HISTORY

Battle of Tallushatchee

The Battle of Tallushatchee, which took place on November 3, 1813, was the first US military victory in the Creek War of 1813-14. The battle was initiated when a large American force attacked the small Creek town of Tallushatchee, resulting in its complete destruction and the death of 186 Creeks, including women and children.

Upon learning of the presence of a sizeable Red Stick Creek stronghold at Tallushatchee, Jackson dispatched Coffee and 900 mounted troops to destroy the Creek town. Early on the morning of November 3, 1813, Coffee's troops had progressed to within a mile of Tallushatchee at which point they split and completely surrounded the village. The Red Sticks rushed to the outer perimeter of the town, where they were driven back by Coffee's forces. Fighting lasted until all resistance ended. In all, 186 Red Sticks were killed, including a number of women and children. Coffee's troops, by contrast, suffered only 5 killed and 41 wounded.

The victory was a result of 5 to 1 odds and the fact that the Red Stick Creeks, lacking sufficient powder, could only respond with only bows and arrows. Davy Crockett reported that a number of warriors were driven into a house and although they tried to surrender, one woman in the same house used a bow to kill one of Coffee's men. Enraged they set fire to the house. Coffee later defended the loss of life among Creek women and children by blaming the warriors for seeking refuge in houses with their families and claimed that the killing of noncombatants was unintentional.