On June 27, 1760, Cherokee warriors ambushed British forces near what is now Otto in Macon County. The First Battle of Echoee Pass halted a British campaign against the Cherokee Middle Settlements.
When the French and Indian War began in 1754, the Cherokee allied with the British against the French. While returning from a British Campaign in Pennsylvania in 1758, dozens of Cherokee warriors were murdered by Virginia militia. Additional murders in North and South Carolina resulted in Cherokee revenge attacks in the Catawba and Yadkin Valleys in early 1759. Later that year, a Cherokee peace delegation was taken captive by South Carolina. Most were murdered in early 1760.
Enraged at the betrayal, Cherokee warriors began attacking the frontiers of both Carolinas. Col. Archibald Montgomery was dispatched to South Carolina and led nearly 2000 men on a punitive campaign against the Cherokee.
Colonel Montgomery was forced to retreat following the Battle of Echotee Pass. To avenge the ten towns burned by Montgomery, the Cherokee once again attacked the Carolinas. A peace treaty was signed following the destruction of eighteen more Cherokee towns.