Battle of Holy Ground

Battle of Holy Ground
Part of the Creek War
The Alabama River at Holy Ground Battlefield Park
Date December 23, 1813 Location Mississippi Territory 32°21′12″N 86°41′33″W / 32.35325°N 86.69243°W / 32.35325; -86.69243 Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Red Stick Creek	United States
Commanders and leaders
William Weatherford	Ferdinand Claiborne Pushmataha
Strength
~320	~1,000
Casualties and losses
~20–30 killed	1 killed

The Battle of Holy Ground, or Battle of Econochaca (Meaning holy ground in Creek), was fought on December 23, 1813, between the United States militia and the Red Stick Creek Indians during the Creek War. The battle took place at Econochaca, the site of a fortified encampment established in the summer of 1813 by Josiah Francis on a bluff above the Alabama River, in what is now Lowndes County, Alabama. It was one of three encampments erected by Red Stick Creeks that summer. In addition to the physical defenses, Creek prophets performed ceremonies at the site to create a spiritual barrier of protection. Hence the Creek name "Econochaca," loosely translated as holy ground, but properly translated as sacred or beloved ground.^[2][3]