Visit Horseshoe Bend National Military Park during the bicentennial commemoration of the Creek War

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, Alabama
a National Park Service Monthly Getaway

By Doyle Sapp, Superintendent, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park

Nature provided a landscape-sized protection in the shape of a sharp horseshoe bend of the Tallapoosa River to the people of several Upper Creek towns of present-day Alabama. These Creek people, also known as Red Sticks, chose this site, surrounded by water on three sides, to establish the village of Tohopeka in the waning days of 1813 as a safe haven during the Creek War of 1813-1814 and the War of 1812.

On March 27, 1814, the natural defense that the Tallapoosa provided was pitted against the technology of muskets and cannons. An army led by Major General Andrew Jackson of approximately 4,000 Americans, allied Creek and Cherokee arrived at the bend to attack the Red Stick encampment. The fighting raged for hours, but ended ultimately in a decisive American victory which made a national hero of Andrew Jackson.

(Photo: NPS.gov)

This struggle marked the end of the Creek War. Within six months, the Treaty of Fort Jackson was signed and the Creek Nation ceded 23 million acres to the United States government. These lands were divided into the new state of Alabama and the existing state of Georgia. 

Today, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park is a quiet 2,400-acre sanctuary, belying the chaos of the Creek War and the War of 1812. Starting in March 2014, the park commemorates the bicentennial of the battle.

The beautiful natural landscape of central Alabama offers many scenic vistas to explore on your visit. A 3-mile driving tour visits important battle sites, with stops at the spot where the Creek erected the protective log barricade in the early days of 1814 and the site of the Tohopeka village. Not to be missed is the 2.8-mile nature trail snaking through the dense hardwood and pine forest. Along the trail you’ll find a dramatic view overlooking the battlefield and the high ground overlooking the site of Tohopeka, the refuge village of the Red Sticks. 

The park will host a wide variety of interpretive events throughout March 2014, including a symposium in partnership with Auburn University, living history encampments, and Creek and Cherokee cultural demonstrations. Throughout the year, park volunteers demonstrate life at war and at peace through living history musters. Read more.