By the Treaty of Pontotoc in 1832, the Chickasaw Indians ceded to the United States their lands east of the Mississippi. In 1801-1802, the old Indian trail was converted into a wagon road and became known as the Natchez Trace. Over it, settlers from the older Southern states came to establish new communities. DeSoto crossed the trail during his march through the Lower South and fought and lost the Battle of Chicaca near the town of Red Land.