Fort Decatur (Alabama)
Fort Decatur | |
---|---|
Milstead, Alabama in United States | |
Fort Decatur | |
Coordinates | 32°26′49.9″N 85°53′05.0″W / 32.447194°N 85.884722°W |
Type | Earthen fort |
Site information | |
Owner | Auburn University |
Controlled by | Auburn University |
Open to the public | No |
Site history | |
Built | March 1814 |
Built by | United States Army |
In use | 1814 |
Battles/wars | Creek War |
Events | Death of John Sevier |
Fort Decatur was an earthen fort established in March 1814 on the banks of the Tallapoosa River as part of the Creek War and the larger War of 1812. The fort was located on the east bank of the Tallapoosa River, near the modern community of Milstead.[1] Fort Decatur was also located near the Creek town of Tukabatchee. It was most likely named for Stephen Decatur.[2]
History[]
Creek War[]
Colonel Homer Milton, the commanding officer of the 3rd Regiment, ordered the construction of Fort Decatur and Fort Burrows in March 1814. Fort Burrows was located across the Tallapoosa River from Fort Decatur. Benjamin Hawkins assisted Milton in surveying the site of Fort Decatur.[3] The fort was built under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Atkinson.[4] After pursuing Red Sticks in southeast Alabama, Davy Crockett (a member of Major William Russell's Tennessee Mounted Volunteers) was stationed at Fort Decatur.[5] Fort Decatur was planned to supply General Andrew Jackson in his march from Fort Williams to Hickory Ground, but flooding prevented the supplies from arriving.[6] After the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Georgia and South Carolina troops under the command of Major General Thomas Pinckney marched from Fort Decatur to Fort Jackson.[7] Brigadier General Joseph Graham commanded troops at Fort Decatur who repaired roads and assisted in supplying Jackson's army after the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.[8] After regular troops terms of service were up, the Tennessee militia was garrisoned at Fort Decatur. The militia was then replaced by troops from Georgia who were requested by General Pinckney to oppose any potential British or Creek offensive.[9]
William McIntosh and Thomas Simpson Woodward were both temporarily stationed at Fort Decatur.[4]
Postwar[]
In 1815, President James Madison appointed Colonel John Sevier to the United States Boundary Commission to survey the boundary between the United States and the Creek Nation. The Commission was headquartered at Fort Decatur. On September 24, 1815, Sevier died and was buried at Fort Decatur. Sevier's remains were reinterred at the Knox County Courthouse in Knoxville on June 15, 1889.[10]
A post office operated under the name Fort Decatur from 1839 to 1859.[11]
Present[]
Today, the fort site is marked by a historical marker that was placed by the Alabama Anthropological Society in 1931. The remains of the fort on located on Auburn University's E.V. Smith Research Center.[2]
Units[]
The 4th Regiment of East Tennessee Militia and a battalion of West Tennessee Militia were both stationed at Fort Decatur.[12] The 7th North Carolina Militia was garrisoned at Fort Burrows and Fort Decatur.[13]
References[]
- ^ Harris 1977, pp. 40.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Bunn & Williams 2008, pp. 59.
- ^ Owsley 2008, pp. 60.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Brannon, Peter A. (September 20, 1931). "Fort Decatur". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
- ^ Jones 2006, pp. 113.
- ^ Hannings 2012, pp. 205.
- ^ Brown 1900, pp. 122.
- ^ Pinckney 1926, pp. 501.
- ^ Jackson 1927, pp. 26.
- ^ Williams 1924, pp. 284.
- ^ "Macon County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Kanon, Tom. "Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812". Tennessee State Library and Archives. State of Tennessee. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Goss, Bill. "Early Forts Stand Stalwart". The Wetumpka Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
Sources[]
- Brown, William Garrott (1900). A History of Alabama, for Use in Schools: Based as to Its Earlier Parts on the Work of Albert J. Pickett. New York, New York: University Publishing Company. ISBN 9781172237579.
- Mike Bunn; Clay Williams (2008). Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812. Charleston, South Caroline: The History Press. ISBN 978-1-62584-381-4.
- Hannings, Bud (2012). The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6385-5.
- Harris, W. Stuart (1977). Dead Towns of Alabama. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-1125-4.
- Jackson, Andrew (1927) [Composed 10 August 1814]. Bassett, John Spencer (ed.). Correspondence of Andrew Jackson. 2. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington.
- Jones, Randell (2006). In the Footsteps of Davy Crockett. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair. ISBN 978-0-89587-324-8.
- Owsley, Frank Lawrence (2008). Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands. Gainesville, Florida: Library Press@UF. ISBN 978-1-947372-34-4.
- Pinckney, Thomas (1926) [Composed 14 April 1814]. Bassett, John Spencer (ed.). Correspondence of Andrew Jackson. 1. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington.
- Williams, Samuel Cole (1924). History of the Lost State of Franklin. Johnson City, Tennessee: Watauga Press. ISBN 9780806347400.
- Forts in Alabama
- War of 1812 forts
- Creek War
- Pre-statehood history of Alabama
- Buildings and structures in Macon County, Alabama
- 1814 establishments in Mississippi Territory
- Military installations established in 1814