In 1838 , the U.S. government forced the Cherokees , along with other Native Americans , to relocate to the area designated as Indian Territory , in what is now the state of Oklahoma . Their journey west became known as the " Trail of Tears " for their exile and fatalities along the way . The U.S. Army used Ross 's Landing as the site of one of three large internment camps , or " emigration depots " , where Native Americans were held before the journey on the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Chattanooga, Tennessee