Editing Muscogee (section)

===Red Stick rebellion===
{{Further|Creek War|Red Sticks|Fort Mims massacre}}

[[Image:Menawa high resolution.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Menawa]] was one of the principal leaders of the Red Sticks. After the war, he continued to oppose white encroachment on Muscogee lands, visiting Washington, D.C., in 1826 to protest the [[Treaty of Indian Springs (1825)|treaty of Indian Springs]]. Painted by [[Charles Bird King]], 1837.]]

The Creek War of 1813–1814, also known as the ''Red Stick War'', began as a civil war within the Muscogee Nation, only to become enmeshed within the [[War of 1812]]. Inspired by the [[Shawnee]] leader [[Tecumseh]] (to whom 19th-century writers attributed fiery speeches that he "must have said"){{citation needed|date=May 2018}} and their own religious leaders, and encouraged by British traders, Red Stick leaders such as [[William Weatherford]] (Red Eagle), [[Peter McQueen]], and [[Menawa]] won the support of the Upper Creek towns. Allied with the British, they opposed white encroachment on Muscogee lands and the "civilizing programs" administered by [[Indian agent]] [[Benjamin Hawkins]], and clashed with many of the leading chiefs of the Muscogee Nation, most notably the Lower Creek ''Mico'' [[William McIntosh]], Hawkins' most powerful ally. Before the Muscogee Civil War began, the Red Sticks attempted to keep their activities secret from the "old chiefs" of the Creek national government. They were emboldened when [[Tecumseh]] rallied his followers and joined with a British invasion to [[Siege of Detroit|capture Fort Detroit]] in August 1812.

In February 1813, a small party of Red Sticks, led by Little Warrior, was returning from Detroit when they killed two families of settlers along the [[Duck River (Tennessee)|Duck River]], near [[Nashville]]. Hawkins demanded that the Muscogees turn over Little Warrior and his six companions. Instead of handing the marauders over to the federal agents, Big Warrior and the old chiefs decided to execute the war party. This decision was the spark which ignited the civil war among the Muscogee.<ref>Adams, 777–778</ref>

The first clashes between Red Sticks and the American whites took place on July 21, 1813, when a group of American soldiers from [[Fort Mims]] (north of [[Mobile, Alabama]]) stopped a party of Red Sticks who were returning from [[West Florida]], where they had bought munitions from the Spanish governor at [[Pensacola]]. The Red Sticks fled the scene, and the U.S. soldiers looted what they found, allowing the Red Sticks to regroup and retaliate with a surprise attack that forced the Americans to retreat. The [[Battle of Burnt Corn]], as the exchange became known, broadened the Creek Civil War to include American forces, and was interpreted as a good omen, showing that in fact the Creeks could defeat the whites.

On August 30, 1813, Red Sticks led by Red Eagle [[William Weatherford]] attacked [[Fort Mims]], where white settlers and their Indian allies had gathered. The Red Sticks captured the fort by surprise, and carried out a massacre, killing men, women, and children. They spared only the black [[slaves]] whom they took as captured booty. After the Indians killed nearly 250–500 at the fort, settlers across the American southwestern frontier were in a panic. Although the Red Sticks won the battle, they had lost the war.

{{blockquote|On the morning of August 30, 1813, few of Fort Mims' defenders stirred in the steaming heat. In the forested shade, the Creeks watched and waited. The fort's main gate, located on the east side of the stockade, had not been closed by the garrison troops ... No sentries occupied the blockhouse.|A Short History of the Ft. Mims Massacre of 1813 during the Creek Indian War<ref name=fort_mims>
{{Cite web
 | url = http://www.canerossi.us/ftmims/massacre.htm
 | title = Ft. Mims Massacre Baldwin County, Alabama August 30, 1813
 | access-date = October 4, 2009
 | author = Steve Canerossi
 }}
</ref>
}}

The Fort Mims Massacre was followed two days later by the smaller [[Kimbell-James Massacre]].

The only explanation of this catastrophic event is that the Upper Creek leaders thought that fighting the United States was like fighting another Creek tribe, and taking Fort Mims was an even bigger victory than the Battle of Burnt Corn had been.

The Red Stick victory spread panic throughout the southeastern United States, and the cry "Remember Fort Mims!" was popular among the public wanting revenge. With Federal troops tied up on the northern front against the British in Canada, the [[Tennessee]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and the [[Mississippi Territory]] militias were commissioned and invaded the Upper Creek towns. They were joined by Indian allies, the Lower Creek under [[William McIntosh]] and the Cherokee under [[Major Ridge]]. Outnumbered and poorly armed, much too far from Canada or the Gulf Coast to receive British aid, the Red Sticks put up a desperate fight. On March 27, 1814, General [[Andrew Jackson]]'s Tennessee [[militia]], aided by the 39th U. S. [[Infantry]] Regiment and [[Cherokee]] and Lower Creek warriors, crushed the Red Sticks at the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]] on the [[Tallapoosa River]]. Though the Red Sticks had been soundly defeated and about 3,000 Upper Muscogee died in the war, the remnants held out several months longer.