Carrying Fire and Sword

Carrying Fire and Sword. . Massacre at Fort Mims , The Creek civil war boiled over on August 30, 1813, when Red Stick Creeks attacked Fort Mims in present-day Alabama. Most of those killed were Creeks or spouses or children of Creeks who had accepted acculturation Newspapers mistakenly reported that as many as 600 had perished-most of them white. Panicked settlers in the Mississippi Territory rushed to the nearest fort or town. Outraged Tennesseans demanded retaliation. , Calling the Brave Men of Tennessee , Gen. Andrew Jackson called for volunteers. "Those distressed citizens of that frontier who have yet escaped the Tomahawk, Jackson wrote, "implored the brave Tennesseans for aid. "The general assembly voted to take action. On September 23, 1813, Gov. Willie Blount ordered the militia into service for the purpose of repelling a threatened invasion of the state by Creek Indians. , The Governor chose Fayetteville as the rendezvous point. , Patriotism, Duty, Adventure , Tennesseans responded to the call with enthusiasm. The reasons were as individual as the recruits themselves. Some felt duty-bound to live up to the example set by those who fought in the Revolution. A number of frontiersmen wanted to rid the territory of Indians altogether. Others, like David Crockett, were angry and felt only war would satisfy them. Students at Mt. Pleasant Academy in Maury County declared they were "strongly aroused to vengeance." Men volunteered out of patriotism, a sense of duty, desire for adventure, and because of peer pressure. , Inset text: They (the men of Tennessee) burn to carry fire and sword into the heart of the Creek Nation -Gen Andrew Jackson to Gov. Willie Blount