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Creek War: Fort Mims Massacre
by Kennedy Hickman
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - CONFLICT & DATE:
The Fort Mims Massacre took place on August 30, 1813, during the Creek War (1813-1814).
ARMIES & COMMANDER
United States
Major Daniel Beasley
Captain Dixon Bailey
265 men
Creeks
Peter McQueen
William Weatherford
750-1,000 men
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - BACKGROUND:
With the United States and Britain engaged in the War of 1812, the Upper Creek elected to join with the British in 1813 and began attacks on American settlements in the southeast.
This decision was based on the actions of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh who had visited the area in 1811 calling for a Native American confederacy, intrigues from the Spanish in Florida, as well as resentment about encroaching American settlers. Known as the Red Sticks, mostly likely due to the their red-painted war clubs, the Upper Creeks were led by notable chiefs such as Peter McQueen and William Weatherford (Red Eagle).
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - DEFEAT AT BURNT CORN:
In July 1813, McQueen led a band of Red Sticks to Pensacola, FL where they obtained arms from the Spanish. Learning of this, Colonel James Caller and Captain Dixon Bailey departed Fort Mims, AL with the goal of intercepting McQueen's force. On July 27, Caller successfully ambushed the Creek warriors at the Battle of Burnt Corn. As the Red Sticks fled into the swamps around Burnt Corn Creek, the Americans paused to loot the enemy's camp.
Seeing this, McQueen rallied his warriors and counterattacked. Overwhelmed, Caller's men were forced to retreat.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - THE AMERICAN DEFENSES:
Angered by the attack at Burnt Corn Creek, McQueen began planning an operation against Fort Mims. Constructed on high ground near Lake Tensaw, Fort Mims was situated on the east bank of the Alabama River north of Mobile.
Consisting of a stockade, blockhouse, and sixteen other buildings, Fort Mims provided protection for over 500 people including a militia force numbering approximately 265 men. Commanded by Major Daniel Beasley, a lawyer by trade, many of the fort's inhabitants, including Dixon Bailey, were mixed-race and part Creek.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - WARNINGS IGNORED:
Though encouraged to improve Fort Mims' defenses by Brigadier General Ferdinand L. Claiborne, Beasley was slow to act. Advancing west, McQueen was joined by the noted chief William Weatherford (Red Eagle). Possessing around 750-1,000 warriors, they moved towards the American outpost and reached a point six miles away on August 29. Taking cover in tall grass, the Creek force was spotted by two slaves who were tending cattle. Racing back to the fort, they informed Beasley of the enemy's approach. Though Beasley dispatched mounted scouts, they failed to find any trace of the Red Sticks.
Angered, Beasley ordered the slaves punished for providing "false" information. Moving closer through the afternoon, the Creek force was nearly in place by nightfall. After dark, Weatherford and two warriors approached the fort's walls and scouted the interior by looking through the loopholes in the stockade.
Finding that the guard was lax, they also noticed that the main gate was open as it was blocked from completely closing by a bank of sand. Returning to the main Red Stick force, Weatherford planned the attack for the next day.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - BLOOD IN THE STOCKADE:
The next morning, Beasley was again alerted to the approach of a Creek force by local scout James Cornells. Disregarding this report, he attempted to have Cornells arrested, but the scout rapidly departed the fort. Around noon, the fort's drummer summoned the garrison for the midday meal. This was used as the attack signal by the Creek. Surging forward, they rapidly advanced on the fort with many of the warriors taking control of the loopholes in the stockade and opening fire. This provided cover for others who successfully breached the open gate.
The first Creeks to enter the fort were four warriors who had been blessed to become invincible to bullets. Though they were struck down, they briefly delayed the garrison while their comrades poured into the fort. Though some later claimed he had been drinking, Beasley attempted to rally a defense at the gate and was struck down early in the fighting. Taking command, Bailey and the fort's garrison occupied its inner defenses and buildings. Mounting a stubborn defense, they slowed the Red Stick onslaught. Unable to force the Red Sticks out of the fort, Bailey found his men gradually being pushed back.
As the militia fought for control of the fort, many of the settlers were struck down by the Red Sticks including women and children. Using flaming arrows, the Red Sticks were able to force the defenders from fort's buildings. Sometime after 3:00 PM, Bailey and his remaining men were driven from two buildings along the fort's north wall and killed. Elsewhere, some of the garrison was able to break through the stockade and escape. With the collapse of organized resistance, the Red Sticks began a wholesale massacre of the surviving settlers and militia.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE: AFTERMATH:
Some reports indicate that Weatherford attempted to halt the killing but was unable to bring the warriors under control. The Red Sticks' blood lust may have been partially fueled by a false rumor which stated that the British would pay five dollars for each white scalp delivered to Pensacola. When the killing ended, as many as 517 settlers and soldiers had been struck down. Red Stick losses are not known with any precision and estimates vary from as low as 50 killed to as high as 400. While the whites at Fort Mims were largely killed, the Red Sticks spared the fort's slaves and took them as their own.
The Fort Mims Massacre stunned the American public and Claiborne was criticized for his handling of the frontier defenses. Beginning that fall, an organized campaign to defeat the Red Sticks commenced using a mix of US regulars and militia.
These efforts culminated in March 1814 when Major General Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In the wake of the defeat, Weatherford approached Jackson seeking peace. After brief negotiations, the two concluded the Treaty of Fort Jackson which ended the war in August 1814.
https://www.thoughtco.com/creek-war-fort-mims-massacre-2361358
http://www.canerossi.us/ftmims/massacre.htm
http://www.alabamapioneers.com/fort-mims-11192/
Additional video footage :
https://youtu.be/nvI18WV1-BM
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ ltc bill LTC Bill Koski @ maj william Maj William W. "Bill" Price @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc mary SFC (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski SCPO Morris Ramsey @ po1 chip PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Alan K.
by Kennedy Hickman
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - CONFLICT & DATE:
The Fort Mims Massacre took place on August 30, 1813, during the Creek War (1813-1814).
ARMIES & COMMANDER
United States
Major Daniel Beasley
Captain Dixon Bailey
265 men
Creeks
Peter McQueen
William Weatherford
750-1,000 men
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - BACKGROUND:
With the United States and Britain engaged in the War of 1812, the Upper Creek elected to join with the British in 1813 and began attacks on American settlements in the southeast.
This decision was based on the actions of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh who had visited the area in 1811 calling for a Native American confederacy, intrigues from the Spanish in Florida, as well as resentment about encroaching American settlers. Known as the Red Sticks, mostly likely due to the their red-painted war clubs, the Upper Creeks were led by notable chiefs such as Peter McQueen and William Weatherford (Red Eagle).
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - DEFEAT AT BURNT CORN:
In July 1813, McQueen led a band of Red Sticks to Pensacola, FL where they obtained arms from the Spanish. Learning of this, Colonel James Caller and Captain Dixon Bailey departed Fort Mims, AL with the goal of intercepting McQueen's force. On July 27, Caller successfully ambushed the Creek warriors at the Battle of Burnt Corn. As the Red Sticks fled into the swamps around Burnt Corn Creek, the Americans paused to loot the enemy's camp.
Seeing this, McQueen rallied his warriors and counterattacked. Overwhelmed, Caller's men were forced to retreat.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - THE AMERICAN DEFENSES:
Angered by the attack at Burnt Corn Creek, McQueen began planning an operation against Fort Mims. Constructed on high ground near Lake Tensaw, Fort Mims was situated on the east bank of the Alabama River north of Mobile.
Consisting of a stockade, blockhouse, and sixteen other buildings, Fort Mims provided protection for over 500 people including a militia force numbering approximately 265 men. Commanded by Major Daniel Beasley, a lawyer by trade, many of the fort's inhabitants, including Dixon Bailey, were mixed-race and part Creek.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - WARNINGS IGNORED:
Though encouraged to improve Fort Mims' defenses by Brigadier General Ferdinand L. Claiborne, Beasley was slow to act. Advancing west, McQueen was joined by the noted chief William Weatherford (Red Eagle). Possessing around 750-1,000 warriors, they moved towards the American outpost and reached a point six miles away on August 29. Taking cover in tall grass, the Creek force was spotted by two slaves who were tending cattle. Racing back to the fort, they informed Beasley of the enemy's approach. Though Beasley dispatched mounted scouts, they failed to find any trace of the Red Sticks.
Angered, Beasley ordered the slaves punished for providing "false" information. Moving closer through the afternoon, the Creek force was nearly in place by nightfall. After dark, Weatherford and two warriors approached the fort's walls and scouted the interior by looking through the loopholes in the stockade.
Finding that the guard was lax, they also noticed that the main gate was open as it was blocked from completely closing by a bank of sand. Returning to the main Red Stick force, Weatherford planned the attack for the next day.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE - BLOOD IN THE STOCKADE:
The next morning, Beasley was again alerted to the approach of a Creek force by local scout James Cornells. Disregarding this report, he attempted to have Cornells arrested, but the scout rapidly departed the fort. Around noon, the fort's drummer summoned the garrison for the midday meal. This was used as the attack signal by the Creek. Surging forward, they rapidly advanced on the fort with many of the warriors taking control of the loopholes in the stockade and opening fire. This provided cover for others who successfully breached the open gate.
The first Creeks to enter the fort were four warriors who had been blessed to become invincible to bullets. Though they were struck down, they briefly delayed the garrison while their comrades poured into the fort. Though some later claimed he had been drinking, Beasley attempted to rally a defense at the gate and was struck down early in the fighting. Taking command, Bailey and the fort's garrison occupied its inner defenses and buildings. Mounting a stubborn defense, they slowed the Red Stick onslaught. Unable to force the Red Sticks out of the fort, Bailey found his men gradually being pushed back.
As the militia fought for control of the fort, many of the settlers were struck down by the Red Sticks including women and children. Using flaming arrows, the Red Sticks were able to force the defenders from fort's buildings. Sometime after 3:00 PM, Bailey and his remaining men were driven from two buildings along the fort's north wall and killed. Elsewhere, some of the garrison was able to break through the stockade and escape. With the collapse of organized resistance, the Red Sticks began a wholesale massacre of the surviving settlers and militia.
FORT MIMS MASSACRE: AFTERMATH:
Some reports indicate that Weatherford attempted to halt the killing but was unable to bring the warriors under control. The Red Sticks' blood lust may have been partially fueled by a false rumor which stated that the British would pay five dollars for each white scalp delivered to Pensacola. When the killing ended, as many as 517 settlers and soldiers had been struck down. Red Stick losses are not known with any precision and estimates vary from as low as 50 killed to as high as 400. While the whites at Fort Mims were largely killed, the Red Sticks spared the fort's slaves and took them as their own.
The Fort Mims Massacre stunned the American public and Claiborne was criticized for his handling of the frontier defenses. Beginning that fall, an organized campaign to defeat the Red Sticks commenced using a mix of US regulars and militia.
These efforts culminated in March 1814 when Major General Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In the wake of the defeat, Weatherford approached Jackson seeking peace. After brief negotiations, the two concluded the Treaty of Fort Jackson which ended the war in August 1814.
https://www.thoughtco.com/creek-war-fort-mims-massacre-2361358
http://www.canerossi.us/ftmims/massacre.htm
http://www.alabamapioneers.com/fort-mims-11192/
Additional video footage :
https://youtu.be/nvI18WV1-BM
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ ltc bill LTC Bill Koski @ maj william Maj William W. "Bill" Price @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc mary SFC (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski SCPO Morris Ramsey @ po1 chip PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Alan K.
Native Americans
Culture
American History
Military History
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 8
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Thank you for this excellent read, and great video, have a great day brother.
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SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth
SGT John " Mac " McConnell - Good morning to you too John, your starting out warmer than us, try to stay cool.
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4
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Thanks for reminding us that while many tend to focus on major conflicts. frequently significant bloodshed occurs in wars for other reasons including smaller conflicts SGT John " Mac " McConnell.
For the uninitiated into historical terminology, the reason this is referred to as a massacre is because the inhabitants were slaughtered and given no quarter [example Fort Pillow massacre so named because black union soldiers were slaughtered after the battle had been won by the Confederates.]
In this case the Creek War between the Northern Creek tribe and the militia at Fort Mims, Baldwin County, Alabama where Creek Red Sticks slaughtered all the white settlers and militia they could find in the southeastern border area
Despicably the Red Sticks and scalped 517 settlers and soldiers in the mistaken belief the British in Pensacola would pay for each white scalp. [Slaves were spared from death but became slaves of the Creek warriors.]
Images; 1813-08-30 Ft Mims Massacre; 1813-08-30 Fort Mims massacre artwork; 1813-14 Creek Indian war summary map; 1813-08-30 Diagram of Fort Mims
Additional background on the Massacre at Fort Sims and the times:
"On August 30, 1813, a force of about 700 Creek Indians destroyed Fort Mims, in present-day Baldwin County, killing 250 defenders and taking at least 100 captives, in the first major battle of the Creek War of 1813-14. Some 400 American settlers, U.S.-allied Creeks, and enslaved African Americans had taken refuge inside a stockade hastily erected on the plantation of Samuel Mims, a wealthy resident of the Tensaw District of the Mississippi Territory. The Creek attack on Fort Mims, and particularly the killing of civilian men, women, and children at the end of the battle, outraged the U.S. public, thus prompting military action against the Creek Nation, which controlled what is now much of modern Alabama.
Beginning in the 1780s, southeastern Indians came under increasing pressure by the new U.S. government to cede land for white settlement. American settlers wanted this land for farming, but the Creeks hunted hundreds of thousands of deer on it every year and depended on the deerskins they acquired for most of their income. They used the deerskins to barter for cloth, guns, steel tools, and myriad other manufactured goods. American politicians, anxious to obtain Indian lands for their own increasing constituencies, devised the plan of civilization. This policy called for U.S. federal agents to encourage Indian men to abandon hunting, adopt European-style agriculture, and focus on growing cash crops. U.S. leaders hoped to assimilate Indian peoples to a way of life that would free up their vast hunting lands for American settlement. When implemented, the plan created bitter divisions in Creek society between those willing to adopt new ways and those who wished to retain their traditional culture.
The Creek men who carried out the massacre were members of the Red Stick faction (named for the red wooden war clubs they carried), followers of Shawnee leaders Tenskwatawa (The Prophet) and his brother Tecumseh, who advocated death to any Indians who allied with the Americans and
Tenskwatawa preached adherence to traditional Indian practices. In mid-1813, as the Creek Nation disintegrated in civil war, the Red Sticks determined to destroy a community of Creeks who had established plantations in the Tensaw District and had taken refuge at Fort Mims. A force of 700 Red Sticks, led by William Weatherford, Far-off Warrior (Hopvyç Tustunuke), and the prophet Paddy Walsh, rushed through the fort's open gate at noon. Half of the surprised, 100-man garrison of Mississippi Territorial Volunteers died with their commander, Maj. Daniel Beasley, in the first few minutes of battle. Capt. Dixon Bailey, a Creek, and his 45 American and Creek militiamen repelled the Red Stick onslaught and for four hours successfully defended hundreds of civilians huddled inside the flimsy, one-acre stockade. Only when the attackers set the fort's buildings ablaze with burning arrows did resistance collapse.
The Red Sticks' assault on Fort Mims ranks as one of the great successes of Indian warfare. The massacre of civilians, however, rallied American armies under the cry "Remember Fort Mims." The ensuing Creek War culminated in a decisive victory for U.S. forces in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814, and the Creek Nation's subsequent cession of over 21 million acres of land to the U.S. in the Treaty of Fort Jackson. Continuing outrage surrounding the Fort Mims Massacre contributed to the eventual forced removal of Creeks and other Indians from the Southeast in the 1830s.'
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1121
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins SSG William Wall MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne LTC Bill Koski Sgt Trevor Barrett SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes LTC Wayne Brandon SGT (Join to see)
For the uninitiated into historical terminology, the reason this is referred to as a massacre is because the inhabitants were slaughtered and given no quarter [example Fort Pillow massacre so named because black union soldiers were slaughtered after the battle had been won by the Confederates.]
In this case the Creek War between the Northern Creek tribe and the militia at Fort Mims, Baldwin County, Alabama where Creek Red Sticks slaughtered all the white settlers and militia they could find in the southeastern border area
Despicably the Red Sticks and scalped 517 settlers and soldiers in the mistaken belief the British in Pensacola would pay for each white scalp. [Slaves were spared from death but became slaves of the Creek warriors.]
Images; 1813-08-30 Ft Mims Massacre; 1813-08-30 Fort Mims massacre artwork; 1813-14 Creek Indian war summary map; 1813-08-30 Diagram of Fort Mims
Additional background on the Massacre at Fort Sims and the times:
"On August 30, 1813, a force of about 700 Creek Indians destroyed Fort Mims, in present-day Baldwin County, killing 250 defenders and taking at least 100 captives, in the first major battle of the Creek War of 1813-14. Some 400 American settlers, U.S.-allied Creeks, and enslaved African Americans had taken refuge inside a stockade hastily erected on the plantation of Samuel Mims, a wealthy resident of the Tensaw District of the Mississippi Territory. The Creek attack on Fort Mims, and particularly the killing of civilian men, women, and children at the end of the battle, outraged the U.S. public, thus prompting military action against the Creek Nation, which controlled what is now much of modern Alabama.
Beginning in the 1780s, southeastern Indians came under increasing pressure by the new U.S. government to cede land for white settlement. American settlers wanted this land for farming, but the Creeks hunted hundreds of thousands of deer on it every year and depended on the deerskins they acquired for most of their income. They used the deerskins to barter for cloth, guns, steel tools, and myriad other manufactured goods. American politicians, anxious to obtain Indian lands for their own increasing constituencies, devised the plan of civilization. This policy called for U.S. federal agents to encourage Indian men to abandon hunting, adopt European-style agriculture, and focus on growing cash crops. U.S. leaders hoped to assimilate Indian peoples to a way of life that would free up their vast hunting lands for American settlement. When implemented, the plan created bitter divisions in Creek society between those willing to adopt new ways and those who wished to retain their traditional culture.
The Creek men who carried out the massacre were members of the Red Stick faction (named for the red wooden war clubs they carried), followers of Shawnee leaders Tenskwatawa (The Prophet) and his brother Tecumseh, who advocated death to any Indians who allied with the Americans and
Tenskwatawa preached adherence to traditional Indian practices. In mid-1813, as the Creek Nation disintegrated in civil war, the Red Sticks determined to destroy a community of Creeks who had established plantations in the Tensaw District and had taken refuge at Fort Mims. A force of 700 Red Sticks, led by William Weatherford, Far-off Warrior (Hopvyç Tustunuke), and the prophet Paddy Walsh, rushed through the fort's open gate at noon. Half of the surprised, 100-man garrison of Mississippi Territorial Volunteers died with their commander, Maj. Daniel Beasley, in the first few minutes of battle. Capt. Dixon Bailey, a Creek, and his 45 American and Creek militiamen repelled the Red Stick onslaught and for four hours successfully defended hundreds of civilians huddled inside the flimsy, one-acre stockade. Only when the attackers set the fort's buildings ablaze with burning arrows did resistance collapse.
The Red Sticks' assault on Fort Mims ranks as one of the great successes of Indian warfare. The massacre of civilians, however, rallied American armies under the cry "Remember Fort Mims." The ensuing Creek War culminated in a decisive victory for U.S. forces in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814, and the Creek Nation's subsequent cession of over 21 million acres of land to the U.S. in the Treaty of Fort Jackson. Continuing outrage surrounding the Fort Mims Massacre contributed to the eventual forced removal of Creeks and other Indians from the Southeast in the 1830s.'
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1121
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins SSG William Wall MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne LTC Bill Koski Sgt Trevor Barrett SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes LTC Wayne Brandon SGT (Join to see)
Massacre at Fort MimsOn August 30, 1813, a force of about 700 Creek Indians destroyed Fort Mims, in present-day Baldwin County, killing 250 defenders and taking at least 100 captives, in the first major battle of the Creek War of 1813-14. Some 400 American settlers, U.S.-allied Creeks, and enslaved African Americans had taken refuge inside a stockade hastily erected on the plantation of Samuel Mims, a wealthy resident of the Tensaw District of...
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