Fort Mims in Alabama-- Part 2: Creek-U.S. Tensions and Massacre

Continued from Nov. 30th.

The conditions leading to the Creek Indian War which led to the Fort Mims massacre started even before the War of 1812. In the early 1800s, the Creek Nation numbered between 18,000 and 14,000 primarily inhabiting present-day Alabama and western Georgia. In the years following the American Revolution, Spain, France, Britain and the United States all attempted to gain influence in the region.

By 1805, the Creeks had signed four treaties with the U.S., but animosity between Britain and the U.S. would cause the Creek War which became an extension of the War of 1812. And, of course, another major factor was the continued white pressure to move onto Indian lands.

By early 1813, about 550 settlers and slaves had crowded into the tiny stockade in Tensaw along the Alabama River. On August 30, about 700 warriors from the pro-British Red Stick faction of the Creek Nation attacked the fort, killing hundreds and capturing around 100 slaves, women and children. Only about 36 settlers survived.

--Brock-Perry