James151
Greenie
- Jul 10, 2013
- 19
- 8
- Detector(s) used
- None yet
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Below is excerpt and brief hostory on an area in Alabama, from what I can find the civil war era soldiers mostly used the fields near the fort to muster and train before heading of to war.
I think this will be my first trip and see what I may find in the area, with so many persons coming and going through this area I am sure there are some areas all around to find relics...incidentally I was seraching old georgia archive maps and located one that showed old indian trails and horse paths through Muscogee county, Talbot and on through Upson to indian springs around the Butts and Monroe area, while we all know areas are now well developed I can tell you that Talbot remains a very small rural county so there may be opportunity to knock and talk then do a little hunting...
Just tidbits of research I am sure you guys are more familiar with all of this than I, as I am brand new to it.
A Fort of the Creek Trail of Tears
Fort Mitchell, an important post of the Creek
War of 1813-1814, was built in what is now
Russell County, Alabama, by troops under
the command of General John Floyd.
Floyd's army, marching west from Georgia,
was one of three forces sent by the United
States to subdue the Red Stick movement in
the Creek Nation. An internal civil war in the
nation had spilled over to involve the whites
following battles at Burnt Corn Creek and
Fort Mims, Alabama, during the summer of
1813.
Built on a high hill overlooking the
Chattahoochee River, Fort Mitchell served as
base for Floyd's movements and he returned
there to allow his wounded men to recover
following his successful attack on Autossee.
The fort also served as a base for one of the
last campaigns of the War of 1812. An
expedition led by Colonel Benjamin Hawkins
left Fort Mitchell in early 1815 and descended
the Chattahoochee River to engage a British
force positioned on the Florida line.
The military significance of the first Fort
Mitchell continued through the First Seminole
War of 1817-1818. Lt. Col. Duncan L. Clinch
led a battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment
down the Chattahoochee from the fort in
1816 to establish Fort Gaines on the line
marking the lands given up by the Creek
Nation at the Treaty of Fort Jackson.
Regular and militia troops passed through
Fort Mitchell throughout the First Seminole
War and it served as an important staging
point for the Creek Brigade led by General
William McIntosh, a noted Coweta chief who
had also sided with the United States during
the Creek War.
Fort Mitchell also served as an important
supply point during the First Seminole War
and important negotiations were held nearby.
The original fort was replaced by a second,
smaller stockade during the 1820s. This
second Fort Mitchell was an important base
during the Creek War of 1836 and became
the starting point of the Creek Trail of Tears.
In 1836 and 1837, thousands of Creek men,
women and children left Fort Mitchell on their
long forced march to new homes in what is
now Oklahoma.
The fort also played a brief role in the Civil
War, even though the fortifications had long
since disappeared. Organizing units of
Confederate troops mustered on the site
before heading off to join the regular army.
The site of Fort Mitchell is now a park in
Russell County, Alabama. Fort Mitchell is located 10 miles south of
Phenix City, Alabama, on Highway 165.
I think this will be my first trip and see what I may find in the area, with so many persons coming and going through this area I am sure there are some areas all around to find relics...incidentally I was seraching old georgia archive maps and located one that showed old indian trails and horse paths through Muscogee county, Talbot and on through Upson to indian springs around the Butts and Monroe area, while we all know areas are now well developed I can tell you that Talbot remains a very small rural county so there may be opportunity to knock and talk then do a little hunting...
Just tidbits of research I am sure you guys are more familiar with all of this than I, as I am brand new to it.
A Fort of the Creek Trail of Tears
Fort Mitchell, an important post of the Creek
War of 1813-1814, was built in what is now
Russell County, Alabama, by troops under
the command of General John Floyd.
Floyd's army, marching west from Georgia,
was one of three forces sent by the United
States to subdue the Red Stick movement in
the Creek Nation. An internal civil war in the
nation had spilled over to involve the whites
following battles at Burnt Corn Creek and
Fort Mims, Alabama, during the summer of
1813.
Built on a high hill overlooking the
Chattahoochee River, Fort Mitchell served as
base for Floyd's movements and he returned
there to allow his wounded men to recover
following his successful attack on Autossee.
The fort also served as a base for one of the
last campaigns of the War of 1812. An
expedition led by Colonel Benjamin Hawkins
left Fort Mitchell in early 1815 and descended
the Chattahoochee River to engage a British
force positioned on the Florida line.
The military significance of the first Fort
Mitchell continued through the First Seminole
War of 1817-1818. Lt. Col. Duncan L. Clinch
led a battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment
down the Chattahoochee from the fort in
1816 to establish Fort Gaines on the line
marking the lands given up by the Creek
Nation at the Treaty of Fort Jackson.
Regular and militia troops passed through
Fort Mitchell throughout the First Seminole
War and it served as an important staging
point for the Creek Brigade led by General
William McIntosh, a noted Coweta chief who
had also sided with the United States during
the Creek War.
Fort Mitchell also served as an important
supply point during the First Seminole War
and important negotiations were held nearby.
The original fort was replaced by a second,
smaller stockade during the 1820s. This
second Fort Mitchell was an important base
during the Creek War of 1836 and became
the starting point of the Creek Trail of Tears.
In 1836 and 1837, thousands of Creek men,
women and children left Fort Mitchell on their
long forced march to new homes in what is
now Oklahoma.
The fort also played a brief role in the Civil
War, even though the fortifications had long
since disappeared. Organizing units of
Confederate troops mustered on the site
before heading off to join the regular army.
The site of Fort Mitchell is now a park in
Russell County, Alabama. Fort Mitchell is located 10 miles south of
Phenix City, Alabama, on Highway 165.
