Battle of Burnt Corn

The Battle of Burnt Corn, also known as the Battle of Burnt Corn Creek, was fought on July 27, 1813, in what is now Escambia County, Alabama, United States. The battle was the first conflict of the Creek War to be fought between American forces and a faction of the Muscogee known as the Red Sticks. The Creek War began as an intratribal conflict between two factions of Muscogee (also known as Creek or Mvskoke), one that supported a centralized tribal government and cooperation with the United States government and the other (known as Red Sticks) that opposed the encroachment of American settlers and championed a return to the traditional Muscogee lifestyle. A group of Red Sticks traveled to Pensacola to obtain weapons and supplies from the Spanish to further their fight.

On their return, the Red Sticks were ambushed by a mixed force composed of Mississippi Territory Volunteers, local militia, and mixed-blood Muscogee (who were of European and Muscogee ancestry). The mixed force temporarily held the element of surprise but the Red Sticks regrouped and eventually drove them from the field. Ten to twelve Red Sticks were killed, and they lost most of the ammunition and supplies they had obtained in Pensacola. Even so, the battle was a victory for the Red Sticks when the combined American force retreated.

The battle held little overall strategic importance, but escalated the Creek War from an intratribal conflict into a broader conflict that involved multiple countries and became a regional part of the War of 1812. Multiple participants in the Battle of Burnt Corn were subsequently involved in the Fort Mims massacre, which was a retaliatory attack carried out by the Red Sticks on American settlers. Additional fighting ensued over the next year, culminating in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the signing of the Treaty of Fort Jackson, and the eventual removal of most of the Muscogee from Alabama and Georgia.