Fort Cass , established in 1835 , was an important site during the Cherokee removal from the Southeast , an extended forced removal known as the Trail of Tears for their overland journey to Indian Territory . Located on the Hiwassee River in present-day Charleston , Tennessee , Fort Cass housed a garrison of United States troops who watched over the largest concentration of internment camps where Cherokee were kept during the summer of 1838 before starting the main trek west to Indian Territory . The camps stretched for many miles through the valley south of Fort Cass toward present-day Cleveland , Tennessee
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Fort Cass