10 | War of 1812, Andrew Jackson, Creek War | Richard Fulton’s Country Music Record | Sulphur Water | January 2019 Issue

Sometimes called "the forgotten conflict," the War of 1812 has largely faded from modern memory, even though it had a lasting legacy. Host Allen Forkum (editor of The Nashville Retrospect newspaper) interviews Dr. Tom Kanon of the Tennessee State Library and Archives about his book, Tennesseans at War, 1812 to 1815, and that legacy, including: Tennessee rising to national prominence and becoming known as “The Volunteer State”; Native-Americans losing millions of acres of territory in the Creek War, which Kanon contends was a first step toward the Indian Removal Act of the 1830s; and Gen. Andrew Jackson becoming president of the United States because of his fame after a lopsided victory against the British in the Battle of New Orleans. Also hear how a comet and earthquakes helped launch the war. (Segment begins at 05:15)

“Andrew Jackson with the Tennessee forces on the Hickory Grounds (Ala) A.D. 1814” is a circa 1840 lithograph published by Breuker & Kessler. (Image: Library of Congress)

“Se-loc-ta, A Creek Chief” is an engraving from The Indian Tribes of North America (1838) by Thomas Loraine McKenney and James Hall. Selocta joined Gen. Jackson as a guide and warrior in his campaign against the Red Sticks, a faction of Creek Indians at war with American settlers. (Image: Library of Congress)

This map shows “The Battle of the Horse Shoe,” which took place on March 27, 1814, between Red Stick Creek Indians and Tennessee troops led by Major General Andrew Jackson. The map is from The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812 (1869) by Benson John Lossing. The original caption: “The above plan of the battle of Cholocco Litabixee, or the Horseshoe, is arranged from one in Pickett’s History of Alabama. A shows the position of the hill from which Jackson’s canon played upon the breastwork. CCC represents the position of Coffee’s command. (Image: Tennessee State Library and Archives)

“Treaty with the Creeks” is an 1847 depiction of the August 1814 meeting at Fort Jackson between representatives the United States, led by Major General Andrew Jackson, and the defeated Creek Indians. Kanon says the Creek Indians lost 22 million acres of land, located in today's Alabama and Georgia. (Image: New York Public Library)

“January 8, 1815. British (Gen. Pakenham) Loss: Gen. Pak. & Over 2000 Kd [killed] & Wd [wounded]. American (Gen. Jackson.) Loss: 7 Kd. & 6 Wd.” is a lithograph published circa 1890 by Kurz & Allison of Chicago. (Image: Library of Congress)

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