Fort Cass (Charleston, Tennessee)
Charleston · Tennessee · Indian Removal / Trail of Tears
History & Significance
Before the removal began, from 1819 to 1838, Fort Cass was the site of the U.S. federal agency to the Cherokee Nation, known simply as the "Cherokee Agency", a kind of embassy. In preparation for the removal of the Cherokee, Company F of the 4th U.S. Infantry arrived at the Cherokee Agency on September 1, 1834, and established Camp Cass.
It was named for the United States Secretary of War, Lewis Cass. The fort was intended, in part, to intimidate the Cherokee into agreeing to move west.
The fort housed a garrison of United States troops and watched over the largest concentration of internment camps where Cherokee were kept during the summer of 1838 before starting the main trek west to Indian Territory. The camps stretched for many miles through the valley south of Fort Cass toward present-day Cleveland, Tennessee.
By July 25, 1838, over 4,800 Cherokee prisoners were encamped near Fort Cass, along nearby Mouse Creek, Chatata Creek, Chestuee Creek, Rattlesnake Springs, and Bedwell Springs. Various infectious diseases swept through Fort Cass during the summer of 1838, such as whooping cough and dysentery.
There were frequently several deaths per day. These diseases weakened the survivors before they ever began their overland journey.
Between the end of August and early December 1838, the Cherokee from Fort Cass and other depots were organized into twelve groups and began the march west. The last Cherokee left Fort Cass on December 5, 1838.
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Cass
- https://rtr.cherokee.org/sites-on-the-trail/fort-cass-cherokee-agency-emigration-depot/
- https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Fort_Cass
- https://www.britannica.com/story/trail-of-tears-routes
- https://nationaltota.com/the-fort-cass-emigrating-depot/
- https://www.nativehistoryassociation.org/totnht_background.php