Nickajack Expedition

The Nickajack Expedition was a long-running battle fought from late summer to fall of 1794 between American frontiersmen and the Chickamauga Cherokee. The military expedition was a decisive success for the American settlers of the Southwest Territory and surrounding regions, eventually becoming known as the "Last Battle of the Cherokee".

Following a 1777 peace treaty between Native Americans and the American settlers of the Overhill settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains during the American War of Independence, followers of the Cherokee chief Dragging Canoe (who opposed the peace), separated from the tribe and relocated to what is today southeastern Tennessee, near the borders with Georgia and the area later known as Alabama. They were joined by groups of Shawnee and Creek at this new settlement, which had been established along Chickamauga Creek –which became their namesake. The Chickamauga Cherokee engaged in ongoing raids against American settlers, often with British and Spanish military aid. Shortly after the conclusion to the war, they again moved, this time west of Lookout Mountain, using Nickajack Cave as a stronghold. Violence between the two sides continued unabated for decades.

Not withstanding the December 1791 Treaty of Holston between Territorial Governor William Blount and most Cherokee tribes, settlers in the "Cumberland Region" (especially around the Nashville area) still feared for their lives, having come under increasing attacks from the Chickamauga and their allies to the south. By 1792, Blount was engaged in continuing peace negotiations with the Chickamauga. However, when the sons of Colonel Anthony Bledsoe (1739-1788) and Major General George Winchester were killed in 1794, Blount finally sanctioned military action.

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