Dragging Canoe | |
|---|---|
ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ | |
| Pronunciation | Tsiyu Gansini |
| Born | 1738 |
| Died | February 29, 1792(1792-02-29) (aged 53–54) |
| Era | Revolutionary War period in America |
| Known for | War chief of the Chickamauga |
| Successor | John Watts |
| Movement | Chickamauga tribe of theCherokee |
| Relatives | son ofAttakullakulla |
 This article containsCherokee syllabic characters. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Cherokee syllabics. | |
Dragging Canoe (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ, pronouncedTsiyu Gansini,[a]c. 1738 – February 29, 1792) was aCherokeered (or war) chief who led a band of Cherokee warriors who resisted colonists and United States settlers in the Upper South. During theAmerican Revolution and afterward, Dragging Canoe's forces were sometimes joined byUpper Muskogee,Chickasaw,Shawnee, and Indians from other tribes, along withBritishLoyalists, and agents ofFrance andSpain. TheCherokee American Wars lasted more than a decade after the end of theAmerican Revolutionary War.
During that time, Dragging Canoe became the preeminent war leader among theIndians of the southeast. He served as war chief, orskiagusta, of the group known as theChickamauga Cherokee (or "Lower Cherokee"), from 1777 until his death in 1792.
Tsiyu Gansini was born about 1738. Dragging Canoe was the son ofAttakullakulla (Tsalagi, or "Little Carpenter")—aNipissing head-man—andNionne Ollie ("Tame Doe").[b] Many members of these two Native American groups then lived with the Cherokee[c] and had adapted to Cherokee society.[d] Attakullakulla, Dragging Canoe's father, was born to the Nipissing nearLake Superior. His mother had been born to theNatchez but was adopted as a daughter by Cherokee ChiefOconostota's wife.[1]
Dragging Canoe's family lived with theOverhill Cherokee on theLittle Tennessee River in what is now southeast Tennessee. He survivedsmallpox at a young age, which left his face marked. Dragging Canoe's brother, The Badger, also became a Cherokee chief.[1]
According to Cherokee legend, he was given his name because of an incident in his childhood. When he wanted to join a war party moving against the Shawnee, his father said that he could accompany the war party as long as he could carry his canoe. The youth tried to prove his readiness for war but could only drag the heavy canoe.[2]
Dragging Canoe had his first experience in actual combat during theAnglo-Cherokee War. In its aftermath, he was recognized as one of the strongest opponents to encroachment by white colonists onto Cherokee territories. Eventually, he became the headman ofMialoquo ("Great Island Town", "Amoyeli Egwa" in the Cherokee language) on the Little Tennessee River. When the Cherokee chose to ally with the British against the colonists at the onset of theRevolutionary War, Dragging Canoe was eager to fight and was assigned to be at the head of one of the major forces of the three-pronged attack which opened the war with the frontiersmen of the Overmountain settlements, with his force attackingHeaton's station in theBattle of Island Flats.[e] Dragging Canoe barely survived the battle.[3]
Following the colonial militias' counterattacks in late summer and fall 1776—which destroyed theCherokee Middle, Valley, and Lower Towns in Tennessee and the Carolinas—his father and Oconostota sued for peace. Opposing his father's counsel and refusing to admit defeat, Dragging Canoe led a band of about 500 Overhill Cherokee out of the towns, and they settled further south. This occurred in early 1777.[3][2] The group migrated along theTennessee River to the area seven miles upstream from where theSouth Chickamauga Creek joins the Tennessee, in the vicinity of present-dayChattanooga. Thereafter, frontiersman referred to them as the "Chickamauga" because of their settlement by the creek.[2][5] They established 11 towns, including one later referred to as "Old Chickamauga Town." This was across the river from the trading post of a Scotsman—who was the assistant superintendent of the British concerns in the region—John McDonald.[5] McDonald regularly supplied the Chickamauga with guns, cannons, ammunition, and supplies to fight the American colonists.[2]
In spring of 1779, American pioneerEvan Shelby led an expedition of frontiersmen from Virginia and North Carolina to destroy Dragging Canoe's Chickamauga towns.[6] Shelby reported their success in a letter toPatrick Henry, saying "...[ the Chickamauga Cherokee ] are reduced to a Sense of their Duty and a Willingness to treat for peace with the united States..."[7]
In 1782, for the second time since the wars' beginning, Cherokee towns were specifically attacked by a large United States force. The devastation caused by ColonelJohn Sevier's troop forced the band to move even further down the Tennessee River. Dragging Canoe established the "Five Lower Towns"[f] below the natural obstructions of theTennessee River Gorge.[2] These were:Running Water Town (now Whiteside), Nickajack Town (near the cave of the same name), Long Island (on the Tennessee River), Crow Town (at the mouth of Crow Creek), and Lookout Mountain Town (at the current site ofTrenton, Georgia). Following this move, this band was alternatively referred to as the "Lower Cherokee."[2]
From his base at Running Water Town, Dragging Canoe led attacks on white settlements all over theAmerican Southeast, especially against American colonists on theHolston,Watauga, andNolichucky rivers ineastern Tennessee. After 1780, he also attacked settlements in theCumberland River area, theMero andWashington Districts, theRepublic of Franklin, theMiddle Tennessee areas, and raided intoKentucky andVirginia as well. His three brothers, Little Owl, the Badger, andTurtle-at-Home, often fought with his forces.[citation needed]
Dragging Canoe died February 29, 1792, at Running Water Town,[2] from exhaustion (or possibly a heart attack) after dancing all night celebrating the recent conclusion of an alliance with theMuskogee and theChoctaw.[8] The Chickamauga were also celebrating a recent victory by one of their war bands against theCumberland settlements. He was succeeded as chief byJohn Watts.[citation needed]
Historians such as John P. Brown inOld Frontiers, andJames Mooney in his early ethnographic book,Myths of the Cherokee, consider him a role model for the youngerTecumseh, who was a member of a band ofShawnee people living with the Chickamauga and taking part in their wars.[citation needed]
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