Battle of Echoee

Background

With the French and Indian War beginning in 1754, the British sought the Cherokee as allies. Cherokee warriors joined campaigns against French-held Fort Duquesne and the Shawnee.

In return, the British built Fort Prince George near Keowee and Fort Loudoun near Chota; a third fort, built by Virginia, was left unmanned. After six weeks, the expedition ran out of supplies and ate its horses; the Cherokee, irritated, began walking back to Chota. The following year, Cherokee warriors joined General John Forbes's army in Pennsylvania, which included British regulars, provincials from several colonies, and Catawba, Tuscarora, and a few Creek and Chickasaw warriors, aiming to force the French from Fort Duquesne.

Battle

About five miles from the Cherokee town of Etchoe, a company of Rangers serving as Montgomerie’s advance guard was ambushed in a deep valley. Captain Morrison and several of his men were killed. The Cherokee, using rifles that outranged British muskets, fired with careful aim, while the British volleys proved ineffective. According to Cherokee accounts, the British soldiers stood in dense groups and were shot down like turkeys.

The Rangers had already lost about fifty men to desertion before the march, and the rest fled after Morrison fell. Grenadier and Light infantry companies moved up to support them, and the Royal Scots advanced on higher ground to the right. Heavy rifle fire drove the Royal Scots back into open ground, where they regrouped and beat off a Cherokee counterattack.

Montgomerie extended his left flank with Highlanders, who turned the Cherokee right. The Cherokee fell back to a hill they held securely. Montgomerie ordered an advance through the pass toward Etchoe, but some Cherokee raced ahead to warn the town’s inhabitants.

Other warriors worked around Montgomerie’s flanks and struck his pack animals and supply train, an attack that was eventually repelled. With many seriously wounded men and heavy losses among the pack animals, Montgomerie could not continue. He abandoned the advance, left behind a large quantity of supplies, and used the remaining pack horses to carry the wounded. The force retreated to Fort Prince George, then to Charleston, and by August sailed back to New York.

Aftermath

The surrender of Fort Loudoun came after efforts to resupply it failed. Captain Demeré and his men were permitted by the Cherokee leader Ostenaco to march out on August 9, keeping their personal weapons and enough ammunition to reach South Carolina, but they had to abandon the fort’s remaining arms and supplies. A Cherokee escort accompanied them.

Once inside the fort, the Cherokee discovered ten bags of gunpowder and shot hidden underground, and the cannon and smaller firearms had been dumped into the river. Enraged by this breach of the agreement, the Cherokee set out after the garrison. By the next morning, the escort had vanished, and roughly 700 Cherokee warriors ambushed the soldiers in the forest.

Twenty-two soldiers—about the same number as the Cherokee chiefs killed earlier at Fort Prince George—and three civilians died, while 120 were captured. News of the attack threw Charleston into panic. A six-month truce was arranged, but a lasting peace never took hold. That winter was harsh, with destroyed harvests, scarce ammunition for hunting, and sickness, yet Cherokee spirits stayed strong.

British commander Amherst resolved to crush the Cherokee completely. James Grant led a force exceeding 2,800 troops, including regulars, Mohawk and Stockbridge scouts, Catawba and Chickasaw allies, provincial soldiers, and rangers. A supply column a mile long, with 600 packhorses carrying a month’s food and a herd of cattle handled by enslaved African Americans, supported the campaign.