| Title: | [Military] Orders No. 25, 1838 May 17, Eastern Division, Cherokee Agency, Ten[nessee] / [signed by] Winfield Scott, W. J. Wirth : a machine readable transcription of an image |
| Availability: |
This work is the property of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching, and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. For all other use contact the Tennessee State Library and Archives, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243-0312. (615) 741-2764.
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| Date: | May 17, 1838 |
| Extent: | 2 p |
| Summary: | The following document is a Military Order issued on May 17, 1838, by General Winfield Scott, federal officer in charge of Cherokee removal. Scott issued, on the authority of President Andrew Jackson, the order for federal troops to enforce the removal of all the Cherokee remaining east of the Mississippi River, according to the terms of the Treaty of New Echota, signed by a Cherokee minority in 1835. Scott divided the Cherokee Nation into three military districts in order to facilitate a speedy evacuation. The orders of President Jackson and General Scott began what was to be called the Trail of Tears, in which 15,000-20,000 Cherokee were exiled to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. An estimated one-fifth died during the whole of the journey, which lasted until the spring of 1839. |
| Editorial note: | Editorial note: The original document was printed in columns, but the columns have not been noted in transcription. |
| Collection: | Military Orders |
| Box: | Tennessee State Library, Miscellaneous documents (1838) |
| Folder: | IV-C-2 |
| Document: | tl220 |
| Keywords: | |
