A the Century Conflict

A 19th Century Conflict

Introduction

The creek war was fought between the Creek Indians and the United States who had come to settle in their land. It started as a civil war between the individuals and groups who accepted to adopt the United States culture and those who rejected the idea. The creeks later came to learn that the whites from the United States were interested in their land since they wanted to expand their territory. This came at a time when the agent to the creeks by the name Benjamin Hawkins had just began a project of growing cash crops in the region, the purchasing of African slaves, and the acquisition of private property. Some creeks especially those who had their roots from the white-Indian ancestry had no problem with the policies but the traditional creeks raised great concerned and were willing to oppose the whites and their policies. The natives were more concerned about the abandonment of their sacred traditions and the conformation to the white cultures. The creeks from the upper side remained hostile to the United States while those from the lower side were still loyal to the United States. Cooperation lacked between the two groups and the creeks were defeated under the rule of Andrew Jackson who used Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi militias in the war. In addition, a large portion of their land was taken by the United States. This paper will seek to analyse the motivations that led to the development and occurrence of the war.

Opposing Forces between the two Groups

The creeks from the upper side were also referred to as the Red Sticks and as has been stated earlier, these individuals were very hostile to the whites from the United States. This can be seen when the creeks attacked the American stockade and burned it on the Alabama River. This incident caused the death of about three hundred and fifty individuals from the United States and India. The American troops reacted to the incident by assembling its forces in different places in preparation for revenge and acquisition of land. The government of the United States said it was prepared to take action against the government of the creek. The government of the United States also stated that if any other government was involved in supporting the creeks, the government of the United States will still take an action against that government [1] . The forces to the united states retaliated in Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Different groups made different preparations at different places.

A 19th Century Conflict

Tennessee Militia

The mission for the Tennessee militia by the mobilization of five thousand militia who were to go to creek for a mission of about three months. The militia were invited by the governor to the United States and were assigned to Colonel Jackson. The mission of this squad was to guard the area around Mississippi by protecting it from possible attacks, and look for food relief and aid for the residents of Mississippi. Other than defeating the creeks, Jackson was also interested in acquiring Pensacola. His strategy was first to use better reasons of moving southwards like construction of roads. He was then to proceed downwards and destroy the upper creek and then go on to attack the Pensacola. The major challenges that Jackson encountered in his mission were the low levels of water in Tennessee River which made it really difficult for them to transport different commodities [2] . Jackson moved to the region in October 1813 and had his first victory in November the same year. He was later affected by shortages of supply and his men who were enlisted for a short while started misbehaving. Cocke took over with his 2500 militias and continued with the mission until the time when the contract of his militia expired. There happened to arise some jealousy between the east and western Tennessee which negatively affected the mission of the government of the United States. Jackson was so angry about it that he at one time attacked a friendly village unknowingly. Since this time, the militias that were sent had short contracts that by the time a mission was completed, their contracts were expired thus stagnating the whole process. The militias by now sign contracts as short as six days contracts and the training that they received was not competent for them to participate in the war and win. Jackson fought with enthusiasm to win the battle and his efforts became fruitful when he ended the resistance by the Red Stick

[3]

.

Georgia Militia

This state had a total of thirty thousand militias but unfortunately the group was not as effective as it ought to have been. The problem is associated with the leader of the group who didn’t take his time to organize on the best strategies that could be used to defeat these creeks. This group experienced many major difficulties in their mission including the wounding of its general Floyd. In the battle that was held in Chattahoochee, about ten members of the militia lost their lives and 54 others were injured. Floyd took a short break after the defeat in Chattahoochee and

A 19th Century Conflict

came back to continue with his attacks. When he settled in the Calibee camp, he his militia was attacked by the creeks and they had no option other retreat to Fort Mitchell. In the attack, over seventeen people were killed and other over one hundred and thirty four were injured.

Mississippi Militia

This militia consisted of about one thousand militia and included even some Choctaw Indians. The squad here was under general Clairborne who achieved some major destruction but not with the help of the militia. In his time, fort clairborne was established and thereafter managed to burn several houses belonging to his opponents [4] . His squad lost one member and six others were injured. In the same operation, thirty creek soldiers were killed. He later withdrew to fort St. Stephens due to shortages of supply.

Results of the War

The war ended up benefiting the government of the United States where they acquired many acres of land. The creeks at the end of it all still signed the contract of Jackson which to its application in the creeks country. They acquired land in the fertile places such as Alabama and Georgia. Jackson managed to defeat the red sticks which gave him an easy time in attacking other smaller areas in your region [5] . His victory led to his election as the seventh president of the United States of America.

Conclusion

The creek war started as a civil war between those who supported the adoption of the cultures of the whites and those who were against it but later came to develop to the war for land between the government of the United States and the creeks. During the war, some supported United States while others were totally against them. The opposition between the two groups

A 19th Century Conflict

led to their defeat by the government of the United States especially under Jackson. The creeks were the first people to attack the Americans and the American reacted to what the creeks did to them. This is one of the factors that led to the occurrence of the war. The United States hunger for land was another factor that contributed to the occurrence of the war. The retaliation of Mississippi, Georgia, and the Tennessee also contributed to the occurrence of the war.

References

[1] Bray, M. K. (2002). Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press,

344-345.

Frank, G. S. (2008). The Negroes and the Creek nation. Retrieved on 11-Oct-09 from http://cnx

.org/content/m22471/latest/

Frank, G. S. (2008). The Negroes and the Creek nation. Retrieved on 11-Oct-09 from http://cnx

.org/content/m22471/latest/

Frank, G. S. (2008). The Negroes and the Creek nation. Retrieved on 11-Oct-09 from http://cnx

.org/content/m22471/latest/

[5] Robert, M. U. (2000) Indian Wars. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 122-124.

A 19th Century Conflict

Work Cited List

Bray, M. K. (2002). Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 344-345.

A 19th Century Conflict

Frank, G. S. (2008). The Negroes and the Creek nation. Retrieved on 11-Oct-09 from http://cnx

.org/content/m22471/latest/

Robert, M. U. (2000) Indian Wars. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 122-124.