The Fort Mims massacre took place on August 30, 1813, at a fortified homestead site 35-40 miles north of Mobile, Alabama, during the Creek War. A large force of Creek Indians belonging to the Red Sticks faction, under the command of headmen Peter McQueen and William Weatherford (also known as Lamochattee or Red Eagle), stormed the fort and defeated the militia garrison.
Afterward, the Red Sticks conducted a massacre, killing almost all the remaining mixed Creek, white settlers, and militia at Fort Mims. They took nearly 100 enslaved African Americans as captives. The small fort consisted of a blockhouse and stockade surrounding the house and outbuildings of settler Samuel Mims.
Background
Map of Alabama during the War of 1812. Fort Mims is located in the lower left.
At the time of the War of 1812, tensions within the Creek Nation split into factions. Creek nativists known as the Red Sticks wanted to keep traditional ways and argued against more accommodation of white settlers. But other Creek, who tended to have had more trading and other relations with whites, favored adopting elements of European-American culture. The Red Stick faction from the Upper Towns opposed both land cessions to settlers and the Lower Towns' assimilation into European-American culture.
These natives were soon called "Red Sticks" because they had raised the "red stick of war," a favored weapon and symbolic Creek war declaration. Civil war among the Creek erupted in the summer of 1813.[7] The Red Sticks attacked headmen associated with accommodation. In the Upper Towns, they began a systematic slaughter of domestic livestock, most of which belonged to men who had gained power by adopting aspects of European culture. Not understanding internal issues among the Creek, frontier whites were alarmed about rising tensions and began 'forting up' and moving into various posts and blockhouses such as Fort Mims, while the states sent military reinforcements to the frontier.[7]
American spies learned that Peter McQueen's party of Red Sticks were in Pensacola, Florida, to acquire food assistance, supplies, and arms from the Spanish.[8] The newly arrived Spanish governor, Mateo González Manrique, authorized giving the Creek 45 barrels of corn and flour, blankets, ribbons, scissors, razors, a few steers, and 1000 pounds of gunpowder and an equivalent supply of lead musket balls and bird shot.[9]
When reports of the Creek pack train reached Colonel Caller, he and Major Daniel Beasley of the Mississippi Volunteers led a mounted force of 6 companies, 150 white militia riflemen, and 30 Tensaw under Captain Dixon Bailey to intercept them. James Caller (Call/Cole) ambushed the Red Sticks in the Battle of Burnt Corn in July 1813[10] as the Creek were having their mid-day meal.[11] While the United States forces were looting the pack trains, the warriors returned and drove off the Americans. The United States was now at war with the Creek Nation.
Fort Mims, 22-Beasley's cabin, 25-Beasley's death, 26-eastern gate
In August 1813, Peter McQueen and Red Eagle (Weatherford) were the Red Stick chiefs who led the attack on Fort Mims. Nearly 1,000 warriors from thirteen Creek towns of the Alabama, the Tallapoosa, and lower Abeka bands gathered at the mouth of Flat Creek on the lower Alabama River.[12]
The mixed-blood whites, who were called Creek, of Tensaw, who had relocated from Upper Creek Towns with the approval of the Creek National Council,[further explanation needed] joined European-American settlers in taking refuge within the stockade of Fort Mims. There were about 517 people,[2][13] including some 265 armed militiamen in the fort.[2] Fort Mims was located about 35 to 45 miles (50–70km) directly north of Mobile on the eastern side of the Alabama River.[14]
On August 21, 1813, a Choctaw warrior arrived at Fort Easley with news that more than 400 Red Stick warriors planned to attack Fort Easley, then Fort Madison. This news was relayed to General Ferdinand Claiborne at St. Stephens, who sent reinforcements to Fort Easley. Claiborne reportedly believed that Major Daniel Beasley, the commander of Fort Mims, could handle an attack, and that Fort Easley was in more immediate danger.[15]
Attack
Alabama Historical Association Fort Mims marker
On August 29, 1813, two enslaved African Americans tending cattle outside the Fort Mims stockade reported that "painted warriors" were in the vicinity, but mounted scouts from the fort found no signs of the war party. Major Beasley had the second slave flogged for "raising a false alarm".[16]
A mounted scout delivered a second warning to Beasley on the morning of the assault, but he dismissed it and took no precautions, reportedly because of being drunk.[17] Some of the reported sightings were by occupants of nearby Fort Pierce. The military leaders of Fort Mims thought those may have been false alarms to gain additional military support at Fort Pierce.[18]
Beasley had claimed that he could "maintain the post against any number of Indians", but historians believe the stockade was poorly defended.[citation needed] At the time of the attack, the east gate was partially blocked open by drifting sand. Beasley had posted no pickets or sentries, dismissing the reports the Creeks were near.[citation needed]
The Red Sticks attacked during the mid-day meal, attempting to take the fort in a coup de main by charging the open gate en masse. At the same time, they took control of the gun loopholes and the outer enclosure. Under Captain Bailey, the militia and settlers held the inner enclosure, fighting on for a time; after about two hours there was a pause of about an hour.[19] The Creek, with their initial impetus blunted inside the fort and casualties rising, held an impromptu council to debate whether to continue the fight.[20] By 3 o'clock, they decided that the Tensaw Native Americans led by Dixon Bailey would have to be killed to avenge their treachery at Burnt Corn.[citation needed]
The Creek launched a second attack at 3 pm. The remaining defenders fell back into a building called the 'bastion'. The Red Sticks set fire to the 'bastion', which spread out to the rest of the stockade.[21] The warriors forced their way into the inner enclosure and killed most of the militia defenders, the mixed-blood Creek, and white settlers.[22]
After a struggle of hours, the defense collapsed entirely. An estimated 500 militiamen, settlers, slaves and Creeks loyal to the Americans died or were captured. The Red Sticks took some 250 scalps. By 5 pm, the battle was over, and the stockade and buildings sacked and in flames. While the Creek spared the lives of most of the enslaved blacks, they took more than 100 of them captive.[23] At least three women and ten children are known to have been taken captive.[24][clarification needed]
Some 36 people, nearly all men, escaped,[2] including Bailey, who was mortally wounded. Two women and one girl also escaped.[25] When a relief column arrived from Fort Stoddard a few weeks later, it found 247 corpses of the defenders and 100 of the Creek attackers.[26]
After their victory, the Red Sticks "razed the surrounding plantations.... They slaughtered over 5,000 head of cattle, destroyed crops and houses, and murdered or stole slaves."[27]:264
The Red Sticks' victory at Fort Mims spread panic throughout the Southeastern United States frontier. Settlers both demanded government action and fled the area. In the weeks following the battle, several thousand persons, about half the population of the Tensaw and Tombigbee districts, fled their settlements for Mobile. Its small population of 500, struggled to deal with them.[29] The Red Stick victory, one of the greatest achieved by Native Americans.[30] But the massacre also marked the transition from a civil war within the Creek (Muskogee) nation to a war between the United States and the Red Stick warriors of the Upper Creek.[26]
Because Federal troops were largely occupied with the northern front of the War of 1812, Tennessee, Georgia, and the Mississippi Territory mobilized their militias to move against the Upper Creek towns that had supported the Red Sticks' cause. After several battles, Major General Andrew Jackson commanded these state militias. Together with Cherokee allies, he defeated the Red Sticks Creek faction at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, ending the Creek War.[citation needed]
The Fort Mims massacre is cited in Margaret Mitchell's epic novel Gone with the Wind (1936). In the book, a minor character, Grandma Fontaine, shares her memories of seeing her entire family murdered in the Creek uprising following the massacre as a lesson to the protagonist, Scarlett. She says that a woman should never experience the worst that can happen to her, for then she can never experience fear again.[31]
↑ Saunt, Claudio (1999). A New Order of Things. Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733–1816. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0521660432.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, 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 defeated the Red Sticks, a part of the Creek Indian tribe who opposed American expansion, effectively ending the Creek War.
The Creek War, was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within the tribes of the Muscogee, but the United States quickly became involved. British traders and Spanish colonial officials in Florida supplied the Red Sticks with weapons and equipment due to their shared interest in preventing the expansion of the United States into regions under their control.
Red Sticks —the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creek—refers to an early 19th century traditionalist faction of Muscogee Creek people in the Southeastern United States. Made up mostly of Creek of the Upper Towns that supported traditional leadership and culture, as well as the preservation of communal land for cultivation and hunting, the Red Sticks arose at a time of increasing pressure on Creek territory by European American settlers. Creek of the Lower Towns were closer to the settlers, had more mixed-race families, and had already been forced to make land cessions to the Americans. In this context, the Red Sticks led a resistance movement against European American encroachment and assimilation, tensions that culminated in the outbreak of the Creek War in 1813. Initially a civil war among the Creek, the conflict drew in United States state forces while the nation was already engaged in the War of 1812 against the British.
Peter McQueen was a chief, prophet, trader and warrior from Talisi He was one of the young men known as Red Sticks, who became a prophet for expulsion of the European Americans from Creek territory and a revival of traditional practices. The Red Sticks attracted a majority of the population in the Upper Towns in the early nineteenth century. From open conflict with the Lower Towns in the Creek War, the Red Sticks were drawn into conflict with the United States after being attacked by territorial militia.
Fort Sinquefield is the historic site of a wooden stockade fortification in Clarke County, Alabama, near the modern town of Grove Hill. It was built by early Clarke County pioneers as protection during the Creek War and was attacked in 1813 by Creek warriors.
The Canoe Fight was a skirmish between Mississippi Territory militiamen led by Captain Samuel Dale and Red Stick warriors that took place on November 12, 1813 as part of the Creek War. The skirmish was fought largely from canoes and was a victory for the militiamen, who only had one member wounded. The victory held little military value in the overall Creek War but its participants gained widespread notoriety for their actions during the fight. The fight has been depicted in multiple illustrations, but only a historical marker currently exists near the site of the fight.
Fort Claiborne was a stockade fort built in 1813 in present-day Monroe County, Alabama during the Creek War.
Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne was an American military officer most notable for his command of the militia of the Mississippi Territory during the Creek War and the War of 1812.
The Battle of Autossee took place on November 29, 1813, during the Creek War, at the Creek towns of Autossee and Tallasee near present-day Shorter, Alabama. General John Floyd, with 900 to 950 militiamen and 450 allied Creek, attacked and burned down both villages, killing 200 Red Sticks in the process.
Fort Armstrong was a stockade fort built in present-day Cherokee County, Alabama during the Creek War. The fort was built to protect the surrounding area from attacks by Red Stick warriors but was also used as a staging area and supply depot in preparation for further military action against the Red Sticks.
Fort Carney was a stockade fort built in 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War.
Fort Easley was a stockade fort built in 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War.
Fort Glass was a stockade fort built in July 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War.
Fort Hull was an earthen fort built in present-day Macon County, Alabama in 1814 during the Creek War. After the start of hostilities, the United States decided to mount an attack on Creek territory from three directions. The column advancing west from Georgia built Fort Mitchell and then clashed with the Creeks. After a pause in operations, the column from Georgia continued its march and built Fort Hull. The fort was used as a supply point and was soon abandoned after the end of the Creek War.
Fort Leslie was a stockade fort built in present-day Talladega County, Alabama, in 1813 during the Creek War. After the Creek War began, protective stockades were built by settlers and Creeks who were allied with the United States to protect themselves from hostile Creek attacks. Fort Leslie was the focal point of the Battle of Talladega but was soon abandoned after the end of the Creek War.
Fort Madison was a stockade fort built in August 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama, during the Creek War, which was part of the larger War of 1812. The fort was built by the United States military in response to attacks by Creek warriors on encroaching American settlers. The fort shared many similarities to surrounding stockade forts in its construction but possessed a number of differences in its defenses. The fort housed members of the United States Army and settlers from the surrounding area, and it was used as a staging area for raids on Creek forces and supply point on further military expeditions. Fort Madison was subsequently abandoned at the conclusion of the Creek War and only a historical marker exists at the site today.
Fort Montgomery was a stockade fort built in August 1814 in present-day Baldwin County, Alabama, during the Creek War, which was part of the larger War of 1812. The fort was built by the United States military in response to attacks by Creek warriors on encroaching American settlers and in preparation for further military action in the War of 1812. Fort Montgomery continued to be used for military purposes but in less than a decade was abandoned. Nothing exists at the site today.
Fort Pierce, was two separate stockade forts built in 1813 in present-day Baldwin County, Alabama, during the Creek War, which was part of the larger War of 1812. The fort was originally built by settlers in the Mississippi Territory to protect themselves from attacks by Creek warriors. A new fort of the same name was then built by the United States military in preparation for further action in the War of 1812, but the fort was essentially abandoned within a few years. Nothing exists at the site today.
Turner's Fort, also known as Fort Turner, was a stockade fort built in 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War. Turner's Fort, like many other forts built around the same time, was built in response to Red Stick attacks on settlers in the surrounding area.
Fort White, also known as White's Fort, was a stockade fort built in 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War. The fort was located northeast of present-day Grove Hill. The fort was possibly named due to the fact that it offered protection to local white settlers. Other sources state it was named for a local settler. Fort White offered protection to the residents of the community that would eventually become Grove Hill from possible Red Stick attacks. Fort White was likely abandoned after the Fort Mims massacre.
References
Adams, Henry. History of the United States of America During the Administrations of James Madison (Library Classics of the United States, Inc. 1986), pp.780–781 ISBN0-940450-35-6
Burstein, Andrew. The Passions of Andrew Jackson (Alfred A. Kopf 2003), p.99 ISBN0-375-41428-2
Ehle, John. Trail of Tears The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (Anchor Books Editions 1989), p.105 ISBN0-385-23954-8
Halbert, Henry S., Ball, Timothy H.. The Creek War of 1813 and 1814, Chicago, 1895.
Heidler, David Stephen and Heidler, Jeanne T. "Creek War," in Encyclopedia of the War of 1812, Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 1997. ISBN978-0-87436-968-7
Owsley Jr., Frank L. "The Fort Mims Massacre," Alabama Review 1971 24(3): 192-204
Owsley, Frank L., Jr. Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands: The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans, 1812-1815, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1981.
Stiggins, George. "Creek Indian History: A Historical Narrative of the Genealogy, Traditions and Downfall of the Ispocoga Or Creek Indian Tribe of Indians by One of the Tribe, George Stiggins (1788-1845)" Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama Press, 1989. ISBN0-942301-15-3
Thrapp, Dan L. "Weatherford, William (Lamouchattee, Red Eagle)", in Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: in Three Volumes Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991. OCLC23583099
Waselkov, Gregory A. A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (University of Alabama Press, 2006) ISBN0-8173-1491-1
Weir, Howard T.. A Paradise of Blood: The Creek War of 1813-14, Yardley: Westholme, 2016. ISBN1-59416-270-0
External links
Fort Mims - official site at Alabama Historical Commission
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