Designed for Defense

The Red Sticks, a militant branch of Creek society, built a four hundred-yard-long barricade of dirt and pine logs, a breast-work stretching from bank to bank across the horseshoe bend of the Tallapoosa River to protect Tohopeka, their temporary village. Major General Andrew Jackson of the Tennessee Militia said it was of greatest compactness and strength, from five to eight feet high, with double rows of port-holes so artfully arranged that an army could not approach without exposure to a double and cross fire from enemies lying in perfect security behind it. On a dreadful March afternoon in 1814, the barricade exploded with action as nearly one thousand Red Stick warriors fought Jackson's army there. About a third of the warriors carried muskets, while the others used bows and arrows, knives, tomahawks, and war clubs.

Alabama · United States