244 ANDREW JACKSON 



of United States infantry, Jackson struck the decisive 

 blow at Tohopeka, otherwise known as the Horseshoe 

 Bend of the Tallapoosa River. In this bloody battle 

 no quarter was given, and the strength of the Creek 

 nation was finally broken. Jackson pursued the rem- 

 nant to their place of refuge, called the Holy Ground, 

 upon which the medicine men had declared that no 

 white man could set foot and live. Such of the Creek 

 chieftains as had not fled to Florida now surrendered. 

 The American soldiers were ready to kill Weathers- 

 ford in revenge for Fort Mimms, but the magnanimous 

 Jackson spared his life and treated him so well that 

 henceforth he and his people remained on good terms 

 with the white men. Among the officers who served 

 under Jackson in this remarkable campaign were the 

 two picturesque men who in later years played such 

 an important part in the history of the Southwest, 

 Samuel Houston and David Crockett. The Creek 

 War was one 'of critical importance. It was the last 

 occasion on which the red men could put forth suffi- 

 cient power to embarrass the United States govern- 

 ment. More than any other single battle, that of 

 Tohopeka marks the downfall of Indian power on 

 this continent. Its immediate effects upon the war 

 with Great Britain were very great. By destroying 

 the only hostile power within the Southwestern terri- 

 tory, it made it possible to concentrate the military 

 force of the border states upon any point, however 

 remote, that might be threatened by the British. More 

 specifically, it made possible the great victory at New 

 Orleans. Throughout the whole of this campaign, in 

 which Jackson showed such indomitable energy, he 

 was suffering from illness such as would have kept 



