After May 23, 1838, when the deadline passed for the Cherokee to move west to Oklahoma, Gen. Winfield Scott was sent into Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia to round up Cherokee people and place them in stockades near what are now Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Fort Payne, Alabama. In June 1838 about 5,000 Cherokee were removed from Ross' Landing, Tennessee, down the Tennessee River on flatboats and passed beneath the site of the present bridge before being forced onto a steamboat to the Ohio River, then down the Mississippi River, and west on the Arkansas River to a reservation in Oklahoma. When the Tennessee River became too low, on June 17, 1838, a detachment of 1,070 Indians left Ross' Landing and marched overland near the bridge site, following closely what is now U.S. 72 Highway. The group rebelled and refused to move, and about 300 escaped near Woodville. U.S. Capt. Gus Drane was sent to move them on to Waterloo, where they arrived in despicable condition. These removals brought many escapes, births, and deaths, and are given as a reason many people in Alabama have Indian heritage today.

Photo: Duane and Tracy Marsteller

Photo: Duane and Tracy Marsteller