total: 37 1/4 in x 5 in x 3 1/4 in; 94.615 cm x 12.7 cm x 8.255 cm
scabbard: 32 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in x 1 1/4 in; 82.55 cm x 8.89 cm x 3.175 cm
blade: 32 1/2 in x 1 1/4 in; 82.55 cm x 3.175 cm
hilt: 5 in x 3 1/4 in; x 12.7 cm x 8.255 cm
Object Name:
sword
Other Terms:
sword; Edged Weapons
Associated place:
France
Used:
United States: Alabama
Used date:
1812
Description:
Physical Description
Forged steel with metal scabbard.
Specific History
Andrew Jackson carried this sword and scabbard while commanding the American forces, which included Tennessee militia, U.S. regulars, and Cherokee, Choctaw, and Southern Creek Indians during the Creek War and in the War of 1812.
General History
The Creek War began on August 30, 1813, when a faction of Creek known as the Red Sticks attacked a contingent of 553 American settlers at Lake Tensaw, Alabama, north of Mobile. The British were believed to be a main ally of the Indians.
In response to the Alabama attack, Jackson led 5,000 militiamen in the destruction of two Creek villages, Tallasahatchee and Talladega. The fighting lasted into the next year, culminating in Jackson’s troops destroying the Creek defenses at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. On March 27, 1814 the battle ended with 800 Creek warriors killed and 500 women and children captured.
On August 9, 1814, Major General Andrew Jackson signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson, ending the Creek War. The agreement provided for the surrender of twenty-three million acres of Creek land to the United States. This vast territory encompassed more than half of present-day Alabama and part of southern Georgia.
