Nickajack The ill - defined area known as " Nickajack " generally refers to the rugged Appalachian foothills in eastern Tennessee and northeastern Alabama . " Nickajack " is a corruption of the Cherokee word ᎠᏂ ᎫᏌᏘ Ᏹ ( Ani - Kusati - yi ) which translates to Coosa Town , but more likely references Koasati Town . History . In the late 18th century during the Chickamauga wars , the area was inhabited by renegades , fugitives , and Chickamauga and Creek warriors residing in the " Five Lower Towns " on the Tennessee River ( near present - day Chattanooga ) . The warriors were mostly made up of the Cherokee , led by Dragging Canoe . Small groups of Shawnee and Creek lived with and fought with them , in addition to the occasional large bands of Muskogee , who also served as allies . Renegade whites ; white traders ; Spanish , French , and British agents ; and runaway slaves ( in the earlier years ) also inhabited the area . After those wars , Nickajack eclipsed neighboring town Running Water ( Dragging Canoe ' s seat of operations ) as the dominant town in the immediate area , due to its position on the river near the crossing of the " Federal Road " from Athens to Nashville over the Tennessee River . One of the town ' s more prominent residents , Turtle - at - Home ( Dragging Canoe ' s brother ) , owned the ferry at that crossing and had other commercial interests , in addition to being on the council of the Lower Towns and serving as Speaker of the Cherokee National Council . Civil War era . " Nickajack " was made up of loosely defined regions of North Alabama and East Tennessee where popular sentiment remained loyal to the Union , and were decidedly anti - slavery . In the period leading up to the American Civil War , there had been increasing talk of secession by the politicians representing wealthy plantation owners in the Black Belt . Hill country residents , however , were typically poor dirt - farmers and rarely slave owners . They believed such a war of secession would be " a war for the rich , fought by the poor , " and they wanted to have nothing to do with it . Regional discord . On January 7 , 1861 , Alabama Governor Andrew B . Moore called delegates from Alabama to Montgomery for a convention to debate the Articles of Secession . Delegates from South Alabama wanted the convention delegates to determine the vote , while Northern delegates wanted the issue put to a popular vote . Because the apportionment of delegates to the convention was based on total population ( including slaves ) , the Southern delegates effectively voted " on behalf " of the African - American slaves , who made up a large proportion of the population in the region . The results of the poll determined that the balance of power would shift to the North , where the population was mostly white . Ultimately , the Ordinance of Secession was passed by a vote of 61 to 39 , split along geographic lines . In addition to Nickajack , Winston County , Alabama , threatened to form its own Free State of Winston . These threats of internal separation never materialized , but men in the region fiercely resisted conscription into the Confederate Army , with many joining the Union Army . Nickajack Cave . Nickajack Cave , formerly called Tecallassee , near the site of the former town , may have been used as a hideout and cache by the Chickamauga Cherokee . Its deposits of bat guano were mined by Confederate forces during the Civil War , and the cave became one of the leading sources of saltpeter for the Confederate Powderworks at Augusta , Georgia . The road used to transport the material became known as the " Nickajack Trail . "