NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?The site of the March 1814 Battle between the Red Stick Creeks and the Andrew Jackson-led Tennessee militia.
BEAUTY (5/10)
The Site is located along the horseshoe bend of the Tallapoosa River in Central Alabama. The rural setting is charming. A 3-mile Park Loop road first takes you to a battlefield overlook where you see a grass clearing surrounded by hardwood forest. We saw a family of white-tailed deer gradually edging out into the golf course-like area, thankful to have found sanctuary during hunting season. The Loop Road continues to points overlooking the gentle meandering Tallapoosa. As we neared the parking pull-off, we startled four massive wild turkeys that, in turn, flew across the river spoiling our photo op.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (4/10)
Park displays characterize the Battle at Horseshoe Bend as a part of the War of 1812. The Red Stick Creek were loosely allied with the British, as was Jackson’s Tennessee militia with the United States. The timeframe matches up as well. Nonetheless, this was not a War of 1812 battle; it was a part of the Creek War.
The Creek War began as a civil war between the Upper (Red Stick) Creeks and the Lower Creeks. They disagreed on the direction the Creek Nation had taken, revolving mostly around the Lower Creeks participation in the U.S. government’s “civilization” programs. In February 1813, nearby present-day Mobile a band of Red Sticks murdered several frontier families in what came to be known as the Fort Mims massacre. National outrage ensued and just a few months later, Andrew Jackson brought his Tennessee militia into the fight.
Jackson’s victory at Horseshoe Bend marked the virtual end of the Creek War. The Red Stick Creeks resisted capitulation for a few months, but eventually their exhaustion and starvation forced them to surrender to Jackson in August 1814. The result was the transfer of most of Alabama and the southern quarter of present-day Georgia to U.S. ownership and eventual settlement. In January of 1815, Jackson would earn national fame through his army’s decisive win at the Battle of New Orleans.
CROWDS (5/10)
Just a few cars in the parking lot; more on the 3-mile loop. The Ranger seemed used to quiet afternoons, like this one.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
Horseshoe Bend NMP is located about 50 miles northwest of Interstate 85 and the college town of Auburn, Alabama. The battlefield is in rural Central Alabama, you are not going to happen onto this Site.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (2/5)
The VC held a limited selection of books, even fewer Andrew Jackson titles than the Chalmette Battlefield, and no cute Andrew Jackson dolls or toys. If this is supposed to be one of the four sites dedicated to the War of 1812, no one told the concessionaire who stocks the shelves. There was nothing in the bookstore that allowed the visitor to place the incidents at Horseshoe Bend in the broader context of the War.
COSTS (4/5)
The Site is free.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (3/5)
The one Ranger on duty candidly answered our questions about the exhibit’s shortcomings. We asked why the panel concludes that Horseshoe Bend was decisive to the American’s victory in the War of 1812. He responded, “Yeah, I wouldn’t say that at all. The fight here was just a battle in an Indian Civil War and not really a part of the war at all.” We find it terrific when a Ranger feels comfortable and knowledgeable enough to assert his own historical conclusions rather than parroting the sometimes-suspect NPS line.
TOURS/CLASSES (7/10)That being said, the newly remodeled exhibit panels at the Site are well done. They explain not simply the battle, but Creek history, the Fort Mims Massacre and other background information necessary to understanding why the fight occurred and why the United States would receive the Creek homeland. The new film utilizes historical re-enactors and offers a clear vision of the madness of both war and Andrew Jackson.
FUN (3/10)
The Museum and the Ranger, two integral parts of any National Historic Site, were both above average. The sun invited us to walk the eastern woodlands. Michael's inexplicable curiosity about Andrew Jackson grew with this episode in history. We didn't have a bad time, but we were road weary and a little concerned about where we would be sleeping that night. Horseshoe Bend NMP didn't engage us enough to ease our preoccupied minds.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (3/10)
It is tough to get to this Site. There are only two ways you would be near Horseshoe Bend: 1) football game at Auburn or 2) a race at Talladega. Do not make the difficult Interstate detour unless you have a few days to spend in Central Alabama.
TOTAL 38/80
www.usa-c2c.com
© 2004-06