The Trail of Tears, Cherokee Removal 1838

The Trail of Tears, Cherokee Removal 1838 is a Tennessee historical marker in Selmer., McNairy County.

McNairy Co., Hwy 45 Bypass-South Cherokee Removal at Higginbottom Ln., Selmer.

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A group of approximately 660 Cherokees traveled through McNairy County in late fall of 1838. Also called Bell's Treaty Party, it was the only detachment to be accompanied by the military. Escorted by U.S. Army Lt. Edward Deas and Cherokee leader John Bell, the party followed the Old State Road to Purdy, where Deas purchased supplies on November 14, 1838. From Purdy to Bethel Springs to Rose Creek, the route closely followed present-day Highway 64. Their 89-day journey ended on January 7, 1839, just inside the Cherokee Nation's border, west of Evansville, Arkansas.

TodayHistorical map

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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1832 · Kentucky (Finley, 1832) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1833 · Missouri, Ill., Ky., Tenn., Ala., Miss., Ark. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1835 · Chickasaw Cession, Mississippi (1835) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1838 · Kentucky (T.G. Bradford, 1838) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1844 · Kentucky (H. S. Tanner, 1844) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

The Trail of Tears, Cherokee Removal 1838

Historical maps covering this location

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