Fort Butler (1)
Fort Butler (1) (1837-1838) - A U.S. Army post established in 1837 during the Cherokee Removal by General Winfield Scott in Cherokee County, North Carolina. Named for Benjamin F. Butler, U.S. Secretary of War. Abandoned in 1838.
Fort Butler (1) History
Established early in 1838 as one of the temporary forts used as gathering or transit points for the roundup of Cherokee Indians headed for the Indian Territory (Oklahoma). General Winfield Scott was given the task of removing the Cherokee from their ancestral lands to the new Indian Territory and he assembled a force of regular U.S. troops and State Militia troops to forcibly eject the Cherokee. A series of temporary forts were constructed as gathering and transit points for the Cherokee who were situated in internment camps around the larger forts in the summer and fall of 1838. The Cherokee were assembled into twelve groups led by their selected leaders and marched to the Indian Territory. The last of the Cherokee left the internment camps in December of 1838. The removal came to be known by the Cherokee as the "Trail of Tears" because the disease ridden camps caused many deaths and the trail hardships took and additional toll.
Current Status
Murphy, Cherokee County, North Carolina
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Location: Murphy, Cherokee County, North Carolina. Maps & Images Lat: 35.0842 Long: -84.0408 |
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 610
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