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inside a deadly square. He mowed down around 300 warriors and only lost 15 soldiers. He chased remnants relentlessly. In the summer of 1814, he cornered almost 900 Red Sticks in their compound at Horseshoe Bend. Jackson had allies with friendly Creeks, Cherokees and Choctaw Indians. In addition, he bolstered his force with 500 Regulars. His force numbered almost 2000, at least a two to one advantage.

Jackson's army suffered around 200 casualties with 60 dead whites and Indians. His enemy lost 857 dead. There were around 600 dead inside the compounds. Hundreds more drowned in the river or died at the hands of Indian allies.

The one magnamious thing he did was spare Weatherford's life. The Red Stick chief walked into Jackson's camp. He surrendered himself for the sake of his people. He survived only to see his people endure one, last indignity.

In 1836, President Andrew Jackson signed off his Indian Removal Act. For America's obsession with Manifest Destiny, he allowed Federal armies to forcibly remove southern tribes from their homes. The list of those affected were:

Creeks (Red Sticks/hostile) and (White Sticks/friendly)

Cherokee (allies to whites)

Choctaw (allies to whites)

Seminoles (recently won their war from 1835-1842)

About 50,000 Native Americans left with their meager belongings (mostly the clothes on their backs) for a thousand-plus mile walk to reservations in Oklahoma. They walked amidst heat, cold, rain, wind, sleet and snow. Many didn't survive the "walk". They left a trail of dead and dying stragglers. The tribes had no time to bury because the U.S. government implemented a deadline. Any Indian not in a reservation by the deadline would've been hunted down as a hostile. This was called the "trail of tears". Over 4,000 deaths were attributed to the removal. All of their blood was on Jackson's hands.

Learn more about this author, Marcus Brooks.
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