Cherokee
Crossing
The Red Sticks who fled to the "horseshoe" hoped that the encircling
river would protect them from Jackson's soldiers. But Jackson surrounded
the bend with his Indian allies who launched a surprise rear attack into
Tohopeka village. According to Coffee, the Cherokee warriors crossed the
river in canoes stolen from the Creeks, "advanced into the village
& very soon drove the enemy up from the bank of the river" to
the barricade then under attack by Jackson's militia and regulars. Coffee
also said that "attempts to cross the river at all points of the
bend were made by the enemy but not one escaped, very few ever reached
the bank, and those were killed the very instant they landed."
