During the American Revolution the Creek Nation was generally successful in maintaining its neutrality, although factions of the tribe fought on either the British or American sides. In November, 1783, two minor chiefs (Tallassee and Cusseta) ceded Creek land between the Tugaloo and Apalachee Rivers. After the cession, relations between the state of Georgia and the Creek Nation worsened and on April 2, 1786 the Creek Nation declared war. Attacks against settlers on Creek land were carried out. In spite of two attempts at treaty (Shoulderbone, 1786; New York, 1790) there was no sustained peace on the Georgia frontier until after the War of 1812. Although most of the incidents were relatively minor, settlers on the boundary between the Creek Nation and the state of Georgia were always fearful of a raid.

Chief McIntosh

William McIntosh was a leader of the Creek Nation from Coweta. The mixed-blood son of a Scottish trader and Creek mother, McIntosh had been called on frequently to deal with the settlers in the area. Over the years the violence had been decreasing and the Creek Indians aligned with McIntosh were viewed as "friendly".

Repeated attacks by the Red Sticks and whites lead to open warfare on the frontier of the Creek Nation. With emotions aroused by the Shawnee warrior Tecumseh, the Red Sticks sought to avenge an surprise attack on a village with an attack on Fort Mims near the mouth of the Alabama River in August, 1813. While the numbers engaged are estimates, and the estimates vary widely, according to Benjamin W. Griffith in McIntosh and Weatherford, the Creek numbered 700 men against 340 mostly irregular soldiers. The Creek breached the exterior wall, quickly disposed of the soldiers and began killing civilians. Lurid details of the battle reached Georgia and Tennessee.

A group of about 5,000 volunteers (mostly farmers and miners from Tennessee) led by General Andrew Jackson were joined by both Creek and Cherokee forces in an attempt to defeat the Red Sticks. Troops under Jackson's command avenged the deaths at Fort Mims on a number of occasions, killing the women and children of the Creek faction. After defeating the Red Sticks, Jackson, a notorious land speculator, forced the entire Creek Nation to cede one-third of its land to the United States on very favorable terms. By 1820 the removal of the Creek Nation had become a major platform for the Democratic Party in Georgia.

Elected in 1823, Governor George Troup saw the Creek as a serious problem. As the Creeks began to assimilate American culture, they posed a threat in that men moving west from the coast might have a harder time of disposing of the Indians. Troup felt the Indians should be moved to the Western Territory of the Louisiana Purchase, an idea proposed by Thomas Jefferson in 1803.

Chief McIntosh, Gov. Troup's first cousin, agreed to cede all Lower Creek land to Georgia in the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1825. He had been manipulated by both the federal and state governments to sign the treaty. McIntosh also had no clear mandate from his people. After signing the treaty, and prior to the removal, McIntosh and several other leaders were murdered by angry members of the tribe. The Treaty of Indian Springs was ratified in the U.S. Congress by a single vote.

Chief McIntosh's home, Indian Springs, was Georgia's first State Park

Troup's stand on Indians gave him a razor-thin margin of victory against his bitter rival John Clark, another Democrat, in Georgia's first popular election in 1825. Flaunting his election victory, Troup began to force the Creek off their lands. In January, 1826, President John Quincy Adams negotiated the Treaty of Washington with the Creek. Although this treaty was nearly as corrupt as the Treaty of Indian Springs, Troup did not support it. He refused to honor it and quickly began to forcibly remove the Upper and Lower Creek from Georgia. When Adams threatened Troup with federal intervention, Troup called his bluff, prepared the state militia, and continued the removal. Adams backed down, figuring "..the Indians are not worth going to war over.". By 1827, the Creek were gone.

The Native American land cessions to the state of Georgia ended with the Cherokee "Trail of Tears."

Larry Worthy is Managing Editor of About North Georgia. He has been writing about the Creek Indians in the state of Georgia for more than 10 years. His most recent efforts include an expanded history of the Creek Confederacy for Our Georgia History

Georgia's Historic High Country Chieftains Trail features Native American Sites in North Georgia and offers a free brochure by mail with history of Moundbuilders, Creek, and Cherokee

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