Second Creek Indian War
|
Second Creek Indian War (1836-1837) - Began in 1836 as a conflict between settlers and an Alabama faction of the Creek Indian Nation. Ended 1837 with the U.S. Army removing almost all the Creek Indians in the affected counties of present-day Alabama to the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The conflict erupted when the U.S. Federal Government and the State of Alabama failed to honor the terms of the 1832 Treaty of Cussetta by allowing settlers and land speculators to defraud Creeks of their land allotments. Local militias retaliated against Creeks who sought to assert their rights under the Treaty. The Creeks retaliated in 1836 with raids on white settlers and on 14 May 1836 they attacked the town of Roanoke, Georgia, massacred 14 of the 20 inhabitants, and burned down the town. The raid was led by Yuchi warrior Jim Henry and the Hitchiti chief Neamathla. On 9 Jun 1836, a large force of some 250 Creek warriors attacked a Georgia Militia encampment at Shepherd's Plantations. The militia was saved by the timely arrival of reinforcements from nearby Fort Jones (4) in Stewart County Alabama. U.S. President Andrew Jackson dispatched 14 Companies of U.S. Army regulars and 400 Marines under Major General Winfield Scott. The Federal troops rounded up the Creeks and forced them into concentration camps. The Creeks were relocated from Fort Mitchell (3) Alabama 750 miles to Fort Gibson (1), Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Some 15,000 Creeks were removed and more than 3,500 died along the "Creek Trail of Tears".
Links: |
