The Battle of Horseshoe Bend--Determining the Facts 3 Reading 3: The Battle of Horseshoe Bend and Its Consequences The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was fought on March 27, 1814. Red Eagle was not present that day, but more than 1,000 Creek warriors were assembled behind a barricade that crossed the neck of the peninsula. In the toe of the peninsula, in Tohopeka Village, were another 500 women and children. Led by a chief named Menawa and the prophet Monahee, the Red Sticks hoped for a decisive victory over Andrew Jackson�s force of 2,600 European American soldiers, 500 Cherokee, and 100 Lower Creek. Jackson, at this time a Major General in the Tennessee Militia, led forces who arrived at Horseshoe Bend at 10:30 a.m. The U.S. Army�s 39th Regiment and the East Tennessee Militia formed a line facing the barricade. To their rear, the West (Middle Tennessee) Militia formed a second parallel line.

Well forward and to the right of both lines, on a rise about 250 yards from the breastwork, Jackson placed two artillery pieces aimed at the center of the barricade. Other troops surrounded the toe of the peninsula on the opposite side of the river to prevent a Creek retreat and to keep reinforcements from reaching the Red Sticks. The barricade impressed Jackson, who described it in a letter he wrote the next day: It is impossible to conceive a situation more eligible for defence than the one they had chosen and the skill which they manifested in their breastwork was really astonishing. It extended across the point in such a direction as that a force approaching would be exposed to a double fire, while they lay entirely safe behind it. It would have been impossible to have raked it with cannon to any advantage even if we had had possession of one extremity.¹ For the first two hours of the battle, cannon shot plunged into the barrier, injuring the men behind it. The fortification remained strong enough, however, to prevent the attackers from marching through it. Meanwhile, some of Jackson�s American Indian allies who were guarding the south side of the Tallapoosa decided to swim 120 yards across the river.

There they stole Red Stick canoes, which they used to transport a mixed force of Cherokee, Creek, and Tennessee Militia back to the peninsula. These men attacked the Red Sticks from the rear, burning the village of Tohopeka and taking the women and children prisoner. The main army, however, was still blocked by the breastwork. Jackson saw the smoke rising from Tohopeka Village and heard continuing small arms fire from the peninsula. He decided to assault the barricade directly while the Creek were diverted to their rear. Though a failed charge could destroy his army, Jackson concluded that the futility of the artillery bombardment left him no alternative. At 12:30 p.m. a roll of the drums signaled the beginning of the attack. The fighting was ferocious, with great bravery displayed by both sides. Jackson reported that the action was maintained "muzzle to muzzle through the port holes, in which many of the enemy�s balls were welded to the bayonets of our musquets...." Once the breastwork was surmounted, hand-to-hand fighting ensued. Slowly, the superior numbers of Jackson�s infantry overwhelmed the Red Stick warriors, who also found themselves harassed from behind by the Indians and other militia units who had crossed the river.

What followed is best described as a slaughter. European American soldiers and their Creek allies killed as many Red Sticks as possible. For example, they set fire to a heap of timber the peninsula�s defenders had hidden behind; when the Red Sticks emerged, they were immediately shot down. The bloodshed continued until dark; the next morning another 16 Creek, found hidden under the banks, were killed. In the end, 557 warriors died on the battlefield and an estimated 250 to 300 more drowned or were shot trying to cross the river. Only 49 Tennessee militia men died that day, and another 154 were wounded, many mortally. Fewer than a dozen "friendly" Creek also died. Among the militia was 21-year-old ensign Sam Houston, later governor of Tennessee and president of the Republic of Texas. Years later he described the results of the battle: The sun was going down, and it set on the ruin of the Creek nation.

Where, but a few hours before a thousand brave...[warriors] had scowled on death and their assailants, there was nothing to be seen but volumes of dense smoke, rising heavily over the corpses of painted warriors, and the burning ruins of their fortifications.² The Battle of Horseshoe Bend effectively ended the Creek War. In August Jackson went against orders from Washington and single­handedly negotiated the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which forced the Creek to cede almost 20 million acresnearly half their territoryto the U.S. Although most of the land the U.S. government took had been held by Red Sticks, the territory also included many villages and a great deal of hunting land held by friendly Creek. (In the 1960s the Creek won a judicial decision that provided compensation to the heirs of those whose land was taken unfairly.) Surprisingly, Red Eagle, who was not at Horseshoe Bend, was one of the Creek who made out well after the war. When he surrendered to Jackson, he received a promise of safe passage for Red Stick women and children, most of whom were now ill and hungry.

It appears this deal with Jackson also allowed Red Eagle to retain his farm in southern Alabama. Horseshoe Bend was not the last conflict between Jackson and the Creek. Rather than surrender, some Upper Creek fled to northern Florida where they allied themselves with the Seminole. For a brief time they received weapons from the British, but in 1814 England decided to concentrate on defeating Napoleon and stopped sending supplies. The Seminole continued to fight European American settlement anyway, first as part of the War of 1812, then in what became known as the First Seminole War (1818-1819). In 1818 Jackson led an army into Florida, then claimed by Spain, to stop the Seminole from attacking border settlements and providing refuge for slaves. This campaign increased Jackson�s popularity among American citizens, because he won victories that forced the Spanish to cede Florida to the United States. Many of the remaining American Indians then moved into the Florida swamps. After Horseshoe Bend, the European American population of Georgia and Alabama continued to skyrocket.

In the latter state, for example, the non­Indian population rose from 9,000 in 1810 to 310,000 in 1830. Despite increasing pressure from European American settlers, however, the Creek resisted attempts to force them to sell their lands. When William McIntosh, a mestizo chief, attempted to sell the U.S. virtually all the remaining Creek territory, the Creek council voted to execute him. Leading the party that carried out this sentence was Menawa, who had survived terrible injuries from Horseshoe Bend to regain a position of leadership among both Lower and Upper Creek. Yet ultimately the Creek could not hold back the flood of European Americans into their homeland. In 1829 Jackson became president, in part because of the popularity he had acquired from his victories over American Indians. He decided to adopt the Indian policy favored by most Southerners who wanted more land: move the remaining tribes west of the Mississippi to "Indian Territory," what today is Oklahoma. The Cherokee, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Creek and the Seminolethe "Five Civilized Tribes"each had treaties signed by the U.S.

giving them control of their lands, and in 1831 the Supreme Court upheld the Cherokee land titles. But the Jackson Administration ignored these facts and forced the five tribes to move. Responses to federal policy varied. The relocation of the five tribes became known collectively as the "Trail of Tears," because it separated the tribes from their homelands and caused many deaths during the trip. Perhaps as many as 25,000 Creek (including Menawa) reluctantly took part. Other Creek decided to move south and continue fighting the U.S. government. In Florida, these Indians joined those Seminole who also refused to move; together they fought the Second Seminole War (1835-42). Finally, some Red Sticks slipped quietly into southwestern Alabama, joining other Creek who had moved there both before and after Horseshoe Bend. Today members of the dominant group in the area are known as "Poarch" Creek, a name whose origin is unclear. Questions for Reading 3 (*Refer to Map 3 as needed for the following questions.) 1. Why did Red Stick leaders, even with 2,000 fewer soldiers, believe they could score a victory over U.S. troops? 2.

What was Jackson's reaction to the Creek barricade? 3. What two events turned the battle to Jackson's advantage? 4. Why do you think the militia and its Indian allies were so brutal toward the peninsula's defenders? 5. What were the terms of the Treaty of Fort Jackson? Were the Lower Creek rewarded for assisting the U.S.? 6. What did Jackson's popularity reveal about European American attitudes toward American Indians during the early 19th century? Do you think someone with experiences and beliefs like his could become president today? Why or why not? Reading 3 was compiled from George C. Mackenzie, "The Indian Breastwork in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Its Size, Location, and Construction," National Park Service, 1969; the National Park Service�s visitor�s guide for Horseshoe Bend National Military Park; Donald Hickey, The War of 1812, A Forgotten Conflict (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1989); J. Leitch Wright, Creeks & Seminoles: The Destruction and Regeneration of the Muscogulge People (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992); J.

Anthony Paredes, "Federal Recognition and the Poarch Creek Indians," in Paredes, ed., Indians of the Southeastern United States in the Late 20th Century (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1989), 120-22. ¹Jackson Papers, first series, vol. XVIII, doc. 1586, Library of Congress. ²Donald Day and Harry Herbert Ullom, eds., The Autobiography of Sam Houston (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1954), 12. Battle of Horseshoe Bend | Encyclopedia of Alabama Battle of Horseshoe Bend Ove Jensen, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park Map of Horseshoe Bend On the morning of March 27, 1814, in what is now Tallapoosa County , General Andrew Jackson and an army consisting of Tennessee militia, United States regulars, and Cherokee and Lower Creek allies attacked Chief Menawa and his Upper Creek , or Red Stick, warriors fortified in the Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River. Facing overwhelming odds, the Red Sticks fought bravely yet ultimately lost the battle.

More than 800 Upper Creek warriors died at Horseshoe Bend defending their homeland. This was the final battle of the Creek War of 1813 – 14 . The victory at Horseshoe Bend brought Andrew Jackson national attention and helped elect him president in 1828. In a peace treaty signed after the battle, the Creeks ceded nearly 23 million acres of land to the United States. Long before the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the Creek (also known as Muskogee) people lived in a loose confederation of towns along the rivers of Georgia and Alabama . Anglo-American settlers divided the Creek towns geographically into two groups: the Lower Towns along the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Ocmulgee Rivers; and the Upper Towns along the Tallapoosa, Coosa, and Alabama Rivers. In 1811, Shawnee military leader Tecumseh visited the southeastern tribes hoping to encourage them to return to their ancient traditions as well as drive the Americans from their ancestral lands. Many individuals in the Upper Creek Towns responded favorably to Tecumseh.

When war broke out between the United States and Great Britain in 1812, a few Creek warriors joined Tecumseh and the British in fighting the Americans. The War of 1812 in turn brought on the Creek War of 1813–14 (also known as the Creek Civil War), a struggle between Creeks in both the Upper and Lower towns friendly to the United States and a faction in the Upper Towns called the Red Sticks, hostile towards the Americans. Many scholars believe that the Red Sticks took their name from their red-painted war clubs. Massacre at Fort Mims On July 27, 1813, a small force of Mississippi Territory Militia ambushed a party of Red Sticks returning from Pensacola with Spanish ammunition and supplies at Burnt Corn Creek, located near the border of what is now Conecuh and Escambia counties. One month later, on August 30, the Red Sticks retaliated by killing 250 Creek and American settlers at Fort Mims, a stockade just north of Mobile . The Fort Mims Massacre , as it came to be known, turned the Creek Civil War into a larger conflict, with U.S.

forces from Tennessee, Georgia, and the Mississippi Territory launching a three-pronged assault into Creek territory. The governor of Tennessee appointed Andrew Jackson, a prominent state politician and militia officer, to lead a portion of the state's militia into Creek country. Jackson fought a slow and difficult campaign south along the Coosa River. In March 1814, reinforced by regular soldiers of the Thirty-ninth United States Infantry, Jackson left the Coosa with a force of 3,300 men, including 500 Cherokee and 100 Lower Creek warriors allied to the United States. He intended to attack a Red Stick refuge and defensive position in the Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River. On March 26, Jackson's army camped six miles northwest of Horseshoe Bend. Menawa, a respected war leader from the town of Okfuskee, waited at the bend with 1,000 Red Stick warriors and at least 350 women and children.

Beginning in December 1813, people from six Upper Creek towns—Newyaucau, Oakfuskee, Oakchaya, Eufaula, Fishponds, and Hillabee—had gathered at Horseshoe Bend for protection. At the toe of the bend, they built a temporary village, which they called Tohopeka, consisting of about 300 log houses. Across the narrow neck of the bend they constructed a log-and-dirt barricade nearly 400 yards long. In this fortified place, the Red Sticks hoped to defeat an attacking army or at least delay the attackers while the women, children, and older men escaped down river. John Coffee At 6:30 on the morning of March 27, Jackson divided his army. He ordered General John Coffee's force of 700 mounted riflemen and 600 allied warriors to cross the Tallapoosa about two and one half miles downriver from Tohopeka and surround the village. The 2,000 remaining men, led by Jackson, marched directly for the neck of the horseshoe and the barricade. Jackson knew that it would be difficult to attack the imposing barricade.

He chose the Thirty-ninth Infantry, the most disciplined and best trained of his soldiers, to lead the assault. Before sending them forward, he determined to blow a hole in the wall with his cannon. The bombardment began at 10:30 a.m. For two hours the guns fired iron shot at the barricade protecting the Red Sticks, who waited and shouted at the army to meet them in hand-to-hand combat. Perhaps a third of the 1,000 warriors defending the barricade possessed a musket or rifle. Meanwhile, across the river from Tohopeka, three of Coffee's Cherokee warriors slipped into the river and swam to canoes lying on the opposite bank. Using the stolen canoes, the Cherokee and Lower Creek warriors crossed the river in increasing numbers, attacking and burning Tohopeka from the rear. At 12:30 p.m., Jackson launched his attack, after seeing smoke rising above the treetops and hearing gunshots. Drummers signaled the advance, and with bayonets fixed, the regulars swept forward. After a few minutes of brutal fighting, the Red Sticks fell back to the interior of the bend. They fought desperately but were outgunned and vastly outnumbered.

Many tried to escape into the river, but Coffee's men shot them before they reached the opposite bank. The fighting raged nearly six hours before darkness fell and ended the battle. Chief Menawa More than 800 Red Stick warriors died that day, with 557 counted on the battlefield and an estimated 300 shot in the river. Of Jackson's troops, 49 were killed and 154 wounded. The 350 Upper Creek women and children became prisoners of the Cherokee and Lower Creek warriors. Chief Menawa was wounded seven times but escaped the slaughter. By his own account he lay among the dead until nightfall and then crawled to the river, climbed into a canoe, and disappeared into the darkness. Menawa remained a prominent leader in Creek society and continued to live along the Tallapoosa River until 1836, when he was forced to relocate to Indian Territory in what is today Oklahoma. Treaty of Fort Jackson The Battle of Horseshoe Bend effectively ended the Creek War of 1813–14 and made Andrew Jackson a national hero. He was made a major general in the U.S.

Army and on January 8, 1815, defeated the British forces at the Battle of New Orleans. The battles of Horseshoe Bend and New Orleans made Jackson popular enough to be elected as the seventh president of the United States in 1828. During his presidency, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, a law providing for the removal of all the Southeastern Indian tribes. A few months after Horseshoe Bend, on August 9, 1814, Andrew Jackson and a gathering of Creek chiefs signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson officially ending the Creek War and ceding nearly 23 million acres of Creek land to the United States. Thousands of American settlers poured into this vast area, with much of the land becoming the state of Alabama in 1819. Today, the battlefield is preserved by the National Park Service as Horseshoe Bend National Mi litary Park , near Dadeville , Alabama. Additional Resources Halbert, H. S., and T. H. Ball. The Creek War of 1813 and 1814. 1895. Reprint, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1969.

Holland, James W. Andrew Jackson and the Creek War: Victory at the Horseshoe. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1968. Martin, Joel W. Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees' Struggle for a New World. Boston: Beacon Press, 1991. Stiggins, George. Creek Indian History: A Historical Narrative of the Genealogy, Traditions and Downfall of the Ispocoga or Creek Indians. Birmingham, Ala.: Birmingham Public Library Press, 1989. Published: February 26, 2007 | &nbspLast updated: October 8, 2014 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALABAMA Welcome to your free, online resource on Alabama history, culture, geography, and natural environment. This site offers articles on Alabama's famous people, historic events, sports, art, literature, industry, government, plant and animal life, agriculture, recreation, and so much more. NAVIGATE Tennessee History for Kids Horseshoe Bend Note: See the bottom of this tour for photographs taken at the 200th anniversary of this battle.

From here you can see the field through which Jackson's army attacked the Red Sticks. Some of the more important events in Tennessee history didn't happen in Tennessee. On March 27, 1814, an army led by Andrew Jackson and consisting of, among others, nearly 2,000 volunteer soldiers from Tennessee, attacked a Creek Indian stronghold in what is now Tallapoosa County, Alabama. The victory by Jackson's army at Horseshoe Bend brought an end to the Creek nation's power east of the Mississippi River. It made Jackson famous. It started the process under which the state of Alabama was created. So why did the Battle of Horseshoe Bend take place? It happened during the War of 1812, a war in which the British encouraged Native Americans to fight against the United States. It happened a couple of years after the Shawnee chief Tecumseh came south and encouraged other Native American tribes to fight against whites. It occurred at a time when the American government was trying to "civilize" Native American tribes and build a new road through Creek territory, which many Creeks did not want.

An artist's depiction of the Battle of Fort Mims Not all of the Creeks took up arms against the American Army in 1813 and 1814. Those that did are referred to as Red Sticks. (So, much like the Chickagamaugans were the warlike tribe within the Cherokee nation, the Red Sticks were the warlike tribe within the Creek nation.) Starting in February 1813, there were several military engagements between the Red Sticks and Americans. Prior to Horseshoe Bend, the best known of these took place at Fort Mims, near Mobile, Alabama, in August 1813. At Fort Mims an army of about 1,000 Red Sticks killed an estimated 250 settlers, including women and children. "Remember Fort Mims" became the rallying cry for Americans to fight the Creeks. Horseshoe Bend from above. The highway you see, crossing the Tallapoosa River, was obviously not there in 1814. In March 1814 the Red Sticks, led by a warrior named Menawa, set up a stronghold near a Creek town called Tohopeka.

It was surrounded on the west, south and east by the Tallapoosa River, and protected on the north by a long log barricade. Menawa's thousand warriors believed they were safe from attack. But only about a third of them possessed muskets. The rest were armed with bows, arrows, tomahawks and warclubs. Jackson's army of 3,300 men consisted of several parts: soldiers from the U.S. Army; Tennessee militia; 500 Cherokee warriors; and about 100 Creek warriors opposed to the Red Sticks. Jackson decided to blast the log barricade using two cannons, then attack the barricade with the infantry. If and when the Creeks tried to retreat across the river, they would be shot by 600 sharpshooters from Tennessee and by the Cherokee warriors, who he sent to surround the village on the other side of the river. Jackson General Jackson, wary of deserters and undiscipined soldiers, told his men that he would not tolerate disobedience. "Any officer or soldier who flies before the enemy without being compelled to do so by superior force and actual necessity shall suffer death," he told his men.

A diorama of the infantry attacking the barricade at Horseshoe Bend Things didn't go according to plans. At 10:30 a.m., Jackson's cannons opened fire. For nearly two hours, shells landed on or near the barricade and did not appear to blast holes in it, as Jackson had hoped they would. But as soon as they heard the cannon fire, the Cherokee and Creek warriors allied to the Americans decided to cross the river and attack on their own. General Jackson then ordered his infantry to attack the barricade on foot. Fighting was fierce; most of it hand-to-hand. "Arrows, spears and balls were flying," one participant later wrote, "swords and tomahawks were gleaming in the sun." Creek warriors at the barricade were soon overwhelmed. Those that weren't killed immediately retreated--some to protect their village from the Cherokee attack that had come from the rear and some to get away from the American assault in the front. The battle soon deteriorated into a slaughter. Many Creek warriors found it impossible to defend their village and, unwilling to surrender, tried to cross the Tallapoosa River.

Practically all of them who tried to cross the river were shot by the sharpshooters from Tennessee. So many died crossing the river, in fact, that the river is said to have been red with blood. Artifacts from the battle can be seen at the visitors center. Today we estimate that about 800 Creeks died -- the largest death toll for Native Americans in a single battle in American history. On the American side, 26 men were killed, while 18 Cherokees and five Creeks who fought for the Americans also died. A few months later, in August 1814, the Creeks signed what is known as the Treaty of Fort Jackson, ceding much of what is now central and southern Alabama and southern Georgia to the American nation. This gun is stationed about where the American army had its cannon on the day of the battle. Now for a few points of interest about this battle: * Practically none of the Creek warriors surrendered, but chose to fight to the death. Many Creek women and children in the village of Tohopeka did surrender, however, and most of them were later transferred to an encampment in Huntsville, Alabama.

* The American army apparently left the dead Creek warriors, unburied, on the battlefield. They buried their own dead (other than Major Montgomery) in the Tallapoosa River. Sam Houston * Among the Americans who attacked the Creek barricade that day was a young officer named Sam Houston. He fought on in spite of the fact that he was hit by an arrow in his thigh, then was hit twice by bullets. Houston was later elected governor of two states: Tennessee and Texas. * During the Indian Removal of 1830s, many Cherokees bitterly recalled how Cherokee warriors fought with Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Many said at that time that a Cherokee warrior named Junaluska actually saved Andrew Jackson's life at Horseshoe Bend. Whether this it true or not, Cherokee warriors certainly played an important part in the American victory at Horseshoe Bend. In fact, two of the young Cherokee warriors who fought that day were John Ross and Major Ridge--both of whom would play important roles in the fate of the Cherokee nation in the 1830s It's a long drive from Tennessee to Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, which is near Alexander City, Alabama.

If you can't visit Horseshoe Bend, there is another way bring the battle to your classroom, and that is to get a copy of a DVD that illustrates the battle. To do so, call the park at 256-234-7111. And now for some photos from March 27, 2014--the 200th anniversary of the battle: * The Muscogee Creek nation was out in full force. Here are some of its members who were present. Here are some of the members of the Muscogee color guard--all U.S. military veterans. For the first time since BEFORE THE BATTLE, members of the Creek tribe did ceremonial dances on the former site of the village of Tohopeka. Some of the participants were old, some not so old. History Bill got to meet George Tiger, who is the principal chief of the Muscogee Nation. " We love the booklets you all have provided! What a terrific resource to use in learning about our great state of Tennessee.

" The Battle of Horseshoe Bend The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (Horseshoe Bend National Military Park) Today the Tallapoosa River quietly winds its way through east-central Alabama, its banks edged by the remnants of the forest that once covered the Southeast. About halfway down its 270-mile run to the southwest, the river curls back on itself to form a peninsula. The land defined by this "horseshoe bend" covers about 100 wooded acres; a finger of high ground points down its center, and an island stands sentinel on its west side. This tranquil setting belies the violence that cut through Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814. On the peninsula stood 1,000 American Indian warriors, members of the tribe European Americans knew as the Creek. These men, along with 350 women and children, had arrived over the previous six months in search of refuge. Many had been part of a series of costly battles during the past year, all fought in an attempt to regain the autonomy the Indians had held before the arrival of European Americans.

Surrounding the Creek were forces led by future President Andrew Jackson, then a major general of the Tennessee Militia. The core of his force was 2,600 European American soldiers, most of whom hoped that a victory would open native land to European American settlement. Yet this fight was not simply European American versus American Indian: on Jackson's side were 600 "friendly" Indians, including 100 Creek. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, as the events of March 27 became known, illustrated three long-running conflicts in American history. It was yet another fight between European Americans and American Indians, in this case the decisive battle in the Creek War (1813-1814). That day and those leading up to it also provided an example of tensions among American Indians, even those in the same tribe. Finally, both Creek factions received support from white governments, thereby continuing the long tradition of European nations attempting to defeat their rivals by enlisting the native population. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was fought on March 27, 1814.

Red Eagle was not present that day, but more than 1,000 Creek warriors were assembled behind a barricade that crossed the neck of the peninsula. In the toe of the peninsula, in Tohopeka Village, were another 500 women and children. Led by a chief named Menawa and the prophet Monahee, the Red Sticks hoped for a decisive victory over Andrew Jacksonï¿½s force of 2,600 European American soldiers, 500 Cherokee, and 100 Lower Creek. Jackson, at this time a Major General in the Tennessee Militia, led forces who arrived at Horseshoe Bend at 10:30 a.m. The U.S. Armyï¿½s 39th Regiment and the East Tennessee Militia formed a line facing the barricade. To their rear, the West (Middle Tennessee) Militia formed a second parallel line. Well forward and to the right of both lines, on a rise about 250 yards from the breastwork, Jackson placed two artillery pieces aimed at the center of the barricade.

Other troops surrounded the toe of the peninsula on the opposite side of the river to prevent a Creek retreat and to keep reinforcements from reaching the Red Sticks. The barricade impressed Jackson, who described it in a letter he wrote the next day: It is impossible to conceive a situation more eligible for defence than the one they had chosen and the skill which they manifested in their breastwork was really astonishing. It extended across the point in such a direction as that a force approaching would be exposed to a double fire, while they lay entirely safe behind it. It would have been impossible to have raked it with cannon to any advantage even if we had had possession of one extremity.ï¿½ For the first two hours of the battle, cannon shot plunged into the barrier, injuring the men behind it. The fortification remained strong enough, however, to prevent the attackers from marching through it. Meanwhile, some of Jacksonï¿½s American Indian allies who were guarding the south side of the Tallapoosa decided to swim 120 yards across the river. There they stole Red Stick canoes, which they used to transport a mixed force of Cherokee, Creek, and Tennessee Militia back to the peninsula.

These men attacked the Red Sticks from the rear, burning the village of Tohopeka and taking the women and children prisoner. The main army, however, was still blocked by the breastwork. Jackson saw the smoke rising from Tohopeka Village and heard continuing small arms fire from the peninsula. He decided to assault the barricade directly while the Creek were diverted to their rear. Though a failed charge could destroy his army, Jackson concluded that the futility of the artillery bombardment left him no alternative. At 12:30 p.m. a roll of the drums signaled the beginning of the attack. The fighting was ferocious, with great bravery displayed by both sides. Jackson reported that the action was maintained "muzzle to muzzle through the port holes, in which many of the enemyï¿½s balls were welded to the bayonets of our musquets...." Once the breastwork was surmounted, hand-to-hand fighting ensued. Slowly, the superior numbers of Jacksonï¿½s infantry overwhelmed the Red Stick warriors, who also found themselves harassed from behind by the Indians and other militia units who had crossed the river. What followed is best described as a slaughter.

European American soldiers and their Creek allies killed as many Red Sticks as possible. For example, they set fire to a heap of timber the peninsulaï¿½s defenders had hidden behind; when the Red Sticks emerged, they were immediately shot down. The bloodshed continued until dark; the next morning another 16 Creek, found hidden under the banks, were killed. In the end, 557 warriors died on the battlefield and an estimated 250 to 300 more drowned or were shot trying to cross the river. Only 49 Tennessee militia men died that day, and another 154 were wounded, many mortally. Fewer than a dozen "friendly" Creek also died. Among the militia was 21-year-old ensign Sam Houston, later governor of Tennessee and president of the Republic of Texas. Years later he described the results of the battle: The sun was going down, and it set on the ruin of the Creek nation.

Where, but a few hours before a thousand brave...[warriors] had scowled on death and their assailants, there was nothing to be seen but volumes of dense smoke, rising heavily over the corpses of painted warriors, and the burning ruins of their fortifications.ï¿½ The Battle of Horseshoe Bend effectively ended the Creek War. In August Jackson went against orders from Washington and singleï¿½handedly negotiated the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which forced the Creek to cede almost 20 million acresï¿½nearly half their territoryï¿½to the U.S. Although most of the land the U.S. government took had been held by Red Sticks, the territory also included many villages and a great deal of hunting land held by friendly Creek. (In the 1960s the Creek won a judicial decision that provided compensation to the heirs of those whose land was taken unfairly.) Surprisingly, Red Eagle, who was not at Horseshoe Bend, was one of the Creek who made out well after the war. When he surrendered to Jackson, he received a promise of safe passage for Red Stick women and children, most of whom were now ill and hungry.

It appears this deal with Jackson also allowed Red Eagle to retain his farm in southern Alabama. Horseshoe Bend was not the last conflict between Jackson and the Creek. Rather than surrender, some Upper Creek fled to northern Florida where they allied themselves with the Seminole. For a brief time they received weapons from the British, but in 1814 England decided to concentrate on defeating Napoleon and stopped sending supplies. The Seminole continued to fight European American settlement anyway, first as part of the War of 1812, then in what became known as the First Seminole War (1818-1819). In 1818 Jackson led an army into Florida, then claimed by Spain, to stop the Seminole from attacking border settlements and providing refuge for slaves. This campaign increased Jacksonï¿½s popularity among American citizens, because he won victories that forced the Spanish to cede Florida to the United States. Many of the remaining American Indians then moved into the Florida swamps. After Horseshoe Bend, the European American population of Georgia and Alabama continued to skyrocket.

In the latter state, for example, the nonï¿½Indian population rose from 9,000 in 1810 to 310,000 in 1830. Despite increasing pressure from European American settlers, however, the Creek resisted attempts to force them to sell their lands. When William McIntosh, a mestizo chief, attempted to sell the U.S. virtually all the remaining Creek territory, the Creek council voted to execute him. Leading the party that carried out this sentence was Menawa, who had survived terrible injuries from Horseshoe Bend to regain a position of leadership among both Lower and Upper Creek. Yet ultimately the Creek could not hold back the flood of European Americans into their homeland. In 1829 Jackson became president, in part because of the popularity he had acquired from his victories over American Indians. He decided to adopt the Indian policy favored by most Southerners who wanted more land: move the remaining tribes west of the Mississippi to "Indian Territory," what today is Oklahoma.

The Cherokee, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Creek and the Seminoleï¿½the "Five Civilized Tribes"ï¿½each had treaties signed by the U.S. giving them control of their lands, and in 1831 the Supreme Court upheld the Cherokee land titles. But the Jackson Administration ignored these facts and forced the five tribes to move. Responses to federal policy varied. The relocation of the five tribes became known collectively as the "Trail of Tears," because it separated the tribes from their homelands and caused many deaths during the trip. Perhaps as many as 25,000 Creek (including Menawa) reluctantly took part. Other Creek decided to move south and continue fighting the U.S. government. In Florida, these Indians joined those Seminole who also refused to move; together they fought the Second Seminole War (1835-42). Finally, some Red Sticks slipped quietly into southwestern Alabama, joining other Creek who had moved there both before and after Horseshoe Bend. Today members of the dominant group in the area are known as "Poarch" Creek, a name whose origin is unclear.

Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) - iSnare Free Encyclopedia Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) The Battle of Horseshoe Bend Date Native American: ~600 warriors Casualties and losses 857 killed, 206 wounded [1] American: Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek Horseshoe Bend The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as Tehopeka, Tohopeka, Cholocco Litabixbee, or The Horseshoe), was fought during the War of 1812 in the Mississippi Territory , now central Alabama . On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian allies under Major General Andrew Jackson [2] defeated the Red Sticks , a part of the Creek Indian tribe who opposed American expansion, effectively ending the Creek War . Contents 9 External links Background This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

(March 2014) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) The Creek Indians of Georgia and the eastern part of the Mississippi Territory had become divided into two factions: the Upper Creek (or Red Sticks ), a majority who opposed American expansion and sided with the British and the colonial authorities of Spanish Florida during the War of 1812; and the Lower Creek, who were more assimilated into the Anglo culture, had a stronger relationship with the U.S. Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins , and sought to remain on good terms with the Americans. The Shawnee leader Tecumseh visited Creek and other Southeast Indian towns in 1811–1812 to recruit warriors to join his war against American territorial encroachment. The Red Sticks, young men who wanted to revive traditional religious and cultural practices, were already forming, resisting assimilation. They began to raid American frontier settlements. When the Lower Creek helped U.S. forces to capture and punish leading raiders, the Lower Creek were punished in turn by the Red Sticks. In 1813, militia troops intercepted a Red Stick party returning from obtaining arms in (Spanish colonial) Pensacola .

While they were looting the material, the Red Sticks returned and defeated them, at what became known as the Battle of Burnt Corn . Red Sticks' raiding of enemy settlements continued; and in August 1813 they attacked an American outpost at Fort Mims , in retaliation for the Burnt Corn attack. After the Fort Mims massacre, frontier settlers appealed to the government for help. Since Federal military forces were committed to waging the War of 1812 against Great Britain , the governments of Tennessee , Georgia , and the Mississippi Territory organized militia forces, which together with Lower Creek and Cherokee allies, fought against the Red Sticks. Andrew Jackson and his forces won the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. [3] Horseshoe Bend was the major battle of the Creek War , in which Jackson sought to "clear" the Mississippi Territory for American settlement. He commanded an army of Tennessee militia men, which he had turned into a well-trained fighting force. John Gordon , another pioneer Tennessean with Indian links, led an assault at the battle as "Captain of the Spies," and Major Ridge also cut himself a figure in this battle leading Cherokee braves.

Added to the militia units were the 39th United States Infantry and about 600 Cherokee , Choctaw , and Lower Creek, fighting against the Red Stick Creek warriors. After leaving Fort Williams in the spring of 1814, Jackson's army cut its way through the forest to within six miles (10 km) of Chief Menawa's Red Stick camp Tehopeka, near a bend in the Tallapoosa River called "Horseshoe Bend"—located in what is now central Alabama , 12 miles (19 km) east of present-day Alexander City . Jackson sent General John Coffee with the mounted infantry and the Indian allies south across the river to surround the Red Sticks' camp, while Jackson stayed with the rest of the 2,000 infantry north of the camp. [4] Battle Map of Alabama during the War of 1812 [5] Battle of Horseshoe Bend [5] :780 On March 27, 1814, General Andrew Jackson led troops consisting of 2,600 American soldiers, 500 Cherokee, and 100 Lower Creek allies up a steep hill near Tehopeka.

From this vantage point, Jackson would begin his attack on the Red Stick fortification. [6] At 6:30am, he split his troops and sent roughly 1300 men to cross the Tallapoosa River and surround the Creek village. Then, at 10:30 a.m., Jackson's remaining troops began an artillery barrage which consisted of two cannons firing for about two hours. Little damage was caused to the Red Sticks or their 400-yard-long, log-and-dirt fortifications. [6] In fact, Jackson was quite impressed with the measures the Red Sticks took to protect their position. As he later wrote: “ It is impossible to conceive a situation more eligible for defence than the one they had chosen and the skill which they manifested in their breastwork was really astonishing. It extended across the point in such a direction as that a force approaching would be exposed to a double fire, while they lay entirely safe behind it. It would have been impossible to have raked it with cannon to any advantage even if we had had possession of one extremity. [7] ” Soon, Jackson ordered a bayonet charge. The 39th U.S.

Infantry, led by Colonel John Williams , [8] charged the breastworks and engaged the Red Sticks in hand-to-hand combat. Sam Houston (the future statesman and leader of Texas ) served as a third lieutenant in Jackson's army. Houston was one of the first to make it over the log barricade alive and received a wound from a Creek arrow that troubled him for the rest of his life. [4] Meanwhile, the troops under the command of General John Coffee had successfully crossed the river and surrounded the encampment. They joined the fight and gave Jackson a great advantage. The Creek warriors refused to surrender, though, and the battle lasted for more than five hours. At the end, roughly 800 of the 1000 Red Stick warriors present at the battle were killed. [9] In contrast, Jackson lost fewer than 50 men during the fight and reported 154 wounded.

After the battle, Jackson's troops made bridle reins from skin taken from Indian corpses, conducted a body count by cutting off the tips of their noses, and sent their clothing as souvenirs to the "ladies of Tennessee." [10] Chief Menawa was severely wounded but survived; he led about 200 of the original 1,000 warriors across the river and toward safety, to join the Seminole tribe in Spanish Florida . Results On August 9, 1814, Andrew Jackson forced the Creek to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson . The Creek Nation was forced to cede 23 million acres (93,000 km2)—half of central Alabama and part of southern Georgia—to the United States government ; this included territory of the Lower Creek, who had been allies of the United States. Jackson had determined the areas from his sense of security needs. Of the 23 million acres (93,000 km2) Jackson forced the Creek to cede 1.9 million acres (7,700 km2), which was claimed by the Cherokee Nation , which had also allied with the United States.

[11] Jackson was promoted to Major General after getting agreement to the treaty. Capture of Pensacola, Battle of New Orleans After the battle, Jackson sent his friend and trusted scout, John Gordon , Captain of the Spies, to secretly go to the Spanish fort at Pensacola to find out if the British were using it as a base to arm the rebellious red stick Creeks. Gordon travelled through hundreds of miles of hostile Creek territory to find the British flag flying at Pensacola and British officers arming and training Creeks. Jackson, with this knowledge, took Pensacola, a controversial move which led ultimately to further battle against the British in New Orleans. [12] This victory, along with that at the Battle of New Orleans , greatly contributed to Jackson's favorable national reputation and his popularity. He was well known when he ran successfully for President in 1828. Legacy Two currently active battalions of the Regular Army (2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 7th Infantry Regiment ) perpetuate the lineage of the old 39th Infantry Regiment , which fought at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

In fiction Eric Flint has written a series of alternate history novels, Trail of Glory , that begin with the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In Flint's version, Houston is only lightly wounded in the battle, allowing him freedom to develop his career, in turn facilitating the author's objectives. Notes References Andrew Burstein, * Borneman, Walter R. (2004). 1812: The War That Forged a Nation. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-053112-6 . Steve Rajtar, Indian War Sites, (McFarland and Company, Inc., 1999) Robert Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821 (1977) ch. 13 Further reading Holland, James W. "Andrew Jackson and the Creek War: Victory at the Horseshoe Bend," Alabama Review, Oct 1968, Vol. 21 Issue 4, pp 243–275 Kanon, Thomas.

"A Slow, Laborious Slaughter": The Battle of Horseshoe Bend," Tennessee Historical Quarterly, March 1999, Vol. 58 Issue 1, pp 2–15 Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars (2001), ch 4 External links What are 6 important/interesting facts about the Battle of Horseshoe Bend? Who were the battle leaders?What were interesting location details? What... | eNotes January 13, 2010 at 11:23 AM The Battle of Horseshoe Bend near Dadeville, Alabama, was an overwhelming victory for the American forces led by General Andrew Jackson over the Red Stick Creek Indians and their chief, Menewa. Jackson attacked on the morning of March 27, 1814. Jackson had an overwhelming numerical advantage of 3300 men, compared to 1000 Red Stick warriors. Jackson's force included his own West Tennessee Militia (which included 700 cavalry), the 39th U. S. Infantry regiment and 600 Cherokee and Choctaw and lower Creek Indians.

The Creeks lost about 550 men on the field, but Jackson's troops killed about 300 more as they tried to cross the Tallapoosa River. Less than 200 of the 1000 Indians escaped, including Chief Menewa. They eventually joined the Seminole Indians in Florida. Combined American and Native American losses were 47 killed and 159 wounded. Future Texas Governor Sam Houston was one of the first Americans to clear the Creek breastworks, receiving an arrow wound in the leg. Although several hundred Creek Indians fought with Jackson against the Red Sticks, Jackson nevertheless forced the Creeks to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson in August, 1814, in which they gave up 23 million acres of land. Considered both a battle of the War of 1812 and the Creek Indian Wars. The Creek chieftain, Tecumseh, sided with the British in the hopes that they would defeat the Americans since he believed the Indians would receive more favorable treatment from the British.

like 1 dislike 0 January 13, 2010 at 11:06 AM Much of defining "interesting" will have to be contingent on individual choice. What you might find interesting will differ from another person's viewpoint. This would mean that it is essential for you to gauge your own level of interest from research. One thing that I found interesting was the battle leaders on each side. Andrew Jackson led the Americans against the Native American Creek tribe, who were inspired by Tecumseh. Jackson, essentially, wanted to clear out the Native Americans living in what could now be seen as Alabama and thus, engaged in conflict. I found it interesting that Jackson had actually had some Creek Native Americans on his side, as well. The statistics were overwhelming in favor of Jackson's side, with a nearly 17:1 Native American to American kill ratio. like 1 dislike 0 January 13, 2010 at 11:05 AM The Battle of Horseshoe Bend happened in 1814.

In it the Creek tribe was defeated by a joint American and Indian (enemies of the Creeks) force led by Andrew Jackson, who was then a militia general and would later become president of the United States. The Creeks who opposed Jackson were known as the Red Sticks. On their side, about 800 out of 1000 fighters died in the battle. On Jackson's side, 49 were killed out of almost 3000, and 154 were wounded, many of whom died later. The battle forced the Creeks to give up huge chunks of land to the US. like 1 dislike 0 The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (Horseshoe Bend National Military Park) Today the Tallapoosa River quietly winds its way through east-central Alabama, its banks edged by the remnants of the forest that once covered the Southeast. About halfway down its 270-mile run to the southwest, the river curls back on itself to form a peninsula.

The land defined by this "horseshoe bend" covers about 100 wooded acres; a finger of high ground points down its center, and an island stands sentinel on its west side. This tranquil setting belies the violence that cut through Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814. On the peninsula stood 1,000 American Indian warriors, members of the tribe European Americans knew as the Creek. These men, along with 350 women and children, had arrived over the previous six months in search of refuge. Many had been part of a series of costly battles during the past year, all fought in an attempt to regain the autonomy the Indians had held before the arrival of European Americans. Surrounding the Creek were forces led by future President Andrew Jackson, then a major general of the Tennessee Militia. The core of his force was 2,600 European American soldiers, most of whom hoped that a victory would open native land to European American settlement. Yet this fight was not simply European American versus American Indian: on Jackson's side were 600 "friendly" Indians, including 100 Creek.

The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, as the events of March 27 became known, illustrated three long-running conflicts in American history. It was yet another fight between European Americans and American Indians, in this case the decisive battle in the Creek War (1813-1814). That day and those leading up to it also provided an example of tensions among American Indians, even those in the same tribe. Finally, both Creek factions received support from white governments, thereby continuing the long tradition of European nations attempting to defeat their rivals by enlisting the native population. TABLE OF CONTENTS Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) 204,342pages on Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected.

Script error The Battle of Horseshoe Bend Date Native American: ~600 warriors Casualties and losses 857 killed, 206 wounded [1] American: 47 wounded [1] The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as Tohopeka, Cholocco Litabixbee or The Horseshoe), was fought during the War of 1812 in central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian allies under Major General Andrew Jackson [2] defeated the Red Sticks , a part of the Creek Indian tribe who opposed American expansion, effectively ending the Creek War . Contents Edit The battle is considered part of the War of 1812. The Creek Indians of Georgia and Alabama had become divided into two factions: the Upper Creeks (or Red Sticks ), a majority who opposed the American expansion and sided with the British and Spanish during the War of 1812, and the Lower Creek, who were more assimilated, had a stronger relationship with the US Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins , and sought to remain on good terms with the Americans.

The Shawnee leader Tecumseh went to Creek and other Southeast Indian towns in 1811–12 to recruit warriors to join his war against American encroachment. The Red Sticks, young men who wanted to revive traditional religious and cultural practices, were already forming, resisting assimilation. They began to raid American frontier settlements. When the Lower Creek helped United States forces capture and punish leading raiders, they were punished by the Red Sticks. In 1813, militia troops intercepted a Red Stick party returning from obtaining arms in Pensacola. While they were looting the material, the Red Sticks returned and defeated them, at what became known as the Battle of Burnt Corn . Red Sticks raiding of enemy settlements continued, and in August 1813 they attacked Fort Mims in retaliation for the Burnt Corn attack. After that massacre, frontier settlers appealed to the government for help. As Federal forces were devoted to the War of 1812, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama organized militias that were commanded by Colonel Andrew Jackson , together with Lower Creek and Cherokee allies, to go against the Red Sticks.

Jackson and his forces won the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. [3] Horseshoe Bend was the major battle of the Creek War, in which Andrew Jackson sought to "clear" Alabama for American settlement. Colonel Jackson commanded an army of West Tennessee militia, which he had turned into a well-trained fighting force. Added to the militia units was the 39th United States Infantry and about 600 Cherokee, Choctaw and Lower Creek fighting against the Red Stick Creek. After leaving Fort Williams in the spring of 1814, Jackson's army cut its way through the forest to within 6 miles (10 km) of Chief Menawa's Red Stick camp of Tohopeka, near a bend in the Tallapoosa River, called "Horseshoe Bend," in central Alabama, Script error east of what is now Alexander City . Jackson sent General John Coffee with the mounted infantry and the Indian allies south across the river to surround the Red Sticks' camp, while Jackson stayed with the rest of the 2,000 infantry north of the camp.

[1] Battle Battle positions Horseshoe Bend Battlefield On March 27, 1814, General Andrew Jackson led troops consisting of 2,600 American soldiers, 500 Cherokee, and 100 Lower Creek allies up a steep hill near Tohopeka, Alabama. From this vantage point, Jackson would begin his attack on a Red Stick Creek fortification. [2] At 6:30am, he split his troops and sent roughly 1300 men to cross the Tallapoosa River and surround the Creek village. Then, at 10:30 a.m., Jackson's remaining troops began an artillery barrage which consisted of two cannons firing for about two hours. Little damage was caused to the Red Sticks or their 400 yard long log-and-dirt fortifications. [2] In fact, Jackson was quite impressed with the measures the Red Sticks took to protect their position. As he later wrote: “ It is impossible to conceive a situation more eligible for defence than the one they had chosen and the skill which they manifested in their breastwork was really astonishing.

It extended across the point in such a direction as that a force approaching would be exposed to a double fire, while they lay entirely safe behind it. It would have been impossible to have raked it with cannon to any advantage even if we had had possession of one extremity. [3] ” Soon, Jackson ordered a bayonet charge. The 39th U.S. Infantry, led by Colonel John Williams , [4] charged the breastworks defending the camp and caught the Red Sticks in hand-to-hand combat. Sam Houston (the future statesman and politician) served as a third lieutenant in Jackson's army. Houston was one of the first to make it over the log barricade alive and received a wound from a Creek arrow that troubled him the rest of his life. [1] Meanwhile, the rest of Jackson's troops, under the command of General John Coffee, had successfully crossed the river and surrounded the encampment. They joined the fight and gave Jackson a great advantage. The Creek warriors refused to surrender, though, and the battle lasted for more than five hours. At the end, roughly 800 of the 1000 Red Stick warriors present at the battle were killed.

[5] In contrast, Jackson lost fewer than 50 men during the fight and reported 154 wounded. Chief Menawa was severely wounded but survived; he led about 200 of the original 1,000 warriors across the river and into safety among the Seminole tribe in Spanish Florida. Results Edit On August 9, 1814, Andrew Jackson forced the Creek to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson . The Creek Nation was forced to cede Script error—half of central Alabama and part of southern Georgia—to the United States government ; this included territory of the Lower Creek, who had been allies of the United States. Jackson had determined the areas from his sense of security needs. Of the Script error Jackson forced the Creek to cede Script error, which was claimed by the Cherokee Nation, which had also allied with the United States. [1] Jackson was promoted to Major General after getting agreement to the treaty. This victory, along with that at the Battle of New Orleans , greatly contributed to Jackson's national reputation and his popularity.

He was well known when he ran successfully for president in 1828.Script errorScript error[ citation needed ] Two currently active battalions of the Regular Army (2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 7th Infantry Regiment ) perpetuate the lineage of the old 39th Infantry Regiment , which fought at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In fiction Edit Eric Flint has written a series of alternative history novels, Trail of Glory , that begin with the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In Flint's version, Houston is only lightly wounded in the battle. He is breveted to captain by Jackson and sent to Washington to help negotiate a peaceful settlement between the United States and the Cherokee, Creek and other Southeastern tribes. He arrives in Washington shortly after the Battle of Bladensburg , where he rallies defeated US troops and organizes black teamsters into an ad-hoc artillery force to successfully defend the Capitol building and prevent the British from burning Washington. Notes Edit Andrew Burstein, The Passions of Andrew Jackson (Alfred A. Knopf 2003), pp.

105–106 ISBN 0-375-71404-9 John Ehle , Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (Anchor Books Editions 1989), pp 117–121 ISBN 0-385-23954-8 Heidler, David Stephen and Heidler, Jeanne T. "Creek War," in Encyclopedia of the War of 1812, Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, 1997. ISBN 978-0-87436-968-7 Borneman, Walter R. (2004). 1812: The War That Forged a Nation. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-053112-6 . Steve Rajtar, Indian War Sites, (McFarland and Company, Inc., 1999) Robert Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821 (1977) ch.

13 Further reading Battle of Horseshoe Bend Blog Battle of Horseshoe Bend In the early 1800s, the Upper Creek Indians (the Red Sticks) of present-day Georgia and Alabama were deeply troubled by the continuing encroachment of white settlers onto their lands. Tribal leaders counseled restraint and also urged neutrality in the developing rift between the United States and Britain. In 1811, however, the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh visited the southern tribes and urged formation of a confederation to end the diminishment of Indian lands and ways of life. He won many ardent supporters among the younger warriors. When war erupted in 1812 , a series of raids was launched against frontier farms and settlements, and losses were heavy. This regional sidelight to the War of 1812 , known as the Creek War (1813-14) located in Attalla , reached crisis proportions in August 1813. Fort Mims, a small outpost north of Mobile , was overrun; warriors ignored pleas for restraint from their leader Red Eagle (also known as William Weatherford) and slaughtered more than 300 settlers and militia men.

Word of the "Fort Mims Massacre" was received by the ailing Andrew Jackson in Nashville. He was recuperating from a gunshot wound suffered in a brawl with Thomas Hart Benton . Jackson managed to raise a Tennessee militia force of more than 2,000 men and supplemented it with another 1,000 Lower Creek and Cherokee warriors. Beginning in the fall of 1813, Jackson's ill-trained force engaged the enemy in a series of indecisive battles. He stiffened the spines of his unreliable soldiers by executing several men who had panicked under fire. That action exerted an immediate salutary effect on the militia, but it would later be used by his critics in a number of political campaigns. The campaign's conclusive battle was fought on March 27, 1814. It occurred near an Upper Creek village on a horseshoe-shaped bend in the Tallapoosa River near present-day Alexander City, Alabama . Jackson permitted the native women and children to cross the river to safety before he attacked. Then his men nearly wiped out the enemy force.

Jackson wrote later that the carnage was "dreadful." The Upper Creek lost more than 550 killed, while Jackson's combined forces lost only 49. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was significant in several ways: The power of the Upper Creek was broken and the brief Creek War came to a close. The tribe was forced to relinquish more than 23 million acres of their homeland and move farther west. Unfortunately for them, their suffering was not over; they would be pushed into the present western areas of Arkansas and Tennessee, and finally in the 1830s to Oklahoma, a land that held no appeal for their starkly diminished numbers. Extremely rich lands taken from the tribes in Georgia and Alabama were quickly opened to white settlers. The area rapidly became a prime source of cotton, the engine of the Southern economy, and helped to revive the flagging institution of slavery. Jackson's reputation began to take on legendary status during the Creek War. When his militia unit was disbanded, he received a commission as a major-general in the U.S. Army . Without authorization, he led his forces across the international boundary into Florida and seized a Spanish fort at Pensacola (November 1814).

His superiors were infuriated, but the frontiersmen roared their approval. Soon thereafter, Jackson achieved national fame in a heralded victory over the British at New Orleans (January 1815). See also Indian Wars. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend - Palmer's Almanac Palmer's Almanac A diorama of the battle seen here at the Horseshoe Bend National Military Park.(Michael E. Palmer/Palmer's Almanac) The Battle of Horseshoe Bend by Michael E. Palmer March 27 marks the anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, where Gen. Andrew Jackson and 3,500 American soldiers along with Creek and Cherokee allies killed about 1,000 Red Stick warriors in 1814. The Red Sticks were a militant faction of Creek Indians opposed to white expansion into their tribal homelands in west Georgia and most of Alabama. Incited by the Shawnee warrior Tecumseh, the Red Sticks began killing settlers on the fringes of their territory. That precipitated a Creek civil war between the Red Sticks and those Indians allied with the Americans.

At Fort Mims , the Red Sticks massacred about 300 white and mixed-blooded Indians taking refuge in the fort. Thus began the Creek War of 1813-14. Enter Andrew Jackson, a Tennessee militia general who came to be known as “Old Hickory" by the whites. The Indians called Jackson “Sharp Knife." After the Fort Mims massacre, Jackson and his Tennessee militia marched south from Nashville and brought war to the Red Sticks. He defeated them at Tallushatchee , Enitachopko and Emuckfau. At Talladega he defeated a band of Red Sticks besieging the allied Indian town. After those battles, the Red Sticks moved to a bend in the Tallapoosa River that we know today as Horseshoe Bend. The Creeks called the bend Cholocco Litabixee, or horse’s hoof. Here, the Red Sticks would make a last stand. Jackson and his army along with the Indian allies surrounded the town and crushed the last of the Red Stick resistance. It was a slaughter. “The carnage was dreadful," Jackson wrote later.

According to some historians, this battle was one of the most important strategic Indian battles of the 19th century, even more important than the Battle of Little Big Horn. “Custer’s defeat in Montana 62 years later does not even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with Horseshoe Bend," writes John Buchanan in his book Jackson’s Way. Jackson removed the Red Sticks as a potential British ally in the War of 1812. Also, with the defeat and surrender, Alabama was opened ﻿up to land-hungry whites pushing down from Georgia and the Carolinas. Andrew Jackson’s actions in this war, and later as president, would set the twin-standard for America’s Indian policy in the 19th century: annihilation and removal. After the battle, Jackson forced the Red Sticks and allied Creek Indians to cede about 20,000,000 acres of their homeland to the United States in the Treaty of Fort Jackson. They had to give up land that today comprises most of the state of Alabama.

Sixteen years later, as president of the United States, Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced all Indians east of the Mississippi River- the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees and Seminoles - onto reservations in Oklahoma. The allied Indians that helped Jackson defeat the Red Sticks and British had trouble understanding their forced removal. But go they did. And I wonder, as they turned toward Oklahoma on the trail of tears, if they could feel a sharp knife in their backs. To read about the historians of Horseshoe Bend click here . ✕

Question: Which American General later President won the Battle of Horseshoe Bend?
Answer: ANDREW JACKSON