To enforce the treaty, the US government ordered the US Army to move those who did not depart by 1838 in an action that has since been known as the "Trail of Tears." Some Cherokee remained in the wilderness to evade the army, and that remnant became the ancestors of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. About one fourth of the Cherokee who were forced to move died along the trail as they walked. One of them was Ross's wife, Quatie.