A sad part of our history: The faint trail that you see here is part of the Trail of Tears which was our governments answer to western expansion by relocating the 6 recognized (...

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

The faint trail that you see here is part of the Trail of Tears which was our governments answer to western expansion by relocating the 6 recognized ( civilized ) tribes of the then southwestern United States to the Oklahoma territory in the1830's.

The trail goes right through part of the Pea Ridge Battlefield. Actually, quite a bit of this trail remains in all of the states that these people had to traverse.

Trail of Tears. To the left out of the picture, is an asphalt road that winds around the battlefield park.

ktcyan Loc: rural Minnesota

I've read the book, thanks for the photo. The whole experience is so difficult to grasp. Manifest Destiny; how arrogant people can be.

Dave K

Yes, that was another dark time in this nation's history. We've had so many of them; we really are a brutal people so much of the time.

I like this photo as it captures the moodiness and darkness of the Trail. Good job.

kodie Loc: North Carolina

Thanks for sharing, I like photos that tell a story and triggers one's historical imagination.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Thank you all. What happened back then is so bizarre to our modern way of thinking, it is almost incomprehensible. I was standing next to the placard and after reading it, I just stood there and looked, and looked, and looked for what seemed like an hour but was just a few moments. To take it all in just stops one dead in their tracks.

Here is that pretty road that I said was to the left of the trail. Night and day. What an abstraction.

DB Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC

tainkc wrote:

Thank you all. What happened back then is so bizarre to our modern way of thinking, it is almost incomprehensible. I was standing next to the placard and after reading it, I just stood there and looked, and looked, and looked for what seemed like an hour but was just a few moments. To take it all in just stops one dead in their tracks.

The Trail of Tears Rememberance Ride, every year on the third Saturday in September commemorates the forced relocation of American Indians in the 1830's from the Southeast to reservations in Oklahoma. For some it was a walk of 800 miles and a journey of three months without food or water. Many suffered from the elements, starvation and disease. More than 4,000 Cherokees and countless other Indians died along the way. Over 125,000 motorcycles participate in this ride from Chattanooga, TN to Florence Alabama. The line of bikes often stretches over 50 miles...

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Thanks for the info DB. What I don't quite understand is why some slaves were forced to march also.

DB Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC

tainkc wrote:

Thanks for the info DB. What I don't quite understand is why some slaves were forced to march also.

I don't know... I am just glad they have not been forgotten, at least in this part of the country. I'm about 75 miles north of Chattanooga and my oldest son participates in that ride every year..... he says there are no words to describe the feeling. His dad is part Cherokee.

Dave K

tainkc wrote:

Thanks for the info DB. What I don't quite understand is why some slaves were forced to march also.

Because the Cherokee people were, then and until recently, very welcoming to others, including black "slaves." The slaves were welcomed into the tribe and made part of it, with full rights just as if they had been born into the tribe. Thus, I've no doubt that some of those black ex-slaves went with their loved ones, while others, being as they were now considered Cherokee, were forced out same-same as the others.

How do I know this? Because my wife is part-Cherokee and has studied these things.

Dave K

Namwife Loc: Midwest

tainkc wrote:

The faint trail that you see here is part of the Trail of Tears which was our governments answer to western expansion by relocating the 6 recognized ( civilized ) tribes of the then southwestern United States to the Oklahoma territory in the1830's.

The trail goes right through part of the Pea Ridge Battlefield. Actually, quite a bit of this trail remains in all of the states that these people had to traverse.

My husband's mother had enough Cherokee blood in her to get land In Oklahoma...What was done to them and to all Native Americans is such a travesty...To this day we as a Nation do not treat them right...My great Grand Mother was full blooded Iroquois her name was Little Flower...Thank You for sharing...

Dunatic

tainkc wrote:

The faint trail that you see here is part of the Trail of Tears which was our governments answer to western expansion by relocating the 6 recognized ( civilized ) tribes of the then southwestern United States to the Oklahoma territory in the1830's.

The trail goes right through part of the Pea Ridge Battlefield. Actually, quite a bit of this trail remains in all of the states that these people had to traverse.

Where is this located? The Trail of Tears goes up throught the Shawnee National Park in Southern IL where my parent's farm is located. There is a lot of history there. Thanks for posting this photo. Cheryl

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Dunatic wrote:

quote=tainkc The faint trail that you see here is... (show quote)

It goes through North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas to Oklahoma.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Namwife wrote:

quote=tainkc The faint trail that you see here is... (show quote)

My pleasure. And, thank you for sharing your information.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

DB wrote:

tainkc wrote:

Thanks for the info DB. What I don't quite understand is why some slaves were forced to march also.

I don't know... I am just glad they have not been forgotten, at least in this part of the country. I'm about 75 miles north of Chattanooga and my oldest son participates in that ride every year..... he says there are no words to describe the feeling. His dad is part Cherokee.

I have no Indian blood in me and yet it provoked such a profound feeling in me. I can only imagine how your son feels.

Here's a happy thought: my wife found this little critter in the parking area next to the placard.

PatriciaD Loc: Palmer, Alaska

Thanks for sharing. My dad is a quarter Cherokee so I guess that makes me 1/8. I need to look up our family history from this period. It seems like I heard something about that time in our family. My ancestor was Mary Connor, she was the full blood Cherokee relative from whom I descended. It seems like I heard somewhere that her family had put on a census at one time that they were black because blacks were less persecuted.

All of that is sad. I'm so glad we can recognize people for people no matter the color of their skin or the shape of features or whatever it is that someone has different from us. God created us all and loves us all and we should do no less. OK, end of sermon...hehehe!!