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Once in these prison camps, the Creeks were faced with a brutal attack from a band of white outlaws. These outlaws attacked several of the camps with one attack involving the shooting a young woman resisting sexual assault and another the death of an elderly blind man. During these attacks, some Creeks were able to escape the camps and successfully make it to the Pea River, making camp a mile north of Hobdy’s Bridge. These Creeks hoped to make it to Florida, but they needed supplies and food, leading them to attack farms and homes on the outskirts of the river. It was not long before US military forces arrived under the direction of Gen. William Wellborn. The Creek stand at Hobdy’s Bridge and the Pea River proved to be one the last major battles between the Creeks and Alabama settlers in March of 1837.
Wellborn’s troops were formed from local volunteers and militia from Eufaula, Alabama. These men gathered for the sole purpose of finding, capturing, and killing any remaining Creek refugees they could find. Wellborn divided his forces into two groups. One group traveled east of Pea River or Barbour County under Captain Harrell. The other, under Wellborn’s command, went toward the west of Pea River or Pike County. As soon as the soldiers entered the river’s edge, gunfire erupted. Wellborn knew his men were facing resistance on the east bank. He promptly dispatched his men on an immediate full run through the mud and water toward the Creek refugees.
The battle was both brutal and fierce, as Creek warriors valiantly defended against the encroaching soldiers. Many Creek women and children took up bows and knives to protect against their attackers. According to the Alabama Journal Indian women were “melting pewter plates for bullets” and though soldiers were told to not harm any of the women or children most did not observe it. Understanding that guns alone would not bring them victory, General Wellborn continued to order a direct charge and attack. The Creeks were eventually forced to scatter with numerous families able to swim safely away.
According to Wellborn’s men, two American soldiers were killed and seven were wounded. Meanwhile twenty-three Creek bodies were found dead. Though General Wellborn defeated the Creeks, he failed to return them to the camps, allowing many to escape down to the Pea River to its junction with the Choctawhatchee River. The escaped Creeks would continue to fight across Florida with many eventually joining in the Second Seminole War. Other Creeks, who were forced to leave Alabama, made their way to Oklahoma. Yet a remnant of Creeks did remain in Alabama, where their descendants live today.
Additional resources
- Digital Alabama Staff. DigitalAlabama.com. Donovan by ThemeZee, June 20, 2020, https://digitalalabama.com/forts-of-alabama/battle-of-hobdys-bridge/6705/. :accessed April 9, 2024.
- Cox, Dale. Bhamahistory.blogspot.com. Cox, Dale, November 29,2011, https://bamahistory.blogspot.com/2011/11/battle-of-hobdys-bridge-alabama.html.:accessed April 9,2024
- Cox, Dale. Explore Southern History.com. July 29, 2017, https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/hobdys1.html. accessed April 9, 2024.
- "Battle of Pea River." Newspapers.com, Alabama Journal, August 19, 1954, https://www.newspapers.com/article/alabama-journal-battle-of-pea-river/26166606/ :accessed April 14, 2024.
- Hilton, Mark. The Battle Of Hobdy’s Bridge and Pea River Marker. December 16,2017. April 4,2024. The Historical Marker Database. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=111627
- Boutwell, Josh. The Pea River at Hobdy’s Bridge in Pike County. Tuesday, April 26, 2022. April 9, 2024. https://www.troymessenger.com/2022/04/26/the-pioneer-museum-of-alabama-gets-set-to-bring-history-to-life-in-may/. The Troy Messenger.
- Inman, Henry. Nea-Mathla (Seminole). 2017. Accessed April 20, 2024. High Museum of Art. https://high.org/sites/inman/index.html#close.
- Kane, Robert. Second Creek War. Encyclopedia of Alabama. October 5, 2016. accessed: April 20, 2024. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/second-creek-war/
- Maloney, Christoper. Treaty of Cusseta. Encyclopedia of Alabama. June 2, 2011. accessed: April 20, 2024. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/treaty-of-cusseta-1832/.
- Bridges, Edwin. Alabama: The Making of An American State, The University of Alabama Press. 2016, accessed: April 20, 2024.