As America commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it is worth remembering the State of Tennessee didn’t exist on July 4, 1776. The land we now know as Tennessee was officially the western frontier of North Carolina, extending beyond the Appalachian Mountains into a vast, unsettled wilderness sought by varied and diverse groups of people.
Three North Carolinians–Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, and John Penn have their names affixed to the Declaration of Independence as delegates representing the land mass that stretched from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Mississippi River in the west.
The Tennessee landscape was far from empty. For centuries, it was the homeland of the Cherokee, whose towns, trade routes, and culture defined much of East and Southeast Tennessee that would one day become Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
While Philadelphia’s Independence Hall hosted discussions and declarations made of liberty and independence, the Tennessee Valley was the crossroads of another culture. The Tennessee River and its tributaries served as one of the Southeast’s great transportation corridors that linked Cherokee communities across present-day Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. The valleys, ridges, and riverbanks were occupied by Cherokee settlements whose history stretched back generations.
Among our local area’s most significant figures during this time was Dragging Canoe, the son of the respected Cherokee Nation’s diplomat Attakullakulla. Even before the Declaration of Independence, Dragging Canoe warned that expanding colonial settlement would transform the frontier into what he famously described as “a dark and bloody ground.” The Cherokee nation was divided–some committed to defend their land; others wanted to compromise with settlers.
The American Revolution with England was not the only conflict of 1776. Warfare erupted across the southern frontier involving the Cherokee, some seeking peace, others engaged in battle. Still most believed that westward settlement of colonists into Georgia, Northern Alabama, and the land that would become Tennessee in 1796, threatened their homeland. The long Cherokee American Wars led to the removal of thousands of Cherokee from their lands to Oklahoma under order of President Andrew Jackson in 1838.
During military expeditions in 1776, Dragging Canoe led a group of followers farther down the Tennessee River to establish new communities along present-day Chickamauga Creek right off Amnicola Highway that traces through Brainerd, splits in East Ridge into West and South Chickamauga Creeks continuing to Walker and Catoosa Counties in Georgia. These settlements were Chickamauga Cherokee towns and the center of resistance for nearly two decades.
Diverse people shaped the landscape long before Tennessee existed as a state with so much life centered around South Chickamauga Creek. The aspirations of the American founders and the enduring legacy of the Cherokee provides a more complete portrait of this region 250 years ago.
History informs us. America’s Constitutional Republic must protect the God-given rights of each citizen. Our area remains diverse and robust in rich heritage. Yes! Keep celebrating the 250th year! Just appreciate all the history.