March 27th, 1814 - The Battle of Horseshoe Bend

Conflict: Creek War

Combatants: Americans vs. Creeks

Location: Alabama (USA)

Outcome: American victory

In July of 1813, while the War of 1812 raged on, the Creek Indians allied themselves with Great Britain against the Americans. In August, the Creeks attacked Fort Mims near Mobile and killed half of the soldiers and refugees within. In November of the same year, American militia leader Major General Andrew Jackson assembled a force of volunteers and defeated the Creeks at Tallasahatchee and Talladega before disbanding.

In March of 1814, Jackson assembled another 2,000 volunteers. On the 27th of the same month, his militia forces overwhelmed and soundly defeated an army of 900 Creeks. Seven hundred Creek Indians were killed in the battle; the Americans lost only 201 soldiers.

Battle of Horseshoe Bend 1814 by an unknown artist

Points of Interest:

• The Creek War ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson on August 9th of 1814.

• In May of 1814, Andrew Jackson was commissioned a Major General in the regular United States Army.

General Andrew Jackson by Samuel Lovett Waldo

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Sources:

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.