Among the conflicts between Native Americans and South Carolina settlers, perhaps the most notable is the Anglo-Cherokee war. The Anglo-Cherokee war was fought by the Cherokee tribes of North and South Carolina and the British forces in those colonies between 1758 and 1761. The war drew its origins from Cherokee warriors passing through Virginia who fought for the English against the French. The warriors stole horses from the local settlers. Conflict ensued resulting in casualties on both sides. Historian John Oilphant argues that act of aggression may have resulted from the Cherokee’s feeling disgruntled with the lack of compensation they received from the British government.
The governor of South Carolina at the time, William Henry Lyttelton embargoed imports of gun powder that would have been sold to the Cherokee. Several Cherokee chiefs then visited the Governor to negotiate terms. When the chiefs declined Lyttelton’s request to surrender the warriors who attacked the settlers, Lyttelton took the Chiefs hostage. With this the tension increased and Cherokee warriors began attacking settlements and forts throughout South Carolina. In 1761 James Grant, later to be a British General in the American Revolution, suppressed the Cherokee war efforts by leading a campaign throughout the Carolinas. His sortie suffered 12 fatalities and 52 injuries. The Cherokees suffered 30 casualties and most of their main encampment was reduced to ash. The two following documents highlight the tensions of the era. One is a letter from James Francis, a soldier at fort Ninety-Six, writing to Lyttelton directly from the forefront of the war. The second is from Christopher Gadsden a scholar of South Carolina who criticizes the means by which James Grant conducted his campaign.
Bibliography
Gadsden, Christopher. ““Some Observations on the Two Campaigns Against the Cherokee Indians, in 1760 and 1761. In a Second Letter from Philoptrios.” Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans 1639-1800. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Godbold, Stanly “Gadsden, Christopher”; American National Biography Online, February 2000.
McDowell, William L. Documents Relating to Indian Affairs, 1754-1765. Columbia, SC: South Carolina Archives Dept., 1970. Print.
Oliphant, John. Peace and War on the Anglo-Cherokee Frontier, 1756-63. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2001. Print.
Waskey, A. J. L. “Cherokee War.” In Tucker, Spencer C., gen. ed. Encyclopedia of American Military History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=EMHI0178&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 2, 2014).