The Tensaw River is a 41 mile long dis-tributary of the Mobile River that enters Mobile Bay near Blakely and Pinto Island in Baldwin County, Alabama.

About seven generations in the past, my forefathers called this area home. Some were white European frontiersmen that intermarried with Creek Indian women or descendants of such a union. Some of the children of these unions chose to live as Creeks and some chose to live as Whites. This was not uncommon for the time and place.

In the late 1700's, the Creek Nation or Confederation was huge, it controlled most of present day southern Alabama, southwest Georgia and northern Florida. In the late 1700's, these lands were also contested by the French, English, Spanish and the new United States. Each group courted the allegiance of the Creeks for economic as well as political reasons. The Creek people themselves were politically divided into two factions. The northern towns group, called Red Sticks, were against all things associated with the white settlers. The southern towns group were enamored with the European culture and wanted to adopt their lifestyle and technology.

Egged on by the foreign intruders, the Creeks warred among themselves. During the Creek civil war there were many instances of savagery on both sides.

One of the most significant events of the Creek civil war took place at Ft. Mims on 30 August 1813. Located 35 miles from present day Mobile, Alabama, Ft. Mims was an incomplete log stockade built around the home of Samuel Mims, an early day settler.

When a white territorial militia attacked a Red Stick supply train, on its return from Spanish Pensacola, Florida, near Burnt Corn Creek, Alabama, the Red Sticks retaliated by attacking Ft. Mims in what became known as the Ft. Mims Massacre. Led by a Nativistic prophet named Josiah Francis and Creek warrior William Weatherford, the Red Sticks had an attacking force of over a thousand warriors.

Many southern towns Creeks, white settlers and their offspring were gathered at the fort for their noon meal when the attack commenced. The main gates at the fort were open at the time because of a general complacency among the settlers and their strong belief in co-existence.

As the Creek warriors attacked from the woods, Major Beasley, a civilian appointed commander of the fort, was killed while attempting to close the main gates. Both sides acquitted themselves well as fighters and the battle raged long into the afternoon. Although the exact numbers are unknown today, hundreds were killed on both sides.

The following year, Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Nation at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend at Davidston, Alabama. This was the beginning of the infamous Trail of Tears in which many thousands of Native Americans perished.

My direct forefathers avoided the death march to the Oklahoma Territory by escaping to the swamps of northern Florida where they lived for many generations.

Although I never lived in the area of the Tensaw, I have always been mystically drawn to this area even before I was old enough to learn of my heritage. I have fished, hunted and camped there in my teenage years and never knew of the familial connection. Strange!!

Now that I'm an old man, I find myself wanting ( maybe needing) to again make a trip there. Weird, huh!!

I hope you make that trip and as usual, beautifully penned.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

It's good to know where one comes from! Beautiful, wild area. Lot of history nearby. I grew up learning Alabama history and have visited both Ft. Mims and Horseshoe Bend. Several reenactments took place for the War of 1812 and 200th anniversary. One "old man" built Te-Lah-Nay's wall to mark his ancestor's 5-year walk from Oklahoma back to Alabama after trail of tears. Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall - Florence, Alabama | NatchezTraceTravel.com

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PTLAPTA!

Not weird at all, Master Chief. Like many of your Indian forebears, I believe that some places have spiritual power to speak to me. I'm drawn to some, repelled by others, and very rarely actually unnerved by the messages a place sends me.

The sensitivity that allows you to feel that is reflected in your writing, which I enjoy a lot.

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Oh well, what the hell.