How the Republic of Texas Expelled the Cherokee Nation
The Republic of Texas, under President Mirabeau B. Lamar, forcibly expelled the Cherokee and allied tribes in 1839, culminating in the Battle of the Neches. Cherokee Chief Di'wali (Chief Bowles) had led a multi-tribal confederacy in northeastern Texas since the 1820s, seeking land recognition from Mexico. Sam Houston, Texas's first president and a Cherokee citizen, negotiated a treaty in 1836 recognizing the confederacy's boundaries, but the Texian government later nullified it. Lamar, who succeeded Houston in 1838, rejected coexistence and issued an ultimatum. In July 1839, over 500 Texian volunteers under Brigadier General Thomas Jefferson Rusk attacked. Di'wali, aged 83, was killed on July 16 near the headwaters of the Neches River. The Texians suffered five dead and three dozen wounded; the Cherokee lost about 100 warriors. The victory enabled further Indian removal policies, though Lamar's subsequent war against the Comanche proved less successful and contributed to near bankruptcy.
Key facts
- Cherokee Chief Di'wali (Chief Bowles) led a confederacy of Cherokee, Shawnee, Kickapoo, Delaware, Alabama, Quapaw, Choctaw, Coushatta, Caddo, Biloxi, Ioni, Mataquo, and Tahocullake tribes in northeastern Texas.
- Sam Houston, a Cherokee citizen and first president of the Republic of Texas, negotiated a treaty with Di'wali in February 1836 recognizing the confederacy's territorial boundaries.
- The Texian government nullified the treaty after the threat of Mexico passed.
- Mirabeau B. Lamar became president in 1838 and pursued a policy of Indian removal.
- The Cordova rebellion in 1838 involved Tejanos and warriors from Di'wali's confederacy, providing Lamar a pretext for war.
- Lamar issued an ultimatum to Di'wali in May 1839, declaring no alien political power within Texas borders.
- The Battle of the Neches occurred on July 15-16, 1839, with Texian forces under Brigadier General Thomas Jefferson Rusk.
- Di'wali was killed by a bullet to the head after being wounded in the thigh and back.
- Texian casualties: 5 dead, 36 wounded; Cherokee casualties: approximately 100 warriors killed.
- The victory enabled further Indian removal, but Lamar's subsequent war against the Comanche in 1840 was less successful.
Entities
Artists
- Di'wali (Chief Bowles)
- Sam Houston
- Mirabeau B. Lamar
- Thomas Jefferson Rusk
- George Catlin
- Matthew Brady
- William A. Berry
- John H. Reagan
Institutions
- Republic of Texas
- Cherokee Nation
- Mexican government
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission
- Oklahoma Historical Society
- Library of Congress
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield
- US National Parks Service
- University of Texas at Arlington Libraries
Locations
- Texas
- United States
- Mexico
- Nacogdoches
- Neches River
- Sabine River
- Ohio River
- Georgia
- Oklahoma
- Santa Fe
- Gulf Coast
- Houston
- San Jacinto