Download Battle of Horseshoe Bend

Battle of Horseshoe Bend
Amanda, James, Justin
When it took place
The Battle of Horseshoe
Bend was fought during the
war of 1812 in central
Alabama. On March 27,
1814, United States forces
and Indian allies under
General Andrew Jackson
defeated the Red Sticks, a
part of the Creek Indian tribe
inspired by the Shawnee
leader Tecumseh, effectively
ending the Creek War.
Who all was involved
The Creek Indians of Georgia
and Alabama were divided into
two factions: the Upper Creeks
(or Red Sticks), who opposed
the Americans and sided with
the British and Spanish during
the War of 1812, and the Lower
Creeks, who sought to remain
on good terms with the
Americans. Shawnee leader
Tecumseh went to Creek towns
in 1811-12 and persuaded the
Upper Creeks to join his war
against American
encroachments. The Upper
Creeks began to raid American
settlements, but the Lower
Creeks helped the Americans
to capture and punish leading
raiders, often becoming victims
of Red Stick revenge
themselves. The Lower Creeks
fought alongside Jackson at
Horseshoe Bend.
Where it took place
Horseshoe Bend is located
near Dadeville, Alabama on
Tallapoosa River
What impact it had
General Andrew Jackson led the main
contingent of American forces against the
Creek Indians known as "Red Sticks." His
army included Creek Indians as well as a
sizeable Cherokee regiment. On March 27,
1814, Jackson attacked a large Red Sticks
force at their heavily fortified position in a
bend of the Tallapoosa River. The so-called
"Battle of Horseshoe Bend" began with a
bombardment by Jackson's canon, which had
no effect on the stoutly built barricade. The
tide turned when Cherokee warriors crossed
the river and attacked the rear of the Creeks'
encampment and set fire to it. Jackson's
regular forces then launched a frontal assault,
which lead to a lopsided victory for the
Americans in which by Jackson's own count
no less than 850 Indians died defending their
homeland. Jackson's triumph over the "Red
Sticks" effectively ended the Creek War, and
inaugurated Jackson's national reputation as
a military hero.
Why did it take place?
Horseshoe Bend was the major battle of the Creek War, in which
Andrew Jackson sought to "clear" Alabama for American settlement.
General Jackson was in command of an army of West Tennessee
militia, which he had turned into a well-trained fighting force. To add
to these militia units was the 39th United States Infantry and about
600 Cherokee, Choctaw and Lower Creeks fighting against the Red
Stick Creek Indians. After leaving Fort Williams in the spring of 1814,
Jackson's army cut its way through the forest to within 6 miles
(10 km) of Chief Menawa's Red Stick camp near a bend in the
Tallapoosa River, called "Horseshoe Bend," in central Alabama,
12 miles (19 km) east of what is now Alexander City. Jackson sent
General John Coffee with the mounted infantry and the Indian allies
south across the river to surround the Red Sticks camp, while
Jackson stayed with the rest of the 2,000 infantry north of the camp.
How did it affect Canada’s
development
The War of 1812 (Battle of Horseshoe Bend) started the
process that ultimately led to Canadian Confederation in
1867. Canada would have become part of the United
States if the War of 1812 had not taken place because
more and more American settlers would have arrived
and Canadian nationalism would not have developed.
The War of 1812 was highly significant in Britain's North
American colonies. After the war British sympathizers
portrayed the war was as a successful fight for national
survival against an American democratic force that
threatened the peace and stability the Canadians
desired.