Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Horseshoe Bend - TPR's In Focus - August 4, 2026

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Horseshoe Bend - TPR's In Focus - August 4, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Wiregrass Archives at Troy University's
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  Dothan campus, identifying and preserving historical
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  documents and photographs for research related to the Wiregrass
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  region. More information at troy.edu/wiregrassarchives.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus,
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson. Horseshoe Bend National
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  Military Park in Daviston, Alabama commemorates a battle
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  between the forces of Andrew Jackson against Upper Creek
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  Indians at a bend in the Tallapoosa River.
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  According to the National Park Foundation, some 1,600
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  soldiers and Indian warriors lay
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  dead after the horrific battle. Park Superintendent
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  Andrew Miller joins us to preview an August 22nd
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  Symposium in Auburn. And the Battle of Horseshoe
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  Bend led to the creation of the state of Alabama.
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  Andrew Miller, welcome to Troy Public Radio. Thanks for
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  having me, Carolyn. How has Horseshoe Bend recovered after
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  the tornado last year? We had an EF3
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  tornado hit Horseshoe Bend National Military Park last March
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  2025. It caused a significant amount
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  of resource degradation on both sides of the Tallapoosa River.
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  The tornado traveled along the river through the commemorative
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  area and up through the northeast section of the park. It causes a significant
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  impact on the park and its operations. And fortunately for
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  Horseshoe Bend, it has a very small but mighty staff that came
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  together Many of them are highly qualified individuals that
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  were able to utilize their skills clearing the park
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  and getting it back open to the public. So it
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  took some time, and because of that, it impacted opening
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  its doors and greeting visitors, conducting interpretive programs,
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  and including some of the special events that people expect
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  from this park. Why is this park so historically
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  important? So March 27th,
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  1814, Battle of Horseshoe Bend or Battle of the Horseshoe was
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  the culmination of war between the United States
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  coalition forces, a group of regular army
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  units, militia from Tennessee, and allied
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  indigenous warriors commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson fighting
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  Chief Menoah and the Red Sticks that remained
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  This war was a war of culture between the Creek people
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  themselves. It started out as a civil war, but it escalated into something much larger,
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  all at the same time that the War of 1812 has commenced in the
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  entire country against Great Britain. And as this larger war is
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  happening with Great Britain, this insurgent war is happening with the Creek people.
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  And it culminates here on the bend of the Tallapoosa River, where 1,000
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  warriors are defending their families and their home
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  and really their way of life. To the death, and they ultimately
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  will sacrifice themselves here to preserve that way of life.
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  The Creek did lose the battle. Ultimately, they signed
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  a treaty that conceded 23 million acres of land,
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  which for Alabamians is really the beginning of the creation
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  of the state of Alabama, that secession of land, and eventually the
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  remainder of the state. When the Creek and their neighboring
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  Cherokee and Choctaw were removed from the Southeast,
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  will help create not only Alabama but Mississippi as well.
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  You have an event coming up that will commemorate this historic
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  battle. Can you give us a preview? The park has an annual
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  academic symposium, and we are thrilled
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  after having missed 2025 due to that
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  catastrophic tornado and the impact it had on our
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  operation and staff that we're thrilled to have that
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  symposium kick back off this year. The academic symposium's
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  theme, Memory and Meaning in the Creek War,
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  will be held at Auburn University at Pebble Hill on
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  Saturday, August 22nd. In collaboration
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  with Auburn University and the Friends of Horseshoe Bend,
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  we'll bring leading scholars to discuss the Creek War and how generations
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  have commemorated it. Can you tell us who some of these scholars are?
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  Keith A. Baer, a Droughton Professor of Southern History also
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  at Auburn, will be speaking on the battle to create Horseshoe Bend
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  National Military Park. Even more unique as we get into
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  the dynamics of the development of a national park commemorating
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  the event that discusses the incredible story of the battle here,
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  setbacks to create the park originally, the foresight
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  of locals in our community that really made a difference in
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  getting this off the ground and ultimately becoming Alabama's
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  first national park unit. We have other speakers as well. Mike Bunn,
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  the director of Historic Blakeley State Park. Mike is
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  a prolific author. His talk will be Remembering
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  and Forgetting the Creek War in Alabama: The Successes in Regard to Preservation
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  and Interpretation and Threats to kind of what has happened
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  over time at an overlooked place like Horseshoe
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  Bend. So the significance of this place in our history to
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  Americans, and then maybe forgetting it a little bit
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  of its uniqueness and the impact especially it had in the state
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  of Alabama. And I understand you do have a Native American speaker.
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  We do. We're very excited to have Jake Tiger, who is a
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  traditional heritage interpreter. He is Muscogee Seminole,
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  and he will be speaking on the Muscogee people and
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  the struggle for the Southeast. So his program is
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  going to be discussing a variety of things from the wars that the Muscogee
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  people fought over time. And Jake has extensive history
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  working with the Alabama Department of Archives and History,
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  the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Seminole Nation
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  Museum, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
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  Jake's expertise is in traditionally made clothing and items, so he makes everything
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  by hand the way that his ancestors made them. And there's
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  a great picture of him on our park's website of
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  him in his traditional clothing, which is phenomenal. He handmade
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  everything. It's unbelievable. Well, next week we'll talk
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  with presenter Dr. Katherine Braun about the
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  actual Battle of Horseshoe Bend and her book.
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  How can people get involved in the symposium?
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  They do not have to sign up. They just have to show up to
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  Pebble Hill in Auburn, Alabama,
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  101 South DeBartolaben Street in Auburn.
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  It begins at 8 o'clock in the morning, Saturday, August 22nd,
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  and bring a willingness to learn and to understand
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  a very complex chapter of our history.
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  Each one of the scholars that will be speaking that day contributes an
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  important lens to the complex history. So through these partnerships
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  and relationships, we're able to present a more complete and really
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  a more nuanced picture of our past for deeper appreciation
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  of our collective history. Is there a website for Horseshoe Bend?
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  Every national park has a website. Our website is nps.gov/hobend.
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  Can you repeat that?
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  nps.gov/hobe.
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  And that will take you to the main website. And the first thing that visitors
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  will see when they open up that website is a large rectangular
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  icon that says the Annual Horseshoe Bend National Military Park Symposium.
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  And you can click that button and it will take you to all the information
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  about the theme, about this year's presenters,
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  It makes it for a really good preparation for attending
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  the event itself. You've worked at a number of national parks.
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  What's special about this one? It's an incredible place.
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  Like many battlefields, when you arrive, it's serene, it's beautiful,
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  it's green. The trees are budding, the birds are chirping.
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  It's almost impossible for us to conjure up
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  what happened, the violence and strife
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  and noise, fear, everything that
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  happened on these grounds. It's very hard today. You know,
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  you walk the grounds and you get a feel
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  for the landscape. You can make that connection.
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  You can understand that history lives here.
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  And our annual symposium brings it to life with
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  voices from the community. Andrew, thank you for your visit
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  today. Thank you, Carolyn, for having me. That was Horseshoe Bend
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  National Military Park Superintendent Andrew
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  Miller. With a preview of the August 22nd symposium.
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  If you haven't yet visited Horseshoe Bend in Daviston,
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  Alabama, it is a poignant reminder of
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  the price of American history. Thanks for joining
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  us today for In Focus, which is a podcast wherever
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  you get your podcasts. Feel free to get in touch at infocus@troy.edu.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson, and this is listener-supported
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  Troy Public Radio.