The Battle of Burnt Corn, also known as the Battle of Burnt Corn Creek, was an encounter between United States armed forces and

Creek Indians The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsAlabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. The battle was part of the Creek War.

Background

In July 1813,

Peter McQueen Peter McQueen (c. 1780 – 1820) was a Creek chief, prophet, trader and warrior from ''Talisi'' ( Tallassee, among the Upper Towns in present-day Alabama.) He was one of the young men known as Red Sticks, who became a prophet for expulsion of ...

, a Creek Native American chief, and a large party of

Red Stick Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs), the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creeks—refers to an early 19th-century traditionalist faction of these people in the American Southeast. Made ...

warriors proceeded to Pensacola, Florida to buy munitions, with $400 and a letter from a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

officer at Fort Malden. In McQueen's words, the Spanish governor gave them "a small bag of powder for each ten towns, and five bullets to each man." The governor presented this as a "friendly present, for hunting purposes". But Samuel Moniac, a Creek warrior, testified August 2, 1813 after the events, "High Head told me that, when they went back with their supply, another body of men would go down for another supply of ammunition; and that ten men were to go out of town, and they calculated on 'five horse-loads for every town'."

Battle

United States soldiers at

Fort Mims Mims or MIMS may refer to: Acronyms * Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston, Texas * MediCiti Institute of Medical Sciences, a medical college near Hyderabad, India * Membrane-introduction mass spectrometry * Monthly Index of Medical Speciali ...

, having heard of

's mission, sent a quickly organized force, led by Colonel James Caller and Captain Dixon Bailey, to intercept McQueen's party. This force was joined by volunteers from

Fort Glass Fort Glass was a stockade fort built in July 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War (part of the larger War of 1812). History Background The Creek War of 1813 began as a civil war between supporters of the Creek nation ...

under the command of

Samuel Dale Samuel Dale (1772 – ), known as the "Daniel Boone of Alabama", was an American frontiersman, trader, miller, hunter, scout, courier, soldier, spy, army officer, and politician, who fought under General Andrew Jackson, in the Creek War, la ...

. The Americans ambushed the Red Sticks as they bedded down on the evening of July 27, 1813, on the banks of Burnt Corn Creek, in present-day southern

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

(in what is now northern

Escambia County, Alabama Escambia County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,757. Its county seat is Brewton. Escambia County is coextensive with the Atmore, AL Micropolitan Sta ...

). It would become known as "The Battle of Burnt Corn" or the "Battle of Burnt Corn Creek," and would be seen as a part of the broader Creek War. The Americans scattered the Red Sticks, who fled to the nearby swamps. Flush with victory, the Americans began looting the Red Sticks' pack-horses. From the swamp, the Creeks noticed that the Americans had dropped their guard. The Creek re-grouped and launched a surprise attack of their own, which scattered the Americans.

Gallery

File:Creek Country 1812-1814.jpg, Map of events in Alabama during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. Burnt Corn battle site is located in the bottom left.

References

External links

A map of Creek War Battle Sites
from the PCL Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin.

taken in 1813. {{coord, 31.18957, -87.12587, display=title Burnt Corn 1813 in the United States Burnt Corn Native American history of Alabama July 1813 events Burnt Corn