Show Massacre s acre at Fort Mims gr l 3 The Attack at the Gate By ELMO SCOTT WATSON XU XE AND TWENTY years jears ears ago ngo this month there occurred one of the worst perhaps the worst In point of numbers slain Indian massacres massacres In American history That was the slaughter at Fort Slims Mims Ala on August 30 SO 1813 when a thousand Creek warriors under the leadership leadership leader leader- ship of Chief Red lied Eagle EnglE or William William Wil Wil- liam Weatherford the son of more than COO OO whites half breeds J negroes and amI left more than half halt of them ad II d. he number Dumber of killed at Fort MIms lIms has n never nevern ver vero en o n accurately determined Different authorities e varying figures ranging from 20 to 40 th the preponderance of reliable evidence e the number at 20 nut But even taking this est rest figure It gives Ives the tra tragedy edy at Fort MIms doubtful distinction of being much worse in o a say any of the other Indian massacres whoso irles rles are are familiar to most Americans Before eCore discussing the affair at Fort MIms and ande me e of the factors which make male It unique In our tory It might be well to consider first the ird rd IDa massacre sacre and how Inaccurately that rd ird Is used by most Americans Americana For Instance ej 1 prefer refer to the annihilation of Capt W. W J 1 Fetman Fetan Fet Fet- man an ao and ami l his command on December 21 1805 the be Fetterman Massacre or or the Fort Phil arney amlY Massacre and to the Rattle Battle of ot the Lit Lit- Big Horn fought rought June 25 1870 as the Cus Massacre The e elate late Cyrus Crus Townsend Brady rady In his Inin Ino In in o a Fights and Fighters In commenting on this s Fetterman and Custer attacked the Indi- Indi s I and fought d desperately until they and weir their theira a n were all killed I call that a battle not a sacra When an Indian war party raided a n dement or overwhelmed a n train or murdered idren and women that I think was a n masere mas ere tre but these two Instances were not Much the same reasoning applies to the soiled so so- soled led Dade Hade Massacre durIn during the Seminole war i December 23 29 1 1830 6 MaJ Francis I L L. L Dade of ot Fourth Infantry who had set out from Fort rook ok In Florida with a force of officers and ando a o nto to operate co-operate with another detachment from rt KIng Xing In a punitive expedition against Osee Osce- i's is s 's 1 Seminoles was ambushed near the WithIn WithIn- bee river and fought bravely until all but butr M r were lIere killed In this case all of or the slain re a soldiers bearing arms so It seems hardly r to call It a massacre Somewhat different are ore the the cases of the the Cher Valley Massacre anti the Wyoming Valley Valleye e during the Revolution At Cherry Val Val- r S 32 non combatants men mEn women and hll chii- a were slain by the Indians and Tories who w o killed Wiled 10 Continental soldiers of the garion gar gar- ion o a at Fort Alden nn and their commander Col Cot abed abod AMen Alden whose negligence and re was 1143 mainly responsible for the tragedy pre ere At Wyoming It of Valley was a case an nn owl pd ed force about 50 Continentals and some 1 idlers enroll enrolled Id I'd as militia taking the field 1 last the enemy Tories and Indians being Wed felted and suffering a loss of or approximately 0 killed in action or slaughtered by hy the Inks Inui In- In ui nl ks after being taken prisoners and disarmed that flat re respect the killing of prisoners It was massacre massacre But nut despite the exaggerations d 11 myth myth making of the time early historians of ot the tile forcing valley affair who painted It as a Ill til wal slaughter of or both sexes sens and every age wn dern historical research has established the t that only one man a British deserter was t to to death after the surrender of Forty or-Forty Forty Fort d a that there was no massacre of non noncom To three other historic affairs the term masera mas mos era e imay may bc he justly applied One One of them was RAS Fort William Henry Massacre Massare In 1757 eo en i tome lome 50 54 soldiers women and children of e English garrison were slaughtered by the diem I ans after the surrender of the fort to the act Ch before Montcalm the French commander uld d restrain the ferocity of at the savages An An- i her w was as the Fort Dearborn Massacre In 12 hen the after Nathi Nath Nath- IB i Capt i toting i had the fort attacked the I to e 8 Americans amon among the sand hills of or and killed J 2 20 regular soldiers t a frontiersman two women and 12 dren a total of 53 roo The third was the Putts Inn of 0 Massacre IaSi acre In ln 1812 when after the nat Bat ITen it wn the British r f b commander roe Proc roer r r ip tailing failing to Provide adequate protection ed rae u 0 wounded American prisoners aIh althem al- al them h hi a i Indian to tall fall vIctims to the scalping knives B. B allies kite at I h st It U he thought that the slaughter of or orT 7 T TM Indians were the only Indian mas- mas ath a IMI n let It us ns remember er what took place at COI Color Colorado Ulten f In Ohio hl In ln 1782 at Sand fand Creek CreekS CreekS' rt d S' S South nth n In u 1511 1 anti antl at Wounded Bounded Knee creek India Dakota ta In ln 1800 1800 Th Thos se were cases of oft ere t re th lie an massacre acre In which tha the white men 1 Child murderers and Indian men women To ren were the victim victims 0 r return lit t nom to the massacre at al Fort Mini Mim lot et d death be there Been SC n fr from n the fore foregoing that the time theer er t w was greater creater than that at any massacre fill it f acre of or whitES whitE'S by the Indians espe- espe fil at term ter Is limited to the killing of I a r A I Ii It i ro s. s t J t tt i tJ j brt Mims e v General Andrew Jac JacKson son The plan pian of Fort Mimi Mims shown above was wat found among the manuscripts of General ClaIborne Claiborne ClaI- ClaI borne and first published by Pickett In his History History His HI tory of Alabama The reference figures are as AI follows 1 Blockhouse 2 2 Pickets cut away by bythe bythe bythe the Indians 3 Guards' Guards station 4 Guardhouse 5 Western gate pate but not up II 6 Western gate pate shut when attacked by the Indians who cut a ahole ahole ahole hole through It to enter 7 Captain Baileys Bailey's house 8 house 9 Mrs Dyers Dyer's house 10 Kitchen 11 11 Captain MIms' MIms house 12 Randon's house 13 Old gateway open 14 15 10 and 17 Officers Officers' tents 18 Captain Jack Jacks hou house houe e 19 20 and 21 Portholes taken by In In- 22 Major Beasley's Beasley cabin 23 Captain Jacks Jack's company 24 Captain Middleton company company company com com- pany 25 Where Beasley fell 26 Eastern gate where the Indians entered non noncombatants Another factor which makes the tragedy at nt Fort MIms lIms unique Is the fact that the Indian lender leader In this massacre had more white blood In his veins than did the two white lenders leaders In command of the defenders of the time fort I 1 That Indian lender leader was William Weatherford son of Charles Weatherford a n Scotch trader who had married a sister half of Alexander McGillivray the principal chief of the Creeks who had been a British colonel during the Revolution Revolution Rev Rev- and Inter later became a brigadier general In the United States army This Alexander McGillivray McGillivray Mc- Mc was the son of I lachlan McGillivray another Scotch trader who had married Sehoy Marchand who In turn was ns the daughter of or a French captain named Marchand and a n Creek Indian woman So In the veins of or William Weatherford erford ran Scotch French and Creek Indian blood and experts have figured out that he was se en seven eighths white and one eighth Indian nut But that one eighth was enough to give him the name of Red lied Eagle or Red ned Warrior among the tho Creeks ks whose war chief he became when the fled lied Sticks or war party among the Creeks cast rast their fortunes with the con confederacy confederacy fed fed- of the great reat Shawnee chief Tecumseh and rallied milled to the cause of the British at the outbreak of ot the War of 1812 For many years ears there had lived lI near Lake Tensaw In Alabama a wealthy man named Sam Sain- half Ills His house half Creek and anel was a large and substantial wooden woollen building of ot otone one story with several outbuildings Around these was built hullt a stockade enclosing about an a house block acre On the southwest corner was begun begun hut but never completed and there were of the east and two large gates In the center renter the west sides shIes of ot the stockade Such was Fort MIms Into which settlers from the time surrounding country began to gather when the Creeks under Weatherford went on the warpath warpath war war- path early In 1813 1913 At first Fort MIms lIms had a garrison garrison gar gar- rison of ot 10 soldiers commanded by hy Lieutenant commanded by Osborne and some 70 iO militia Capt Dixon Bailey a half hall breed To aid In their defense Gen Cen F. F 0 L. L the United d States commander of the territory sent military Volunteers volunteers commanded b by Spa MJ Maj J. J Daniel Beasley another halfbreed half who assumed the position of ot commandant Soon afterwards General Genera Claiborne visited the post and ordered r neasley Beasley to defenses complete the I blockhouse blockhouse block block- the defenses of the fort fortas house houseas and strengthen Teasley Bensley was a brave man much as possible as commander commander and he allowed the work but a poor floor after many rumors of the aph approach ap- ap the fort to lag on turned out to be false h or of f the enemy alarms So the he blockhouse was gas never ne completed sentries sl were posted The Theand and except at nt night no number were soon o In In the tort fort some people pre for the negligence of their to pay a bitter bUter price commander who had been beene On August un 29 20 1813 two woods came e rushing back cattle ID n the had seen a ao 1 the that they to the i fort with Ith the we n news o The foolish approaching body of IndIans large commander not only ref refused ed to bee heed the warn warn- V PF n J 1 1 v o We V eatherford end anti General Jackson Ing but wor worse e still ordered the two n negroes flogged for fop causing so much alarm among the people In th the fort tort The owner of one one of the negroes negroes ne ne- groes grol's refused to allow this to be done whereupon whereupon where where- upon Beasley gave Ita him the alternative of Ir allowing allow log ing Inthe the punishment to be meted out or leaving the fort rort So SI the next day August 30 30 the owner acceded to Bensley's Beasley's demand and the unfortunate black was tied to a post Hut before the whipping could take place the presence of or a force of more moro than 1000 Creek warriors surrounding the fort discovered Blasley Is said to have hue seen lIeen them first and shouting Indians I Indians t he dashed toward to the east gate which had been hEen carelessly left left eft open with no one on guard The commander made a desperate effort to close t the he huge gate before the yelling savages SIl reached It but the wind had drifted sand sald n against It and kept It open just Jast long enough for the first of ot the attackers to push It back hack hurl huri themselves upon Beasley cut ut him down with their tomahawks and rush Into the tho fort tort I IThe The next moment a savage sn torrent poured In through the open gate and dashed toward the startled soldiers who came tumbling out of or their tents In which they had been lounging for protection protection pro pro- protection against the ll t midday sun Many any of them were killed In the outer enclosure but the others retreated through the Inner gate slammed shammed It shut and mounted the walls to defend the Inner Inner inner In In- ner Inclosure For a short time there was a desperate fight at such close quarters that sometimes sometimes' an Indian and a soldier firing their guns through the same porthole would kill each other simultaneously But under the leadership of or Bailey upon whom the command devolved after Hensley's death the defenders defender of the time fort tort put up such a ti stern resistance resistance resistance resist resist- ance that after three hours of fierce lighting fighting the Indians began to draw off ofT and plunder the houses outside the stockade At this point Weatherford riding a magnificent black horse appeared to lead his men forward In another attack This time there was no holdIng hold hold- Ing In check the savage tide tlde The Indians cut their way through the tho west gate They forced the east enst gate and poured over o the south wall wail The defenders fought desperately from house to house while the tho roofs were burning over their head Minis Minis' house In which a tar large e number of ot worsen women and children had taken refuge was set seton seton seton on fire and there thero they perished miserably In a short time the whole enclosure except the time north bastion was In the hands of the enemy who killed every person on whom they could lay their hands Weatherford appalled by the murderous frenzy of his followers follower tried In vain to restrain them nut But he had unleashed a tempest of ot savagery sav sav- agery which neither he nor any other chief could have o controlled that day The Creeks swept forward forward for tor- ward against the bastion and captured it It About n a dozen soldiers tore openings through the palisade pall pali sade and managed to escape Hut lint the rest were slaughtered fighting desperately to the last The only ones who were ere spared were some negroes who were carried away n as slaves sla by the Creeks Afterwards the fort was burned to the ground round and the bodies of all the slain were left lying un un- burled on the ground For desperation In defense defense de de- tense persistency In la attack and absolute courage on the part of ot both parties the affair was and remains almost without parallel writes one historian n. n The usual wave of horror and Indignation which throughout the course of our history swept the country after alter every I major calamity In Indian warfare from St. St defeat to the Custer battle resulted In a stern determination to punish the Creeks So Gen Andrew Jackson took the field and began the campaign which after several hard-fought hard battles buttles resulted In tn the breaking of the power of ot the Creeks on the bloody field of ot Tohopeka or the Great Horseshoe horseshoe Horse- Horse shoe fiend Bend of ot the Alabama river A short time later Jackson raised his flag lag over Fort Jort Toulouse which was Fort Jackson Jack Jack- son There one day a tall light colored Indian walked Into Jacksons Jackson's headquarters General Jackson he be Inquired Yes I am nil Bill Weatherford Then In the words of an witness eye-witness the following following fol fol- lowing conversation took place Said the Indian leader I am come to give myself up I can oppose oppose oppose op op- pose you ou no longer I have done you much inJury In in- jury I should have Oe done you more but my warriors warriors war war- are killed I am In your power potter Dispose of me as you please You are not said the general In my power I 1 had ordered you yon brought to me In chains nut But you have come of or your own accord You Yon we sea my camp you see my army you know my object 1 I would gladly stove save you and your our nation but you OU do not even ask to be saved If It you OU think you youcan youcan OU can contend on tend against me In battle go and head bead your our warriors Ah kh said Weatherford well may such language language language lan lan- guage be addressed to me now There was a n time when I could have answered you ou I could animate animate animate ani ani- mate my to battle hattle but I cannot animate animate ani ani- mate mato the dead General Jackson I have |