| Battle of the Neches | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Texas-Indian Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Republic of Texas Tonkawa Indians[1] |
Cherokee Delaware | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Gen. Kelsey Douglass Gen. Thomas Rusk Col. Edward Burleson Chief Plácido |
The Bowl † Big Mush † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Approx. 500 | 600–700 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
8 killed 29 wounded, incl. Vice President Burnet | More than 100 killed | ||||||
The Battle of the Neches, the main engagement of the Cherokee War of 1838–1839 (part of the Texas–Indian Wars), took place on 15–16 July in 1839 in what is now the Redland community (between Tyler and Ben Wheeler, Texas). It resulted from the Córdova Rebellion and Texas President Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar's determination to remove the Cherokee people from Texas. Many Cherokee had migrated there from the American Southeast to avoid being forced to Indian Territory.