Cherokee War (1759 - 1761)
The Cherokee Indians had originally been civil with the British in America in the early 1700s. They sided against them in the French and Indian wars. But each party had suspected each other of betrayal. Colonial invasion by settlers caused the two-year war with South Carolina (1759 - 1761).
The Cherokee declared open war against the British in 1759. Colonist continued to invade their land. The British imprisoned twenty-nine chiefs and held them hostage thinking it would ensure peace. The Cherokee continued to attack frontier settlements into 1760. Later in 1760, the Overhill Cherokee defeated the British colonists at Fort Loudoun and took it over. In 1761, an army of 2,600 men was lead through the Lower Towns, defeating the Cherokee at Echoee Pass.
During these invasions of their land the Cherokee failed to prevent widespread destruction. The towns nearest to Georgia and South Carolina were affected the most. Many people were temporarily displaced by the commotion of the war, which caused the outbreak of smallpox in 1759 - 1760 with deadly results. After the war it took years for the Cherokee to return their village back to normal.
