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Treaty

Cherokee at Tellico (1805)

At Tellico in October 1805 the Cherokee ceded to the United States land north of the Duck River, east to the Tennessee River, for $14,000 and a $3,000 annuity.

Signed
October 25, 1805
Senate
Ratified
Land given up
about 5.0 million acres
The land in this treaty’s record. Open on the map

What happened

On October 25, 1805, U.S. commissioners Return J. Meigs and Daniel Smith held a treaty at Tellico with Cherokee chiefs and head men. Article I recognized all former treaties on peace and the prevention of crimes as "continued in force."

In Article II the Cherokee "quit claim and cede to the United States, all the land which they have heretofore claimed" north of a described line. The line starts at the mouth of the Duck River, runs to the Tennessee River opposite the mouth of the Hiwassee, and follows the Tennessee up to the Clinch. The Cherokee kept a small tract at and below the mouth of the Clinch and two sections of one square mile each. The United States also reserved three square miles opposite the Hiwassee, in case the garrisons and factory at South West Point and Tellico needed a new site. The Tennessee Encyclopedia says Meigs and Smith obtained all land north of the Duck River, extended due east to the Tennessee River and including all of the Cumberland Plateau.

In Article III the United States agreed to pay $3,000 in merchandise at once, $11,000 within ninety days of ratification, and an annuity of $3,000. Article IV gave U.S. citizens free use of two more roads through Cherokee country. Two days later the commissioners made a second Tellico treaty, which is recorded separately in the atlas.

The sources here give no acreage and no account of the council.

Good to know. The Tennessee Encyclopedia calls this the "third treaty of Tellico".

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Well supported by the sources below.

  1. The Cherokees quit claim and cede to the United States, all the land which they have heretofore claimedTreaty with the Cherokee, 1805 (Oct. 25) (Oklahoma State University Tribal Treaties Database)
  2. the United States agree to pay immediately three thousand dollars in valuable merchandise, and eleven thousand dollars within ninety daysTreaty with the Cherokee, 1805 (Oct. 25) (Oklahoma State University Tribal Treaties Database)
  3. Indian Agent Return J. Meigs and Daniel Smith obtained from the Cherokees all land north of the Duck RiverTreaties (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
  4. free and unmolested use and enjoyment of the two following described roadsTreaty with the Cherokee, 1805 (Oct. 25) (Oklahoma State University Tribal Treaties Database)

Research notes. The Tennessee Encyclopedia calls this the 'third treaty of Tellico' (1805). No cited source describes Cherokee views or the negotiation. No acreage appears in the sources cited.

What the treaty did to the land

About 5.0 million acres given up. Each shape is a numbered area in the federal government’s 1899 record of land cessions.

What happened next

Everything the record holds about this land and this treaty, in order: what earlier agreements said, what this one did, and what the United States, the courts and the nations did afterwards.

  1. 1805

    This treaty

    About 5.0 million acres ceded to the United States by the Cherokee. Land set aside as a reservation for the Cherokee

    At Tellico in October 1805 the Cherokee ceded to the United States land north of the Duck River, east to the Tennessee River, for $14,000 and a $3,000 annuity.

  2. 1819

    Land lost

    Land ceded to the United States by the Cherokee

    By Cherokee at Washington, DC (1819)

    area 105 area 107 area 108 area 109

Who is doing the work today

The nations connected to this treaty come first, then groups returning land and defending treaty rights. Support goes directly to them.

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Sources

  1. treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-cherokee-1805-0082reference work
    Oct., 25, 1805. | 7 Stat., 93. / scan: 82 TREATY WITH THE CHEROKEE, 1805,

Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.