Creek Indian War Trail

Click here to view a full map showing the different trail locations across the state.

21. Holy Ground Battlefield Historic Marker
About two miles north of the town of White Hall in present-day Lowndes County is the site of the 1813 battle between Creeks led by Red Eagle and American forces under General Claiborne with Pushmataha's Choctaws as allies. The Americans killed 21 Creeks and forced the rest into the Alabama River and surrounding swamps. Red Eagle was the last Creek to retreat. He escaped by leaping his gray horse, Arrow, from a 12-foot bluff into the Alabama River and swimming to the opposite shore with his rifle over his head, while bullets spattered around him.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
8493 U.S. Hwy 80 West, Hayneville
(334) 872-9554

22. Alabama Dept. of Archives & History
The exhibit "Still Voices, Forgotten Ways: The First Alabamians" traces the history of the various Native American cultures which have existed in Alabama for more than 12,000 years. Outstanding examples of atlatl weights, projectile points, gorgets, pottery, chunkey stones and other game pieces are on display; as well as examples of Creek Indian arm and wristbands, and pendants. An imposing portrait of William McIntosh (Tustunugi Hutki) is at the end of the gallery. McIntosh led Andrew Jackson's Indian Troops at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and was later commissioned a brigadier general in the U.S. Army. The Creek Indian Removal is explored in a display of McKinney Hall lithographs of Indian negotiators. The exhibit also includes a garter and earbobs belonging to the famed Seminole warrior Osceola, who was born in Alabama and was also known by his English name, Billy Powell.
www.archives.state.al.us
624 Washington Ave., Montgomery
(334) 242-4435

23. Fort Toulouse — Jackson Park NRHS
Native Americans camped at the site around 5000 B.C. During the Mississippian period, about A.D. 1000, inhabitants built several large mounds with ceremonial temples. Only one mound remains today. The French built Fort Toulouse in 1717 on the eastern flank of their Louisiana colony. The fort was also referred to as "Fort Toulouse Aux Alibamons," named after the Indian tribe which lived at the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers. Captain Louis Marchand de Courtel was the fort's first commander and married Sehoy I of the Wind Clan of the Coushatta tribe. The son of Sehoy II, who was born at Ft. Toulouse, was Alexander McGillivray, a partner with the Patton Trading Co. and an extremely influential leader of the Creeks. Sehoy III married Charles Weatherford. Their son, William, would be known as Red Eagle. Andrew Jackson had Ft. Jackson built on the ruins of Ft. Toulouse in 1814, after the defeat of the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend. Chief Red Eagle voluntarily surrendered to Gen. Jackson at Ft. Jackson that August. Following their removal to Indian Territory in the 1830s, Creeks from nearby Tallassee in Elmore County named their new village "Tulsy," which later became the town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fort Toulouse-Jackson Park is operated by the Alabama Historical Commission, and includes a replica of the second Fort Toulouse built in 1751 and a partial reconstruction of the 1814 Fort Jackson. The park is host to living history programs throughout the year. Call for dates and times.
www.preserveala.org
2521 W. Fort Toulouse Rd., Wetumpka
(334) 567-3002

24. Horseshoe Bend National Military Park NRHP
Sam Houston, who later became governor of Tennessee and president of the Republic of Texas, was a 21-year-old ensign with the Tennessee Militia in the 1814 Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Many years after the slaughter along the Tallapoosa, he described the carnage:

"The sun was going down, and it set on the ruin of the Creek Nation. Where, but a few hours before a thousand brave . . . [warriors] had scowled on death and their assailants, there was nothing to be seen but volumes of dense smoke, rising heavily over the corpses of painted warriors, and the burning ruins of their fortifica-tions." � Sam Houston

The savagery of the Americans at Horseshoe Bend avenged the 1813 massacre at Ft. Mims. The victory launched the career of Andrew Jackson. His inauguration as the seventh president of the United States and the Indian Removal Act of 1830 sealed the fate of the native peoples of the Southeast.
www.nps.gov/hobe
11288 Horseshoe Bend Rd., Daviston
(256) 234-7111; (256) 234-3582

25. Tuskegee Multicultural Center
Walking and driving tour brochures are available at the Center, which include local Native American information. Fort Tuskegee was established in the early 1800s and was named after Creek Chief Taskigi. U.S. Highway 80 was once part of the 1811 Federal Road which connected the Chattahoochee with Ft. Stoddert on the Tombigbee.
104 South Elm Street, Tuskegee
(334) 724-0800

Kirk's Old Farm Museum includes an Osceola & Creek Indian display, as well as other Native American artifacts.
109 Westside Street, Tuskegee
(334) 727-6688

26. Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center
The center celebrates the culture and accomplishments of the Native Americans who inhabited the Chattahoochee River Valley until their removal west in the 1830s. The center's memorial is a symbolic representation of a Creek central plaza, consisting of four arbors surrounding the Sacred Fire, a 25-foot flame sculpture made of stainless steel and bronze. Around the symbolic square ground are plaques listing the names of Indian heads of households who were shown on the Creek Census of 1832, just prior to their removal to Oklahoma. A large playing field south of the memorial honors stickball, a game that was a major part of Southeastern Native American culture. An annual Southern Indian Homecoming is held at the center. Call for dates and times.
AL Hwy 165, Fort Mitchell
(334) 687-9755 (Historic Chattahoochee Commission)

27. Fort Mitchell National Cemetery
The original fort was constructed by the Georgia Militia during the First Creek Indian War (1813-1814). The U.S. Army rebuilt Fort Mitchell on its original site and garrisoned it from 1825 until 1840. The fort was an internment camp for Creeks captured during the Second Creek Indian War and an embarkation point for the Lower Creek Nation onto the "Mitchell Trace" during Creek removal.
AL Hwy 165, Fort Mitchell
(334) 855-4731

28. Chief Eufaula Historic Marker
The historic marker honors Yoholo-Micco, Creek Chief of Eufaula Town, and includes excerpts from his 1836 speech to the Alabama Legislature in Tuscaloosa.
Old Creek Town Park, Eufaula
(334) 687-9755 (Historic Chattahoochee Commission)

Note:
NRHP - National Register of Historic Places
NRHS - National Register of Historic Sites