Tuesday, May. 26, 2009

Take a trip to Fort Mitchell

If you haven’t visited the west side of the Chattahoochee River to see the Fort Mitchell National Historic Landmark, you really need to go.

I recently visited and am glad I finally went.

I grew up in Columbus and had a vague notion of a fort having been at the site, but that was all I knew. One of my daughters gave me a book about the forced removal of American Indians from the South during the 19th century.

That raised my attention level, so I finally made the trip. And I’m very glad I did.

Many of the details recounted here are provided as information from the historic site brochure and displays.

The first Fort Mitchell was built in 1813 near the Federal Road that ran through the Creek Nation lands.

This road was a crucial part of the transportation network in the South at the time. All kinds of traffic ran along this route and needed protection from hostile Indian attack.

The British were selling firearms to Indians, which increased the likelihood of conflict between the American settlers moving west and the original occupants of the area. Gen. John Floyd, with a mixed force of more than 1,000 Georgia militia troops and friendly Indians, occupied the fort before moving farther west to support Gen. Andrew Jackson’s battle at Horseshoe Bend.

After Alabama became a state in 1819, more settlers flocked to the region.

This increase in population resulted in conflict between the settlers and the Creek Indians. An Indian Agency established at the fort failed to bring peace.

Col. John Crowell was an Indian agent who figures prominently in the history of the fort. These conflicts led to an 1832 treaty with the Indians.

However, this treaty did not end the conflict over land. In 1836, the U.S. government assembled roughly 8,000 Creek Indians at Fort Mitchell and forced them to move west to land in Oklahoma.

This “Trail of Tears” marked a low point in the treatment of the originally peaceful Indians who occupied much of the land in this region. A monument to this tragedy, the Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center, is located near the Fort Mitchell Visitors Center.

The fort also was used as an assembly point for Alabama soldiers in the early stages of the Civil War.

The Fort Mitchell park includes a log cabin that is restored with period furniture. A house has an impressive display of 19th-century carriages.

A tavern recently has been completed and is undergoing more work inside on the displays.

The centerpiece is the reconstructed fort, complete with block houses, wagons and a variety of tools used in the 1800s.

A film at the Visitors Center provides the history of the area. The museum section of the Visitors Center provides a fascinating explanation of the interactions with the Creek Indians and a history of the region.

The Fort Mitchell National Historic Landmark and the Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center are well worth the trip down Highway 165, just outside Phenix City. This park provides a glimpse into our local military and cultural history that is not available elsewhere.

John M. House is a retired Army colonel who lives in Midland, Ga. His e-mail is housearmylife@aol.com.