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John Benge’s Unique Northwestern Cherokee Removal Route
In fall of 1838, John Benge led 1,100 Cherokee on a path no other removal group took.
His detachment left Fort Payne, Alabama on September 28, crossing Little River above the falls where today’s Highway 35 bridge stands.
Unlike the main Trail of Tears routes, Benge’s group went northwest through four states with sixty wagons and 600 horses. They walked ten miles each day for 106 days…