Battle of Taliwa
The Battle of Taliwa was fought in Ball Ground, Georgia in 1755. The battle was part of a larger campaign of the Cherokee against the Muscogee Creek people. They had 500 warriors led by Oconostota (c. 1710–1783).[1] After their victory, the Cherokees pushed the Muscogee people south from their northern Georgia homelands and began settling in the region.
During the war, a Cherokee warrior named Kingfisher was killed, and his wife, Nancy Ward (also known as Nanyehi, c. 1738–c. 1822) joined the battle and led the Cherokee to victory.[1]
Historical landmark
This site has been designated as a Georgia State Historical Landmark. Georgia State Highway 372 passes near it, which is by Ball Ground's downtown railroad crossing.
A 1953 highway marker states:[2]
BATTLE OF TALIWA
Two and one-half miles to the east, near the confluence of Long-Swamp Creek and the Etowah River, is the traditional site of Taliwa, scene of the fiercest and most decisive battle in the long war of the 1740s and 50s between the Cherokee and Creek Indians.
There, about 1755, the great Cherokee war chief, Oconostota, led 500 of his warriors to victory over a larger band of Creeks. So complete was the defeat that the Creeks retreated south of the Chattahoochee River, leaving their opponents the region later to become the heart of the ill-fated Cherokee Nation.028-1 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1953.
References
- Hoig, Stan (January 1998). The Cherokees and Their Chiefs: In the Wake of Empire. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas. p. 26. ISBN 978-1557285287.
- "Battle of Taliwa State Historical Marker". Retrieved February 11, 2012.