Battle of Taliwa
Ball Ground, Cherokee County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Battle of Taliwa. Two and one-half miles to the east, near the confluence of Long-Swamp Creek and the Etowah River, is the traditional site of Taliwa, scene of the fiercest and most decisive battle in the long war of the 1740's and 50's between the Cherokee and Creek Indians. There, about 1755, the great Cherokee war-chief, Oconostota, led 500 of his warriors to victory over a larger band of Creeks. So complete was the defeat that the Creeks retreated south of the Chattahoochee River, leaving to their opponents the region later to become the heart of the ill-fated Cherokee Nation. 028-1 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1953
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
About 1755, near the confluence of Long-Swamp Creek and the Etowah River, the great Cherokee war-chief Oconostota led some 500 warriors to a decisive victory over a larger Creek force in the Battle of Taliwa. The defeat was so complete that the Creeks withdrew south of the Chattahoochee River, ceding to the Cherokee the region that would later become the heart of the Cherokee Nation.
Why it matters
Taliwa reshaped the balance of power among Southeastern Indigenous nations, securing for the Cherokee the north Georgia homeland from which they would later be forcibly removed on the Trail of Tears.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Oconostota
Related events
- · Battle of Taliwa
- · Cherokee–Creek War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Blue Star Memorial A tribute to the Armed Forces
Cherokee County, GA
Born in New Jersey in 1945 as a highway planting of blue-star dogwoods for World War II service members, the Blue Star Memorial grew into a national program honoring everyone who has worn the uniform. This Cherokee County marker was placed by the county's Garden Club Council within the Garden Club of Georgia's Laurel District. Its name borrows the blue star of the service flags families displayed during wartime.
Blue Star Memorial Highway
Forsyth County, GA
The Blue Star Memorial Highway program began in 1945, its name taken from the blue-star service flags of the World War II home front. Carried nationwide by the National Garden Clubs, it dedicates American highways as tributes to all who have served in the armed forces. This Forsyth County marker was placed by the Garden Club of Georgia with the Rose Garden Club of Cumming.
Bartow County
Cartersville, GA
Carved out of Cherokee lands in 1832, this northwest Georgia county was first called Cass before the Civil War swept away its old name. In December 1861, with the Confederacy newly formed, Georgia rechristened it for Francis S. Bartow, a Savannah lawyer and politician who had marched off to Virginia at the head of his brigade. Bartow was killed that July at the First Battle of Manassas, one of the earliest prominent Confederate officers to die in the war, and his reported last words—urging his men never to give up—made him a martyr to the Southern cause.
Blue Star Memorial Highway
Marietta, GA
Blue Star Memorial Highways trace their name to the blue-star service flags that families hung in their windows during World War II, one star for each loved one in uniform. Begun by garden clubs in 1945 and carried across the country in the decades after, the program lines American roadsides with living tributes to those who have served. This Marietta marker was placed by Georgia garden clubs in cooperation with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.