Editing Wetumpka, Alabama (section)

===United States rule===
After Britain was defeated in the [[American Revolutionary War]], it ceded its territory east of the [[Mississippi River]] to the United States in 1783. In 1798 the US made this area part of the [[Mississippi Territory]], after cessions from the states of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[South Carolina]]. Between 1800 and 1812, European-American pioneers began to arrive, many with enslaved African-American laborers, and encroach on the lands of the Southeast Indian tribes.

By the early 19th century, there were tensions among the Creek, with young men of the Upper Creek promoting a revival of religion and traditional culture, and the Lower Creek, more influenced by settlement and trade with European Americans in Georgia, becoming more assimilated. In addition, in 1811, the [[Shawnee]] chief [[Tecumseh]] of the [[Northwest Territory|upper Northwest]] appealed to the Creek to join his [[Western Confederacy]] to try to drive out and exterminate the European settlers west of the Appalachians.

When the U.S. declared war on Britain in June 1812, the Upper Creek lost the assistance of the British, but they persisted with war against American settlers in the area. Upon receiving the news of the [[Fort Mims massacre|massacre at Fort Mims]], whose refugees included many Lower Creek, American settlers appealed for government help. General [[Andrew Jackson]] led a militia with members from [[Tennessee]], [[Mississippi]], and Georgia and attacked the Creek in Alabama. The path the militia traveled became known as "Jackson's Trace".
[[Image:Jackson and Weatherford.jpg|thumb|300px|right|1814: Chief Red Eagle ([[William Weatherford]]) surrenders to General Andrew Jackson at Fort Jackson in Wetumpka.]]

Jackson's forces won a decisive victory at the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]]. He moved on to Fort Toulouse, where he directed its repair. During his absence, the site was renamed [[Fort Jackson (Alabama)|Fort Jackson]] in his honor.

Jackson made the fort his headquarters during the [[War of 1812]]. The newly created Montgomery County held its courts there. The defeated Creek were forced to sign the [[Treaty of Fort Jackson]] (1814), which ceded to the United States {{convert|23,000,000|acre|sqmi km2}} of Creek lands: much of the remainder of their territory in Georgia and most of central Alabama. After the war, many of Jackson's Tennessee militia returned home, collected their families and belongings, and brought them back to settle near the fort.