It had been generally supposed that the next blow would be struck at Mobile—more particularly, because of the facilities which would have been afforded to the Indians, by its possession, of communicating with their British allies; but the report of Colonel Coffee allayed all the fears that had been entertained in regard to the safety of that post. Relieved on this point, General Jackson commenced his preparations for taking the field. Delay, however brief, was hardly admissible, as he desired to terminate the campaign by a few bold and decisive movements, but it was necessary, in order to furnish the volunteers and militia, who had rendezvoused at Fayetteville, with the requisite arms and supplies.

The hostile Creeks, or Red Sticks, numbered only about four thousand warriors, and they were now surrounded by an American force large enough, had it been properly provided, and directed by a single commander, like General Jackson, to have driven them into the Gulf of Mexico, or exterminated them in a very few weeks. On the west of their settlements, there were six hundred Mississippi volunteers, under General Claiborne; the 3rd regiment of regular infantry, six hundred strong, under Colonel Russell; and two hundred militia, at Fort St. Stephen’s. On the north, were the Tennessee volunteers and militia, five thousand in number,—twenty-five hundred from West Tennessee, with General Jackson in person, and twenty-five hundred from East Tennessee, under Generals Cocke and White,—all under the orders of General Jackson; and in addition to these, there was a force of two hundred Mississippi volunteers, near Huntsville, under Colonel Perkins. On the east were twenty-five hundred Georgia militia, commanded by General Floyd. Besides the troops mentioned, there was a body of Cherokees and friendly Creeks, sometimes with one party and sometimes with another, and varying, at different times, from one or two, to seven or eight hundred.

Had they not been grossly deceived and deluded by their prophets, the Creeks could never have hoped to accomplish anything against this formidable array. Indeed, they seem to have been strangely infatuated throughout; for, instead of concentrating their whole force in an attack on Mobile, or the Mississippi or Georgia troops, neither of whom were yet fully prepared for the field, they advanced with their main body, weakened by a detachment sent towards the frontiers of Georgia, against the column under General Jackson, who was ready to meet them at any odds, and determined to defeat, when he did meet them. It is not probable that the British agents who instigated the Creeks to hostilities, anticipated that the latter would achieve any certain success. They only supposed that the savages would hold the Americans at bay, until a British army could be brought to succor them. The resistless energy and perseverance of General Jackson, defeated any such project. Long before England was able to dispatch a considerable force to the Gulf, he had fallen upon the Creeks like a thunderbolt, scattered their warriors, who escaped the deadly aim of his rifles, like chaff before the wind, spread terror and devastation through their settlements, and forced them, as suppliants, humbly to beg for peace.

About one o’clock in the morning of the eleventh of October, an express from Colonel Coffee,—who had crossed the Tennessee river south of Huntsville, at Ditto’s Landing, and posted his command on a high bluff on the opposite shore,—arrived at Fayetteville, with the information that the Red Sticks were rapidly approaching his position. Jackson instantly replied, that he would be on the march to reïnforce him, in two hours. It had been sometime before understood, between General Jackson and General Cocke, that the latter would send supplies down the river, from East Tennessee, where provisions were abundant, to meet the other column at Ditto’s Landing. Hoping, rather than believing, that he would be supplied with provisions, in sufficient quantities, if he advanced into the enemy’s country, Jackson ordered all his disposable force under arms, and left Fayetteville early in the morning of the eleventh.

Rumors of Indian massacres and outrages reached the command at every stage of their progress. They scarcely halted during the day, and at eight o’clock in the evening were in Huntsville, thirty-two miles distant. Here General Jackson ascertained that the report in regard to the advance of the Creeks was not well founded; and he therefore concluded to rest his men till the following morning, when he resumed his march, and in the evening effected a junction with the troops under Colonel Coffee.

From the positive assurances contained in letters received from Generals Cocke and White,—the latter of whom had concentrated about eight hundred and fifty men, at Highwassee Garrison, in the Cherokee country, on the fourth of October,—General Jackson was led to believe that he should find ample stores of provisions when he reached the Tennessee river. On the thirteenth of October, he dispatched Colonel Coffee, with six hundred men picked from his regiment, against Blackwarriors’ Town, on the Blackwarrior river, about one hundred miles south of Ditto’s Landing. Day after day passed by, and still the supplies did not arrive. The time was profitably spent, under the circumstances, in drilling the troops, but the delay was, nevertheless, intolerable. Repeated messages were received from Chenubby, Pathkiller, and other friendly chiefs, informing him that they and their families were liable to be cut off, at any moment, by the Red Sticks, who were collecting in force near the Ten Islands, on the Coosa River, and urging him to hasten to their assistance. He at length determined that he would not longer remain inactive.

As his contemplated route to the Coosa lay, for some distance, up the Tennessee river, he resolved to advance, hoping to meet the stores which he supposed were descending the stream; and so confident was he upon this point, that he sent forward expresses to stop them at Thompson’s Creek. On the nineteenth of October, he commenced his march for that point, with scarcely a week’s rations on hand, having previously dismissed the former contractors for his army and supplied their places with others.

He was obliged to cut a road for the passage of his wagon train through dense forests, and over almost impassable mountains; but he only smiled at obstacles when he possessed the means to overcome them. On the twenty-second instant, he arrived at Thompson’s Creek, but it was only to be again disappointed. No supplies were to be found, and nothing could be heard of any. Other generals would have given up in despair; but it was not in his nature to falter. Though environed by difficulties, which might well have appalled a braver spirit, he formed the stern resolution to breast them nobly and manfully. To retreat now, would be to abandon the friendly Creeks, of whose danger he was again reminded, by a message from Pathkiller, at Turkey Town, to their fate,—and to leave the southern frontiers of Tennessee exposed to the ruthless ravages of the savage enemy. Though the hideous monster, Famine, stared him in the face at every step, he resolved to advance to the Ten Islands, and then sweep down through the country where the hostiles, or Red Sticks, as they were called, in allusion to the emblems which they had adopted, were concentrating, to the forks of the Coosa and Tallapoosa.

He addressed earnest and importunate letters to the governors of Tennessee and Georgia, to Colonels Meigs and McKee, the Cherokee and Choctaw agents, to General Flourney, the commander of the seventh military district, to the friendly chiefs, and several private citizens of wealth and influence, urging them to leave no means untried to throw forward the necessary supplies for his army, and pledging himself, if properly furnished in this respect, to terminate the war in a very few weeks. While at Thompson’s Creek, he received a letter from General White, who had increased his force at Highwassee to about thirteen hundred men, besides one or two hundred friendly Cherokees, informing him that no flour could be spared at that post. He immediately dispatched expresses to Generals Cocke and White, apprising them of the condition of his troops in regard to provisions, and requiring them to join him as soon as possible in the Creek country.

On the twenty-fourth of October, Colonel Coffee returned from his expedition, having destroyed Blackwarriors’ Town, and captured three hundred bushels of corn, though he had not seen an Indian. The provisions of his men were so nearly exhausted, that, during the last four days of their excursion, they were obliged to subsist on parched corn. In the evening of the twenty-fourth, the preparations of General Jackson for a forward movement were completed; a dépôt was established at Thompson’s Creek, called Fort Deposit, and means provided for forwarding such supplies as might arrive; and, on the morning of the twenty-fifth, he put his army in motion for the interior, marching, as was his invariable custom, in three columns, so arranged that they could be instantly formed in order of battle, if attacked in front or in rear, or on either flank.

In two days General Jackson reached Wills’ Creek, a tributary of the Coosa, where he encamped till the morning of the twenty-ninth, to collect corn from the neighboring Indians,—his army being entirely out of bread. On the twenty-eighth instant, Lieutenant Colonel Dyer was detached with two hundred cavalry, against the village of Littefutchee, which he attacked the following night; the village was burned; twenty-nine prisoners were taken; and considerable corn, and a number of beeves, were collected from the vicinity. While at Wills’ Creek, Jackson was again obliged to remove his contractors, and employ others. On the thirtieth instant, he reörganized his troops. General Hall was placed in command of the first brigade, consisting of the first and second regiments of volunteer infantry, under Colonels Bradley and Pillow; and General Roberts in command of the second brigade, consisting of the first and second militia regiments, under Colonels Wynne and M’Crory. General Coffee, promoted from colonel, was placed in command of the cavalry brigade, which consisted of the volunteer regiment, Colonel Alcorn, and the mounted rifles, Colonel Cannon.

The march was then resumed for the Ten Islands. While General Jackson was cutting his way over the Coosa mountain, General Coffee was ordered to cross the river, at the fish-dams, with one thousand men of his brigade, to scour the country in the direction of the Ten Islands, and attack the Indian town of Talluschatchee, about thirteen miles distant, in an easterly direction, where a large force of the enemy had collected. The orders issued to General Coffee were gallantly executed. On the morning of the third of November he approached the town; the savages in vain attempted to oppose his march; and they were driven rapidly back upon their buildings, in and about which a fierce and bloody contest took place, that terminated in their complete rout and overthrow. Both men and women fought with the utmost desperation. One hundred and eighty-six of the enemy, including one of their prophets, and a number of women and children, were found dead on the field of battle; and there were eighty-four taken prisoners, all of whom were women and children. General Coffee had five men killed and fourteen wounded. Having destroyed the town and buried his dead, he rejoined the main army, at the Ten Islands, in the evening of the same day, with his wounded and prisoners.

Harassed by constant care and anxiety,—exposed, at every turn, to vexatious delays and hindrances, that fretted and annoyed him,—General Jackson never lost that kindness and gentleness of spirit, which bloomed, bright and pure, amid the intenser passions that burned and blazed around it. Among the prisoners taken at Talluschatchee, was an infant boy found clinging to the breast of his dead mother. He was brought to camp with the others, and General Jackson endeavored to hire some of the captive women to take care of him. They refused, saying, “All his relations are dead; kill him too!”—Jackson then caused him to be fed with sweetened water, and afterwards sent him to Huntsville, where he was nursed at his expense. After the close of the campaign, he took the little orphan, who was named Lincoyer, home with him to the Hermitage, where he was reared and educated with parental care and kindness. At a proper age, he was apprenticed to a saddler in Nashville; but he never lost his Indian tastes. His health began to fail before he reached the age of manhood, and he was removed to the Hermitage. He sunk rapidly into a consumption, and soon died, sincerely mourned and lamented by the general and his wife, who had watched over his sick bed with untiring assiduity.

At the Ten Islands, General Jackson established a post, called Fort Strother, on the right bank of the Coosa, opposite the mouth of Talluschatchee creek. The prisoners brought in by General Coffee were forthwith sent to Huntsville. No supplies had yet arrived; the army could not be furnished with regular rations; and it was hardly known, one day, what they were to subsist on the next. Once more the commanding general appealed to the contractors, by every consideration of humanity and patriotism, to forward the provisions which could alone save his troops from starvation. He likewise again wrote to General White, who had arrived at Turkey Town, twenty-five miles above Fort Strother, to join him immediately. His dispatch was written on the seventh of November, and, late in the evening, before it was closed, a runner came in from Lashly’s fort, at Talladega, about thirty miles south of Fort Strother, and a short distance east of the Coosa, with the intelligence that a large body of Red Sticks had encamped near that place, which was occupied by friendly Indians, and were preparing to destroy it and the inmates. General Jackson could not hesitate to grant the desired succor. He determined to march forthwith; the urgent circumstances which induced him to advance, were mentioned in the dispatch to General White; and the latter was entreated to lose no time in reaching Fort Strother, to protect his dépôt and cover his rear.

Marching orders were issued in a few moments after the arrival of the runner, and at midnight General Jackson was on the march for Talladega, with his whole disposable force, consisting of twelve hundred infantry, and eight hundred cavalry and mounted rifles. His sick, wounded, and baggage, were left at Fort Strother. Crossing the Coosa in the night, he pressed forward with such celerity—officers and men vieing with each other in zeal—that, on the evening of the eighth instant, he encamped within six miles of the fort at Talladega, which was occupied by one hundred and sixty friendly warriors, with their women and children. About midnight the chief Chenubby arrived from Turkey Town, with a letter from General White, informing General Jackson that he had received an order from his division commander, General Cocke, to join him at Chattooga, higher up the Coosa, and that he could not, therefore, advance to Fort Strother.

Jackson’s cup of disappointment was almost full. Neither General Cocke, nor General White, wanted in patriotism; but they seem, more particularly the former, to have been impressed with the belief, that by remaining aloof from General Jackson, they would secure a larger share of the honors of the campaign. It seems almost painful to contemplate the struggles of the proud and ambitious spirit constantly thwarted by their unwise movements. Had they joined him at once, the war would have been brought to a close in a few weeks; but they preferred to linger behind, in safety and security, eating up the provisions better deserved by those who were enduring the severest fatigues and privations; and when they recovered from their inactivity, and advanced to strike a blow, it proved to be the only unfortunate one of the whole campaign.

The dispatch from General White made no change, however, in the determination of General Jackson. He resolved to dispose of the enemy in his front, and then fall back, with all possible speed, to Fort Strother, before the enemy would have time to profit by its defenceless condition. The prospect before his troops was disheartening in the extreme; if they conquered, there would be no food to refresh or reïnvigorate them; yet his example inspired them with confidence, and they obeyed his commands without hesitation or reluctance.

Long before daylight on the morning of the ninth of November, the army was again in motion. Silently threading their way through the luxuriant forests, winding over the hills, and crossing the rich intervals, that separated them from the enemy, they approached their position. Within a mile, they were halted, and formed in order of battle. The infantry brigades were placed in the centre,—General Hall’s on the right, and General Roberts’ on the left. They were flanked, on the right, by Colonel Alcorn’s volunteer cavalry, and, on the left, by the mounted rifles of Colonel Cannon. An advanced corps of riflemen, spies, and artillery, was formed under Colonel Carroll, the inspector general, and a strong reserve of two hundred and fifty mounted men, under Lieutenant Colonel Dyer.

At eight o’clock the attack was ordered; and the whole column moved rapidly forward, all full of animation and enthusiasm. Colonel Carroll preceded the main body, with the advance, having received orders to rouse the enemy from the thicket on the banks of a small rivulet, in which they had concealed themselves, and then to retire towards the centre. The sharp quick report of his rifles, and the hideous yells and screams, soon apprised the remainder of the column that the savages had been started from their cover. Meantime, the infantry regiments, which had previously advanced by heads of companies, had displayed, in accordance with the orders of General Jackson, and the cavalry were extending themselves, to the right and left, so as to encircle the enemy. The orders issued by the commanding general required the cavalry to keep up their connection with the flanks of the infantry. This was neglected on the right, and the plan of attack, which was most skilfully formed, was partially defeated by this untoward circumstance. Colonel Bradley, the officer commanding the infantry regiment on the right, also halted his men on a rising ground, before he came in contact with the enemy, and the gap was thereby considerably widened.

When the fronts of the cavalry columns met on the further side of the enemy, they faced inwardly, and a general rush was made towards the centre. The Indians did not appear inclined to fly, at first, but made a bold onset upon the right wing of General Roberts’ brigade. Three of the companies, after delivering their fire, began to stagger, and finally fell back in the rear. Colonel Bradley was then ordered to advance with his regiment, and fill up the vacancy. This he declined doing; and General Jackson, much against his will, as he designed the reserve to pursue the enemy if they attempted to escape, was forced to direct Lieutenant Colonel Dyer to dismount his men, and engage them. Observing this movement, the retiring militia rallied and did good service.

The action was not of long continuance. The savages could not withstand the destructive fire poured in upon them from every side, and in fifteen minutes they commenced flying hither and thither, within the circle, seeking some avenue of escape. Whichsoever way they turned, they encountered the rifle and the bayonet. At length, they discovered the opening between Colonel Alcorn’s regiment of cavalry, on the right, and the volunteers of Colonel Bradley. Through this numbers of them dashed, hotly pursed by both cavalry and infantry, who followed them for nearly three miles, strewing the ground throughout the whole distance with their dead bodies. The Indian force numbered one thousand and eighty warriors, of whom two hundred and ninety-nine were found killed on the field of battle, and many more must have perished in the woods. The Americans lost but fifteen killed, and eighty-five wounded, some of the latter mortally.

The occupants of the fort thus timely relieved, crowded around General Jackson and his brave troops, and poured forth their thanks in eloquent and impressive terms. There were only one hundred and sixty warriors, with their women and children, and the arrival of the Tennesseans was most opportune, as the Red Sticks were to have assaulted the fort in a few hours. They had been entirely cut off from their supply of water, and had suffered considerably for want of it. Their stock of provisions was also limited; but on discovering the condition of Jackson’s troops, who had left Fort Strother with but little over one day’s rations, they cheerfully furnished them all they had to spare, which scarcely amounted to a single meal.

General Jackson complimented his troops, in the highest terms, for their gallantry in this action. All the officers, with the exception of Colonel Bradley, who was placed under arrest, but afterwards released, were mentioned in his dispatches in terms of marked approbation.

An instant retreat to Fort Strother was now necessary. The horses were suffering for the want of forage, and the men were half-famished, when they turned their backs on the field of victory, and commenced their retrograde march. Jackson was with the van of the army, and on the way discovered a quantity of acorns lying on the ground. Dismounting from his horse, he threw the bridle over his arm, and, having gathered a few of the nuts, sat down on the roots of a tree to eat them. He was thus engaged in satisfying his hunger, when a soldier approached him, and demanded something to eat. “I never turn away the hungry,” said the general, “while I have anything to give them.” He then offered the soldier a few acorns, adding, “I will most cheerfully divide with you such food as I have.” Mortified and surprised, the man shrunk back among his companions, who thereafter repressed every disposition to murmur or complain.

The army reached Fort Strother on the evening of the eleventh of November, but it was only to be once more disappointed. No provisions, except the limited quantities forwarded by the contractors, had yet arrived; and the private stores of the general had been almost exhausted, in order to supply the wants of the sick and wounded. Still he assumed a cheerful and confident tone, though sad enough at heart, and resorting to the slaughter-pens, provided himself with tripes, with which he made what he termed a comfortable repast. His example was imitated by the soldiers, who seemed inclined willingly to endure the hardships of the campaign.

But matters could not long continue in this situation. The battles of Talluschatchee and Talladega had satisfied, to a considerable degree, the desire for adventure which had previously animated the troops in the midst of the most embarrassing difficulties, and they soon began to pine for the comforts of home. Starvation was far more terrible to them than “an army with banners.” They were brave,—this could not be doubted,—and they would have gladly followed their general into the very heart of the Creek country, if they could only have been assured that a reasonable supply of food would be provided; of the two enemies whom they met in the wilderness, they feared the savage least; and was it not asking too much that they should encounter both?

Disaffection gradually gained ground, and, in a few days, the whole army was on the verge of mutiny. The militia regiments were the first to make known their determination to leave the camp, and return to Tennessee. Apprised of their intention, General Jackson ordered the volunteer brigade under arms, and when the militia attempted to move off, the former were directed to fire upon them unless they returned to their duty. This had the desired effect. The overawed militia retired to their tents, but, on the following morning, they were themselves paraded, in a similar manner, to prevent the volunteers from deserting their colors. This arraying of one species of force against another was a bold and happy conception of Jackson’s; but it would not bear repetition. No one could be better aware than himself, that the men had reasonable cause for complaint, even though he insisted on a rigid compliance with his orders to remain at Fort Strother. The horses were suffering so much, however, for the want of forage, that the mounted men received permission to go back to Huntsville, upon their pledge to return promptly when required to do so.

Having been positively assured by the new contractor, Colonel Pope, in reply to his earnest and pathetic appeals, that supplies would soon reach his camp, General Jackson made a most eloquent and animated harangue to his troops on the fourteenth of November, exhorting them, by every consideration and argument which should influence brave and patriotic citizens, not to abandon the service, and leave the frontier settlements exposed to the desolating incursions of the Indians. He also promised them, that if a supply of provisions did not arrive within two days, he would himself lead them back where there was plenty. The militia consented to remain; but the volunteer regiments, forgetful of the heavy debt of gratitude which they owed to their commander, for his refusal to desert them the previous winter, at Natchez, when they had been abandoned by their government, determined to march forthwith to the settlements. Discovering that it was useless longer to attempt compulsory measures, General Jackson issued the necessary orders to General Hall, to conduct his brigade to Fort Deposit. Before the march was commenced, the second regiment wisely reconsidered their determination, and concluded to stay with the general; whereupon the first regiment moved off alone.

The specified time elapsed, and still no provisions had arrived. On the sixteenth, General Jackson commenced his preparations for the abandonment of Fort Strother; but, on reflecting how much this movement would reïnspirit the savages, he declared that he would not leave the post, if only two men would remain with him. Captain Gordon, of the spies, instantly volunteered to be one of his companions, and through his exertions, and those of some of the members of the general staff, one hundred and nine men were found who agreed to stay.

Feeling confident, however, that supplies were close at hand, General Jackson marched with the militia, apprising them, in advance, that they would be ordered back if his expectations should be realized. Within ten or twelve miles of the fort, they met one hundred and fifty beeves. The column at once halted; the cattle were knocked down, and eagerly cooked and eaten by the half-starved troops. But when the order to return was issued, none obeyed it. One company, indeed, had resumed the march, before the general discovered the mutinous disposition which prevailed among the troops. He immediately dashed ahead of the men who were moving off, and with General Coffee, a part of the staff, and a few soldiers, formed a line across the road, and declared that he would fire on them if they endeavored to pass. Well knowing that he was not the man to forfeit his word, they fell back to the main body, who were soon discovered to be likewise infected with the spirit of mutiny. Arguments and entreaties proved of no avail,—the troops all formed, and were on the point of continuing their march to Fort Deposit. As a last resort, the general snatched a musket, threw it across the neck of his horse, and placing himself in front of the column, declared that he would shoot down the first man who moved a single step in advance.

The piece which General Jackson had seized was too much out of order to be fired, and his arm was so weak that he could not aim it with any precision; but the men before him knew nothing of this, or, if they did, thought not of it. They only saw his flashing eye, and his determined look. General Coffee and some of the staff took their places in silence beside him. Two faithful companies also formed in his rear. All were ready to fire when he gave the signal. For several moments not a word was uttered. At length the power of numbers quailed before the iron will, the moral greatness of that one man. The mutineers signified their willingness to return, and in a short time they were retracing their steps to Fort Strother.

While General Jackson was engaged in quelling the disturbances in his camp, the East Tennesseans, under General White, were proceeding against the Hillabee towns, the warriors from which had been present at the battle of Talladega. Intimidated by the result of this action, they had applied to General Jackson, on the thirteenth of November, for terms of peace. On the seventeenth he replied, making known to them the conditions upon which their request would be granted. On the same night, General White, who had been detached for this service by General Cocke, on the eleventh of November, with all his cavalry and mounted infantry, approached the principal Hillabee village, having previously destroyed Little Oakfuskie, Genalga, and Netta Chaptoa. At daylight the town was surprised, sixty warriors were killed, and two hundred and fifty taken prisoners, without the loss of a drop of blood on the part of General White’s command.

This unfortunate movement—unfortunate, inasmuch as the blow fell with crushing weight upon a people already subdued, and anxious to make peace on any terms—confirmed General Cocke in the opinion which he had previously formed and communicated to General Jackson on the fourteenth of November, that it was far better to unite his forces with those of the latter, and act in concert with him, than, by remaining separate, to paralyze his efforts, and defeat his plans. Thereafter he made no attempt to operate independently of General Jackson, and on the twelfth of December joined him at Fort Strother, with fourteen hundred and fifty men.

Meanwhile the Georgia militia, under General Floyd, though, like the Tennessee troops, much embarrassed by the want of supplies, had been advancing from the frontier of that state into the Creek country. Early in the morning of the twenty-ninth of November, they surprised the Indian town of Antossee, situated on the left bank of the Tallapoosa, about twenty miles above its junction with the Coosa, and which the savages had been taught by their prophets to consider holy ground. The force under General Floyd consisted of nine hundred and fifty Georgians, and between three and four hundred friendly Indians. Antossee, and another town about five hundred yards lower down, were occupied by large parties of the enemy. Both were attacked at the same moment; the houses were set on fire; and a furious contest took place amid the surrounding flames. The Indians were ultimately routed and dispersed, with the loss of two hundred killed and wounded. General Floyd was himself severely wounded; and there were eleven of his men killed, and fifty-four wounded. As the principal Creek towns were within a short distance of Antossee, he completed the work of destruction, and immediately retired to the Chatahoochee, which he reached without molestation. On the ninth of December, another detachment of Georgia militia, under General Adams, consisting of five hundred and thirty men, marched on a second expedition against the towns on the Tallapoosa. They were unable to bring the enemy to action, but destroyed two of their villages, and then returned to camp.

While these operations were going on, east and north of the Creeks, the regulars and militia on the west, though cut off from all communication with the other columns, by the trackless forests which separated them, were not inactive. On the thirteenth of December, General Claiborne moved up the Alabama river, from Fort Stoddart, with a detachment, in order to destroy the towns above the mouth of the Cahawba. On the twenty-third instant he attacked Eccanahaca, or Holy Ground, a new town erected since the commencement of the war, in the midst of tangled thickets, and almost impenetrable swamps and morasses. This village was the general dépôt of the Indians in this section, and contained large quantities of property and stores of provisions. It consisted of about two hundred houses, and was occupied by a considerable body of the enemy, under the half-breed chief, Weatherford. General Claiborne advanced upon the town, with his force divided into three columns. The Indians were quickly driven out, leaving thirty dead on the ground. Having no facilities for removing the property or provisions, the general ordered them to be consumed with the town. He also destroyed another village, containing sixty houses, eight miles higher up the river.

Among the slain at Eccanahaca were three Shawnee warriors, who had probably joined the hostile Creeks after the terrible defeat of their tribe on the banks of the Thames, in October previous; and among the trophies of the expedition, was a letter to Weatherford, from Manriquez, the Spanish governor of Florida, dated at Pensacola, the twenty-ninth of September, affording ample and conclusive evidence of his connivance with the Red Sticks.⁠[18]⁠

The troops called out under the authority of the Legislature of Tennessee, were accepted by the General Government, and on the seventh of November, General Pinckney, previously in charge of the sixth military district, was ordered to assume command of the seventh. His plan of conducting the campaign contemplated the junction of the various corps operating in the Creek country, at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa; and instructions were issued by him to the different commanders, requiring them to take possession of the country as they advanced, so as, at all times, to keep open their communication in the rear.

After allaying the mutiny in his camp, in November, General Jackson visited Fort Deposit and Ditto’s Landing, to make arrangements for supplying his army, preparatory to another forward movement which he had in contemplation. Requisitions were issued for furnishing a suitable number of rations at Fort Strother, Talladega, and the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, together with wagons and pack-horses for their transportation. He then returned to Fort Strother with the first regiment of volunteers. Shortly after his return a new cause of disturbance arose. The volunteers had originally engaged to serve for twelve months, and they claimed that their term of service would expire on the tenth of December. General Jackson, however, contended that the period which elapsed between the time of their dismissal, after their return from Natchez, and that of their subsequent remuster, at Fayetteville, must be deducted. Each party insisted on its particular view of the case; and in the evening of the ninth of December, General Jackson was informed by General Hall, that his brigade were preparing to move off, with, or without permission, on the following morning.

General Jackson had become familiar with scenes of this character, and he immediately issued an order, stating that an actual mutiny existed in the camp, and commanding all officers and soldiers to unite in putting it down. He further directed the volunteer brigade to parade on the west side of the fort; the company of artillerists were ordered to take post, with one piece in front, and one in rear, of their line; and the militia, under Colonel Wynne, were instructed to occupy the eminences in advance. These dispositions being made, the general rode in front of the volunteers, and addressed each company separately, in eloquent and animated terms, informing them that he had submitted the question in dispute to the governor, and that, until his decision was known, or reïnforcements joined him, he could not dispense with their services. He appealed to every noble and worthy motive to induce them to remain; but declared, that he should do his duty, regardless of consequences; and that they could not leave him, without passing over his dead body. “Now,” said he, in conclusion, “argument is at an end; and you must choose, and that at once, whether you will go or stay!”

Not a word was uttered in reply, by the volunteers. He then demanded a prompt answer. Still there was no response. He now ordered the artillerists to prepare their matches. Ere the order was obeyed, the obstinacy of the men gave way before his unyielding firmness. “Let us return,” was whispered from one to another, with trembling lips; and the officers soon came forward, and pledged themselves and their men, to remain until the general should hear from the governor, or the expected reïnforcements arrive.

On the twelfth of December, General Cocke reached the camp, from Fort Armstrong, with the East Tennesseans. General Jackson then issued an address to the volunteer brigade, offering to permit those who desired to leave him, to return at once to Nashville, and those who chose to remain, to organize themselves into a separate corps, with officers of their own selection. But one man in the whole brigade, Captain Williamson, consented to stay; the remainder were marched back to Nashville, by General Hall, and soon after discharged from the service.

The regiment of volunteer cavalry belonging to General Coffee’s brigade, claimed the same indulgence with the volunteer infantry, and the mounted rifles insisted that they were only bound for a three months’ tour of duty. About one-half the brigade abandoned the service, at Huntsville, and the other half returned to Fort Deposit, but they also subsequently deserted their commander,—General Coffee exerting himself, in vain, to induce them to remain,—and returned home. These defections, and the expiration of the terms of service of a portion of General Cocke’s division, reduced the force under General Jackson, at Fort Strother, to six hundred militia, two companies of spies, under Captains Gordon and Russell, one of artillery, under Captain Deadrick, and a few volunteers from the various corps, who had been, “faithful among the faithless found.” The militia demanded their discharge at the expiration of three months, although it had been supposed they were enlisted for six, and it was not thought advisable to compel them to remain.

All these difficulties in keeping the troops in the field arose from the want of sufficient supplies. Had General Jackson been properly supported in this respect, it is probable there would not have been a single case of defection, and the first of January, 1814, would have witnessed the complete subjection of the Creeks. Still he was determined to prosecute the campaign, as soon as he should be in a condition to move forward. After the return of the militia, he was left with only about one hundred men, and was, in consequence, obliged to employ the friendly Cherokees in garrisoning Fort Armstrong and protecting the stores at Camp Ross. Generals Cocke and Roberts, Colonel Carroll, and Major Searcy, the aid of the commanding general, were at this time absent in Tennessee, exerting themselves to raise additional troops.

On being informed of the situation of General Jackson, Governor Blount advised him to fall back from his advanced posts, and content himself with defending the frontiers of the state, until he was placed in sufficient force to carry on the war. On the twenty-ninth of December, 1813, the general unburthened his whole soul to the governor,

“In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.”

“What!” said he, in his letter, “retrograde under such circumstances! I will perish first. What! a governor of a patriotic state, whose citizens pressed for war, who bawled for permission to exterminate the Creeks, to pause or hesitate at such a crisis as this? Such conduct cannot be justified, cannot be excused. Hear the voice of a friend: If you compel me to retrograde, the awful responsibility must and will be ascribed to you.... I shall do my duty. I will retain the post, or die in the struggle, unless ordered to retreat by my commanding general!”

The earnest appeals of General Jackson, whose intrepidity of spirit and resoluteness of purpose appeared only the more conspicuous, when fortune smiled the most unkindly on him, were not without effect. On the thirteenth of January, 1814, he was joined at Fort Strother, by two regiments of mounted men, eight hundred and fifty strong, under Colonels Perkins and Higgins, who had volunteered for sixty days. Previous to this time, he had ascertained that the hostile Indians from several towns on the Tallapoosa, had concentrated in a bend of the river, thirty-five miles south-east of Talladega, near the mouth of the Emuckfaw Creek, and were either preparing to attack Fort Armstrong, or the Georgia troops.

The volunteer, cavalry having been enlisted for so short a period, it was necessary to act speedily if he desired to avail himself of their services. On the day of their arrival at Fort Strother, he issued orders directing them to hold themselves in readiness for the march, and, on the fifteenth and sixteenth of January, crossed the Coosa with his whole force, numbering seven hundred and sixty-seven men, though the official reports, which were not corrected lest the army should be intimidated by the knowledge of its weakness, showed a total of nine hundred and thirty.

At Talladega, General Jackson was joined by two hundred friendly Creeks and Cherokees. The march was continued without intermission, and on the night of the twentieth instant, he encamped at Enotochopco, one of the Hillabee villages, within twelve miles of Emuckfaw. In the morning of the twenty-first, the army proceeded direct towards the bend of the river where the enemy were said to be fortified. About the middle of the afternoon, the spies discovered two Indians, who were pursued, but made their escape. Advancing a short distance further, they came upon the main trail of the savages. The general then determined to encamp and reconnoitre the surrounding country. A proper position having been selected, the army encamped in a hollow square. Pickets and spies were thrown out on every side; the sentinels were doubled; fires were built in a circle around the encampment; and every precaution taken to guard against a surprise.

Though General Jackson knew it not, as his spies could obtain but little information, he was in the immediate vicinity of the three principal, and most formidable, bands of the Red Sticks. Girded by the belt of watch-fires which their vigilant and sagacious commander directed to be formed, in order to prevent the approach of an enemy undiscovered, his troops reposed in security. All remained quiet till ten o’clock in the evening, when three of the savages were descried stealing cautiously towards one of the pickets. They were instantly fired on, and one of them was shot down. About an hour later, the spies came in, and reported that there was a large Indian encampment three miles distant, and that its occupants were whooping and dancing, as if preparing to go out on the war-path. The general was further informed by one of the spies, an intelligent Indian, that the enemy were sending away their women and children—a sure indication that they intended to decamp, or attack him, before morning. Orders were now given for the men to be prepared for action, at any moment.

Moments and hours passed by in anxious suspense. From time to time the orders enjoining strict caution and vigilance were repeated. The darkest hour of the morning—the time usually selected by the Indians for their attacks—approached; and when everything was the most quiet and undisturbed, all at once there rose a loud pealing yell on the left of the encampment, and with it came a hurtling volley of rifle-balls. A deafening responsive shout went up, within that fiery circle, like the wild pibroch of some Gaelic clan, rousing the martial spirit of all who heard it. The enemy kept up a rapid and unintermitting fire; but they could not approach near enough to effect any execution, without entering the line of light which the timely precaution of Jackson had thrown around his men; and whenever a single swart form, or painted visage, was disclosed, the American bullet sped away on its sure errand of death.

When the alarm was first given, General Coffee, Colonel Carroll, and Colonel Sitler, the adjutant general,—who, with a number of other officers previously belonging to different detachments, had remained with the commander to whom they were devotedly attached, and formed themselves into a corps, without privates,—mounted their horses and rode to the left. Their presence inspirited and encouraged the troops, and the savages were held firmly at bay till the dawning light enabled objects to be distinguished with precision. A company of infantry was then ordered to that flank, and thus strengthened, General Coffee, supported by Colonels Higgins and Carroll, led the whole line to the charge. The red warriors were driven from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and pursued for more than two miles; the friendly Indians joining in the chase, and marking their pathway with the blood of the slain.

The enemy having been effectually repulsed, General Coffee was ordered to advance to the Indian encampment, with four hundred men and all the friendly warriors, and destroy it. On approaching it, he found that it was too strongly fortified to be carried by assault, and therefore returned to bring up the company of artillery. Before he again set out, his services were required at the camp. Within half an hour after his return, a body of savages were observed on the right, who opened a brisk fire on a party searching for the Indian shot by the picket on the previous night. General Coffee solicited the honor of attacking them. He was directed to take two hundred men with him, but through some mistake, he was followed by only fifty-four men, all of whom belonged to the company of volunteer officers which he commanded. With this small force, he fell with such fury on the left flank of the assailants, that they were forced to take shelter in a thicket on the bank of a small creek.

In the meantime, as had been anticipated by General Jackson, who supposed the demonstration on the right to be a mere ruse de guerre, the main body of the enemy came rushing like demons, with the most hideous and discordant yells, on the left of the American encampment. He instantly repaired thither in person. His men always knew how to fight under his eyes, and they stood their ground with veteran intrepidity and firmness. A few well-directed and effective volleys were delivered, and resort was then had to the bayonet; the men advancing to the charge under the orders of Colonel Carroll. Once more the enemy fled with precipitation, and were hotly pursued some distance from the camp.

The savages were now completely repulsed on the left, and General Coffee and his little band, who had been forced back into the open wood where the battle commenced, were reïnforced by one hundred friendly warriors. General Coffee, though severely wounded in the fierce conflict, which had deprived him of several of his best officers, including his aid, Major Donelson, placed himself at the head of the united force, and charged home upon the assailants. They could no longer make head against him, but retreated in confusion. The pursuit was continued for about three miles, in which forty-five of the enemy were killed.

Victorious as he was, General Jackson was still in a precarious position. His men had but few rations left, and the horses had not had corn or cane, for two days. The main object of the expedition—a diversion in favor of the Georgia troops—had been accomplished; yet his small force was seriously crippled, and it was to be feared, if he remained at Emuckfaw, that the Red Sticks would rally in greater numbers, and attack him once more, under all his disadvantages. He therefore decided to fall back to Fort Strother as soon as practicable. The remainder of the day was spent in burying the dead, in taking care of the wounded and preparing litters for their transportation, and in fortifying the camp. The militia sentinels were repeatedly alarmed during the night, probably by their own fancies, as no enemy was discovered; and on the morning of the twenty-third, without having been again molested, the army commenced the return march.

Not a solitary Indian was seen through the day, except those attached to the command. They defiled, without interruption, through a hurricane, covered with the huge bolls of prostrate oaks and pines, with straggling branches of trees flung in every direction, and closely-matted weeds and brambles, in which there were numerous hiding-places that might have afforded shelter to an enemy; and just before sunset, they arrived at Enotochopco, where they halted for the night, selecting a strong position, which they fortified, within a quarter of a mile of the creek.