Fort Madison

Fort Madison was a stockade fort built in August 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama (then Mississippi Territory), during the Creek War, which was part of the larger War of 1812. The fort was built by the United States military in response to attacks by Creek warriors on encroaching American settlers. The fort shared many similarities to surrounding stockade forts in its construction but possessed a number of differences in its defenses. The fort housed members of the United States Army and settlers from the surrounding area, and it was used as a staging area for raids on Creek forces and supply point on further military expeditions. Fort Madison was subsequently abandoned at the conclusion of the Creek War and only a historical marker exists at the site today. History Background The Creek War of 1813 was initially a civil war between two factions of the Creek nation. One group, known as the White Sticks, supported a Creek national government and the opposing group, known as the Red Sticks, opposed a centralized Creek government. The United States government was involved in the War of 1812 against Britain, but joined the Creek War in support of the White Sticks. The United States hoped to prevent the Red Sticks from becoming a British ally and to break the remaining Creek power in the southern United States. In retaliation, the Red Sticks began attacking American settlers and their homesteads. The settlers built protective stockades due to these attacks, since they were unsure if the United States military would offer them any assistance due to fact they were squatters on public lands. Many of these forts were named for the settlers who owned the land the stockade was built on. In addition to these protective stockades, the United States military also constructed forts as staging areas for planned military action against the Creeks.