This series of articles covers the area from Maryland to Florida along the eastern coast and from eastern Mississippi / mid-Tennessee in the west. As with the other sections, there will be crossover information with neighboring areas. While most of the combat in this region was over by 1800, there remained hot spots in the Alabama-Georgia-Florida area until the 1850s. A more in-depth article covering the various Creek and Seminole Wars will appear in a later magazine.

To say that the Cherokee or any other one nation dominated this region, as the Iroquois did in the northern region, would be a mistake. Because of the large size of the neighboring nations, most of the local tribes operated in confederations. These confederations were more for mutual defense purposes than establishing a political/government framework. As a result, four nations dominated certain areas of the region. These were the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee or Tsalagi, and Creek or Muscogee (including the Seminoles). (Note: More often than not I will use Tsalagi and Muscogee instead of the terms Cherokee and Creek.). The Chickasaw, Choctaw, Tsalagi, Muscogee and Seminoles were often divided within their own tribes as to how to deal with the Europeans and later the Americans. Though these divisions may be by town faction or clans, later it was between those factions dominated by mixed bloods versus those controlled by pure bloods.

Weapons of War

In regards to weapons of war, they like other native Nations, utilized the best weapons that they could obtain. Pre-Columbian weapons included stone knives, long spears, atlatls (throwing sticks), slings, blowguns, bows and warclubs. The universal weapon of this era was the warclub not the knife. The warclubs varied in size from a one-handed 18 inch to two-foot version to a massive four-foot two-handed version. Most had a heavy often round weight on top with sharp edged stones protruding from it (later they would replace the edged stones with iron nails). The atlatls were generally replaced by the bow but were still being used by tribes in Florida and along the Gulf coast when the Spanish arrived.

Another weapon used a lot in the Florida-Georgia area was the blowpipe which along with the sling was frequently used by children and women in home defense. Another home defense weapon was the Long spears used mainly by women and old men in the defense of the village'ss pallisade. The bows were not weak bows as some may think. During the conflicts between DeSoto and various tribes in Alabama and Mississippi, the Spanish recorded several cases where an arrow would wound a horse after passing through the riders leg, the wooden saddle and blanket. Reports such as these implies bows with more force than some Spanish crossbows and as much as English Longbows. Other than weapons used for hunting, most of the weapons and shields were stored in a central armory in the village.

Later the impact of trade with the Europeans changed the weapons used. Muskets and steel blades were received in trade which gave certain tribes an advantage over their weaker armed enemies. Unfortunately because of the limited availability of powder and shot, this made many of these tribes dependent on their European neighbors. Consequently those factions friendly with the dominate European/American powers were better armed. Often these factions were those with mixed blood leaders. Pure blood leaders sometimes tried to use mysticism to offset the power of the firearm but they never discarded muskets that they were able to capture.

Motivations

Motivations for the conduct of wars also changed with the arrival of the Europeans. It is a misconception to imply that America was a peaceful land with no conflict during the Pre-Columbian era. Wars raged between various nations and tribes often for the right to reside or hunt in the most bountiful areas. As in the rest of the world, settled tribes often had to fend off the incursions of migratory groups. While certain parts of the Ohio valley are well known for being practically devoid of villages because of its disputed nature, the same neutral ground often exsited as boundries between the various major nations and confederations.

The early European explorers were viewed as a weapon to be used against enemy neighbors. And controlling trade with the Europeans and access to their weapons became a major political consideration in the southeast. Small tribes tended to support a specific European power while the large confederations were often divided in loyalties. The demand for slaves to trade for weapons caused the larger confederations, in particular the Chickasaw and Muscogee, to prey on their smaller neighbors. This new aggressive policy forced many decimated small tribes to merge with neighbors, become adopted by Confederation relatives or migrate out of the region. As a result between 1700 and 1765 many independent tribes ceased to exist as a separate entity in the region.

As the smaller tribes disappeared as prey, the larger Confederations increased their conflicts with the other Confederations. Also prejudice was often a reason for conflict. A new group or old foe with a foreign tongue and/or different culture was viewed as offensive. Even the introduction of Christianity lead to conflicts between pro and anti Christian groups. Also they were sometimes divided within their own tribes, often by clan, as to how to deal with the Europeans. Later the divisions was between those factions dominated by mixed bloods versus those controlled by pure bloods. These divisive motivations lead to several serious civil wars within the Choctaw and Muscogee nations.

The conduct of war was as varied as any other land in the world. There would be raids, hunting party skirmishes, justice posse actions, conquest for new land, and even extermination campaigns. While the concept of continuous warfare was rare, lengthy wars were highlighted by periods of intense campaigning often with a single decisive battle ending the campaign if not the war. (Note: Justice Posse actions were common among the Muscogee and Choctaws. A group of warriors often related to the victim would be authorized by a town chief or council to pursue and capture or kill the guilty party for a murder, other serious crime or even causing a hunting party casualty. )

Clothing

In regards to clothing worn by warriors, there was no established pattern. In the Virginia and mountainous areas of the southeast, bear and other animal skins would be worn in the winter. In the summer and in the Gulf regions, only a loin cloth could be worn. Many tribes in the Gulf area also practiced the art of body tattooing. After the arrival of the Europeans, trade cloths became common dress with brightly colored calico patterns being very popular. Among the Tsalagi, Muscogee and Seminoles and even Chickasaw and Choctaw, the use of a cloth turban was very widespread. However even in the later period, mystic pure-blood shamens and their fanatical followers would still strip down to only a fur loin cloth for a raid. They did not want anything European to interfere with the protection magic which they used.