Fort Buffington

Fort Buffington (1837-1838) - A U.S. Army post established in 1837 in Cherokee County, Georgia, during the "Trail of Tears" Cherokee removal period by Captian Ezekiel Buffington and his company of Georgia Mounted Militia. Probably named for Captain Buffington. Abandoned in 1838. Fort Buffington Marker History A stockaded U.S. Army post established in 1837 in Cherokee County, Georgia, during the "Trail of Tears" Cherokee removal period. Built and garrisoned by Mounted Georgia Milita from October 1837 to July 1838. The remnants of the Cherokee Nation were rounded up in 1838 by Federal forces and Georgia Militia and pressed into military stockades for eventual removal to reservations in the western Indian Territory. U.S. General Winfield Scott oversaw the operation but lacked control over the militia units. Some 7,000 U.S. Soldiers and Georgia Militia forced some 15,000 Cherokee Indians into stockades and held them for removal. The condition were terrible in the stockades and on the trail to the Indian Territory and many of the Cherokees died before reaching the new reservations. As many as 4,000 Cherokees may have died in the stockades and on the 800 mile journey west. The removal process and the conditions of removal came to be known as the "Trail of Tears". On 9 Jun 1838, 479 Cherokees were sent from Fort Buffington to Fort New Echota on the way to Ross’s Landing, Tennessee. The garrison departed and the post was abandoned in July 1838. Current Status Private Property in Cherokee County, Georgia. Marker map point is accurate, the fort map point is approximate. Location: On Private Property, Cherokee County, Georgia. Maps & Images Lat: 34.2412888 Long: -84.4034529 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' See Also: Trail of Tears Forts Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 218 Latty, John W., Carrying off the Cherokee: History of Buffington's Company Georgia Mounted Militia, CreateSpace (July 2, 2011), ISBN-10: 146090205X, ISBN-13: 978-1460902059, 228 pages. Links: North American Forts - Fort Buffington Georgia info - Fort Buffington Wikipedia - Buffington Georgia NPS - Cherokee Removal From Georgia Visited: 6 May 2016