269. The Creek War.--The Creek Indians lived in Alabama. They saw with dismay the spreading settlements of the whites. The Americans were now at war. It would be a good chance to destroy them. So the Creeks fell upon the whites and murdered about four hundred. General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee commanded the American army in the Southwest. As soon as he knew that the Creeks were attacking the settlers, he gathered soldiers and followed the Indians to their stronghold. He stormed their fort and killed most of the garrison. [Illustration: BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. From a sketch by one of Jackson's staff.] [Sidenote: Battle of New Orleans, 1815.] [Sidenote: _Hero Tales_, 139-147.] 270. Jackson's Defense of New Orleans, 1814-15.--Jackson had scarcely finished this work when he learned of the coming of a great British expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi River. He at once hastened to the defense of New Orleans. Below the city the country greatly favored the defender. For there was very little solid ground except along the river's bank. Picking out an especially narrow place, Jackson built a breastwork of cotton bales and rubbish. In front of the breastwork he dug a deep ditch. The British rushed to the attack. Most of their generals were killed or wounded, and the slaughter was terrible. Later, they made another attack and were again beaten off. [Sidenote: Naval combats, 1814.] 271. The War on the Sea, 1814.--It was only in the first year or so of the war that there was much fighting between American and British warships. After that the American ships could not get to sea, for the British stationed whole fleets off the entrances to the principal harbors. But a few American vessels ran the blockade and did good service. For instance, Captain Charles Stewart in the _Constitution_ captured two British ships at one time. But most of the warships that got to sea were captured sooner or later. [Sidenote: The privateers. _Hero Tales_, 129-136.] 272. The Privateers.--No British fleets could keep the privateers from leaving port. They swarmed upon the ocean and captured hundreds of British merchantmen, some of them within sight of the shores of Great Britain. In all, they captured more than twenty-five hundred British ships. They even fought the smaller warships of the enemy. [Sidenote: Treaty of peace, 1814.]