In the fall of 1838 the Cherokee removal to Oklahoma , enforced by the Indian Removal Act of 1830 , crossed the Red River at Port Royal . A letter from Elijah Hicks to Principal Chief John Ross , tells of the stay at Port Royal . This is the only written record of this stopping place , but of the eleven detachments that were moved , it is known that eight of them followed the designated North Route that went through Port Royal . This event came to be known as the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Port Royal, Tennessee