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Native · 1776 – 1794

Chickamauga Cherokee

After the 1775 Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, war chief Dragging Canoe broke from Overhill leaders who had sold vast hunting grounds and led followers down the Tennessee to new towns on Chickamauga Creek (winter 1776–77).

AI illustration of Dragging Canoe
Dragging Canoe AI illustration · Kentucky History Drive; no known likeness exists

American settlers called them Chickamaugas. From those towns—and later the Five Lower Towns—they kept up uncompromising resistance with allied Shawnee, Creek and other nations, striking the Cumberland and East Tennessee settlements and ambushing travelers on the Wilderness Road to Kentucky until the 1794 Tellico Blockhouse peace.

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Published . Last revised .

Chicago

Snowden, Shannon. "Chickamauga Cherokee." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 18, 2026. Last revised September 30, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/chickamauga-cherokee/.

MLA

Snowden, Shannon. "Chickamauga Cherokee." Kentucky History Drive, published 18 Sept. 2026, last revised 30 Sept. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/chickamauga-cherokee/.

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