Bashi Skirmish

Bashi Skirmish
Part of the Creek War

Approximate location of Bashi Skirmish. Fort Easley (spelled Easely) and Bashi Creek are located at the top of the map.[1]
DateOctober 4?, 1813
Location
Failetown, Alabama
31°55′40″N 88°0′59″W / 31.92778°N 88.01639°W / 31.92778; -88.01639
Result Creek victory
Belligerents
Creek United States United States
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Colonel William McGrew †
Strength
Unknown ~25
Casualties and losses
None Documented ~4 killed
1 missing
Several wounded

The Bashi Skirmish in the Creek War was fought in what became Failetown, Alabama.[2] A Clarke County historical marker which stands on Woods Bluff Road between Alabama 69 and Cassidy Hill marks the location of the incident[3] which resulted in the death of 4 Americans.[4]

The exact date of this skirmish is not clear but it is believed to have occurred in early October 1813.[4] At least one source puts it at October 4, 1813.[2]

A group of 25 white horsemen led by Colonel William McGrew left St. Stephens traveling towards Fort Easley.[5] The company was proceeding towards a stream called Bashi Creek that flows into the Tombigbee River a mile or two north of Wood's Bluff when they suddenly found themselves among concealed Creek warriors.[4] They were ambushed after a turkey tail was raised above a log by one of the concealed Creek, giving the signal for attack.[4] The Indians who had guns instantly fired from their places of concealment and McGrew who had taken part in the Battle of Burnt Corn was killed along with Edmund Miles, Jesse Griffin and Captain William Bradbury.[4][6] David Griffin was reported missing and presumed dead; his body was never found.[4]

  1. ^ Halbert, Henry (1895). The Creek War of 1813 and 1814. University of Alabama Press. p. 113.
  2. ^ a b "Welcome to Clarke County Pamphlet" (PDF). Clarke County Development Foundation. June 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  3. ^ "Historical Markers & Sites". Clarke County Government. Archived from the original on 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Halbert, Henry Sale (1895). The Creek War of 1813 and 1814. Chicago, Illinois: Donohue & Henneberry. pp. 219–222. Bashi Skirmish.
  5. ^ Weir, III, Howard (2016). A Paradise of Blood: The Creek War of 1813-14. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme. p. 267-8. ISBN 978-1-59416-270-1.
  6. ^ Owen, Thomas McAdory (1921). History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume 1. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-174-87227-3.