The ancient Cherokee paths that became the Trail of Tears route

Ancient Cherokee Trails Became Routes of Forced Exile

Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains hold ancient Cherokee trails that became paths of tragedy in 1838.

General Winfield Scott’s troops rounded up 16,000 Cherokee from their homeland, forcing families at gunpoint into stockade forts across Georgia.

The Cherokee had used these mountain trails for centuries, marking them with bent trees that pointed to water and safe passages. The forced 1,200-mile march to Oklahoma killed 4,000 Cherokee from starvation and disease.

Cherokee trail tree markers with their distinctive bent trunks still stand along the Appalachian Trail near Springer Mountain, telling this devastating story.

Bent Trees Marked Ancient Cherokee Mountain Pathways

Cherokee people used mountain trails for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived. They bent “trail trees” to point to water and safe paths through tough mountain areas.

Tests show some of these trees go back to the 1700s, with the oldest from 1768 still standing near today’s Appalachian Trail.

People made trail markers by bending young oak and poplar trees, creating “nose” features that showed directions.

These old paths linked over 60 Cherokee towns across Southern Appalachia. Many routes started as buffalo paths that Cherokee folks turned into major travel networks.

Gold Rush Sparked the Beginning of the End

Gold turned up on Cherokee lands in Georgia in 1829, giving about 300 ounces daily at its peak.

White settlers soon rushed into Cherokee territory illegally, taking livestock and burning homes despite treaties that should have kept Cherokee rights safe.

Georgia lawmakers made rules that took away Cherokee power and stopped Cherokee people from speaking against whites in court.

President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, letting the government force tribes west of the Mississippi.

The Cherokee fought back through the Supreme Court case Worcester v.Georgia (1832), which they won, but Jackson just ignored the ruling.

A Few Men Signed Away a Nation

Major Ridge led a small group of Cherokee leaders who signed the Treaty of New Echota on December 29, 1835.

This paper traded all Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi for $5 million and land in Oklahoma.

Chief John Ross and most Cherokee people hated the treaty and said it wasn’t real. The Senate barely approved the treaty by just one vote on May 17, 1836.

The Cherokee got a two-year deadline to leave their homeland by May 23, 1838, though most stayed put, hoping the government would change its mind.

Soldiers Built Prison Camps Across Georgia

President Martin Van Buren put General Winfield Scott in charge of removal with 7,000 federal troops.

Fort Hetzel in East Ellijay, Gilmer County, was built by Captain William Derrick’s Georgia mounted company.

Workers built 31 temporary forts throughout Cherokee territory, including 13 in Georgia alone. These prison camps had barracks, officers’ rooms, storage buildings, and hospitals.

More than 2,000 Georgia militiamen worked from fourteen posts to make sure no Cherokee escaped.

Families Torn Apart at Gunpoint

General Scott’s troops started forcing Cherokee from their homes with guns on May 26, 1838.

Soldiers grabbed men working in fields and pulled women from their houses without letting them take their belongings or food.

Children often got split from their parents during these wild roundups in the Georgia mountains. White looters stole from empty Cherokee homes while families walked to stockades.

Several hundred Cherokee managed to escape by hiding in far-off parts of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Overcrowded Stockades Became Death Traps

About 1,100 Cherokee were stuffed into Fort Hetzel near Ellijay for nearly six months with little food and no toilets.

Similar crowding happened at other Georgia forts, causing sickness outbreaks and deaths before the trip west even started.

Many Cherokee got sick from diarrhea, whooping cough, and other illnesses that spread fast in tight spaces.

Private John Burnett saw children sleeping on the ground. Nobody kept good records of how many people died in these stockades while waiting to leave.

Ancestral Trails Became Paths of Sorrow

Cherokee people had to travel the same mountain trails their ancestors used for hundreds of years. Removal routes followed old Cherokee pathways, including trails marked by those bent trees.

The first groups left Georgia stockades in June 1838 during a bad drought that made travel even harder.

Trail trees that once helped Cherokee travelers find water and safe passage now watched their forced exit.

Traditional paths that had connected Cherokee towns for centuries turned into roads of forced travel almost overnight.

Thirst and Disease Followed the Travelers

Groups of 700-1,600 Cherokee traveled together with bad food and not enough supplies for the journey.

A harsh drought meant there wasn’t enough water for people or food for animals, forcing most Cherokee to walk the entire 1,200-mile trip.

Sickness spread quickly among the travelers: whooping cough, typhus, diarrhea, cholera, and hunger killed people daily.

The trail killed many old people and children, who died in the highest numbers. Bandits attacked weak Cherokee groups while the soldiers did little to protect them.

Chief Ross Fought to Save His People

Chief John Ross asked to oversee the remaining removals after seeing the awful conditions his people faced.

General Scott agreed, letting Ross organize thirteen remaining groups himself. Cherokee-led groups waited until fall to leave to avoid summer heat but faced cold winters.

Ross got better supplies and medical care, though the journey still killed thousands. Cherokee kept their pride and traditional leadership even during this forced exit.

Winter Brought New Horrors to the Final Groups

The last Cherokee groups faced freezing temperatures while crossing Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas.

Winter weather and poor shelter caused more deaths during the final months of removal.

Families struggled to cross frozen rivers and walk through snow-covered mountains with few supplies. Many people fell from cold and tiredness along traditional Cherokee trail routes now covered in ice and snow.

People reported seeing Cherokee suffering in bad storms with only thin canvas tents to block the cold.

A Nation Survived Despite Unthinkable Loss

About 16,000 Cherokee were forced from Georgia and surrounding states during the 1838-1839 removal period.

Roughly 4,000 Cherokee died during the journey and the first year in Oklahoma Territory from disease, starvation, and exposure.

President Van Buren later told Congress that the Cherokee “emigrated without apparent resistance,” hiding the true horror of what happened.

Ancient trail trees in Georgia mountains stood as silent witnesses to this cultural destruction.

The few hundred Cherokee who escaped to the Smoky Mountains eventually formed the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, preserving their heritage against all odds.

Visiting Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Georgia

You can start your Cherokee Trail of Tears journey at Springer Mountain, the southern end of the Appalachian Trail.

Drive Forest Service Road 42 to the parking area, then hike 0.9 miles to the summit plaque. The 8.5-mile Approach Trail begins at Amicalola Falls State Park for $5.

Visit New Echota State Historic Site in Calhoun to see the Cherokee Phoenix print shop. Look for trail trees near Marietta with markers on the St. Anns Road.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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