Letter from wife of Henry Benton Henegar to Ed Porter Thompson regarding Indian removal

This letter, dictated by H. B. Henegar and transcribed by his wife, is a response to a request from Ed Porter Thompson for more information regarding the removal of the Cherokee Indians in 1838 and 1839. Henegar, who was employed by John Ross during the Removal period, starts his reply to Thompson by describing the place in Bradley County, Tennessee, where the Cherokees he accompanied were collected by the United States troops under the orders of General Winfield Scott. He explains the division of the Cherokee people into smaller groups, called detachments, and the process for each group's removal. According to his letter, Henegar states all the Cherokee detachments that were collected at this spot in Bradley County traveled the same route to the West through Tennessee and parts of Kentucky and Illinois before crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri. He describes his detachment getting stuck in the middle of the Mississippi River for three weeks when it froze. From there they traveled to the Indian Country in Arkansas where they dispersed and settled. He goes on to describe the events that happened after their relocation, including the creation of a new constitution and the conflict between the Ross and Ridge parties. He also gives an account of the assassinations of several Ridge party members who signed the Treaty of New Echota, though he believes Ross was not involved in organizing these attacks.