Last Stand of the Texas Cherokees: Chief Bowles and the 1839 Cherokee War in Texas - Softcover

Moore, Stephen

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9780981899152: Last Stand of the Texas Cherokees: Chief Bowles and the 1839 Cherokee War in Texas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0981899153 ISBN 13: 9780981899152

Publisher: Ram Publishing, 2009

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On July 16, 1839, more than 700 Texas Cherokees and allies from a dozen other Indian tribes made their final stand against a force of more than 900 Texas Rangers, Texas Army soldiers and Texas Militia volunteers. The Battle of the Neches was the largest conflict ever fought between Native Americans and Texans. The Cherokees were led by 83-year-old Chief Bowles, who had tried in vain to secure clear land title rights for his people in East Texas from both the Mexican and Texas governments. Author Stephen L. Moore traces the history of the Cherokees' migration across the United States, their entry into Mexican Texas and the subsequent difficulties they encountered with the Republic of Texas. Drawing on archival documents and participant accounts, The Last Stand of the Texas Cherokees relates the inevitable showdown between Chief Bowles and the Texas frontiersmen he challenged during the so-called Cherokee War of 1839. Armed with sophisticated Garrett metal detectors, search teams return to the Neches battlegrounds 170 years later and successfully recover dozens of artifacts which helped pinpoint the key areas of combat. These relics have since been put on display with the American Indian Cultural Society and with the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum so that future generations can appreciate the significance of the largest battle involving Indians and Rangers ever fought in the Lone Star State

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About the Author:

Stephen L. Moore, a sixth generation Texan, is the author of nine previous books on World War II and Texas history. His recent submarine service titles include Spadefish (2006) and War of the Wolf (2008), the story of the USS Seawolf. His Texas history titles include Savage Frontier, a multi-volume chronology of the early Texas Rangers, and Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto and the Texas Independence Campaign (2004). Moore is a frequent speaker at Texas book events and conferences and writes for local historical journals, including The Texas Ranger Dispatch. In recent years, he has c

Cherokee John Bowles held onto the faint hope that his valiant chieftain father would escape the battlefield unscathed. He and his brothers had fought alongside their aged parent for nearly two hours this day, braving the deadly rifle balls that whistled past their heads and sporadically cut down some of their comrades. They had managed in the first 90 minutes of conflict to repel all efforts by the Texans to charge their defensive position in the deep creek bed. John and his fellow Cherokees had created confusion and fear in the Texans earlier in the battle by trying to flank their opponents and stampede their horses. But the Texans were simply too numerous this day, and their firepower had eventually driven John and his fellow Indians back to their stronghold in the creek. The shooting was intense and both sides were taking casualties in the heat of mid-July afternoon in East Texas. At age 43, John was a rising star among his Texas Cherokees. His father had entrusted him and a friend, Fox Fields, to ride into the Texan's camp the previous day to deliver a final message to the Indian commissioners. John had announced that the previous week's diplomacy attempts had failed. His father's followers were ignoring the Texans' demands to surrender and they were breaking camp to fall back across the Neches River. Hours later, John's Cherokees had engaged the Texan forces in a sharp skirmish in which lives were lost on both sides. Now, less than 24 hours later, his fellow Native Americans were fighting valiantly to hold onto the land in Texas that had once been promised them by Sam Houston, president of the young Republic of Texas. Allies from twelve other East Texas tribes had banded with the Cherokees to make a final stand against the Texans, who numbered more than 900 men. John's 83-year-old father, Chief Bowles, was the proud leader of more than 800 Indians who were challenging the Texas frontiersmen now charging down upon them from all sides. Their final assault was well executed, and the Cherokees suffered many casualties before those surviving were forced to flee from the creek bed toward the cover of heavy forest behind them. John turned and urged his fellow people to flee for cover, retreat, lick their wounds and prepare for the chance to engage the Texans again the following day from a stronger position. He glanced back to see his aged father perched atop his horse, still valiantly clutching his ceremonial sword and waving it defiantly in th

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