On 10 January, 1862 Union forces, under Colonel James Garfield, sought to drive out the Confederates, under General Humphrey Marshall, who were recruiting in the vicinity of Paintsville, Kentucky. Garfield was an new Colonel of Ohio volunteers who was to make his name at the Battle of Middle Creek. This fame would eventually propel him to the White House. Marshall, on the other hand, came into the battle with an outstanding reputation from the Mexican War where he led the First Kentucky Cavalry. He was to leave Middle Creek with a big question mark over his head. As Garfield approached from the north, Marshall fell back to Prestonburg along the Middle Creek to take up defensive positions, even though his rebels were not well provisioned. The Confederate cavalry that was to provide a rear screen were surprised by the Federal cavalry as they were breaking camp.

On Tuesday this week, I received the Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812, by Mike Bunn and Clay Williams in the mail. It is published by The History Press.

I absolutely devoured this book. This is my kind of popular history. Bunn and Williams have written a book of a great history, but also backed it up with lots of detail on the historical ground where the war was fought. Their bibliographic essay is a dream for those of us who like to dig a little deeper. They even include some of the source documents and illustrations in the book itself. Finally, they include lots of maps, location descriptions and images of historical markers that help us saddled adventurers find the pertinent locations on our travels.

I'm happy to welcome Mike Bunn and Clay Williams to Battlefield Biker to talk about their new book titled, The Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812. It is published by The History Press. You can see my review of the book here.

Battlefield Biker (BB) - Why did you write this book?

Campaign, Theatre or War?

The war involving the United States of America (USA) and the Creek Indians of 1813-1814 has its fingers in many historical pies. Does one consider the fighting a mere theatre or campaign of the War of 1812 or a separate war on its own? Were the Creeks part of an American Indian confederation or acting out a long festering civil war? If part of a confederation, were they allied with the British like their northern confederates? If so, should the British have forced the Americans to honour the Treaty of Ghent’s provisions on restoring land after the cessation of the War of 1812 as they did in the north? These are all legitimate questions, but the subtleties of the causes and effects of the War of 1812 make them almost indiscernible definitively.

Background

Prior to the War of 1812, the British and the Spaniards had been forging alliances with Indians on the American frontier to try to slow American expansionism, and therefore power. One significant Indian Chief, the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, used this time and support to try to build an Indian Confederacy along the western edge of the American frontier. Tecumseh's Shawnees were based predominantly in current day Indiana, Illinois and western Kentucky, but were historically linked to the Creek people of current day Alabama and Georgia. Tecumseh travelled to Alabama to rally the Creeks to war against the whites in the region.

Below is Tecumseh's speech to the Creeks at Tuckabathcee in October 1811 as told by Sam Dale to JFK Claiborne;

11 December 1941 Germany and Italy Declare War on USA

Three days after Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the USA was at war with Japan, Germany and Italy declared war on the USA.

"Benito Mussolini, made his declaration first - from the balcony
over the Piazza Venezia in Rome - pledging the 'powers of the pact of steel' were determined to win."