USA > Texas > Border fights & fighters; stories of the pioneers between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi and in the Texan republic > Part 12
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The owner of one of the negroes, a certain Fletcher, refused to allow his man to be whipped, but the owner of the other, making no objection, the unfortunate negro
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was tied to a stake and soundly lashed. Beasley shortly informed Fletcher that he must either allow his slave to be flogged, or leave the fort with his large family the next morning. The alternative was not to be thought of. After considering it all night Fletcher reluctantly gave his consent just before noon on Monday, August 30th, 1813, and the negro was accordingly triced up to a post preparatory to receiving a lashing.
Meanwhile the first negro had been sent out again that morning to herd the stock as usual, and had again discovered unmistakable signs of Indians. Mindful of his bitter experience of the day before, however, he fled to Fort Pierce, a stockade some miles above Fort Mims, to which he naturally feared to return. Beasley had sent out Captain Middleton to scout before he had flogged the negro on the preceding afternoon, and that officer had promptly returned and reported that he had found noth- ing.
The morning was hot, close and sultry, and the long hours slowly dragged along. The soldiers lounged in their tents, some of them playing cards, or amusing themselves according to their fancy; the company cooks and the housewives were preparing the midday meal throughout the enclosure, while over one hundred little children disported themselves in the open places. Five hundred and fifty-three persons were in the fort at the time, of whom probably two hundred and twenty-five were soldiers, two hundred women and children and old men and the balance negro slaves.
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The Massacre at Fort Mims
III. Paying the Awful Penalty
Beasley had just despatched a letter (still extant) to General Claiborne, in response to that officer's repeated cautions, stating that the fort was absolutely safe, and he was to give himself no concern whatever about it, as the garrison could hold it against all the Creeks in the nation. By some miracle the messenger reached the general and delivered the letter after all was over. At the time he was writing a great body of a thousand Indians, a small portion of whom the two negroes had seen and reported, had actually surrounded the fort unperceived. They lay hid in the forests, or concealed in the canebrakes, al- though the most of them were crouching beneath the brush in the nearest ravine in front of the east gate, to reach which they would be compelled to pass over an open field.
Beasley was standing in the door of his own house in the outer enclosure when the drums beat the noonday mess call. That was the prearranged signal for attack. Instantly the open field was covered with a mass of " Red Sticks," the name given to the Creek warriors from the red clubs they always carried in battle. These, however, were armed with the best modern muskets as well. Silent as death, they dashed rapidly toward the open gate. They had actually come within thirty yards of it before anyone saw them, which tells a tale of the negligence of the guards.
Beasley saw them first. Shouting "Indians! Ind- ians !" he ran through the little enclosure toward the great, ponderous east gate, frantically striving to close it in the face of the charging enemy, now yelling madly
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and coming on gallantly. The soil was sandy and the wind had drifted it against the gate. With the strength of despair, Beasley threw himself against the timbers. The sand held for a fatal moment. But the major bent his back and pushed like mad and the gate began slowly to swing toward the post. Before he could close it the foremost Indians threw themselves upon it, thrust it back, fell upon Beasley with tomahawks, cut him down, and rushed over his body toward the troops in the outer enclosure.
The men had scarcely time to seize their arms before the Indians burst upon them in a perfect torrent through the open gate. Beasley had crawled aside and they heard his voice from the midst of trampling feet, shouting to the men just before he died, " For God's sake, fight on !" The major portion of the soldiers fled through the second gate into the vacant part of the fort and manned the wall. This inner gate was left open for a time, but was finally closed. Those who could not get away were slaugh- tered to a man in the outer enclosure, which was now full of Indians. At the same time the palisades were attacked on all other sides. The soldiers and settlers fought des- perately. Many of the women took part in the defence. One, Mrs. Daniel Bailey, actually thrust a bayonet into one man who played the craven and forced him to get up and fight !
Dixon Bailey, the brave half-breed, upon whom the command, after Beasley's death, had devolved, showed himself a hero. The Indians under Weatherford were no less courageous. The fighting was so close that some- times a soldier and an Indian would discharge their guns through the same port-hole at the same moment and both would be killed. The carnage on both sides was
" The major bent his back and pushed like mad."
-
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fearful, and after some three long hours of the hottest kind of fighting, the defenders being encouraged thereto by the heroic efforts of Bailey, who was everywhere ani- mating his men, the savages began to draw off with the plunder of the houses outside the stockade.
Weatherford, riding a magnificent black horse that day, the very incarnation of a savage war chieftain, bit- terly protested at the retreat, and finally led his men for- ward for a final attack on the post. This time there was no withstanding them.
Some of the houses in the enclosure were set on fire by burning arrows. The east gate was entered by an irresistible charge. The west gate was cut through with axes, after all the defenders had been slain, and another storm of Indians poured into the enclosure that way. The south wall was next gained. The defenders fought des- perately from house to house, while the roofs were burn- ing over their heads. Mims' house, from which, through apertures in the roof, a deadly fire had been kept up, was set on fire. In it were many of the women and children, who perished miserably, either by flame if they stayed, or by tomahawk or scalping-knife if they came out. The Indians did not waste blows or weapons on the small children, either. They killed them with their naked hands !
Soon the whole enclosure, save the north bastion, which was Bailey's particular command, was filled with frantic savages. Into the last refuge of the frail little enclosure of the bastion poured a perfect stream of fren- zied humanity, trampling each other to death in their mad terror. The place was packed so full that there was scarcely room to move in it, much less to defend it. Bai- ley appealed for someone to attempt to get away and
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bring succor. He was already severely wounded. When no one else volunteered he tried to go himself but was prevented by his friends. The place was entirely sur- rounded now at any rate.
Those in the bastion were forced to see those outside killed in the most shocking manner. It is not possible to write of the barbarous deaths that these people died. Weatherford commanded, protested, implored, but he could not restrain his followers, now roused to a pitch of savage madness. They even threatened his own life, and he was at last forced to let them alone. He had loosed the storm; he could not control it. He regretted the slaughter to the last day of his life.
Presently the Indians broke into the bastion. All was soon over. Some dozen soldiers tore openings in the palisade and managed to escape from the place of death. The rest were slaughtered where they were; most of them, even the women and children left, fighting heroi- cally to the last. Bailey was among those who got away, but only for a short distance in his case. He reached the swamp, but was so badly wounded, and in five places, that he lay down and died, bidding the men to leave him and to try to make their escape without him.
The number of the slain was never accurately known, but not a white, or half-breed, man, woman, or child, survived, except those twelve soldiers; the killed certainly numbered over four hundred and fifty. The poor negro who had been left tied to the post to be whipped was killed in the first onset. The only persons whose lives were spared were some of the negroes who were reserved as slaves by the warriors. It may be, or may not be, an evi- dence of their civilization, but it is a fact that many of the Creeks owned numbers of negro slaves.
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The fort was burned to the ground. The Creeks had lost terribly in the assault, for over four hundred warriors out of the thousand who had made up the party had been killed and many wounded, such had been the des- perate character of the defence. They made some effort to bury their own dead, but soon gave over the attempt, and taking what plunder they had gained, they moved away to attack other posts.
The bodies of the men, women and children, negroes, half-breeds, whites and Indians, were left lying on the field. They were found there some days afterward by Major Kennedy with a relief expedition, and they buried what had been left of them after the ravages of bird and beast in one common awful grave. For desperation in defence, persistency in attack, and absolute courage on the part of both parties, the affair was, and remains, al- most without a parallel.
A wave of indignation and horror swept over the southwest, penetrating even to the sick chamber of Andrew Jackson, lying almost helpless from a ghastly wound in his shoulder, the result of a duel. Rising from his bed, suffering agonies, but sustained only by his in- domitable will, he called to his aid the militiamen of Tennessee, and began that campaign which after many hard-fought battles of varying fortune, ended in the an- nihilation of the Creek warriors on the bloody field of Tohopeka at the Horse-Shoe Bend of the Alabama River.
No Indians on the continent, except the Iroquois, ever fought in hand-to-hand conflict with the whites with such courage and success as these Mobilians. They mani- fested not a little of the spirit of those Indians, their ances- tors, who, two hundred and seventy-three years before,
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had brought De Soto's expedition to the verge of anni- hilation, under that redoubtable warrior Tuscaloosa. While we abhor their cruelties we may at least admire their courage.
* See my book, Colonial Fights and Fighters : De Soto.
PART IV THE FAR SOUTH II Jackson's Victory at Tohopeka
JACKSON'S VICTORY AT TOHOPEKA
I. The Last Stand of the Creeks
O N the morning of the 27th of March, 1814, that most redoubtable and successful of Indian fight- ers, General Andrew Jackson, at the head of an army of two thousand regulars and volunteers, arrived before the most formidable fortification which had ever been erected by savage warriors on the American conti- nent. One hundred and sixty miles from even the ragged edges of civilization, in the heart of the Alabama wilder- ness, the Creek Indians, one of the most powerful and intelligent of the southern savage tribes upon the conti- nent, had chosen to make a final stand in that war which they had entered upon at the instigation of that most capable and ferocious savage Tecumseh, and under the influence of the fanatical ravings of his brother, the prophet, a man less known as well as less able, but possi- bly more dangerous than the famous warrior.
After their overwhelming success at the bloody massa- cre at Fort Mims on August 30th, 1813, they had been defeated by Coffee at Talluschatches on the 3rd of No- vember, and most disastrously by Jackson at Talladega on the 9th of November. Their spirit, however, had remained unbroken by these reverses and after the with- drawal and dispersion of the American levies, in a series of predatory forays they had continued ravaging the bor-
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der. A determined effort was needed to crush them and bring them finally into subjugation.
To Jackson was entrusted this duty. The Creeks were immediately aware of the projected movement and with spirit undaunted they concentrated their forces and re- solved to stake their cause on one last desperate effort.
GEN JACKSON'S ARMY
B
M
K
K
H
TO HO PE KA
THERHORSESHOE
TALLAP
APOOSA
RIVER
E
Map of the Horse-Shoe Bend and plan of the battle.
The spot in which they had elected to make their stand was singularly well adapted for defensive purposes by the arrangement of nature.
The Tallapoosa River, an affluent of the Alabama, is one of those tortuous southern streams which, in their many windings, drain a vast extent of territory. About
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Jackson's Victory at Tohopeka 183
the middle of the eastern side of the present state the river bends sharply upon its course enclosing a piece of ground about one hundred acres in extent in the shape of a horse- shoe-called from that fact, To-ho-pe-ka, by the Indians. At the neck of the peninsula, three hundred and fifty yards across, the Indians had erected a breastwork of logs about six feet high and piled in zigzag fashion somewhat like an old-fashioned snake fence, the interspaces being filled with smaller timber and brushwood.
By the construction of this breastwork, which indicated a higher degree of skill than usually possessed by sav- ages, who are supposed to know nothing about fortifica- tion, an enfilading fire was secured which would sweep the lines. It has been surmised by many writers that the character of the breastwork implies the work of a white man's brain, but this is not a necessary conclusion. The breastwork had been pierced with two rows of loop-holes.
In that season the Tallapoosa was unfordable. The Indians had taken care to secure all the canoes on their side of the river under the bluffs around the bend, and the height of the shores presented a further obstacle to any attack from the rear.
Within the enclosure were gathered some nine hun- dred warriors, the flower of the nation, indeed practically the last of it, with three hundred women and children. Three prophets-we would call them medicine men now-were a not unimportant factor in the defence. These, like other charlatans in other wars all over the world, had promised immunity from the white man's bullet to the savage braves. The promise may have added a certain degree of intensity to their determination, but as events showed, it was not necessary to enable them to put up one of the best defences that the Indians ever
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exhibited. The savages were well provided with rifles and muskets, in the use of which they were expert, and with ample food and unlimited water supply, they confi- dently awaited the American attack.
The whole outlook, when Jackson arrived at the fort, was sufficiently forbidding, yet he was quick to see that once he could effect a lodgement in the bend, or get across the breastworks, the Indians would be at his mercy! They would be trapped ! The Creeks reasoned, it is supposed, that if Jackson succeeded in rushing the en- trenchment they could retreat by the river. Jackson took care of that. He despatched the redoubtable Gen- eral Coffee with seven hundred horsemen by a circuitous route to a ford of the river which had been discovered by one of the friendly Cherokees, the implacable enemies of the haughty, overbearing Creeks. The cavalry suc- ceeded in gaining the rear of the Indian position unob- served, although, of course, separated from it by the river. Coffee dismounted and disposed his troops so they could cover every egress from the bend. Having done this some of the Cherokees, bolder than the others, swam the river, cut the fastenings of the canoes and towed them to the other bank.
Meanwhile Jackson had opened fire upon the breast- works from an eminence about eighty yards distant, with the two cannon of his army, a three and a six pounder. The Indians laughed in derision as the little cannon-balls buried themselves harmlessly in the huge logs of the bar- ricade. It was half after ten in the morning when the engagement began, and for several hours, while Coffee was making his detour and dispositions, it continued with but little effect on either side.
Jackson could not make up his mind, from considera-
Jackson's Victory at Tohopeka 185
tion for his troops, to storm those formidable breast- works. Death would meet a great many of them in the attempt. His men, less thoughtful than he, clamored to be allowed to go forward, but the general with his usual hard-headed common-sense, refused to be influenced by the popular opinion of his army.
This hesitation arose from no excess of caution or lack of courage on the part of Jackson. He was without doubt one of the bravest and most intrepid men, and one of the hardest fighters, that ever lived, and he proved his courage, moral and physical, in hundreds of ways. * He was even then suffering from a terrible wound, which he had received in a duel and which would have incapaci- tated any ordinary man from duty for years to come. His shoulder had been dreadfully shattered, so much so, that during this campaign he could scarcely bear even the weight of a coat-sleeve on it, and in all his military expe- riences he was never able to wear the heavy bullion epau- lets of his high rank.
It must have been a source of grief and humiliation to him that in a private quarrel he had expended his blood and strength, now so sorely needed in the service of his country. He kept up in this instance by the exercise of that indomitable will which he possessed in such large measure. It was with no thought of himself, therefore, that he restrained his men through the long hours of that battle.
About noon, however, the main army heard from Cof- fee. After his success in obtaining possession of the canoes he determined to send over a party to beat up the quarters of the Indians behind the breastworks.
*See my book, American Fights and Fighters: The Battle of New Orleans.
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Colonel Morgan was detailed for this duty. Accompa- nied by a small body of men he passed the river, set fire to the Indian huts and made a brilliant diversion in the rear. His band was too small for a sustained engagement and the attempt was only partially successful, for while the Indians detached parties from their front line to meet the new danger, and succeeded in driving off Morgan, they still held to their breastwork in force. However, the whole force had been disorganized by the occurrence and now, if ever, was the time for an advance. Jackson gave the signal which had been waited for.
II. The Heroism of Young Sam Houston
It was about half after twelve when the drummers beat the long roll. The eager men took up the advance and scrambled through the broken and heavily timbered ground on the run. The Thirty-ninth United States under Colonel Williams took one side, and the East Tennessee brigade of volunteers under General Bunch, the other. Jackson on horseback led them. They suc- ceeded in reaching the rampart which towered above their heads, though not without severe loss on the way. When they reached the breastwork there was some hesi- tation. The men poked their guns through the port- holes and fired point blank at the Indians, who returned the fire.
This interchange of shots was productive of some loss, but nothing whatever could be determined by it. Some- thing had to be done and done quickly. Two officers, realizing the necessity, leaped for the top of the breast- works, calling upon the others to follow them. The first one was Major L. P. Montgomery of the Thirty-
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ninth Infantry. He had scarcely reached the top when he pitched forward, dead, a bullet in his forehead-the first man over! The second man was Ensign Sam Hous- ton of Tennessee.
As Houston gained the top he stood for a moment in full view. Rifles cracked, bullets sang about him, but left him untouched. An arrow, however, made a deep wound in his thigh. Sword in hand Houston, then but twenty years old, leaped down amid the Indians. He was at once followed by a portion of his men. On the other flank the volunteers emulated the example of the regulars and the breastwork was finally gained. The Indians were swept from the line of defence to which they had clung so stubbornly.
But the savages were by no means defeated. The bend was heavily wooded and filled with brush-heaps and log- huts, and every house, every brush-heap,, every tree clump, every copse, became a rallying point for defence. The woods were filled with flame and smoke into which the American soldiers plunged to get at their red foemen.
Conscious of his wound at last Houston leaned against the breastwork and begged the lieutenant of his company to pull out the arrow, which was, of course, barbed and firmly imbedded in the flesh. The lieutenant made two ineffectual efforts to pull out the arrow, but failed on account of the barbs. Maddened by the pain Houston raised his sword at the officer and vowed he would cut him down if he failed a third time. Under this stimulus the lieutenant jerked the arrow from the wound. It was, of course, followed by a gush of blood which nearly left the boy helpless.
He scrambled over the breastworks again and went back to the surgeons in the rear. Jackson saw him while
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his wound was being dressed and ordered him to retire from the action. The boy begged and implored permis- sion of the general to return when the flow of blood was stanched, but Jackson curtly refused his plea. The bat- tle was still raging all over the bend. It was too much for Houston to stand. As soon as he was released by the surgeon he deliberately disobeyed his orders, scrambled over the breastworks, found his company, and continued the fight.
It was nearly all over but the killing. Surrounded by overwhelming numbers of soldiers there was nothing left for the Creeks to do but to die, and they died game. No one asked for quarter, no one appears to have thought of surrender. As they were forced from line to line, from place to place, those alive at last reached the river bank. They were appalled to find their canoes gone, but plunged dauntlessly into the ford, only to be met by the cool, steady, withering fire from Coffee's riflemen, lining the banks on the farther side.
Jackson was not a merciless man, as he was popularly supposed to have been, and he did his utmost to stop the carnage, but on that smoke-covered, blood-saturated pen- insula, in that almost impenetrable tangle of primeval forest, it was impossible to get hold of his men; and the Indians themselves, in their proud disdain to ask for quar- ter, in their determination to continue the fight, rendered his efforts abortive. The battle stopped about three o'clock in the afternoon. It stopped because one side had been wiped out. There were no more Indians to be conquered, but in its ending was seen its most dramatic feature.
A party of desperate Indians took position in a deep ravine near the river bank which had been covered by
t
"They plunged dauntlessly into the ford, only to be met by the fire from Coffee's riflemen on the farther side."
Jackson's Victory at Tohopeka 189
heavy logs. There appeared to be only one way to get at them and that was by a rush at the entrance, which was fully covered by the savage rifles. Jackson called for volunteers to storm the place. No one responded to his appeal until, with his usual impetuous headlong valor, young Sam Houston, in spite of his wound, sprang to the front.
Seizing a musket and calling upon the men to follow him he made a rush at the entrenchment. The men made a forward movement but stopped after going a few feet, and Houston, not noticing that he was unsupported, ran forward alone, raising his piece to fire as he approached. He received the entire discharge of that last desperate band of Indians. As he neared the entrance to the ravine two bullets struck him, one in the arm, the other in the shoulder. His musket fell from his hand and he stood helpless in this dangerous position.
Seeing at last that he was unsupported he deliberately turned around, still under fire, walked back out of range to his soldiers, and fell helpless. No one else tried to rush that position. The Americans found means to set fire to the covering logs, thus forcing the Indians out into the open, where they were killed as fast as they appeared.
The battle was over. Of the nine hundred warriors who had manned the place five hundred and fifty-seven were killed outright and their bodies were found where they had fallen. There do not seem to have been any wounded to speak of, at least the writers make no men- tion of them. It is estimated that over two hundred were shot or drowned in attempting to cross the river and probably nearly all of the few who succeeded in getting over perished in the surrounding woods, through which the American soldiers ranged for some time, taking pot
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