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COLONEL JOHN ALCORN
BRIEF HISTORY:
Colonel John Coffee commanded this regiment until the end of October 1813, when
Coffee was promoted to Brigadier General. John Alcorn took over as colonel and
the unit was incorporated with Colonel Newton Cannon's Mounted Riflemen to form
the Second Regiment of Volunteer Mounted Riflemen. The Second Regiment, along
with Colonel Robert Dyer's First Regiment of Volunteer Mounted Gunmen, formed
the brigade under John Coffee. Muster rolls reveal that the regiment went by
various designations besides volunteer mounted riflemen: volunteer cavalry;
mounted militia; or mounted gunmen.
Many of the men from this unit were with Andrew Jackson on the expedition to Natchez (December 1812 - April 1813) and, consequently, felt their one-year's enlistment expired in December 1813. Jackson insisted that the time not spent in the field did not apply to the terms of enlistment. Hence, a dispute broke out between the troops and Jackson late in 1813. Most of the troops did leave by the end of that year, despite Jackson's strenuous efforts to keep them.
The regiment participated in the battles at Tallushatchee and Talladega (3 November and 9 November 1813) and muster rolls show that practically all of the companies sustained casualties, the most being in Captain John Byrne's company. The regiment's line of march took them from Fayetteville (where the regiment was mustered in), through Huntsville, Fort Deposit, Fort Strother, to the battles, and back the reverse way.
COLONEL EWEN ALLISON
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment was also designated as the First Regiment of East Tennessee
Drafted Militia. The unit was part of General George Doherty's brigade, along
with Colonel Samuel Bunch's Second Regiment. Doherty's brigade participated in
the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814) where they were part of the right
line of attack on the Creek fortifications. There were casualties in many of
the companies, especially in those of Captains Everett, King, Loughmiller, and
Winsell. The Nashville Clarion of 10 May 1814 has a complete listing of the
dead and wounded from this climactic battle of the Creek War.
The principal rendezvous point for this regiment was Knoxville. From there they traveled to Ross' Landing (present-day Chattanooga), to Fort Armstrong, Fort Deposit, Fort Strother, Fort Williams, to Horseshoe Bend, and back by the reverse route. Captain Hampton's company was ordered to man Fort Armstrong in mid-March 1814. Arms were scarce in this unit and rifles often had to be impressed from the civilian population along the line of march.
COLONEL SAMUEL BAYLESS
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment, along with Colonel William Johnson's Third Regiment and Colonel
Edwin Booth's Fifth Regiment, defended the lower section of the Mississippi
Territory, particularly the vicinity of Mobile. They protected the region from
possible Indian incursions and any British invasion. These regiments were under
the command of Major General William Carroll. They manned the various forts
that were located throughout the territory: Fort Claiborne, Fort Decatur, and
Fort Montgomery, for example. Sickness was rampant in this regiment and the
desertion rate was high. The regiment mustered in at Knoxville and was
dismissed at Mobile.
COLONEL THOMAS BENTON
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment, along with Colonel William Hall's First Regiment of Tennessee
Volunteer Infantry and Colonel John Coffee's Volunteer Cavalry, comprised the
army under Andrew Jackson that undertook the expedition to Natchez in late
1812. Many of these men re-enlisted in September 1813 and were then put under
the command of Colonel William Pillow, maintaining the same designation of the
Second Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry. See the entry under Colonel
William Pillow for further information.
COLONEL EDWIN BOOTH
BRIEF HISTORY:
Along with the Fourth Regiment of Colonel Samuel Bayless and Colonel William
Johnson's Third Regiment, this regiment was part of the division under the
command of Major General William Carroll. These units were sent to the vicinity
of Mobile to protect that region from Indian and/or British offensive
activities.
The regiment was organized at Knoxville and their line of march took them to Lookout Mountain (present-day Chattanooga), to Fort Strother, and finally to Mobile. Many of the men may have been stationed at Camp Mandeville, a military post located outside of Mobile. Most of the companies were dismissed at Mobile at the end of the war.
COLONEL EDWARD BRADLEY
BRIEF HISTORY:
This unit was originally under the command of Colonel William Hall during
Jackson's excursion to Natchez. Bradley took over the regiment when Hall was
promoted to brigadier general. Bradley's regiment then became part of Hall's
brigade, along with Colonel William Pillow's Second Regiment of Tennessee
Volunteer Infantry. This brigade participated in Jackson's first campaign into
the Creek Nation. Bradley's regiment fought at the Battle of Talladega (9
November 1813) and muster rolls show many casualties from that battle,
especially in the companies of Captains Abraham Bledsoe and Brice Smith.
The line of march for this first campaign followed the route from Fayetteville to Huntsville, then to Fort Deposit and Fort Strother. The troops were dismissed in December 1813. The number of men in each captain's company varied from twenty-nine to seventy-two soldiers.
COLONEL JOHN BROWN
BRIEF HISTORY:
Colonel John Brown commanded two separate regiments at different times during
the war. This regiment, along with a unit commanded by Colonel Samuel Bunch,
comprised a brigade commanded by General George Doherty of the East Tennessee
Volunteer Militia. Accounts of the movement of this regiment show it at Fort
Armstrong (late November 1813) and Fort Deposit, which indicate that this unit
was probably used to protect the supply lines from East Tennessee.
BRIEF HISTORY:
This was the second regiment that Colonel Brown commanded during the war. With
just over 200 volunteers in the unit, they were used primarily as guards for
the supply wagons traveling through Creek territory. As part of Doherty's
brigade, they were put under the command of General John Coffee at the Battle
of Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814) where they participated in the fighting.
Their line of march took them from East Tennessee through Lookout Mountain,
Fort Strother, Fort Williams, and Fort Jackson. Colonel Brown was the sheriff
of Roane County at the start of the war.
COLONEL SAMUEL BUNCH
BRIEF HISTORY:
Colonel Samuel Bunch commanded two separate regiments at different times during
the war. This regiment of three-month enlistees, in the brigade of General
James White, participated in the action against the tribe of Creeks known as
the Hillabees (18 November 1813). Although Jackson was negotiating a peace
proposal with this tribe, the East Tennesseans under General White were not
aware of this situation when they attacked the Hillabee village. This attack by
White's brigade, aided by a band of Cherokees, led to a stubborn resistance by
the Hillabees until the end of the Creek War.
This regiment passed through Fort Armstrong, located on Cherokee land, in late November 1813. There was much protest by the Cherokees concerning property destroyed by the Tennessee troops as they were marching home. The Cherokees claimed that their livestock was "wantonly destroyed for sport" by the Tennessee soldiers.
BRIEF HISTORY:
Andrew Jackson's official report of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (27 March
1814) mentions that "a few companies" of Colonel Bunch were part of
the right line of the American forces at this engagement. More than likely,
some of those companies included Captains Francis Berry, Nicholas Gibbs (who
was killed at the battle), Jones Griffin, and John McNair. In addition, muster
rolls show some casualties from this battle in the companies led by Captains
Moses Davis, Joseph Duncan, and John Houk. Other men from this regiment
remained at Fort Williams prior to Horseshoe Bend to guard the post --
provision returns indicate that there were 283 men from Bunch's regiment at the
fort at the time of the battle.
This regiment was in General George Doherty's Brigade and many of the men stayed after the enlistment expiration of May 1814 to guard the posts at Fort Strother and Fort Williams until June/July. The line of march went through Camp Ross (near present-day Chattanooga), Fort Armstrong, and Fort Jackson.
COLONEL NEWTON CANNON
BRIEF HISTORY:
Along with Colonel John Alcorn's regiment, this unit was part of General John
Coffee's brigade that conducted the first campaign into the Creek Nation.
Marching from Fayetteville, they went through Huntsville; crossed the Tennessee
River at Ditto's Landing (mid-October 1813); stopped at Fort Strother; and
fought in the battles at Tallushatchee and Talladega (3 November and 9 November
1813). Muster rolls show that just about every company in this regiment
suffered casualties in these battles.
COLONEL ARCHER CHEATHAM
BRIEF HISTORY:
With a total complement of 520 men, this regiment was part of the reserves at
the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814). Prior to the battle, many of the
men transferred to the artillery squad. One of the transfers, young Private
John Caffery, Jr. of Captain Charles Johnson's company, was the nephew of
Andrew Jackson's wife, Rachel. After the battle, Jackson proudly wrote to his
wife that her nephew "fought bravely and killed an Indian." A soldier
in Captain Creel's company, Levi Lee, kept a diary of the movements of the
regiment.
MAJOR JOHN CHILES
BRIEF HISTORY:
This battalion, along with a battalion under the command of Major William
Russell, was part of an expedition led by Major Uriah Blue (39th U.S. Infantry)
into West Florida in December 1814/January 1815. Their mission was to roam the
Escambia River in search of refugee Creek warriors who escaped Jackson's
capture of Pensacola (7 November 1814). The mission was largely unsuccessful,
as the troops suffered from lack of supplies.
Their rendezvous point was Fort Montgomery and at the end of the war they were in the vicinity of Baton Rouge, where they were waiting to go to New Orleans to participate in the campaign there. The war concluded before they were called out. The muster rolls of Captains Conway, Cummings, Price, and Tipton contain physical descriptions of the soldiers, as well as the county of residence. Captain Rueben Tipton and his four brothers served in the same company.
MAJOR THOMAS C. CLARK
BRIEF HISTORY:
This unit, a detachment from the 8th Brigade of Tennessee Militia, was ordered
to Fort Armstrong in January 1814. A letter from Major Clark to Andrew Jackson
written from that post in late January, stated that Clark's battalion was made
up of approximately 300 men. Clark related that he left one of his captains'
companies of fifty men at Camp Ross (near present-day Chattanooga) to take care
of the public stores found there. Although little is known of this unit, the
battalion was more than likely used to facilitate the transfer of supplies from
east Tennessee to the armies fighting in the Creek campaigns.
COLONEL JOHN COCKE
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment was one of three West Tennessee militia units at New Orleans
under the command of Major General William Carroll. They were part of the
flotilla that went down to New Orleans via the Cumberland, Ohio, and
Mississippi Rivers. The Nashville Clarion of 21 February 1815 mentions that
Captain John Weakly, of Montgomery County, was at the breastworks of Jackson's
line at New Orleans during the battle of 8 January. Muster rolls of the
regiment show no battle casualties, but do reveal many deaths due to sickness
-- a common occurrence for troops stationed at New Orleans in the months of
February/March 1815.
Colonel Cocke was sheriff of Montgomery County at the time of war. He is not to be confused with Major General John Cocke of East Tennessee who commanded the 1st Division and was counterpart to Andrew Jackson -- Jackson commanding the 2nd Division.
COLONEL JOHN COFFEE
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment of cavalry joined Jackson's forces at Natchez in early 1813. The
strength of the regiment was approximately 600 men. While the bulk of Jackson's
troops traveled by boat to Natchez, Coffee's mounted men went overland after
rendezvousing near Franklin, Tennessee in mid-January 1813. The officers of
this regiment were considered to be the elite citizens of their counties.
Many of the men in this regiment later became part of the unit led by Colonels Alcorn and Dyer during Jackson's first campaign into the Creek territory in the fall of 1813. John Coffee was a wealthy landowner in Rutherford County and a one-time business partner of Andrew Jackson. Coffee was married to Rachel Jackson's niece, Mary Donelson (they named two of their children Andrew and Rachel).
COLONEL STEPHEN COPELAND
BRIEF HISTORY:
There were approximately 660 men in this regiment. They were part of a brigade
led by General Thomas Johnson (the other regiment of Johnson's brigade was led
by Colonel R. C. Napier). Jackson's report of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (27
March 1814) mentions that Copeland's regiment was held in reserve during this
engagement. But a part of the regiment saw action, as muster rolls show
casualties from this battle in the companies of Captains Moses Thompson and
Allen Wilkinson. Their line of march took them from Fayetteville (where they
were mustered into service), through Fort Deposit, Fort Strother, and finally
to Fort Williams.
COLONEL ROBERT DYER
BRIEF HISTORY:
One of two regiments which Dyer commanded at different times of the war, this
regiment was part of General John Coffee's cavalry brigade throughout most of
the Creek War. The unit participated in most of the battles of the war,
including Talladega (9 November 1813), where they formed the reserves, and
Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814). There were several companies of
"spies" in the regiment: companies of cavalry that were sent on
reconnaissance patrols and usually took the lead in the line of march for
Jackson's army.
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of Coffee's brigade at New Orleans, most of this regiment took part in the
night battle of 23 December 1814. Most of the company muster rolls show
casualties from this engagement. Portions of this regiment also participated in
the capture of Pensacola from the Spanish in West Florida (7 November 1814).
The initial rendezvous point for this unit was Fayetteville, Tennessee. From
there they passed through Fort Hampton, to Baton Rouge, and finally to New
Orleans.
COLONEL WILLIAM HALL
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of Andrew Jackson's expedition to Natchez, this regiment had a complement
of about 620 men (the average company having between fifty and seventy
soldiers). Each company was assigned a fife and drummer. There were two rifle
companies (Captains Bledsoe and Kennedy) which had buglers instead of the fife
and drummer. After the abortive mission at Natchez, this unit was dismissed at
Columbia, Tennessee (April 1814) but many of men later re-enlisted under
Colonel Edward Bradley and joined Jackson in the first campaign of the Creek
War.
COLONEL WILLIAM HIGGINS
BRIEF HISTORY:
Along with Colonel Perkins' regiment, this unit comprised the sixty-day
volunteers enlisted by William Carroll to fill the rapidly dwindling ranks of
Jackson's army decimated by the desertions of December 1813. Determined to make
the most of this new army, Jackson marched these 850 green troops into Creek
territory where they encountered the Red Sticks at Emuckfau and Enotochopco (22
and 24 January 1814). The Tennesseans at these battles suffered heavy
casualties. The line of march went through Huntsville to Fort Strother and then
to the battlefields.
COLONEL WILLIAM JOHNSON
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of General Nathaniel Taylor's brigade, this unit of drafted militia (about
900 men) was mustered in at Knoxville and marched to the vicinity of Mobile via
Camp Ross (present-day Chattanooga), Fort Jackson, Fort Claiborne, and Fort
Montgomery. Along the way the men were used as road builders and wagon guards.
Many of them were stationed at Camp Mandeville (near Mobile) in February 1814,
where there was much disease. For example, the company of Captain Joseph Scott
had thirty-one listed sick out of an aggregate of 104 at the final muster.
COLONEL WILLIAM LILLARD
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment of about 700 men was assigned to fill the ranks at Fort Strother
for Andrew Jackson after the December 1813 "mutiny" of his army.
While at Fort Strother, they comprised half of Jackson's forces until
mid-January 1814 when their enlistments were up. This regiment was used to keep
the lines of communication open and to guard supply lines.
Their route was from Kingston, Tennessee to Fort Armstrong (early December 1813) to Fort Strother. Cherokees friendly to the United States fought with various units of the Tennessee militia and Lieutenant Colonel William Snodgrass commanded a detachment of Cherokees at Fort Armstrong from mid-January to early February 1814.
COLONEL ALEXANDER LOURY & LT. COL. LEROY HAMMONS
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of General Nathaniel Taylor's brigade, this regiment was scattered
throughout the Creek territory and the vicinity of Mobile to man the various
forts in the region: Forts Jackson, Montgomery, Claiborne, and Pierce. Some of
the companies participated in the taking of Pensacola (7 November 1814) from
Spanish authorities that were accused by Jackson of supporting British troops
there.
Loury resigned on 20 November 1814 and Lieutenant Colonel Leroy Hammonds took over as commander. The regiment was plagued by disease during its tenure in the Mississippi Territory. For example, a morning report of Captain Asahel Rains on 6 January 1815 shows twenty-seven on the sick list and twenty-seven additional men required to take care of the sick (totaling half the company).
COLONEL THOMAS McCRORY
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of General Isaac Roberts' Second Brigade, these three-month enlistees were
mustered in at Franklin, Tennessee and mustered out at Fort Strother. The
regiment participated in the Battle of Talladega (9 November 1813). Jackson
tried to get them to serve longer than the three-month term, but only Captain
Abel Willis (Overton County) and nineteen men stayed.
The number of men in each company was relatively small, averaging about fifty (one company, led by Captain James Shannon of Williamson County had a complement of twenty-nine men). Famed Presbyterian minister Gideon Blackburn served as regimental chaplain.
COLONEL WILLIAM METCALF
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of the division under Major General William Carroll's at New Orleans, this
regiment comprised the right section of Carroll's line at the breastworks at
Chalmette. Muster rolls show casualties in the engagements of December 1814 and
January 1815. Lieutenant Colonel James Henderson was killed in the skirmish of
28 December 1814. Captain Daniel Bradford led the elite corps known as
"Carroll's Life Guard." The division reached New Orleans in
mid-December 1814 after an excursion down the Mississippi River.
COLONEL RICHARD C. NAPIER
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of General Thomas Johnson's brigade, this regiment mustered in at
Fayetteville and marched to Huntsville, then Ft. Deposit, Fort Strother, and
Fort Williams. While some detachments participated in the Battle of Horseshoe
Bend (27 March 1814), others stayed at Fort Williams on guard duty (Capt.
Preston, for example). Jackson's report of the battle mentions that the troops
under Captain James McMurray were on the left line at Horseshoe Bend.
Many of the men then marched to the Hickory Ground (near present-day Montgomery, Alabama) where Jackson anticipated another battle with the Creeks, but the defeat at Horseshoe Bend had been decisive and the Tennesseans faced no further massed resistance. The regiment numbered about 500 men.
COLONEL NICHOLAS PERKINS
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment, along with the regiment under Colonel Higgins, comprised the
sixty-day volunteers enlisted by William Carroll to fill the depleted ranks of
Jackson's rapidly dwindling army after the first campaign of the Creek War.
Although the enlistment terms were short, this regiment saw some of the
fiercest action of the Creek War at Emuckfau and Enotochopco (22 and 24 January
1814) where Jackson's army was nearly routed by attacking Creeks.
Captain John Quarles' company was in the center column of the rear guard at Enotochopco and suffered heavy casualties; Quarles himself died at this battle. Colonel Perkins and Lieutenant Colonel Stump were accused of cowardice, disobedience of orders, and abandonment of their posts as a result of the actions at Enotochopco. Perkins was acquitted at his court martial but Stump was found guilty and cashiered out of the army.
COLONEL WILLIAM PILLOW
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment, composed of about 400 men, participated in Jackson's first
campaign into Creek territory along with the regiment under Colonel Bradley.
Both these regiments fought at the Battle of Talladega (9 November 1813) where
Colonel Pillow was wounded. An anecdote concerning Pillow at Talladega claimed
that Jackson ordered the colonel to fall back once the Creeks attacked, but
Pillow refused on the grounds that he would not let his wounded men be
"scalped by the demons." Lieutenant Colonel William Martin, who took
over the regiment after Pillow was wounded at Talladega, was later at the
center of a dispute with Andrew Jackson over the enlistment terms of the
regiment.
The line of march would have taken these men from Fayetteville to Huntsville and on to Fort Strother, where the regiment was stationed after the Battle of Talladega.
COLONEL PHILIP PIPKIN
BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment of about 960 men was ordered to man the various forts of the
Mississippi Territory: Forts Jackson, Williams, Strother, Claiborne, and
Pierce. Many of the men were stationed in the vicinity of Mobile, where disease
put large numbers of them on sick lists. The unrest caused by such conditions
led to a high desertion rate throughout the regiment.
The desertions, along with enlistment disputes, led to court martials in December 1814 at Mobile, resulting in the execution of six soldiers on 21 February 1815 -- on the next day, news of the peace treaty arrived. The court martial was reviewed by the House Committee on Military Affairs in Washington (1828), probably to embarrass Andrew Jackson, who was then running for the office of president.
COLONEL JAMES RAULSTON
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of Major General William Carroll's division at the battles for New
Orleans, this regiment suffered casualties during the skirmish of 28th December
1814 and had two of the handful of fatalities on the famous 8 January 1815
battle. General Carroll's report of the battle tells that Captains Elijah
Haynie and Matthew Neal "had the honor of receiving and repelling the
attacks of the British forces."
One of the soldiers in this regiment, Levi Lee of Captain Henry West's company, kept a diary during the war. A resident of Jackson County, Lee also served in the regiments of Colonels Steele and Cheatham.
MAJOR WILLIAM RUSSELL
BRIEF HISTORY:
Along with a battalion commanded by Major Chiles, this unit served in the
Pensacola/Mobile region and was a part of Major Uriah Blue's expedition that
roamed along the Escambia River in Florida in search of renegade Creeks toward
the end of the war. Approximately 500 men served in this battalion, one of whom
was David Crockett, a sergeant in Capt. John Conway's company.
From Fayetteville, where the battalion was mustered in, they traveled to Fort Stephens (crossing the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals); leaving their horses behind, the battalion marched to Pensacola (via Fort Montgomery) where they participated in the battle of 7 November 1814; and returned to Fort Montgomery. At Fort Montgomery they were put under the command of Major Uriah Blue.
COLONEL ROBERT STEELE
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of the brigade led by General Thomas Johnson, this regiment was composed
of about 450 men. Colonel Steele and his men were left at Fort Strother while
Jackson marched the rest of his army to Horseshoe Bend where the climactic
battle of the Creek War was fought (27 March 1814). Steele's regiment served as
wagon guards for supplies from Fort Deposit and built boats to transport
supplies down the Coosa River to Fort Williams. From Camp Blount at
Fayetteville, the regiment took the much-traveled route through Huntsville,
Fort Deposit, and Fort Strother.
COLONEL SAMUEL WEAR
BRIEF HISTORY:
Muster rolls show this regiment at Fort Strother in early November 1813 and at
Fort Armstrong in late November of the same year. The regiment, in the brigade
commanded by General James White, helped attack a tribe of Creek Indians known
as the Hillabees on 18 November 1813 where sixty-eight Creeks were killed and
about 250 taken prisoner. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Hillabees had sued
Jackson for peace the day before the attack. Actually, a detachment of
Cherokees friendly to the United States did most of the fighting -- there were
no American casualties.
COLONEL JOHN WILLIAMS
BRIEF HISTORY:
While the volunteers under Andrew Jackson were gathering at Nashville for their
expedition to the Natchez region, a similar gathering was taking place in
Knoxville. Their destination was the territory of East Florida, under the
domain of Spain, and the leader of the expedition was John Williams of Knox
County.
Williams, along with approximately 250 volunteers, marched to East Florida to join with the combined forces of U.S. troops and Georgia "patriots" to "liberate" this region from Spanish control. Ostensibly, the expedition was raised to eliminate the threat of marauding Creeks and Seminoles on the borders of Georgia.
Like Jackson's Natchez Expedition, the men of the Florida Expedition were considered to be from the finest families of the region and, like the Natchez Expedition, the excursion into Florida accomplished little. Some Creek villages were destroyed and the Tennessee volunteers suffered only one casualty. John Williams later became colonel of the 39th U.S. Infantry, a unit instrumental in Jackson's victory at Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814).
COLONEL THOMAS WILLIAMSON
BRIEF HISTORY:
Along with Colonel Robert Dyer's unit, this regiment was part of General John
Coffee's brigade that fought at Pensacola and New Orleans. Marching from
Fayetteville to Camp Gaines (30 miles from Fort Montgomery), they helped
Jackson take the port of Pensacola from the Spanish on 7 November 1814.
Williamson's men then participated in all of the engagements at New Orleans,
where they were part of the left line of Jackson's breastworks. In March 1815
they returned to Tennessee via the Natchez Trace.
MAJOR WILLIAM WOODFOLK
BRIEF HISTORY:
This battalion was based at Fort Jackson most of the time from late November
1814 to early 1815. Some of the men were stationed at Fort Decatur, where the
remnants of the defeated Creek Nation came to surrender, seeking food and
supplies (surrendering Creeks also went to Fort Jackson). One company, under
Captain Abner Pearce, was stationed at Fort Montgomery. Woodfolk was a wealthy
land speculator who owned a large plantation in Jackson County. He served in
the state legislature and was also a justice of the peace in Jackson County.
COLONEL JOHN K. WYNN
BRIEF HISTORY:
Along with Colonel McCrory's regiment, this unit was part of the brigade
commanded by General Isaac Roberts. Wynn's regiment totaled approximately 417
men. They participated in Jackson's first campaign into Creek territory where
they fought at the Battle of Talladega (9 November 1813). At this battle the
regiment sustained heavy casualties, especially in Captain John Porter's
company, where the captain himself was among the wounded.
Colonel Wynn was a planter and politician from Wilson County who was serving as state senator at the time of the outbreak of the Creek War. His regiment was mustered in at Fayetteville in early October 1813 and mustered out in early January 1814.
MISCELLANEOUS UNITS
Although the bulk of Tennessee volunteers and militia units served in the
regiments and battalions mentioned above, there were hundreds who enlisted in
miscellaneous units of artillery and "spies" (companies that did the
reconnaissance work and usually rode ahead of the main army). Some of the more
prominent units include Lieutenant Jesse Bean's company of Mounted Spies (who
fought at Horseshoe Bend and New Orleans); Captain David Deadrick's artillery
company (who were noted by Jackson for their bravery at Enotochopco); and
Captain William Russell's company of Spies who fought at practically every
battle of the Creek War. For a complete listing of the various miscellaneous
units, including several companies that patrolled the "frontier" of
Stewart and Hickman Counties, consult the index to the muster rolls at the
Tennessee State Library and Archives.
In addition to the state militia and volunteer units, many Tennesseans joined the U.S. Regular Army. In particular, the U.S. 39th Infantry was composed mostly of East Tennesseans. This regiment was key to Jackson's victory at Horseshoe Bend and elements of the regiment also participated in the attack on Pensacola in September 1814. The 24th U.S. Infantry recruited heavily in Tennessee (especially in Nashville) and this regiment participated in the campaigns of the Northwest. Also, the Kentucky-based 7th U.S. Infantry had enlistees from Tennessee.