<P> Open warfare broke out in the summer of 1776 along the frontier of the Watauga, Holston, Nolichucky, and Doe rivers in East Tennessee, as well as the colonies (later states) of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia . It later spread to those along the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee and in Kentucky . </P> <P> The wars of the Cherokee and the Americans divide into two phases . </P> <P> In the first phase, lasting 1776--1783, the Cherokee also fought as allies of the Kingdom of Great Britain against its rebellious colonies . This first part of this phase, from summer 1776 to summer of 1777, involved the all sections of the entire Cherokee nation, and is often referred to as the "Cherokee War of 1776". At the end of 1776, the only militant Cherokee were those who migrated with Dragging Canoe to the Chickamauga towns, for which they were known to the frontierspeople as the "Chickamauga" or "Chickamauga Cherokee". Dav Weaver whose sons carry the name David Crockett Weaver who lived at the time of fame of old Davy Crockett himself, was affirmed by John Ross at the last Cherokee Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee while he was a Chief and Chief Thomas Taylor also affirmed that Dav Weaver did not remove from the Chota / Choctaw Territory, the Neshoba Church is still in existence in Citronelle Alabama, the Red Fox Road where the Chocta / Choctaw own their traditional Tribal Lands on land presently held in Trust by the United States Federal Government at the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians Indian Reservation is noticed by the National Park Service / Department of Interior and the Federal Highway Administration today . Carolina existed in this same area prior to Reconstruction - reportedly the land was ceded to the United States similar to the Georgia Cession of in 1802, however, the United States Supreme Court ruled these cessions unconstitutional in Worchester v. Georgia which was decreed on March 5 of 1832 . Federal Law and the Supremacy Clause was found to be superior to State's Rights, the Nullification happened the same year on December 10 . History then created a fork . </P> <P> In the second phase, lasting 1783--1794, the Cherokee also served as proxies of the Viceroyalty of New Spain against the new United States of America . Because of their relocation westward to new homes initially known as the "Five Lower Towns", they then became known as the Lower Cherokee, a moniker which persisted well into the nineteenth century . In 1786, the Lower Cherokee became founding members of the Native Americans' Western Confederacy organized by the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, and took an active part in the Northwest Indian War . </P>

Who did the cherokee side with in the revolutionary war