Historical Background
After the 1760 campaign against them, Cherokee morale remained high despite a difficult winter due to the loss of the Lower Towns’ harvest, a shortage of ammunition for hunting, and disease. But British General Lord Jeffrey Amherst was determined “to chastise the Cherokees [and] reduce them to the absolute necessity of suing for pardon” and commanded Colonel James Grant, a Scot who had served with Montgomery the year before, to “not think of coming away till you have most effectively punished these scoundrel Indians.”
Grant commanded from 2,600 to 2,800 troops, including regulars of the 1st, 17th and 22nd Regiments, a war party of Mohawk and Stockbridge Indian scouts, Catawba and Chickasaw warriors, rangers and a large number of provincials under Colonel Middleton. Among the provincials were several South Carolinians who would gain fame during the American Revolution – including William Moultrie, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Francis Marion (who would become known as the Swamp Fox.) Having learned from many of the mistakes made during the previous year, Grant was prepared for an extended campaign in the rugged mountains and forest terrain and had a supply train a mile long, with 600 packhorses carrying a month’s provisions, and a large herd of cattle.
Following the same route Montgomery had taken the previous year, Grant’s army left Charleston in May 1761, burning crops and villages along the way. On the 10th of June, 1,000 Cherokee warriors led by Oconostota ambushed Grant’s troops near the site of the previous battle of Etchoe. After nearly five hours of long-range skirmishing, the Cherokee exhausted their limited ammunition and withdrew. Grant’s forces pressed the attack and burned the Middle Towns and all their crops, with express orders from Grant to summarily execute any Indian man, woman or child they captured.
By July, Grant had systematically destroyed fifteen towns and fifteen thousand acres of crops, breaking the Cherokees’ ability to wage war.
Though he had marched his men to exhaustion – with 300 too sick to walk – he had successfully wrecked the Cherokee economy, and some 4,000 residents of the Middle Towns were left homeless and starving.
In August 1761 the Cherokee sued for peace, and on September 23, 1761 signed a treaty in Charleston. Terms included an exchange of captives and a promise that all Frenchmen in Cherokee territory would be expelled. A dividing line was established that separated the Cherokee from their South Carolina lands, with the Lower Towns losing much of their hunting ground to Carolina settlers.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. The rest is history?
Battle Notes
Cherokee Army
• Commander: Oconostota
• 5 Command cards & 3 Combat cards
British Army
• Commander: Grant
• 6 Command cards & 4 Combat cards
• Move First
Victory
8 Victory Banners
Special Rules
- Indian War Cry is in effect.
- The six hills above the Tennessee River (outlined in brown) are High Hills.
- Burning a Building is in effect. The nine buildings are worth one victory banner each for the British player when burned. British- allied Warriors cannot burn buildings.
- Cherokee gain 1 start of turn temporary victory banner for occupying more buildings with either units or lone leaders than buildings that are burned.
- Cherokee gain one start of turn temporary victory banner if no British units are on the Cherokee side of the river.
- Cherokee gain one permanent victory banner for each scout card played. The last banner may be gained this way.
- Cherokee gain one permanent victory banner when both Supply Wagon units are eliminated.
- The Light cavalry represent Mounted Rangers and hit on crossed swords.
- The Tennessee River is fordable. When on or crossing at the 3 fords, there are no movement or battle restrictions, and the fords do not stop bonus road movement.
- Indian Warriors
- Indian War Cry
- Burning a Building
- High Hills
- Supply Wagons