The Cherokee Struggle to Maintain Identity in the 17th and 18th Centuries

With the arrival of Europeans in North America, the Cherokee were profoundly affected. This book thoroughly discusses their history during the Colonial and Revolutionary War eras. Starting with the French and Indian War, the Cherokee were allied with the British, relying on them for goods like poorly made muskets. The alliance proved unequal, with the British refusing aid–even as settlers made incursions into Cherokee lands–while requiring them to fight on the British side against the French and rebellious Americans. At the same time, the Cherokee were moving away from their traditions, and leadership disagreements caused their nation to become fragmented. All of this resulted in the loss of Cherokee ancestral lands.

The late William R. Reynolds, Jr., was retired from his position as chief intercontinental ballistic missile facilities engineer for USAF Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado. A direct descendant of Chickamauga Cherokee Chief Doublehead and General Andrew Pickens’ brother, Captain Joseph William Pickens, he lived in Colorado Springs.

William R. Reynolds, Jr.
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 436
Bibliographic Info: 19 photos, 10 maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7317-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1578-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
1. Pre-European Contact 7
2. Early European Contact 23
3. European Contacts Become Complicated 41
4. Lyttleton, Montgomery and Grant Destroy the Cherokee Community 71
5. Timberlake and the Post-War Cherokee Culture 101
6. Backcountry Discontent, Sycamore Shoals and War 121
7. DeWitt’s Corner and Long Island of the Holston 179
8. The Time of the Chickamauga 189
9. The Chickamauga Continue to Defend the Cherokee Nation 217
10. The Final Onslaught 261
Summary 337
Appendices
A. Author’s Cherokee Ancestry 345
B. Short Biographies of Some Cherokee and Other Indians 351
C. Short Biographies of Some White Settlers 359
D. Timberlake’s List of Cherokee Villages 369
E. Published Accounts of the Wallen’s Creek Massacre 370
F. Bartram’s List of Cherokee Villages 371
G. Description of Ball Play at the Conference of Coyatee, May 1792 372
H. The Black Hole 373
Chapter Notes 381
Bibliography 393
Index 401

• Semifinalist—2015 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award
• “A work of considerable scholarship and thoroughly ‘reader friendly’ from beginning to end…is an invaluable and significant work of impressive scholarship making it a critically important and strongly recommended addition”—Midwest Book Review.