Fort Cass, Military fort in Charleston, Tennessee
Fort Cass was a military post in Charleston, Tennessee, set on the south side of the Hiwassee River along a main travel route through the region. The site spread across the surrounding lowlands and served as a holding and departure point for a large number of people.
The site began in 1819 as a federal agency for Native American affairs and was converted into a military post in 1835. By 1838 it had become the main gathering point for the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their homeland.
Fort Cass stands near the Hiwassee River and is today a quiet place that marks one of the most painful episodes in American history. Visitors walking through the area can sense the scale of what happened here in the summer of 1838, when thousands of Cherokee people were held before being forced westward.
The area is best explored on foot, and sturdy shoes are a good idea since the ground near the river can be uneven. Visiting in the morning or late afternoon is more comfortable during summer, when the Tennessee sun can be very strong.
Within the fort, nine separate camps were set up to manage the large number of people held there. This made the site one of the largest internment operations ever carried out on American soil.
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