When the Cherokee Removal began in earnest in May 1838, Cherokee Indians lived in a large, scattered area in northeastern Alabama. As elsewhere, military forces initially removed Cherokee residents to a series of small forts or camps for a short term period before gathering them in larger groups prior to the westward migration. Perhaps nine of these forts or camps were active during the summer and early fall of 1838. This lengthy study is the result of agreement between the NPS and the Southeastern Anthropological Institute at Northwest Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Completed by a series of researchers (Lamar Marshall, Larry Smith, and Michael Wren) under the direction of Gail King, the study provides historical detail about these encampments. The study also provides specific historical and route information about the westward migration of the John Benge detachment, the only detachment to have originated in Alabama.
