The longest sustained engagement of the Seminole Wars, it blockaded U.S. supply convoys for months and prompted Andrew Jackson's 1818 incursion into Spanish Florida.
Key Facts
- Start date
- December 15, 1817
- Duration
- Several weeks (longest of Seminole Wars)
- Jackson's relief march
- Departed Fort Scott on March 11, 1818
- Fort built as result
- Fort Gadsden, within walls of former Negro Fort
- Location today
- Torreya State Park, Florida
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Red Stick Creek Indians, excluded from the Treaty of Fort Jackson and never notified of its terms, disputed the cession of lands south of the Flint River. They also cited the Treaty of Ghent's unenforceable guarantee returning Creek lands seized by the United States, and refused to recognize the cession made by rival Creek factions after their civil war.
Beginning December 15, 1817, Red Stick Creek warriors fired from both banks of the Apalachicola River on U.S. supply convoys heading upriver to Forts Gaines, Scott, and Hughes. The attack halted navigation for weeks, placing troops at Fort Scott near starvation on half-rations, forcing abandonment of Fort Hughes, and effectively placing both Fort Scott and Fort Gaines under siege.
General Andrew Jackson marched additional forces from Fort Scott into Spanish Florida on March 11, 1818, reaching Prospect Bluff on March 16, after which the Indians withdrew and the supply convoy was freed. To forestall future blockades, Jackson ordered the construction of Fort Gadsden within the walls of the former British-built Negro Fort, establishing a U.S. military presence inside Spanish Florida.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Andrew Jackson.
Side B
1 belligerent