The 1830 Indian Removal Act mandated the removal of all American Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to lands in the West. In 1838, Pulaski, Tennessee, was where the Bell and Benge routes crossed. Benge's route left Fort Payne, Alabama, on September 29, 1838, with 60 wagons, 600 horses, and about 1132 Cherokee. It traveled north through Ardmore, crossed the Elk River at Elkton to Pulaski, crossed Richland Creek, and then proceeded northwest through Campbellsville, Mount Pleasant, and Reynoldsburg, crossed the state line into Kentucky, and arrived in Indian Territory on January 17, 1839. Bell's detachment, composed of about 660 Cherokee, was led by Cherokee John Bell, a signer of the New Echota Treaty, and by a military escort, Lieutenant Edward Deas. The detachment, with 56 wagons and 318 horses, opted for a more direct route to Indian Territory through southern Tennessee, heading south from present day Charleston, Tennessee, on October 11, 1838, toward present day Chattanooga, Tennessee, then traveling through Jasper, up Battle Creek to Monteagle Mountain, and after crossing Monteagle continuing through Winchester, Fayetteville, Pulaski, Lawrenceburg, and on to Memphis. The route follows the general alignment U.S. Highway 64.