Battle of Horseshoe Bend
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was fought in central Alabama on March 27th, 1814. This is where the United States and its Indian allies under the command of Major General Andrew Jackson defeated the Red Sticks.
This battle is considered part of the War of 1812. The Creek Indians of Georgia and Alabama had become divided into two fractions: the Upper Creeks or Red Sticks, a majority who opposed American expansion and sided with the British and the Spanish during the war of 1812, and the Lower Creek, who were more assimilated, had a stronger relationship with the US Indian Agency, and sought to remain on good terms with the Americans.
On March 27th, 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. At 6:30am, he split his troops and sent roughly 1,300 men to cross the Tallapoosa River and surrounded the Creek Village. Then at 10:30am 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. In fact Jackson was quite impressed with the measures the Red sticks took to protect the position.
Soon Jackson ordered a bayonet charge. The 39th U.S. Infantry, led by Colonel John Williams, charged the breastworks defending the camp and caught the Red Sticks in hand to hand combat. Sam Houston, 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.
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...