Current:Home > MarketsMemorial marks 210th anniversary of crucial battle between Native Americans and United States-InfoLens
Memorial marks 210th anniversary of crucial battle between Native Americans and United States
View Date:2024-12-23 14:12:51
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (AP) — Prayers and songs of remembrance carried across the grassy field where 800 Muscogee warriors, women and children perished in 1814 while defending their homeland from United States forces.
Members of the Muscogee Creek Nation returned to Alabama this weekend for a memorial service on the 210th anniversary of Horseshoe Bend. The battle was the single bloodiest day of conflict for Native Americans with U.S. troops and paved the way for white settler expansion in the Southeast and the tribe’s eventual forced removal from the region.
“We don’t come here to celebrate. We come here to commemorate, to remember the lives and stories of those who fought and honor their sacrifice,” David Hill, principal chief of the Muscogee Creek Nation, said at the Saturday ceremony.
One thousand warriors, along with women and children from six tribal towns, had taken refuge on the site, named for the sharp bend of the Tallapoosa River. They were attacked on March 27, 1814, by a force of 3,000 led by future U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
“They were going to fight to the end. The warriors were going to do what they could do to protect the women and children, protect themselves, protect our freedom, what we had here,” Hill said.
Leaders of the Muscogee Nation on Saturday placed a wreath on the battle site. The wreath was red, in honor of the warriors who were known as Red Sticks. It was decorated with six eagle feathers in recognition of the six tribal towns that had taken refuge there.
Despite signing a treaty with the United States, the Muscogee were eventually forcibly removed from the Southeast to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. Some of their descendants made the journey back to the land their ancestors called home to attend the remembrance ceremony.
“Hearing the wind and the trees and imagining those that came before us, they heard those same things. It wakes something up in your DNA,” Dode Barnett, a member of the Muscogee Nation Tribal Council, said. Barnett said their story is one of survival.
RaeLynn Butler, the Muscogee Nation’s historic and cultural preservation manager, has visited the site multiple times but said it is emotional each time.
“When you hear the language and you hear the songs, it’s a feeling that is just overwhelming. Painful. Even though it’s hard to be here, it’s important that we share this history,” Butler said.
The Muscogee Nation has announced plans to try to place a permanent memorial at the site.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Watch out, Temu: Amazon Haul, Amazon's new discount store, is coming for the holidays
- Teen Mom's Kailyn Lowry Shares First Photo of Her Twins
- Travis Kelce Shares Conversation He Had With Taylor Swift About Media Attention
- EU, UN Human Rights Office express regret over execution of a man using nitrogen gas in Alabama
- Why Officials Believe a Missing Kayaker Faked His Own Death and Ran Off to Europe
- Stock market today: Wall Street inches modestly lower ahead of more earnings, inflation data
- U.N. slams Israel for deadly strike on Gaza shelter as war with Hamas leaves hospitals under siege
- EU, UN Human Rights Office express regret over execution of a man using nitrogen gas in Alabama
- Early Week 11 fantasy football rankings: 30 risers and fallers
- Clark-mania? A look at how much Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark's fans spend and travel
Ranking
- Wendi McLendon-Covey talks NBC sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' and hospital humor
- Houthis, defying U.S. strikes, attempt another attack on U.S.-owned commercial ship
- US nuclear agency isn’t consistent in tracking costs for some construction projects, report says
- Bipartisan Tennessee proposal would ask voters to expand judges’ ability to deny bail
- Mississippi Valley State football player Ryan Quinney dies in car accident
- Michigan man convicted of defacing synagogue with swastika, graffiti
- NASA retires Ingenuity, the little helicopter that made history on Mars
- Love Is Blind's Alexa Lemieux Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby with Husband Brennon
Recommendation
-
2 Florida women charged after shooting death of photographer is livestreamed
-
LSU vs. South Carolina highlights, score, stats: Gamecocks win after Angel Reese fouls out
-
Alleged carjacking suspect fatally shot by police at California ski resort
-
French President Macron joins India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guest
-
The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
-
Second Rhode Island man pleads not guilty to charges related to Patriots fan’s death
-
China doubles down on moves to mend its economy and fend off a financial crisis
-
King Charles admitted to London hospital for prostate treatment, palace says