Fort Mitchell was a primary concentration point for Creeks being sent west to Indian Territory before, during, and after the Second Creek War of 1836-1837. Under the 1832 Treaty of Washington, Creek heads of household and chiefs received individual land allotments they could keep or sell, and after five years those who had not sold could remain in hopes of becoming citizens of Alabama, but once land was sold the federal government expected removal as soon as possible. Speculators quickly swindled many Creeks out of their lands, and illegal settlement became so widespread that in 1833 Francis Scott Key was sent to Fort Mitchell to investigate disputes, though he failed to secure a viable settlement. In 1834, 600 Creeks gathered there before leaving voluntarily for the West. In 1836, many desperate remaining Creeks attacked American settlements, and after the Creeks were defeated in the Second Creek War they were removed to Indian Territory. Between 1836 and 1838, about 20,000 Upper and Lower Creeks were rounded up, imprisoned at places such as Fort Mitchell, and sent westward, with smaller removals continuing into the 1840s. Thousands were marched overland from Fort Mitchell to Montgomery, some in chains, then carried by steamboat to Mobile, up the Mississippi River to Arkansas, and along the Arkansas River to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Thousands died on the journey or escaped and fled, and many killed themselves rather than leave their homeland. U.S. Army Surgeon Jacob Rhett Motte recalled the 1836 removal of 500 captive Creeks from Fort Mitchell, with men handcuffed in pairs and linked by a long chain while women followed in tears and cries.