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Connecticut River Valley, New England, United States

Monday, March 21, 2011

Battle of Horseshoe Bend/or Another People Oppressed

The day dawned with condensation on the windshield for the first time--BUT it was not frozen!!!! Got ourselves on the road and headed north on Rt 22 to Clampton for breakfast. Well, once more the cooking of Alabama leaves me cold--a pancake that tasted and had the texture of an omelet! Sigh. But the coffee was great. And we chatted with a fellow who has relatives in WRJ--Reynolds family are his in-laws. Again we don't know them but still it is a small world. We chatted about different parts of the country since he too has traveled widely. He also gave us some ideas about places to see in Alabama next time we come to the area.

We continued to Alexander City and through it to the Horseshoe Bend Battlefield National Site. Andrew Jackson starting his career and beating the Creeks and destroying their confederation. Of course they had already taken a beating at the hands of the British who ceded much of their land to the Americans at the end of the Revolution. A treaty of New York was then signed by the Americans stating that if they gave us a certain area the rest of their homeland would be left in their control. Sure--we may have beaten the British but the acorn doesn't fall far from the oak. First an attempt was made to have the Creeks give up hunting etc and become farmers and settle in one place. So they for the most part conformed. Many of their leaders were sons of European traders who married Creek women. And yet, not satisfied, when he became President Andrew signed into law the Relocation Act that moved them all by force to Oklahoma--The Trail of Tears.

Unfortunately, no one ever felt very guilty or upset or motivated to redress the wrongs done to the Native American. Some of the most impoverished places I've seen on my travels are the homes found on the reservations of this nation.

The signs and sites of the battlefield tell the story as well as I can. One thing--in the diorama the soldier grasping his thigh with an arrow through it is Sam Houston in his first battle. He almost didn't survive--he was shot twice more after the arrow--so badly wounded the doctors decided not to treat him. He survived to the hospital but after traveling over rough roads without water or medical treatment he was in even worse shape so again they figured he'd die so did nothing for him. When he got back to Tennessee still alive they still were not going to treat him, but his mother, who only recognized him because of his eyes, insisted they help him. They agreed if he was still alive two days later, which he was. Irish do you suppose or maybe Scots! LOL

Back to Alexander City and our hot tub suite. Watching Dancing with the Stars and Castle. Tomorrow Tuskegee!

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