Located about an hour’s drive from Tallassee, the Horseshoe Bend National Military Park has a direct historical connection to the former site of Tuckabatchee, the capital of the Muscogee (Creek) nations, located just south of Tallassee.
The Creek confederacy recognized Tuckabatchee as neutral and hallowed ground, but a civil war between facets of the confederacy erupted in 1813. The most militant faction was called the Red Sticks (and was a division of the Upper Creeks), and it was that group that was defeated at Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814, by U.S. Army regulars, state/territory militia members, and Cherokee and Lower Creek warriors, ending what was known as the Creek Wars.
“Approximately 800 Creek Indian warriors died,” said Doyle Sapp, the park’s superintendent. “ Forty-nine soldiers and Creek and Cherokee allied forces died.”
The total of warriors killed at Horseshoe Bend is reportedly the largest ever in a conflict between natives and U.S. Army soldiers.
The site of the battle has been a national military park since 1956, and encompasses 2040 acres. It is the only national park that is dedicated to a Creek War event. The area includes a visitor’s center, a drive-through tour, and recreational facilities.
However, much of the park has been designated as “commemorative,” and a sign along the drive-through route in the park prohibits recreational activities in that particular area.
“That is where most of the conflict and death occurred,” Sapp said of the commemorative area. “(It is) the core battleground area; all Americans would consider it hallowed ground.”
Sapp also detailed the invitation of federal officials to Tallassee’s Friends of Tuckabatchee organization to present the Tecumseh at Tuckbatchee play at Horseshoe Bend.
“When we were initially planning for the bicentennial, we thought it would be a good idea to present the play at Horseshoe Bend to tell a bit of the ‘prelude’ to the Creek War history,” he said.
The park superintendent was also anticipating the attendance of Muscogee natives from Oklahoma for the commemoration this coming weekend.
“The Muscogee/Creek Nation will have a large presence, and will be important partners with the park at Horseshoe Bend to commemorate this important event,” Sapp said.