The last stand of the Red Stick Creeks and the birth of Alabama

Tohopeka’s Desperate Stand Against Impossible Odds

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park marks the spot where Alabama was born through bloodshed.

On March 27, 1814, Chief Menawa and 1,000 Red Stick Creek warriors made their final stand against Andrew Jackson’s massive army at their village called Tohopeka.

The Creeks built a log barricade across the peninsula and prepared for the fight of their lives. Cherokee allies swam the Tallapoosa River, stole Creek canoes, and attacked from behind while Jackson’s forces stormed the front.

More than 800 Red Stick warriors died in America’s deadliest clash with Native Americans. The defeat forced the Creek Nation to give up 21 million acres.

Here’s the full story of this desperate last stand you can explore today.

Jackson Brought 3,300 Troops to Crush the Red Stick Resistance

Jackson showed up at Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814, with 3,300 men.

His army had 2,600 Tennessee militia and U.S. regulars, plus 600 Cherokee and Lower Creek warriors who sided with the Americans.

They faced about 1,000 Red Stick Creek warriors led by Chief Menawa, who put his fighters behind a big log wall across the peninsula’s neck.

Around 350 Creek women and children took shelter in Tohopeka village by the river.

Jackson split his forces, sending General Coffee with 1,300 men across the river while keeping 2,000 troops for a head-on attack.

Cannon Fire Pounded the Creek Defenses for Two Hours

Jackson ordered two cannon to fire at 10:30 AM from the north side.

The shelling went on for about two hours but did little damage to the strong Red Stick fortifications.

The Creek warriors built their wall with great skill, making a 400-yard barrier of logs and dirt that the cannons couldn’t break through.

Jackson later wrote about the “astonishing” construction of the wall.

The cannons served as a distraction, keeping Red Stick warriors looking north while Coffee’s forces quietly crossed the river to cut off escape routes.

Cherokee Warriors Swam the River and Stole Creek Canoes

General Coffee led 700 mounted infantry and 600 Cherokee and Lower Creek allies across the Tallapoosa River during the cannon fire.

They crossed while the Red Sticks watched Jackson’s noisy cannons from the north.

Coffee’s men set up on the opposite bank, trapping the Creek fighters on the peninsula. Cherokee warriors led by a chief called “Whale” swam across the cold river and grabbed the Red Sticks’ canoes.

This clever move let more allied forces cross the river quickly.

By early afternoon, Jackson’s troops surrounded the peninsula, leaving the Red Sticks nowhere to run.

Sam Houston Got Shot Seven Times During the Fierce Charge

Around 12:30 PM, Jackson ordered a full attack against the Red Stick wall. Tennessee militia, the 39th U.S. Infantry, and allies stormed the barrier with fixed bayonets and clubbed muskets.

Among them was young Sam Houston, who fought despite getting seven wounds during the charge. Houston lived and later became governor of Tennessee, president of Texas, and a U.S. senator.

The fighting turned brutal as American forces pushed through gaps in the massive log wall. The Red Stick warriors fought bravely, having earlier refused Jackson’s offer to let women and children leave the battlefield.

Flames Engulfed the Village as Fighting Spread House to House

American forces broke through the walls and pushed into Tohopeka village. Wooden cabins caught fire during the fighting, sending thick smoke across the peninsula.

Red Stick warriors kept fighting from house to house through the burning village.

Cherokee and Lower Creek allies joined the attack from multiple sides, hitting the village from behind after crossing the river. The siege quickly turned into close fighting.

The Red Sticks fought with strong will, knowing this was their last stand to protect their homeland against much larger forces.

Hundreds of Warriors Drowned Trying to Swim to Safety

Red Stick warriors tried to escape by swimming across the Tallapoosa River as their defenses fell. Coffee’s forces, waiting on the other bank, shot at the swimming warriors.

About 300 Red Sticks died trying to cross the river. Bodies washed up downstream for miles in the days after the battle.

Some fighters tried hiding under the riverbanks, but American troops found and killed most of them. The river turned red with blood as hundreds of Creek warriors died in the water.

Chief Menawa Survived Seven Wounds and Escaped

Chief Menawa, though shot seven times in the fighting, made it to the riverbank alive. He led about 200 surviving warriors in a desperate try to cross the Tallapoosa River and escape the killing.

Most of his men died during the crossing, but Menawa reached the other shore. The surviving Red Sticks ran toward Spanish Florida, where they joined the Seminole tribe.

Menawa’s leadership of the Red Stick resistance ended at Horseshoe Bend, though he lived to see the treaty talks that would cost his people their lands.

The Battle Left More Than 800 Creek Warriors Dead

The battle lasted nearly six hours before the fighting stopped. When American forces counted the dead, they found 557 Red Stick bodies on the battlefield.

They guessed another 300 warriors drowned, bringing the total to more than 800 of the original 1,000 warriors. American losses were much smaller: 49 killed and 154 wounded among the regulars and militia.

Their Cherokee and Lower Creek allies lost 23 dead and 46 wounded. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend stands as the deadliest single battle with Native Americans.

William Weatherford Surrendered at Fort Jackson

Jackson forced surviving Creek leaders to Fort Jackson in the Alabama Territory in August 1814. Talks began on August 1 between Jackson and surrendered Red Stick leader William Weatherford, also known as Red Eagle.

The Lower Creek allies who had fought alongside Jackson complained about the tough terms he wanted, arguing they should keep their lands since they had helped beat the Red Sticks.

Jackson ignored their complaints. The treaty was signed on August 9, 1814, ending the Creek War.

Creeks Lost 23 Million Acres of Their Homeland

The Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creek Nation to give up 23 million acres to the United States.

This huge land grab included more than half of present-day Alabama plus a large part of southern Georgia.

The Creek territory shrank to a small area in east-central Alabama, cutting them off from other friendly tribes.

Jackson said taking so much land paid for what he called the “unprovoked, inhuman, and sanguinary” war costs. The treaty also allowed federal roads and military posts through the remaining Creek lands.

Alabama Became a State Just Five Years Later

The Alabama Territory population exploded from 9,046 people in 1810 to 127,901 by 1820.

Massive land auctions in Huntsville and other towns attracted settlers from Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas.

Cotton plantation agriculture, built on slave labor, quickly became the dominant economic system on the former Creek lands.

Alabama achieved statehood on December 14, 1819, becoming the 22nd state in the Union.

The former Creek hunting grounds transformed into the heart of America’s Cotton Kingdom by 1830, with wealthy plantations spreading across lands that had belonged to the Creek people for centuries.

Visiting Horseshoe Bend National Military Park

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park at 11288 Horseshoe Bend Road in Daviston tells the story of 1,000 Creek warriors who fought their final battle at Tohopeka village.

There’s no entrance fee to visit.

The visitor center opens Wednesday through Sunday from 9am to 4:30pm, while the tour road runs 8am to 5pm daily.

You can drive the five-stop battlefield tour, watch a 22-minute battle film, and see Creek artifacts in the museum. Bring your own food and water.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• How a KKK church bombing in 1963 backfired and accelerated the end of Jim Crow laws
• The night 3,700 untested black soldiers swept through Confederate batteries “like a tornado” at Petersburg
• Robert E. Lee’s Arlington house sheltered the most complex master-slave relationships in Civil War America