Settlers versus Natives: The Chickasaw War, 1721-1763

Colonial powers constantly bickered over their respective possessions in North America, irrespective of the rights and alliances of the people on the ground.  And, almost invariably, this exploded into war.

The French possessions in North America stretched from Quebec City all the way to New Orleans.  It was a vast territory to rule, so it was eventually split up into two provinces, Louisiana and Quebec, the border being roughly the modern southern border of the state of Illinois.  They spent much of their time guarding the network of waterways that led from the Great Lakes, throughout the Missouri and Mississippi drainage and through to the Gulf of Mexico.  Many Native tribes were allied with the French to facilitate the trade, most notably the tribes of the Illini Confederacy and the Choctaw.  Meanwhile, English traders wanted in on the lucrative trade.  Operating primarily from Charleston, South Carolina, they worked in conjunction with friendly tribes such as the Chickasaw.  Add to this mix that some tribes in French controlled territory did not particularly like the French.  They were in constant conflict with the Natchez people and, in 1729-1731, French attacks almost wiped out the Natchez tribe.  Refugees sought shelter with the Chickasaw, a traditional ally, which further angered the French. 

The French governor of Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, incited Choctaw allies to raid Chickasaw villages and English pack trains headed to South Carolina.  They were also looking for any Natchez survivors.  Tired of colonial interference, the Chickasaw took matters into their own hands, blockading the Mississippi River at Chickasaw Bluffs, near modern-day Memphis and later making a separate peace with the Choctaw.  The Chickasaw also relocated their villages closer together to aid in mutual defense.  However, constant raids from the Illini continued to eat at Chickasaw resources.  In 1736, the Governor of Louisiana led an army up the Tombigbee River to meet a northern French force under Pierre de Arteguiette and including Chief Chicagou of the Michigamea, whom we've met in the last post.  Near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi, the French and their Illini allies met with a large Chickasaw force and were defeated. Chicagou may even have been killed.  Ignorant of this, the Governor of Louisiana continued to press his attack.  On May 26, 1736, he and an army of 1200 French with Choctaw auxiliaries were crushed by a force of Chickasaw at the fortified village of Ackia, not far from Tupelo.  They retreated to Mobile and New Orleans to await a more convenient opportunity.

De Bienville tried again in 1739, assembling a large force including siege artillery at what is now Memphis, Tennessee.  Disease and overall disorganization hampered his efforts and he was forced to disassemble his army and return to New Orleans.  Another Governor of Lousiana, the Marquis de VAudreuil, tried again in 1752, but that campaign never got beyond the planning stages.  Eventually, the Chickasaw war was settled in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris which ended the French and Indian War (1756-1763).  The British took possession of all of France's North American land and most tribes transferred their allegiance to Britain.  The French were never able to defeat the Chickasaw in battle and the British and later Americans saw the need to treat this powerful tribe as an ally, rather than an enemy.   

The official Chickasaw Nation website has a two-part section on this conflict, with further details including the French ulterior motive in wanting to eliminate the Natchez people completely.