Call for Volunteers
General Andrew Jackson "Quelling a Mutiny"
Library Photograph Collection
Reacting to the call for help from the settlements in the Fort Mims region, Tennessee quickly sprang into action. In September 1813 the state legislature passed an act for the defense of Tennessee and the Mississippi Territory from Red Stick attacks. A call went out for 3,000 volunteers to rendezvous in early October at Camp Blount in Fayetteville, Lincoln County. Major General Andrew Jackson, still recuperating from a near-fatal brawl at a Nashville tavern, led Tennessee's forces. Despite having his arm in a sling, Jackson was not about to miss this opportunity for military glory. Tennesseans, militia from Georgia and the Mississippi Territory, and a body of U.S. Regulars planned to launch a coordinated attack on Creek lands. Lack of communication forced each column to act independently. Tennessee's campaign was marked with enlistment disputes, supply shortages, and lopsided victories in which the better armed and numerically superior U.S. military forces overwhelmed the Red Sticks.
Willie Blount
Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection
(1768-1835)
Willie Blount (whose first name was pronounced "Wiley") was the half-brother of Territorial Governor William Blount. Willie served in the legislature until his election as governor in 1809. Blount provided strong support for General Jackson's campaigns against the Red Sticks and assisted in raising funds and troops for the War of 1812. His support of the war effort gave rise to Tennessee's nickname "The Volunteer State." He died in 1835 and is buried in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Historical marker for Camp Blount
Courtesy of Tom Kanon
Today this site represents one of the state's strongest physical links to the Creek War.
Letter from John Coffee to his wife, Mary, Huntsville, Alabama, January 8, 1814
Dyas Collection of John Coffee Papers
Coffee writes about the numbers of men who have left the service, commenting that all those who have left will one day see their error.
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