Military
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As early as the 1790s, the Cherokees began voluntarily moving into the Arkansas River Valley onto Osage land. This fit into President Thomas Jefferson's belief that the Louisiana Territory would be an ideal homeland for Indians living in the Southeastern United States. Cultural differences between tribes often led to violent clashes, with hunting parties and villages attacked, women and children kidnapped, and livestock stolen. Fearing that tribal tension would end voluntary emigration, the U.S. government established a fort to end the conflict. On Christmas Day 1817, the Regiment of Riflemen arrived at Belle Point, officially founding Fort Smith.
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Fort Smith, Arkansas · United States
