Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1832) - Battle

Battle

According to personal accounts of the battle, after dismounting Dodge offered his men a chance to back out of the operation. No one opted out, and 21 men advanced with Dodge in an extended firing line, unsure of the enemy's location. The remaining eight soldiers were posted as guards on high grounds and near the horses. Unlike the disorganized and undisciplined troops at Stillman's Run, the volunteers at Horseshoe Bend adhered to military discipline; they waited for Dodge to give the order before they entered the thicket and swampland in search of their enemy, and once searching they awaited their commander's order to attack.

After the militia advanced about 200 yards (200 m), the Kickapoo suddenly let loose a loud yell from their hidden position on the bank of an oxbow lake along the river. The warriors fired a volley toward the advancing militia and three men, Samuel Black, Samuel Wells and Montaville Morris, were hit and went down. Dodge did not hesitate and ordered his men to charge, they obeyed and waited until they were within six feet of the Kickapoo before discharging their weapons. The fight, after the initial charge and volley, descended into a hand-to-hand struggle with tomahawks, bayonets, muskets and spears the weapons of choice. The fighting only lasted a few minutes: nine Kickapoo were killed on the spot and the other two were felled while fleeing across the lake. During the hand-to-hand combat a fourth member of the militia, Thomas Jenkins, was wounded. Though short, the Battle of Horseshoe Bend had a lasting impact and influence on the rest of the war.