Fort Neoheroka

Fort Neoheroka (or just Neoheroka, Neyuherú•kęˀ [Rudes, B. "Tuscarora English Dictionary" Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999] in Tuscarora) is the name of a stronghold constructed in what is now modern day Greene County, North Carolina by the Tuscarora tribe during the Tuscarora War of 1711-1715. In March of 1713, the fort was besieged and ultimately attacked by a colonial force consisting of an army from neighboring South Carolina, under the command of Col. James Moore and made up mainly of Indians including Yamasee, Apalachee, Catawba, Cherokee, and many others. The 1713 siege lasted for more than three weeks, from around March 1, 1713 to March 22. Hundreds of men women and children were burned to death in a fire that destroyed the fort. Approximately 170 more were killed outside the fort while approximately 400 were taken to South Carolina where they were sold into slavery. The defeat of the Tuscaroras, once the most powerful Indigenous nation in the North Carolina Territory, opened up North Carolina’s interior to further expansion by European settlers. The supremacy of the Tuscaroras in the state was broken forever. Most moved north to live among the Iroquois.

Sources

* Lee, Enoch Lawrence. Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission,Raleigh, NC. Indian Wars in North Carolina, 1663-1763,1963.
* http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/nc/ncsites/tusca2.htm
* http://www.arch.dcr.state.nc.us/amonth/neheroka.htm
* http://tuscaroras.com/fortneoheroka/
* http://www.indiancountrynews.com/fullstory.cfm?ID=511

References