The Chickasaw Wars were fought in the first half of the 18th century between the
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...
allied with the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
against the
French and their allies the
Choctaws,
Quapaw
The Quapaw ( , Quapaw language, Quapaw: ) or Arkansas, officially the Quapaw Nation, is a List of federally recognized tribes in the United States, U.S. federally recognized tribe comprising about 6,000 citizens. Also known as the Ogáxpa or � ...
, and
Illinois Confederation. The
Province of Louisiana extended from
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
to
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, and the French fought to secure their communications along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. The Chickasaw, dwelling in northern
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
and western
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, lay across the French path. Much to the eventual advantage of the British and the later United States, the Chickasaw successfully held their ground. The wars came to an end only with the French cession of New France to the British in 1763 according to terms of the
Treaty of Paris.
Choctaw Attacks

The governor of Louisiana and founder of New Orleans,
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville determined to stop Chickasaw trade with the British. In 1721 he was able to incite the
Choctaw
The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
who began to raid Chickasaw villages, and to ambush pack trains along the Trader's Path leading to
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
. In response, the Chickasaw regrouped their villages more tightly for defense, and cemented relations with their British source of guns by establishing a settlement at
Savannah Town, South Carolina, in 1723. They blocked French traffic on the Mississippi River by occupying
Chickasaw Bluff near present-day Memphis, and bargained for peace with the Choctaw. Bienville himself was recalled to France in 1724 (Gayarre 366–368).
On and off over the following years, the French successfully reignited the Indian conflict. The Choctaw pursued their familiar hit and run tactics: ambushing hunting parties, killing trader's horses, devastating croplands after using superior numbers to drive the Chickasaw into their forts, and killing peace emissaries. Illini and
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
occasionally pitched in from the north as well. This war of attrition effectively wore the Chickasaw down, reaching a crisis level in the late 1730s and especially the early 1740s. After a lapse due to strife within the Choctaw, the bloody harassment resumed in the 1750s. The Chickasaw remained obstinate, their situation forcing them to adhere even more closely to the British.
In 1734, Bienville returned to Louisiana, and waged grand campaigns against the Chickasaw in the European style.
Campaign of 1736
Bienville assembled a force in
Mobile which he led via
Fort Tombecbé up the
Tombigbee River (Rive de la Mobile), intending to link with a northern force sweeping down from
Fort de Chartres under
Pierre D'Artaguiette.
On March 25, 1736, the northern force, a mixture of French with their allies the
Illini led by
Chief Chicagou, met with disaster while attacking the village of Ogoula Tchetoka near present-day
northwest Tupelo, Mississippi. The French were crushed, and d'Artaguiette was killed.
Bienville remained unaware of d'Artaguiette's disaster. On May 26, 1736, he and his army of 1200 French and Choctaw were repulsed in an attack on the fortified Chickasaw village of Ackia () in present-day south Tupelo. Bienville returned to Mobile and New Orleans in disgrace.
Campaign of 1739
Bienville was instructed to try again. This time he obtained heavy siege equipment, and assembled his forces at
Fort de l'Assumption on the Fourth
Chickasaw Bluff (present-day
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
) 120 miles to the west of the Chickasaw villages.
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
contributed troops and Indian allies under
Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil and
Pierre-Joseph Céloron de Blainville Pierre-Joseph (also Pierre Joseph) is a given name and can refer to:
*Pierre-Joseph Alary, (1689–1770), French ecclesiastic and writer
*Pierre-Joseph Amoreux (1741–1824) French physician and naturalist
*Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre (1752 ...
. The force was reduced by disease, and Bienville found himself unable to transport his artillery through the wilderness. After months of delay, Bienville came to terms without armed conflict.
Supposed Campaign of 1752
The disgraced Bienville was replaced by
Marquis de Vaudreuil The Marquis de Vaudreuil may refer to:
* Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil (1643–1702), governor of Montréal then of New France
* Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil (1698–1778), last governor-general of New France
* Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis o ...
in 1742, who continued to encourage Choctaw harassment. He eventually came to the view that another grand effort was needed to end the Chickasaw threat once and for all, and he pleaded his case to his superiors. Many sources describe such an expedition taking place in 1752. None of these sources mention any further details, beyond saying it was an exact repetition of 1736. Dawson A. Phelps determined that the grand effort never took place (Atkinson p. 78), although there was a strong Choctaw attack (one of many over the years) instigated and supported by the French.
Aftermath
Armed to the teeth in their remote and heavily fortified villages, the Chickasaw maintained themselves albeit with great loss to both population and way of life. The French never defeated the Chickasaw. Enmity between the Illini and the Chickasaw continued long after the war.
References
* pp. 25–87. Excellent modern history of the Chickasaw prior to their removal
* Early history with frequent reference to original documents
Compilation of secondary sources with emphasis on attempted connection between northern and southern districts of Louisiana
* Hauser, Raymond E.; An Ethnohistory of the Illinois Indian Tribe 1673-1832: doctoral dissertation, Northern Illinois University, 1973.
* Schlarman, J.; From Quebec to New Orleans. Buechler Publishing, Bellville, IL.
External links
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1720s conflicts
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1760s conflicts
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18th-century conflicts
Anglo-French wars
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