Fort Jackson (Alabama)

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Fort Toulouse Site-Fort Jackson
Fort Toulouse.jpg
A portion of the modern Fort Toulouse reconstruction, taken in 2007.
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Nearest city Wetumpka, Alabama
Coordinates 32°30′12″N86°15′23″W / 32.50333°N 86.25639°W / 32.50333; -86.25639 Coordinates: 32°30′12″N86°15′23″W / 32.50333°N 86.25639°W / 32.50333; -86.25639
Built1814
NRHP reference No. 66000148
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966 [1]
Designated NHLOctober 9, 1960 [2]

Fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson are two forts that shared the same site at the fork of the Coosa River and the Tallapoosa River, near Wetumpka, Alabama.

Fort Toulouse was a stockade built by the French in 1717. It was replaced by a better-built fort of the same name in 1735, a bit further back from river erosion. Fort Toulouse served as a trading post with the Creek Indians until the end of the French & Indian War in 1763. With the French loss of that conflict, the French garrison spiked their cannons and left for both New Orleans and a return to France. The British victors chose not to occupy the Fort, and it eventually collapsed into decay.

In the midst of the War of 1812, an 1813 civil war in the Creek Nation led to an invasion by Americans from Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi Territory. In the ensuing Creek War of 1813–1814, General Andrew Jackson commanded the combined American forces of Tennessee militia, U.S. regulars, and Cherokee and Creek Indian allies. Jackson defeated the Red Stick Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, and afterwards initiated construction of a fort atop the site of the old French fort at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. The fort was intentionally built near the sacred Creek site known as the Hickory Ground. [3] Jackson then temporarily traveled to Washington and in his absence, the fort was named "Jackson" in his honor. After Jackson's return, he imposed the Treaty of Fort Jackson upon both the Northern Creek enemies and the Southern Creek allies, wresting 20,000,000 acres (8,100,000 ha) from all Creeks for white settlement.

The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. [2] [4]

During the American Bicentennial in the mid-1970s an attempt was made to reconstruct Fort Toulouse, however the replica was incorrectly built upon the outline of the much larger Fort Jackson.

Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site

The William Bartram Arboretum is located inside Fort Toulouse-Jackson State Historic Site. William Bartram Arboretum Ft. Toulouse-Jackson, Alabama.JPG
The William Bartram Arboretum is located inside Fort Toulouse-Jackson State Historic Site.

The William Bartram Arboretum is an arboretum located at 2521 Fort Toulouse Road, near Wetumpka, Alabama, in the United States. In the 1980s the park became a property of the Alabama Historical Commission and the incorrectly built fort was dismantled and recycled to partially construct a "correct" replica of Ft. Toulouse adjacent to the original site, allowing for a future reconstruction of Ft. Jackson on the actual site once occupied by both forts.

The Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site has active "Living History" programs depicting the original Creek Indian inhabitants, the French Colonial Military presence, and the War of 1812 era U.S. Military presence.

It is located southwest of Wetumpka off U.S. Highway 231 (Alabama).

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William Bartram Arboretum

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Fort Mims massacre United States historic place

The Fort Mims massacre took place on August 30, 1813, during the Creek War, when a force of Creek Indians belonging to the Red Sticks faction, under the command of head warriors Peter McQueen and William Weatherford, stormed the fort and defeated the militia garrison. Afterward, a massacre ensued and almost all of the remaining Creek métis, white settlers, and militia at Fort Mims were killed. The fort was a stockade with a blockhouse surrounding the house and outbuildings of the settler Samuel Mims, located about 35 miles directly north of present-day Mobile, Alabama.

Fort Williams (Alabama) United States historic site

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Fort Toulouse United States historic place

Fort Toulouse, also called Fort des Alibamons and Fort Toulouse des Alibamons, is a historic fort near the city of Wetumpka, Alabama, United States, that is now maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. The French founded the fort in 1717, naming it for Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse. In order to counter the growing influence of the British colonies of Georgia and Carolina, the government of French Louisiana erected a fort on the eastern border of the Louisiana Colony in what is now the state of Alabama.

Fort Strother United States historic place

Fort Strother was a stockade fort at Ten Islands in the Mississippi Territory, in what is today St. Clair County, Alabama. It was located on a bluff of the Coosa River, near the modern Neely Henry Dam in Ragland, Alabama. The fort was built by General Andrew Jackson and several thousand militiamen in November 1813, during the Creek War and was named for Captain John Strother, Jackson's chief cartographer.

Hickory Ground United States historic place

Hickory Ground, also known as Otciapofa is an historic Upper Muscogee Creek tribal town and an archaeological site in Elmore County, Alabama near Wetumpka. It is known as Oce Vpofa in the Muscogee language; the name derives from oche-ub,"hickory" and po-fau, "among". It is best known for serving as the last capital of the National Council of the Creek Nation, prior to the tribe being moved to the Indian Territory in the 1830s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 10, 1980.

Fort Decatur (Alabama) United States historic site

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. Fort Decatur was also located near the Creek town of Tukabatchee. It was most likely named for Stephen Decatur.

Taskigi Mound Historic site in Alabama, United States

The Taskigi Mound or Mound at Fort Toulouse – Fort Jackson Park (1EE1) is an archaeological site from the South Appalachian Mississippian Big Eddy phase. It is located on a 40 feet (12 m) bluff at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers where they meet to form the Alabama River, near the town of Wetumpka in Elmore County, Alabama.

Fort Armstrong (Alabama) United States historic site

Fort Armstrong was a stockade fort built in present-day Cherokee County, Alabama during the Creek War. The fort was built to protect the surrounding area from attacks by Red Stick warriors but was also used as a staging area and supply depot in preparation for further military action against the Red Sticks.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 "Fort Toulouse Site-Fort Jackson". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  3. A. J. Langguth, Union 1812, 2006, p. 287
  4. Cecil McKithan (June 29, 1989) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Toulouse / Fort Jackson, National Park Service and Accompanying 1 photo, undated.