In the Spring of 1814, a deadly and decisive battle would occur on the Tallapoosa River in Alabama, killing more Native Americans in a single battle than any other in the history of America. It would also bring fame to General Andrew Jackson, gain the United States 23 million acres of new territory, and help elect Jackson as the nation’s 7th President in 1828.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was the final conflict of the Creek War of 1813 and 1814. Leading up to this time, the Creek Indians, or Muskogee as they are also known, lived in villages along rivers in Georgia and Alabama. Some were friendly to the United States, however, when war erupted between the U.S. and Britain in 1812, a few warriors joined with Shawnee military leader Tecumseh, who had previously encouraged them to drive out Americans from their ancestral lands. Tecumseh was allied with the British in the War of 1812.
The split among the Creek brought about a Creek Civil War, with the faction against the U.S. taking the name of Red Sticks, which scholars believe referred to their red-painted war clubs.
