try to drive out. The British power in the back country was not great, however, and the Cherokee found themselves having the war brought back to them by angry frontiersmen organized into irregular light horse and infantry.
There are several other monuments in the region to this expedition. For now, at least, they aren't related to the Civil War -- when the Cherokee Nation allied with the Confederacy -- so they are not being targeted for removal.
The phrase "Choose wisely" doesn't have any effect on the Cherokees, does it?
ReplyDeleteYou say that in retrospect, but honestly I can see why both of those decisions made sense at the time they made them. (For one thing, the Cherokee were slave owners; refusal to admit the descendants of slaves, even when partly also of Cherokee descent, continues to rankle.)
DeleteMaybe I'm reading your links wrong, but those battles were nowhere near Cullowhee. Chilowhee is an old Cherokee town in Tennessee at the upper end of Hwy129, the Dragon's Tail.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the map and descriptions, there was fighting all through the area. "Later that day, at Scott's Creek (a tributary of the Tuckasegee River), the first blood of the campaign was shed." That could be anywhere near modern day Sylva or Dillsboro, where the Scott joins the Tuck.
ReplyDeleteI think I may have misunderstood Too Cowee where the Light Horse destroyed a village as modern Cullowhee, which is very nearby Sylva (3 miles south, approximately). Following the internal link it says that is probably modern Cowee, which is nearer to Franklin.
The Indian Wars ran from 1607 to 1918. There were many excuses given, but the underlying cause was possession of the land.
ReplyDeleteThat tends to be true of all wars everywhere. Including the wars the Indians fought among themselves and against the Inuit. To be fair, I have no doubt that the many excuses were often the actual reason but it remains true that victors were seldom shy about awarding themselves spoils no matter what else was going on. ^_^
ReplyDelete"...I have no doubt that the many excuses were often the actual reason but it remains true that victors were seldom shy about awarding themselves spoils..."
ReplyDeleteBarbarian, that's a great point. You need your people to believe in the reasons if you want their support for war, so you're going to have reasons that can be seen as valid, even if your leader's interest is really primarily in taking the land.