The Scott Massacre, coming after the

Fort Mims massacre The Fort Mims massacre occurred on August 30, 1813, at a fortified homestead site 35-40 miles north of Mobile, Alabama, during the Creek War. A large force of Creek Indians belonging to the Red Sticks faction, under the command of Peter McQue ...

, was a major factor in convincing the United States government that the Red Stick Creeks and their Native American allies must be defeated, beginning the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

. It took place at the end of November 1817 near present-day

Chattahoochee, Florida Chattahoochee is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. Its history dates to the Spanish era. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,955 as of the 2020 census, down from 3,652 at th ...

. Several hundred Creek (Muscogee) warriors known as

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

, led by Homathlimico, with

Josiah Francis Sir Josiah Francis (28 March 1890 – 22 February 1964) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1922 to 1955. He was a minister in the Lyons and Menzies governments, serving as Minister in charge of War Ser ...

in the rear, attacked an American military vessel commanded by Lieutenant Richard W. Scott. The keel boat was heading up the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...

to supply Camp Crawford on the Flint River in southwest Georgia; the attack was at the confluence of the rivers (

Nicolls' Outpost Nicolls' Outpost was the smaller and more northern of two forts built by British Lt. Col. Edward Nicolls during the War of 1812. (The Americans referred to it as Fort Apalachicola. Built at the end of 1814, together with the larger " British pos ...

). Besides the supplies, the boat carried 20 sick soldiers, seven women, four children, and a guard of 20 armed soldiers. After a bloody

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

and

scalping Scalping is the act of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, from the head, and generally occurred in warfare with the scalp being a trophy. Scalp-taking is considered part of the broader cultural practice of the taki ...

, only seven survived, one woman, and six soldiers who escaped by jumping into the river and swimming to the opposite shore, where friendly Creeks helped them reach safety at Camp Crawford on December 2, 1817. The children were killed by having their heads bashed against the sides of the boat. Scott was killed by having splinters of

fatwood Fatwood, also known as "fat lighter", "lighter wood", "rich lighter", "pine knot", "lighter knot", "heart pine", "fat stick" or "lighter'd", is derived from the heartwood of pine trees. The stump (and tap root) that is left in the ground after ...

driven into his body and set afire, "an excruciating form of execution that had its roots deep in the ancient traditions of the Creek Indians". News of the massacre was immediately sent by the camp commander, Gen.

Edmund P. Gaines Edmund Pendleton Gaines (March 20, 1777 – June 6, 1849) was an American Army officer who served for nearly fifty years, and attained the rank of major general by brevet. He was one of the Army's senior commanders during its formative years ...

, to Secretary of War

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

, and Gen.

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

. It was reported widely in the American press. "An infuriated President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

directed that General Jackson be ordered to the frontier and that the Seminoles and Red Sticks be punished without regard to whether they were in the United States or

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...

." This is considered by some historians as one of the earliest engagements of what would become of the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

. The attack was soon followed by the Battle of Ocheesee. Camp Crawford was renamed Fort Scott in the boat commander's honor.

Notes

References

{{Coord, 30.7006, -84.8568, display=title Seminole Wars Pre-statehood history of Florida History of Georgia (U.S. state) Battles of the Seminole Wars Gadsden County, Florida Muscogee Massacres by Native Americans Native American history of Florida Andrew Jackson Native American history of Georgia (U.S. state) 1817 in the United States Battles of the Creek War Battles of the War of 1812 Military history of Georgia (U.S. state) November 1817

Further reading

Notes

References