General Elijah Clarke’s Account of the Battle of Jack’s Creek

I had certain information that a man was killed on the 17th near Greensborough by a party of six or seven Indians and that on the 16th Colonel (George) Barber with a small party was waylaid by fifty or sixty Indians and wounded and three of his party killed.

This determined me to raise what men I could in the course of twenty-four hours and march with them to protect the frontiers, in which space of time I collected 160 men, chiefly volunteers, and proceeded to the place where Colonel Barber had been attacked. There I found the bodies of the three men mentioned above mangled in a shocking manner and after I had buried them proceeded on the trail of the murderers as far as the south fork of the Ocmulgee, where finding that I had no chance of overtaking them I left and went up the said river till I met with a fresh trail of Indians coming toward our frontier settlements.

I immediately turned and followed the trail until the morning of the 21st between eleven and twelve o’clock when I came up with them. They had just crossed a branch called Jack’s Creek through a thick cane-brake and were encamped and cooking upon an eminence. My force then consisted of 130 men, 30 having been sent back on account of horses being tired and lost.

I drew up my men in three divisions: the right commanded by Colonel (Holman) Freeman, the left by Major (John) Clark and the middle by myself. Colonel Freeman and Major Clark were ordered to surround and charge the Indians, which they did with such dexterity and spirit that they immediately drove them from the encampment back into the cane-brake, where finding it impossible for them to escape they obstinately returned our fire until half past four o'clock when they ceased except now and then a shot.

During the latter part of the action they seized every opportunity of escaping in small parties leaving the rest to shift for themselves. About sunset I thought it most advisable to draw off as the men had suffered for provisions for nearly two days and for want of water during the action, but more particularly to take care of the wounded which amounted to eleven and six killed.

From every circumstance I am certain that there were not less than twenty-five Indians killed and am induced to suppose that had I remained that night I should have found forty or fifty dead of their wounds by the morning. In short they were totally defeated with the loss of their provisions, clothing and the following articles: a gun, thirty-two brass kettles, thirty-seven large packs, containing blankets, 8cc. Colonel Freeman and Major Clark distinguished themselves, and from the spirit and activity with which the whole of my little party acted during the action, I do not believe that had we met them in the open woods we should have been more than five minutes in giving them a total overthrow.