NECHES, BATTLE OF THE. The battle of the Neches, fought on July 15 and 16, 1839, was the principal engagement of the Cherokee War. T. J. Rusk, Edward Burleson, and Kelsey H. Douglass,^qqv the latter in chief command, led the Texas troops against Chief Bowl (Chief Duwali) and his Indian warriors. Willis H. Landrum was supposed to intercept the Indians if they turned northward, but he was misled by his guide and did not reach the command until after the battle. An extraordinary fact was that present on the field of battle were David G. Burnet, vice president of the Republic of Texas, and Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, secretary of war, both of whom were cited in the commander's report "for active exertions on the field" and for "having behaved in such a manner as reflects great credit upon themselves." David S. Kaufman and John H. Reagan^qqv also were participants. The battle was fought a few miles west of Tyler, near the Neches River. The first day's engagement was in what is now Henderson County and the second day's in what is now Van Zandt County. The Texan troops numbered 500. The Indian army totaled 700 to 800. The Indians were routed, although pursuit continued until July 24. The aged Indian chief, Duwali, "remained on the field on horseback, wearing a handsome sword and sash which had been given him by President Sam Houston...a magnificent picture of barbaric manhood." He was shot by Henry Conner and Robert W. Smith^qv. The battle of the Neches resulted in the expulsion of the hostile Indians from East Texas and virtually ended Indian troubles in the settled portion of the state.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mary Whatley Clarke, Chief Bowles and the Texas Cherokees (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971). Seymour V. Connor et al., Battles of Texas (Waco: Texian Press, 1967; 3d ed. 1980). Dianna Everett, The Texas Cherokees: A People between Two Fires, 1819-1840 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990). John H. Reagan, "Expulsion of the Cherokees from East Texas," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 1 (July 1897). Marilyn McAdams Sibley, "The Texas Cherokee War of 1839," East Texas Historical Journal 3 (1965). Albert Woldert, "The Last of the Cherokees in Texas and the Life and Death of Chief Bowles," Chronicles of Oklahoma 1 (June 1923).

Hampson Gary