Lookout Mountain

During the American Revolution, the Chattanooga area was firmly controlled by the Chickamauga Indians. Although Cherokee chiefs had signed peace and land treaties with the Colonial settlers, a small group of rebellious Cherokees opposed those treaties and continued warfare against the expanding settlers. Called the Chickamaugas and led by Chief Dragging Canoe, they were actively supported by the British through local agents and traders. In the summer of 1782, the Government of North Carolina authorized a military campaign against them with pledged Continental Congressional support. Colonel John Sevier organized a force of some 250 "Nolichucky Riflemen" to pursue the Chickamaugas and rescue captives. On September 20, 1782, after several minor encounters, Sevier and his men fought the Chickamaugas high in the palisades at the north end of Lookout Mountain, where the frontiersmen's accurate rifle fire soon overcame their foes. This official Revolutionary War engagement is considered by many to be the last "Overmountain" battle of the American Revolution. The preliminary signing of the peace treaty ending the Revolution followed on November 30, 1782.

Chattanooga, Tennessee · United States