The Catawba are known to the Cherokee as Ani'ta'gwa,
singular Ata'gwa, or Ta'gwa. They were the immediate neighbors of the
Cherokee on the east and southeast, having their principal settlements
on the Catawba River, just within the limits of South Carolina. On the
first settlement of South Carolina there were estimated to be about
7,000 persons in the tribe, but their decline was rapid, and by war and
disease their number had been reduced in 1775 to barely 500, including
the incorporated remnants of the Cheraw and several smaller tribes.
There are now, perhaps, 100 still remaining on a small reservation near
the site of their ancient towns.
The Cherokee and Catawba tribes were hereditary enemies, and the
feeling between them is nearly as bitter today as it was a hundred
years ago. Perhaps the only case on record of their acting together was
in the war of 1711-1713, when they cooperated with the colonists
against the Tuscarora.
The Catawba assisted the whites against the Cherokee in the war of 1760
and in the later Revolutionary struggle. About 100 warriors, nearly the
whole fighting strength of the tribe, took part in the first-mentioned
war, several being killed, and a smaller number accompanied
Williamson's force in 1776. In this engagement, which was one of the
bloodiest Indian encounters of the Revolution, the Cherokee claim that
they had actually defeated the troops and their Catawba allies, when
their own ammunition gave out and they were consequently forced to
retire. The Cherokee leader was a noted war chief named Tsan-i (John).
About 1840 nearly the whole Catawba tribe moved up from South Carolina
and joined the eastern band of Cherokee, but in consequence of tribal
jealousies they remained but a short time, and afterward returned to
their former home.
Source:
Roots Web. Catawba Native American History South Carolina.
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