Carolinians Repel Cherokee Attack at Battle of Island Flats

On July 20, 1776, approximately 200 Cherokee warriors led by Dragging Canoe attacked a settlement on the Long Island of the Holston River in present-day Kingsport, Tennessee. A force of Carolinians repulsed the assault, which became known as the Battle of Island Flats. The engagement left 14 Cherokee dead and caused serious injuries to Dragging Canoe.

The conflict emerged from a British Empire strategy to utilize the Chickamauga Cherokees as allies to destabilize American rebels and subdue the southern colonies. This effort was supported by a delegation of pro-British northern tribe chiefs led by the Shawnee leader Cornstalk, who sought to persuade the Cherokee to join the war.

The British strategy failed because Dragging Canoe prioritized land disputes over imperial objectives. Instead of targeting Patriot settlements in the Carolina backcountry as the British desired, he attacked white settlements on the Holston, Nolichucky, and Watauga rivers, many of which were inhabited by neutrals or Loyalists.

This tactical misalignment had significant political consequences. The violence drove many previously neutral Americans to join the Patriot cause and resulted in the subsequent devastation of numerous Cherokee towns, ultimately undermining the British southern campaign.