Fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson are two forts that shared the same site at the fork of the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 ...

and the

Tallapoosa River The Tallapoosa River runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, United States, southward and wes ...

, near

Wetumpka, Alabama Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the f ...

Fort Toulouse

Fort Toulouse ( Muscogee: Franca choka chula), also called Fort des Alibamons and Fort Toulouse des Alibamons, is a historic fort near the city of Wetumpka,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, that is now maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. The French founded the fort in 1717, naming it for Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse. In order to counter the growing influence of the British colonies of Georgia and

Carolina Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...

, the government of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

erected a fort on the eastern border of the Louisiana Colony in what is now the state of Alabama. The fort was also referred to as the Post of the Alabama, named after the

tribe of

Upper Creek The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsIndians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, who resided just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka. The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it un ...

. The number of troops in

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

varied between 20 and 50 French Colonial Marines. Living and working at the fort, the Marines traded extensively with the local Creek Native Americans and cultivated friendly relations with them. The French would trade

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an goods such as

Flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

guns, ammunition, and gunpowder, iron tools, knives, glass beads, copper pots, and wool blankets in exchange for local food stuffs, fur and deerskins. According to tradition, the French commander Captain

Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand, aka Captain Francois Marchand de Courcelles, was an eighteenth century French officer that served in the French colonies in America, and died after a second tour or duty ending in 1734. Marchand fathered tw ...

married the high-status Creek woman

Sehoy Sehoy, or Sehoy I (died ca. 1730), was an 18th-century matriarch of the Muscogee Confederacy and a member of the Wind clan. She established a dynasty that became influential in the political and economic history of her nation and its relationshi ...

in about 1720. Later generations of Sehoy's descendants include the Creek chiefs Alexander McGillivray, and

William Weatherford William Weatherford, also known after his death as Red Eagle (ca. 1765 – March 24, 1824), was a Creek chief of the Upper Creek towns who led many of the Red Sticks actions in the Creek War (1813–1814) against Lower Creek towns and against ...

, who inherited their status in the

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...

tribe from their mothers'

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

s. Due to the poor living conditions at the fort, which was neglected by the French government, the troops mutinied in 1722. They killed Captain Marchand and captured the other officers, tying them up before leaving the fort. The imprisoned officers managed to escape, and with the help of nearby Creek, they captured the mutineers and sent them to

Fort Conde Fort Charlotte, Mobile (french: Fort Condé de la Mobille and es, Fuerte Carlota de Mobila) is a partially-reconstructed 18th-century fort in Mobile, Alabama. Background The ships of the original French settlers, sailing to Old Bilox ...

in Mobile for punishment. By the early 1740s, conditions had improved at the fort. Many soldiers had married French women from Mobile or intermarried with the local Creek. They and other settlers developed numerous farms nearby, which led to improved food supplies. The humid climate caused deterioration of the fort by the late 1740s, and the French planned for a third fort to be built. Under the direction of Captain Francois Saucier, soldiers finished the reconstruction of Fort Toulouse about 1751. It cost nearly half of the military budget for the whole Louisiana colony. In 1763 the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

ended the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. As the French had been defeated by the British and ceded their territory, the French garrison spiked their cannons and left for

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and an eventual return to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for some. The British chose not to occupy the Fort, which eventually collapsed into decay. In 1776 the naturalist

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American botanist, ornithologist, natural historian and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title ''Bartram's Travels'', which chronicled ...

noted visiting the area while studying local flora and fauna.

Fort Jackson

In the midst of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, an 1813 civil war in the Creek Nation led to an invasion by Americans from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Georgia, and

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

. In the ensuing

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

of 1813–1814, General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

commanded the combined American forces of Tennessee militia, U.S. regulars, and Cherokee and Creek Indian allies. Jackson defeated the Red Stick Creeks at the

Battle of Horseshoe Bend The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as ''Tohopeka'', ''Cholocco Litabixbee'', or ''The Horseshoe''), was fought during the War of 1812 in the Mississippi Territory, now central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian a ...

in 1814, and afterwards initiated construction of a fort atop the site of the old French fort at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. The fort was intentionally built near the sacred Creek site known as the

Hickory Ground Hickory Ground, also known as Otciapofa (or Odshiapofa, Ocheopofau, and Ocheubofau) is an historic Upper Muscogee Creek tribal town and an archaeological site in Elmore County, Alabama near Wetumpka. It is known as Oce Vpofa in the Muscogee lang ...

.A. J. Langguth, Union 1812, 2006, p. 287 Jackson then temporarily traveled to Washington and in his absence, the fort was named "Jackson" in his honor. After Jackson's return, he imposed the Treaty of Fort Jackson upon both the Northern Creek enemies and the Southern Creek allies, wresting from all Creeks for white settlement. The site was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1960.Cecil McKithan (June 29, 1989) , National Park Service and During the American Bicentennial in the mid-1970s an attempt was made to reconstruct Fort Toulouse, however the replica was incorrectly built upon the outline of the much larger Fort Jackson.

Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site

The site was declared a

by the Department of Interior in 1960.Cecil McKithan (June 29, 1989) , National Park Service and During the American Bicentennial, local groups supported reconstruction of Fort Toulouse. But the replica was incorrectly built upon the outline of the much larger Fort Jackson rather than the historic French fort. In the 1980s the park was acquired by the Alabama Historical Commission. It dismantled the incorrect replica and constructed a replica of Fort Toulouse near its original site. This will allow for a future reconstruction of Ft. Jackson on its site (occupied successively by the two forts).

Archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

excavations have been continuing at the site, supervised by Dr. Craig Sheldon of

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

at Montgomery. The Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site has

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

programs to portray and interpret the lives of the Creek inhabitants, the French colonists and the U.S. military troops associated with the War of 1812. The fort is located southwest of Wetumpka, off of

U.S. Highway 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US 41 ...

. The site also features the

Taskigi Mound The Taskigi Mound or Mound at Fort Toulouse – Fort Jackson Park ( 1EE1) is an archaeological site from the South Appalachian Mississippian ''Big Eddy phase''. It is located on a bluff at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers whe ...

or "Mound at Fort Toulouse – Fort Jackson Park" ( 1EE1) a prehistoric

South Appalachian Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earth ...

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

d village with a central plaza area, and a rectangular platform mound. The mound is one of the locations included on the University of Alabama Museums "Alabama Indigenous Mound Trail". The William Bartram Arboretum is an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

located at 2521 Fort Toulouse Road, near

, in the

. In the 1980s the park became a property of the Alabama Historical Commission and the incorrectly built fort was dismantled and recycled to partially construct a "correct" replica of Ft. Toulouse adjacent to the original site, allowing for a future reconstruction of Ft. Jackson on the actual site once occupied by both forts.

References

External links

Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site
- official site

Fort Toulouse/Fort Jackson - Alabama Historical Commission
Fort Toulouse websiteGoogle books.com (p. 190)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Fort Jackson Jackson Creek War Pre-statehood history of Alabama Jackson Jackson National Historic Landmarks in Alabama Buildings and structures in Elmore County, Alabama Parks in Alabama Protected areas of Elmore County, Alabama Fort Jackson National Register of Historic Places in Elmore County, Alabama

Fort Toulouse

Fort Jackson

Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site

References

Further reading

External links