Random Article Summary #150

The Battle of Hightower, also known as the Battle of Etowah Cliffs, took place in 1793 during the Cherokee–American wars. In this conflict, the Cherokee tried to protect their lands as more settlers moved in from the new United States. The battle occurred at the Cherokee village of High Town (Itawayi), which was located above what is now downtown Rome in Floyd County, Georgia. John Sevier led the American force in the fighting. The Cherokee were ultimately defeated in this battle. The 1785 Treaty of Hopewell placed the Cherokee under U.S. sovereignty and set large boundaries in parts of Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and northern Georgia as Cherokee hunting lands. It warned that non-Indians settling there would lose U.S. protection and that the Cherokee could punish them as they wished, but more settlers moved in anyway. As fighting grew, both sides could be argued to have violated different treaty articles, including the U.S. failing to enforce justice for crimes against Cherokee and disputes over trade and retaliation rules. After President George Washington approved efforts to negotiate a new treaty in the Southwest Territory, the meeting was raided by John Sevier’s group, leading to the deaths of many Cherokee. Washington ordered Captain John Beard to be arrested and tried, but Sevier helped him escape. In retaliation, John Watts led a large war party of Cherokee and Muscogee Creek to attack settlements on Cherokee land, including an assault on Cavett’s Station near Knoxville Road where some settlers surrendered after Watts offered mercy. However, Doublehead’s faction rejected the mercy and killed prisoners, including children, while James Vann tried to protect them. News of the massacre spread quickly, and John Sevier gathered troops to fight the Cherokee. The Cherokee split their group, but most moved toward Georgia, where Sevier’s men attacked their village near present-day Rome. In a coordinated attempt to cross the Etowah River, Sevier drew defenders away, crossed successfully after returning, killed the Cherokee war chief Kingfisher, and the remaining warriors fled as Sevier burned the village. With no one to oppose them, Sevier’s troops moved west along the Coosa River, destroying Cherokee and Creek villages before returning toward Knoxville. The Battle of Hightower was his final major fight against Native Americans and became part of what’s called his Etowah campaign; it was also the last major battle between John Watts’ Lower Cherokee and American forces until 1794. Today, Myrtle Hill is a cemetery with a stone marking the battle.