On the morning of 27 March 1814, General Andrew Jackson and an army of 3,300 men consisting of Tennessee militia, United States regulars and both Cherokee and Lower Creek allies attacked Chief Menawa and 1,000 Upper Creek or Red Stick warriors fortified in the "horseshoe" bend of the Tallapoosa River. To seal off the bend of the river, the Upper Creeks built an incredibly strong 400 yard long barricade made of dirt and logs. As the Cherokee and Lower Creek warriors swam the Tallapoosa and attacked from the rear, Jackson launched the militia and regular soldiers against the barricade. Facing overwhelming odds, the Red Sticks fought bravely yet ultimately lost the battle. Over 800 Upper Creeks died at Horseshoe Bend defending their homeland. This was the final battle of the Creek War of 1813-14, which is considered part of the War of 1812. In a peace treaty signed after the battle, both the Upper and Lower Creeks were forced to give the United States nearly 20 million acres of land in what is today Alabama and Georgia. The victory here brought Andrew Jackson national attention and helped him to be elected the seventh President of the United States in 1828. This 2,040-acre National Military Park preserves the site of the battle.

Between 1790 and 1830 the population of Georgia increased six-fold. The western push of the settlers created a problem. Georgians continued to take Native American lands and forced them into the frontier. By 1825 the Lower Creek had been completely removed from the state under provisions of the 'Treaty of Indian Springs'. By 1827 the Creek were gone.

Andrew Jackson

After the battle at Horseshoe Bend, Creek Indian Chief William McIntosh had drafted a declaration that no more Indian lands in Alabama and Georgia should be sold to the U.S. He then went against his won declaration and signed the 'The Treaty of Indian Springs' to sell all remaining Indian land in Georgia, to the United States. This made Menawa, who had long been an adversary of McIntosh, furious. Some major Creek chiefs passed a resolution to kill McIntosh, and Menawa headed the assassination party. McIntosh was surrounded at his tavern on the old Federal Road in Georgia and shot to death.

Menawa went to Washington D.C. along with some other chieftains to try and negate McIntosh's treaty. The treaty was ratified by the U.S. and then it was rescinded.

By 1836 the Creek Indians had been repressed and were defeated a second time trying to save their ancestral lands. The U.S. was planning a general removal of the Nation. Menawa proposed that the Creek Nation give up their collective rights, though each individual who wanted to remain be given a plot of land. This proposal was defeated and the removal was commanded. Menawa had been given an exclusion from relocating by the U.S. but a local judge ordered him to join the exiles to the west.

Menawa reportedly stayed up all the night watching sunset and sunrise over Oakfuskee. As he joined his people traveling to an unknown place he said, "last evening I saw the sun set for the last time and it's light shine on the treetops and the land and the water, that I am never to look upon again". As the story goes, Menawa was heartbroken and died on his way to the new Creek territory in the west. His burial place is is still unknown. This travel to the west was known by the Indians as the 'Trail of Tears'.

Trail Where They Cried