This massacre sent a thrill of horror and wrath throughout the country. Tennessee set aside three hundred thousand dollars, and placed five thousand men under command of General Andrew Jackson, with orders to punish the Creeks. It is worth noting that "Old Hickory" at that time was not fully recovered from a wound received in a duel, and among the volunteers under him were the eccentric Davy Crockett, killed more than twenty years later at the Alamo, and "Sam" Houston, who won the independence of Texas at San Jacinto, shortly after the death of Crockett, and his comrades at the fort in San Antonio. On the march, Jackson's men rebelled because they were reduced to the point of starvation, and saw no hope of getting a mouthful of food if they remained. The stern old hero of New Orleans crushed the mutiny, and lived upon acorns, and sometimes was unable to obtain even these. It was not the only time that that remarkable man, single-handed, conquered a thousand men by the strength of his will. It is not our province to give a history of the Creek War, marked as it was by many shocking occurrences on both sides. White men, in the intense anger caused by the outrages of the Indians, often equalled them in cruelty. There were numerous skirmishes, battles and defeats of the hostiles, whose spirits, however, remained unbroken, until the delivery of the crushing blow at the Great Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River, in the State of Alabama. The Creeks had been beaten so many times that they determined to make their final stand at this point, and to stake everything on a single battle. Their camp was fortified with a skill that recalled the fort of the Narragansetts during King Philip's war, it being so built that the only way to carry it was by storm. Behind these rough intrenchments crouched a thousand warriors, ready to fight to the death. General Jackson had been eager from the first to get the hostiles together like this, so that when he struck his blow, it should be effective. So long as only a few were slain here and there, no real effect upon the campaign itself followed. He was as resolute to reach the hostiles as they were to have him come within reach of them. Early on the forenoon of March 27, 1814, General Coffee, with a force of regulars, and a number of friendly Indians, crossed the river two miles below the encampment and stationed his men so as to cut off the retreat of the enemy. A number of spies paddled in canoes to the end of the bend, and fired several buildings. Pressing on, they attacked the breastworks, but did not make much of an impression. [Illustration: WEATHERFORD AND GENERAL JACKSON]