Chapter 7 Summary and Analysis

Cherokee myths vary on tribal origins, but they are entrenched as the most aggressive people in the region, when half their numbers fall to smallpox in the 1730s. They ally with Britain against France, but help themselves to Fort Loudon, triggering a conflict that outlasts the French and Indian War. The Cherokees prefer the British to the Americans, who are nearer and more threatening. They and the Shawnees heal an age-old, bloody rift at Chota in May 1776, in order to stand together against the "common enemy of all red men."

John Sevier is the West's greatest Indian fighter prior to Jackson. Descended from Huguenots, he grows up trading with the Indians. In 1773, he settles in the Smokies, where a land deal splits the Cherokee nation. During the Revolution, Sevier discovers a talent for warfare, leading desperate comrades in defending their outposts...