Located in long-standing Creek territory and crossed by trails linking the region with the Seminoles in Florida, Randolph County became an important scene of action during the Second Creek War of 1836-38. The conflict arose after some angry and desperate Creeks, clinging to the last remnants of their ancestral domain, attacked American settlements in an effort to resist the certain loss of their homeland. Violence in the area had occurred even before the war, after local Creeks were accused of trespassing and theft. Following the attack on nearby Roanoke on May 14, 1836, local militia were organized and civilians from surrounding communities fled to Cuthbert for safety. Although most fighting took place north and south of Randolph County, several encounters in the area directly affected local communities. After American forces under Generals Thomas Jesup and Winfield Scott began campaigning in Creek territory in Alabama, several bands of Creeks tried to escape by crossing the Chattahoochee into Georgia and moving south through Randolph County to join the Seminoles in northern Florida. In June 1836, after a running series of battles in Stewart County, fleeing Creeks shot a man near Cuthbert and killed several local families as they moved down the west bank of Chickasawhatchee Creek. Troops under Captain Henry W. Jernigan and Colonel Thomas Beall pursued them southward, and on July 3 a sharp fight took place in the Chickasawhatchee swamps near what is now the Randolph-Terrell county line. In about half an hour, at least a dozen Creeks were killed and American forces suffered seven casualties. By capturing the Creek camp and supplies, Beall and Jesup’s men claimed what was arguably the first major American victory of the war.