Remembering a forgotten battle

Redland site of Cherokee Chief Bowles memorial

Van Zandt County once had a red-haired, freckled-faced Indian chief that led 13 tribes of Indians against the Texas Calvary in a battle to the death.

In the tip of the southeastern party of VZC close to Redland, a Cherokee Indian chief and Texas Republic President Sam Houston are memorialized by a five-foot granite marker, denoting the location of the Battle of the Neches.

A gruesome death awaited the half Scotch-Irish and Cherokee Indian Chief Duwa’li Bowles when he took a stand against Texas Republic President Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar who ordered that all Cherokee Indians be removed from Texas in the 1830s, thus forcing Bowles and his tribe from their homes and land previously given to them by Houston.

The Battle of the Neches memorial was held July 18 at the location of the battle between Chief Bowles and his tribe of Cherokee Indians and the Texas Calvary.

The American Indian Cultural Society sponsored the memorial along with state and national tribes.

In the 126 years since the Battle of the Neches, what remains now is a lone memorial, testament to a battle and lives lost of people carving out a life in the southeastern part of Van Zandt County. 

To see more photos of the event, visit the Canton Herald's Facebook page.

To read more about the Battle of the Neches memorial, get a copy of the July 23 Canton Herald  -- available on in print and e-edition. Call 903-567-4000 or email subscriptions@vanzandtnews.com to subscribe. Click on the copy of this week's newspaper on the Home page and sign up for a free trial.