Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears State Park in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri commemorates one of the greatest tragedies in American history. The pristine 3,415-acre setting creates a peaceful memorial to the 3,000-4,000 Cherokee who died on the forced march through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas to Oklahoma.

Beginning in May of 1838, over 7,000 troops, under the command of General Winfield Scott, moved into Cherokee country and began rounding-up, disarming the Cherokee and placing them in stockades to await forced removal. Unbearable suffering created an unthinkable devastation of "The People". Ultimately over 16,000 Cherokee were forced to march on the "Trail of Tears" beginning in June of 1838. Contaminated water and food supplies and dysentery struck the group and their marching had to be delayed until October, 1838.

In January of 1839 the winter crossing of the Mississippi River from southern Illinois into Missouri was treacherous. There were delays due to large chunks of ice passing swiftly down river. For days the group suffered the cold January wind while hundreds who were sick or dying were penned up in wagons or merely lay on the frozen earth. The only shelter from the arctic winds was in the form of a blanket placed overhead. Fatigue, whooping cough, and measles claimed up to one-fourth of the men, women, children and elders of the tribes.

Trail of Tears State Park features an Interpretive Center designed to retrace the steps of the Cherokee through a series of interpretive panels. Paintings, maps and other memorabilia depict the crossing of the Mississippi River.