News Release

Where Trails Converge: Commemorating the 180th Anniversary of the Trail of Tears

Date: September 27, 2018
Contact: Kim Coons, 706-866-9241x139

FORT OGLETHORPE, GA – On Saturday, October 13, and on Sunday, October 14, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park staff will provide a series of programs focusing on the 180th Anniversary of the Trail of Tears in the Chattanooga area. Please keep in mind, these programs will be at different locations, both on and off National Park Service property. Program information, including times and locations are located below.   

Saturday, October 13

•   The Shuttering of a Mission (Brainerd Mission Cemetery, off Brainerd Road in Chattanooga, TN): Beginning at 10 am, this 45 minute program will focus on Brainerd Mission’s connection with the Cherokee and its closure as a result of Indian Removal. The Reverend Daniel Buttrick, a missionary at Brainerd, remembered the scenes of removal by recording that the Cherokee’s exposure to the wind and rain, not to mention them being herded “together, men, women and children, like droves of hogs” hastened many to a premature grave.  Come learn about the plight of the Cherokee, some of whom were educated at Brainerd, and were forced from their homes, leading to Ross’ Landing and whatever lay beyond. 

•   Under the Shadow of Fort Cumming (Meet at John B. Gordon Hall, off Hwy 27 in LaFayette, GA): Beginning at 2 pm, this 45 minute program will focus on the Cherokee who lived in North Georgia in the years leading up their forced removal in 1838.  The Cherokee saw the odds mounting against them in the early 1800s, so, they embraced the idea of becoming like the “white man” in an attempt to hold on to their homes and lands. However, their hopes were ultimately dashed.  Many Cherokee families in Northwest Georgia were forced into camps to await their removal, such as the one under the shadow of Fort Cumming.  Join us to learn about the life of the Cherokee and how it was turned upside down as they trudged from the fort to Ross’ Landing to await their ultimate fate.  

Sunday, October 14

•   Ross’s Landing West (Meet at Brown’s Ferry Road Trail, 707 Moccasin Bend Road, Chattanooga, TN):  Beginning at 2 pm, this 90 minute program will feature a walk along traces of one of the actual Indian Removal routes – the road across Moccasin Bend leading to Brown’s Ferry on the Tennessee River.  It will discuss both removal parties of June and October 1838, as the Cherokee were transported west by land and water.  Come learn about aspects of a history that shaped peoples, a region, and nations on some of the very ground where it happened.