Bowles Monument by PeppermintPics on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Chief Bowles monument at the Battle of Neches site, near Ben Wheeler, TX

On July 15 and 16, 1839, the Battle of Neches was fought between white settlers and Indian tribes. They were led by Cherokee Chief Bowles (aka Duwal'li or "Bold Hunter" in Cherokee).

Bowles was born in North Carolina about 1765. He was the son of a scottish father and Cherokee mother. He led fellow Cherokee from North Carolina to Missouri in 1810 to escape the pressures of settlers in the area. Later he lead the tribe into Arkansas and eventually into North East Texas.

In 1836, when the Texas Revolution began, Sam Houston negotiated a treaty with the Indians that guaranteed the Cherokees 1.5 million acres in East Texas, however, following the revolution, the Senate of the Republic of Texas invalidated the treaty due to a previous alliance with Mexico and attacks on settlers. When Mirabeau B Lamar became Sam Houston's successor as president of the Republic, he ordered Bowles and his tribe out of Texas. Negotiations to retain possession of the lands failed, leading to Indians in the area taking a stand against Texas troops in July 1839. While the Indians (800 in total) outnumbered the 500 Texans, the indians were defeated and Chief Bowles was killed.

This monument was erected in 1936 and the first memorial ceremony was held in 1995 to honor those who died at the site. The trail back into the woods where the monument sits, is lined with stones marked with the names of the 13 tribes who participated in the battle. The text of the monument reads: "On this site the Cherokee Chief Bowles was killed on July 16, 1839 while leading 800 indians of various tribes in the last engagement between Cherokees and Whites in Texas."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Neches

http://www.texasescapes.com/AllThingsHistorical/Tragedy-of-Chief-Bowles-704BB.htm

Sadly when we visited the site earlier this year (2024), the grass was tall, trees were beginning to encroach in on the trail and site, and it looked much less maintained than on my previous visits.