Frontier Militiaman in the War of 1812 by Ed Gilbert

Author:Ed Gilbert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Frontier Militiaman in the War of 1812: Southwestern Frontier
ISBN: 9781780966397
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2012-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

CAMPAIGN – THE CREEK WAR

The American strategy was to launch offensives into the Creek territories from four directions. The plan foundered on poor planning and logistics, and only Jackson’s western Tennessee offensive played a critical role.

Early campaigns

Jackson established a supply base, Fort Strother, on the Coosa River and dispatched a force to surround the Creek town of Tallusahatchee. In a 30-minute battle on November 3, 1813, John Coffee’s mounted troops killed about 200 Red Sticks. Jackson was soon summoned to the aid of friendly Creeks besieged at Talladega. Major General John Cocke, a political rival of Jackson, led his East Tennessee army away from Talladega. On November 9 Jackson encircled the Red Sticks who were encircling the fort. The militia’s extended front was little more than a skirmish line, backed by Coffee’s mounted troops. Jackson’s inexperienced troops enthusiastically attacked the Red Sticks but when the enemy counterattacked, one brigade retreated, leaving Brice Smith’s company exposed to the full fury of the enemy. The Deacon’s small squad was badly outnumbered, and several attempted to bolt until the old man bullied them back into position.

The militiamen fired a few rounds, and then the Red Sticks were upon them. Billy fell as he stepped back from an onrushing warrior. He frantically tried to fend off the Red Stick with his empty musket, but the man pushed aside the long, unwieldy barrel and raised his war club. Before he could strike, the Deacon crashed into the warrior, parrying the descending club with his tomahawk and using his long-bladed butcher’s knife to kill the warrior immediately. Other Red Sticks rushed by, and as quickly as they had appeared, the enemy troops were gone. Brice Smith’s company suffered numerous casualties in this baptism of fire.

On November 17 Jackson learned that the Hillabees, a Creek tribal group, wished to surrender. Unaware of this on November 18 Cocke’s forces attacked the Hillabee towns, killing 70 and carrying away 250 women and children.

General John Floyd commanded some 3,000 Georgia militiamen, but the Georgia legislature failed to appropriate funds for supplies. By November 1813 Floyd’s force was reduced to about 950 men and 400 friendly Creeks. Despite food shortages, Floyd established a forward base, Fort Mitchell, in Alabama.

Floyd planned a November 9 surprise attack on Autosse, 60 miles (100km) inside hostile territory. The plan foundered on inadequate reconnaissance; the river was too deep to ford, and a second Creek town forced the Georgians to extend their front. Despite heavy losses, most of the Red Stick warriors escaped.

Floyd retreated to Fort Mitchell. In mid-January 1814 he moved into hostile territory and established a camp on Calabee Creek. In the predawn hours of January 27 the Red Sticks attacked. The Red Stick planned to capture two small cannon, but the Baldwin Volunteer Artillery successfully fought off the attackers. Both regular and militia artillery units, with their higher levels of group discipline and morale, longer service history, and a tradition that stressed never allowing a serviceable gun to be lost to the enemy, were often the most steadfast formations in such actions.

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