|
| |
Chief Bowles died after the Battle of the Neches in East Texas.
We will be working closely with the AICS in presenting this page.
Learn to speak the Cherokee language.
The Battle of the Neches took place on July 15th and 16th, 1839 near the
Neches River in what is now Henderson County, TX. Chief Bowles and what remained
of his followers fled to a Delaware indian village in what is now Van Zandt County
near what is now called Redlands, Texas. It was near the Delaware village that the
indians made a final stand. A historical marker now stands on the property where
Chief Bowles was killed.
Accounts of the battle vary. The number of indians are said to have numbered anywhere from 500 to 800.
Indians from 13 different tribes participated in the final battle.
The number of Texicans is said to have been around 500. The figures are a bit misleading in that the indian
numbers include women, children, and old men. The number of weapons available to the Texicans was at least 500
whereas the total firearms possessed by the indians was 15-20.
Author Stephen L Moore has written a book entitled "Last Stand of the Texas Cherokees" detailing the migration of Chief Bowles' band of Western Cherokees into Texas and their subsequent struggles to obtain land rights from the Mexican and Texas governments. Bowles' Cherokees and twelve other affiliated Indian tribes ultimately chose to fight a strong force of Texas Rangers, Texas Army and militiamen in July 1839. Nearly 170 years later, author Stephen L Moore led a team that pinpointed the site of the Battle of the Neches.
|
|
| |