Fort Decatur was an earthen fort established in March 1814 on the banks of the

Tallapoosa River The Tallapoosa River runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, United States, southward and wes ...

as part of the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

and the larger

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. The fort was located on the east bank of the Tallapoosa River, near the modern community of

Milstead Milstead is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. It is surrounded by the villages of Frinsted, Wichling, Doddington and Lynsted in Kent, England. It is the southernmost parish in the Sittingbourne area, it is ...

. Fort Decatur was also located near the

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

town of

Tukabatchee Tukabatchee or Tuckabutche ( Creek: ''Tokepahce'' ) is one of the four mother towns of the Muscogee Creek confederacy.Isham, Theodore and Blue Clark"Creek (Mvskoke)." ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' ...

. It was most likely named for

Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unite ...

History

Creek War

Colonel Homer Milton, the commanding officer of the 3rd Regiment, ordered the construction of Fort Decatur and Fort Burrows after leaving

Fort Hull Fort Hull was an earthen fort built in present-day Macon County, Alabama in 1814 during the Creek War. After the start of hostilities, the United States decided to mount an attack on Creek territory from three directions. The column advancing west ...

in March 1814. Fort Burrows was located across the Tallapoosa River from Fort Decatur.

Benjamin Hawkins Benjamin Hawkins (August 15, 1754June 6, 1816) was an American planter, statesman and a U.S. Indian agent He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite. ...

assisted Milton in surveying the site of Fort Decatur. The fort was built under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Atkinson. After pursuing Red Sticks in southeast Alabama,

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

(a member of Major William Russell's Tennessee Mounted Volunteers) was stationed at Fort Decatur. Fort Decatur was planned to supply General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

in his march from

Fort Williams Fort Williams Park is a 90-acre park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, encompassing numerous historical sites. Perhaps most famous for having Portland Head Light on its grounds, the park also encompasses the decommissioned and largely demolished Unite ...

Hickory Ground Hickory Ground, also known as Otciapofa (or Odshiapofa, Ocheopofau, and Ocheubofau) is an historic Upper Muscogee Creek tribal town and an archaeological site in Elmore County, Alabama near Wetumpka. It is known as Oce Vpofa in the Muscogee lang ...

, but flooding prevented the supplies from arriving. After the

Battle of Horseshoe Bend The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as ''Tohopeka'', ''Cholocco Litabixbee'', or ''The Horseshoe''), was fought during the War of 1812 in the Mississippi Territory, now central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian a ...

, Georgia and South Carolina troops under the command of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Thomas Pinckney Thomas Pinckney (October 23, 1750November 2, 1828) was an early American statesman, diplomat, and soldier in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, achieving the rank of major general. He served as Governor of South Carolina an ...

marched from Fort Decatur to Fort Jackson. Brigadier General Joseph Graham commanded troops at Fort Decatur who repaired roads and assisted in supplying Jackson's army after the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. After regular troops terms of service were up, the Tennessee militia was garrisoned at Fort Decatur. The militia was then replaced by troops from Georgia who were requested by General Pinckney to oppose any potential British or Creek offensive.

William McIntosh William McIntosh (1775 – April 30, 1825),Hoxie, Frederick (1996)pp. 367-369/ref> was also commonly known as ''Tustunnuggee Hutke'' (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Creek Nation between the turn of the nineteenth cen ...

and

Thomas Simpson Woodward Thomas Simpson Woodward (February 22, 1797 – 1859) was a U.S. Army general who settled and named the area that developed into Tuskegee, Alabama. Late in life, he wrote letters about his experiences with and beliefs about American Indians. ...

were both temporarily stationed at Fort Decatur.

Postwar

In 1815, President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

appointed Colonel

John Sevier John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...

to the United States Boundary Commission to survey the boundary between the United States and the Creek Nation. The Commission was headquartered at Fort Decatur. On September 24, 1815, Sevier died and was buried at Fort Decatur. Sevier's remains were reinterred at the Knox County Courthouse in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

on June 15, 1889. A post office operated under the name Fort Decatur from 1839 to 1859.

Present

Today, the fort site is marked by a historical marker that was placed by the Alabama Anthropological Society in 1931. The remains of the fort are located on the grounds of

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

's E.V. Smith Research Center.

Units

The 4th Regiment of East Tennessee Militia and a battalion of West Tennessee Militia were both stationed at Fort Decatur. The 7th North Carolina Militia was garrisoned at Fort Burrows and Fort Decatur.

Gallery

File:Fort Bainbridge and Decatur.jpg, Fort Decatur (located in the center) as portrayed in Henry Schenck Tanner's 1830 ''The Traveler's Pocket Map of Alabama''. File:Fort Decatur John Sevier grave.jpg, 1889 photograph of John Sevier's original grave at Fort Decatur prior to disinterment. Tennessee governor

Robert Love Taylor Robert Love "Bob" Taylor (July 31, 1850March 31, 1912) was an American politician, writer, and lecturer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served three terms as the 24th governor of Tennessee, from 1887 to 1891, and again from 1897 to 1899, a ...

is leaning on the left corner of the fence and Alabama governor

Thomas Seay Thomas J. Seay (November 20, 1846 – March 30, 1896) was an American Democratic politician who was the 27th Governor of Alabama from 1886 to 1890. Early life Thomas Jefferson Seay was born on November 20, 1846, near Erie in present-day Hal ...

is leaning on the right corner.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Decatur Decatur Decatur Creek War Pre-statehood history of Alabama Buildings and structures in Macon County, Alabama Decatur Decatur