Red Sticks
Encyclopedia
Red Sticks is the English term for a traditionalist faction of Creek Indians
who led a resistance movement which culminated in the outbreak of the Creek War
in 1813.
The term "red sticks" is derived from the red-colored war clubs and the alleged magical red sticks used by Creek shamans. This faction of Creeks aggressively supported traditional views of Creek society such as hunting
and communal land. Inspired by the Shawnee
leader Tecumseh
and angered by the unrestrained encroachment of white culture, Red Sticks went to war against their own pro-European Creeks.
The Red Sticks came primarily from the Upper Towns of Creek Territory and opposed white acculturation. The Red Stick War, more commonly called the Creek War, raged from 1813–1814. During the war, Redsticks would lash out at symbols of white influence. They would kill domesticated animals, break farming equipment, and burn crops. Metal pots and pans as well as spun cloth would be routinely gathered and destroyed.
in the Mississippi Territory
. Poor scouting, an attack at noon when most of the garrison was eating, seizure of the port holes by the Indians, and inability to close the main gates were all elements in the defeat on 30 August 1813. A plaque on the site notes that the British provided weapons to the Red Sticks for the attack, as part of the British campaign in the South during the War of 1812.
Estimates of the number of inhabitants of Fort Mims at the time of the massacre vary from 300 or so to 500 (including whites, slaves, and several visiting Indians). Claims of survivors have likewise varied greatly from as few as a single slave woman to a few dozen people of different races. It's likely some people were taken hostage and either escaped, were sold/traded and later escaped or released, or were released soon after their capture at Fort Mims. Creek losses were heavy as well. The massacre had significant short and long-range implications. The fall of the fort started a major Indian war in the South that resulted in a substantial build-up of American forces in the area - which probably prevented the British from occupying an undefended Gulf Coast in 1814.
. At the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) on March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian allies under General Andrew Jackson
defeated the Red Sticks, killing most of the warriors and sending the rest fleeing to Florida where they joined the Seminole
tribe. The Red Sticks were backed by the British and Spanish in their resistance to the U.S. Government's plans for settling Georgia. The War of 1812 increased Britain's interest in fomenting civil war among the Creeks.
The relationships between Americans and the Southern Indians drastically changed. The Creeks had been living peacefully and in close contact with the settlers of the Mississippi Territory. Led by William Weatherford
, Menawa
, and Peter McQueen
, the war resulted in the loss of half of the traditional Creek lands and within 20 years, and another migration of Creeks into the Florida
Seminole territory.
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
who led a resistance movement which culminated in the outbreak of the Creek War
Creek War
The Creek War , also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, began as a civil war within the Creek nation...
in 1813.
The term "red sticks" is derived from the red-colored war clubs and the alleged magical red sticks used by Creek shamans. This faction of Creeks aggressively supported traditional views of Creek society such as hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and communal land. Inspired by the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
leader Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
and angered by the unrestrained encroachment of white culture, Red Sticks went to war against their own pro-European Creeks.
The Red Sticks came primarily from the Upper Towns of Creek Territory and opposed white acculturation. The Red Stick War, more commonly called the Creek War, raged from 1813–1814. During the war, Redsticks would lash out at symbols of white influence. They would kill domesticated animals, break farming equipment, and burn crops. Metal pots and pans as well as spun cloth would be routinely gathered and destroyed.
Fort Mims Massacre
Following a successful attack on a white expedition at the Battle of Burnt Corn in 1813, the Red Sticks determined to attack and destroy Fort MimsFort Mims massacre
The Fort Mims massacre occurred on 30 August 1813, when a force of Creek people, belonging to the "Red Sticks" faction under the command of Peter McQueen and William Weatherford "Red Eagle", his cousin by marriage, killed hundreds of settlers, mixed-blood Creeks, and militia at Fort Mims...
in the Mississippi Territory
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Mississippi....
. Poor scouting, an attack at noon when most of the garrison was eating, seizure of the port holes by the Indians, and inability to close the main gates were all elements in the defeat on 30 August 1813. A plaque on the site notes that the British provided weapons to the Red Sticks for the attack, as part of the British campaign in the South during the War of 1812.
Estimates of the number of inhabitants of Fort Mims at the time of the massacre vary from 300 or so to 500 (including whites, slaves, and several visiting Indians). Claims of survivors have likewise varied greatly from as few as a single slave woman to a few dozen people of different races. It's likely some people were taken hostage and either escaped, were sold/traded and later escaped or released, or were released soon after their capture at Fort Mims. Creek losses were heavy as well. The massacre had significant short and long-range implications. The fall of the fort started a major Indian war in the South that resulted in a substantial build-up of American forces in the area - which probably prevented the British from occupying an undefended Gulf Coast in 1814.
Aftermath
The United States entered the war after the Fort Mims massacreFort Mims massacre
The Fort Mims massacre occurred on 30 August 1813, when a force of Creek people, belonging to the "Red Sticks" faction under the command of Peter McQueen and William Weatherford "Red Eagle", his cousin by marriage, killed hundreds of settlers, mixed-blood Creeks, and militia at Fort Mims...
. At the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) on March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian allies under General Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
defeated the Red Sticks, killing most of the warriors and sending the rest fleeing to Florida where they joined the Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
tribe. The Red Sticks were backed by the British and Spanish in their resistance to the U.S. Government's plans for settling Georgia. The War of 1812 increased Britain's interest in fomenting civil war among the Creeks.
The relationships between Americans and the Southern Indians drastically changed. The Creeks had been living peacefully and in close contact with the settlers of the Mississippi Territory. Led by William Weatherford
William Weatherford
William Weatherford, also known as Lamochattee by the Creek , was a Creek chief of the Upper Towns who led the Red Sticks offensive in the Creek War against the United States...
, Menawa
Menawa
Menawa , was a Muscogee chief and military leader, known as Great Warrior. Like many of the Creek leaders of his era, his mother was Creek and his father was mostly Scots ancestry, a fur trader...
, and Peter McQueen
Peter McQueen
Peter McQueen was a Creek Indian chief, trader and warrior from the tribal town of Talisi He was one of the young men, known as Red Sticks, who supported a revitalization of traditional practices and opposed European-American settlement...
, the war resulted in the loss of half of the traditional Creek lands and within 20 years, and another migration of Creeks into the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Seminole territory.
Further reading
- Griffith Jr., Benjamin W. McIntosh and Weatherford, Creek Indian Leaders, (1998) online edition
- Karl Davis, "'Remember Fort Mims': Reinterpreting the Origins of the Creek War," Journal of the Early Republic 2002 22(4): 611-636
- Owsley, Frank L., Jr. "The Fort Mims Massacre," Alabama Review 1971 24(3): 192-204