After the American Revolution, frontiersmen from the Ohio Valley carried their products downstream to Spanish-controlled New Orleans and Natchez, then returned home by following a series of Indian trails from Natchez to Nashville that evolved into the Natchez Trace. After the United States acquired Natchez in 1798, the government decided to clear a road between the newly created Mississippi Territory and the State of Tennessee as an important communication link between the national capital and the Old Southwest. The Trace became vital to the military and economic welfare of the nation, serving post riders, returning boatmen known as Kaintucks, soldiers moving in times of crisis between 1798 and 1815, and circuit-riding preachers who established schools and churches among Indians and frontier settlements. The route generally followed ridges and avoided valleys whenever possible because ridges were easier to clear, drier in wet weather, provided greater sight distance, and reduced the number of streams to be crossed. Travel on the Trace was difficult, with travelers recording torrential rains, thieves, swamps, swollen streams, mosquitoes, gnats, and horseflies.
