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The Cherokee War of 1776: Native Destruction at the Dawn of American Independence
The forgotten history of the US war against the Cherokee offers a crucial reframing of America's origin story.
Americans remember 1776 as the year liberty was declared, the moment they cast off tyranny and proclaimed the self-evident truths of equality and freedom. But that same summer, as patriots celebrated their defiant new nation, American armies launched another campaign―this one aimed at destroying the Cherokee nation.
The Cherokee War of 1776 recasts America's founding moment by tracing the importance of westward ambition and settler violence to the origins of the Revolutionary War. In this gripping and sobering book, historian Kevin Kokomoor uncovers the rarely acknowledged war waged by the emerging United States against the Cherokee people just days after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Far from a spontaneous frontier skirmish, this war was a coordinated, state-backed campaign with a clear aim: seize Indigenous land and crush Native resistance. Many of the very men who championed liberty on parchment simultaneously advocated for the wholesale destruction of a sovereign Native nation.
At the heart of this story is Cherokee resistance, which was strategic, determined, and deeply rooted in community dynamics. Figures like Dragging Canoe emerged to lead a movement that endured long after American armies had burned Cherokee towns to the ground. Kokomoor foregrounds Cherokee voices, motivations, and resilience, challenging the notion that they were merely pawns in a colonial struggle and forcing us to reckon with the real costs of independence and the long fight for Indigenous sovereignty.
Americans remember 1776 as the year liberty was declared, the moment they cast off tyranny and proclaimed the self-evident truths of equality and freedom. But that same summer, as patriots celebrated their defiant new nation, American armies launched another campaign―this one aimed at destroying the Cherokee nation.
The Cherokee War of 1776 recasts America's founding moment by tracing the importance of westward ambition and settler violence to the origins of the Revolutionary War. In this gripping and sobering book, historian Kevin Kokomoor uncovers the rarely acknowledged war waged by the emerging United States against the Cherokee people just days after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Far from a spontaneous frontier skirmish, this war was a coordinated, state-backed campaign with a clear aim: seize Indigenous land and crush Native resistance. Many of the very men who championed liberty on parchment simultaneously advocated for the wholesale destruction of a sovereign Native nation.
At the heart of this story is Cherokee resistance, which was strategic, determined, and deeply rooted in community dynamics. Figures like Dragging Canoe emerged to lead a movement that endured long after American armies had burned Cherokee towns to the ground. Kokomoor foregrounds Cherokee voices, motivations, and resilience, challenging the notion that they were merely pawns in a colonial struggle and forcing us to reckon with the real costs of independence and the long fight for Indigenous sovereignty.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 18, 2026
The American Revolution was not the only conflict coming to a boil in 1776. Mounting tension between the Cherokee and American settlers were erupting along the southern frontier, adding another volatile layer to an already explosive year.
This book begins with a broader look at failed attempts to halt colonial expansion, including the Proclamation of 1763, followed by the Treaty of Hard Labor in the South and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in the North in 1768. All three were made to stop settlers from encroaching any further into Indian territory and all three would ultimately be ignored, thus creating a simmering hostility amongst the various tribes who were being pushed farther west.
While the Cherokee elders tried their best to restrain their young men, British officers like Clinton, Howe and Germain saw an opportunity to exploit these tensions and use the Cherokee as a tool to help the Loyalists and British soldiers in the southern campaign. Their goal was to create chaos throughout the backcountry. The Americans however pushed back on the Natives with devastating results, destroying their villages and their food supplies by burning their crops. This conflict will go well beyond 1776, pushing past the end of the Revolutionary War which sees the English pull out of the fight completely while the warring parties carry on.
Kokomoor spends less time on the action and more on the politics that create the cycle of reaction and revenge. What I liked best is his ability to record every angle with a balanced lens, showing the complicated motivations and consequences on all sides. This book was fantastic and I’m grateful to Johns Hopkins University Press for sending me a copy in exchange for a review!
This book begins with a broader look at failed attempts to halt colonial expansion, including the Proclamation of 1763, followed by the Treaty of Hard Labor in the South and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in the North in 1768. All three were made to stop settlers from encroaching any further into Indian territory and all three would ultimately be ignored, thus creating a simmering hostility amongst the various tribes who were being pushed farther west.
While the Cherokee elders tried their best to restrain their young men, British officers like Clinton, Howe and Germain saw an opportunity to exploit these tensions and use the Cherokee as a tool to help the Loyalists and British soldiers in the southern campaign. Their goal was to create chaos throughout the backcountry. The Americans however pushed back on the Natives with devastating results, destroying their villages and their food supplies by burning their crops. This conflict will go well beyond 1776, pushing past the end of the Revolutionary War which sees the English pull out of the fight completely while the warring parties carry on.
Kokomoor spends less time on the action and more on the politics that create the cycle of reaction and revenge. What I liked best is his ability to record every angle with a balanced lens, showing the complicated motivations and consequences on all sides. This book was fantastic and I’m grateful to Johns Hopkins University Press for sending me a copy in exchange for a review!
June 13, 2026
The Cherokee War of 1776: Native Destruction at the Dawn of American Independence offers a powerful reassessment of the American founding by examining a conflict often overlooked in traditional Revolutionary War narratives.
The book argues that the struggle against the Cherokee nation was not a peripheral frontier conflict but a significant component of the broader forces shaping the emergence of the United States. By connecting Indigenous dispossession to the ideals and ambitions surrounding independence, it presents a more complex portrait of the nation's origins.
A particular strength of the work is its emphasis on Cherokee perspectives and resistance. Rather than centering exclusively on colonial or revolutionary leaders, the narrative highlights Cherokee communities, political decision-making, and leaders such as Dragging Canoe, illuminating the determination and resilience that sustained resistance long after devastating military campaigns.
Overall, The Cherokee War of 1776 is a significant contribution to Indigenous and Early American history. It challenges familiar assumptions, broadens the conversation about the Revolutionary era, and provides readers with a deeper understanding of the conflicts and consequences that accompanied the birth of the United States.
The book argues that the struggle against the Cherokee nation was not a peripheral frontier conflict but a significant component of the broader forces shaping the emergence of the United States. By connecting Indigenous dispossession to the ideals and ambitions surrounding independence, it presents a more complex portrait of the nation's origins.
A particular strength of the work is its emphasis on Cherokee perspectives and resistance. Rather than centering exclusively on colonial or revolutionary leaders, the narrative highlights Cherokee communities, political decision-making, and leaders such as Dragging Canoe, illuminating the determination and resilience that sustained resistance long after devastating military campaigns.
Overall, The Cherokee War of 1776 is a significant contribution to Indigenous and Early American history. It challenges familiar assumptions, broadens the conversation about the Revolutionary era, and provides readers with a deeper understanding of the conflicts and consequences that accompanied the birth of the United States.
June 23, 2026
zaujímavé rozprávanie, ktoré medzi notoricky známymi vojnami pôvodných obyvateľov s votrelcami veľmi chýbala. Škoda len, že to nepokračovalo až do r.1794
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews