General Winfield Scott arrived at New Echota on May 17, 1838 with 7000 men. Early that summer he and the United States Army began the invasion of the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokees who were removed from their land were one of the saddest episodes of our brief history, men, women, and children were taken from their land, herded into makeshift forts with minimal facilities and food, and then forced to march a thousand miles (Some made part of the trip by boat in equally horrible conditions).
Under the general indifferent army commanders, human losses for the first groups of Cherokee removed were extremely high. John Ross made an urgent appeal to Scott, requesting that the general let his people lead the tribe west, General Scott agreed. Ross organized the Cherokee into smaller groups and let them move separately through the wilderness so they could forage for food.
Although the parties under Ross left in early fall and arrived in Oklahoma during the brutal winter of 1838-39, he significantly reduced the loss of life among his people. About 4000 Cherokee died as a result of the removal. The route they traversed and the journey itself became known as "The Trail of Tears" or, as a direct translation from Cherokee, "The Trail Where They Cried" ("Nunna daul Tsuny"). (“The trail of Tears”, ngeorgia.com)
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