The Henegar house is located in Charleston, Tennessee on Market Street N.E. It has significant importance in our American History.

The importance of Fort Cass, the Henegar House, and Charleston, Tennessee has been sadly overlooked for such a long time. It is with much devotion and honor that we bring this history once again to light.

The site of Fort Cass covers a twelve by for mile area that includes present day Charleston and stretches south from the Hiwassee River toward Cleveland. Between 1836 and 1838, Federal troops were headquartered near the heart of the present day Charleston and the former Cherokee Agency, and temporary encampments were scattered throughout the area. The city of Charleston has developed on top of the former Fort Cass site, thus the buildings from the fort do not exist. Places such as Rattlesnake Springs, the Henegar House, land the site of the Cherokee Agency headquarters remain and help define the area.

As stated in a letter 1897 by H.B. Henegar, “the spot where my residence now stands was the barracks of Fort Cass. The regular soldiers were assisted by several of militia; but not much difficulty was encountered in collecting the Indians, as John Ross’s influence was so great that they came in at his request. John Ross took the contract for their removal, which afterward let to Lewis Ross, who was a better business man.

As headquarters for General Winfield Scott and the U.S. Army from 1836-1838, Fort Cass was the largest of three emigration depots for native Americans, mostly Cherokee, embarking on what is known as the Trail of Tears. Several thousand Cherokee from Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia camped at Fort Cass during that summer as the awaited their departure to the West. So, in the summer of 1838, under President Andrew Jackson’s order, Fort Cass was home to thousands of Native Americans who were uprooted from their homes. They were placed in internment camps and treated as prisoners. Conditions were poor and disease quickly spread.

H.B. Henegar served a secretary to Chief John Ross and belonged to the Quartermasters dept of the eighth detachment during the Cherokee Removal and continued to work for Chief Ross for a short time after the arrival in the West. Afterwards his intentions were to move his family West, but upon return to Charleston, he decided to remain and built a home for his family.