The Canoe Fight was a famous engagement fought on November 12, 1813, as part of the Creek War

Creek War

The Creek War , also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, began as a civil war within the Creek nation...

. It occurred near the mouth of Randons Creek on the Alabama River

Alabama River

The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery.The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it unites with the Tombigbee, forming the Mobile and Tensaw rivers, which discharge into...

, between modern Clarke

Clarke County, Alabama

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*54.5% White*43.9% Black*0.4% Native American*0.3% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*0.7% Two or more races*1.0% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 and Monroe

Monroe County, Alabama

Monroe County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States. As of 2010, the population was 23,068. Its county seat is Monroeville. It is a dry county, in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or...

 counties. During an expedition up the Alabama, American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

 in two war-canoes

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

 captured a Creek war-canoe. Though little more than a skirmish, the action became famous for involving frontiersman Captain Samuel Dale

Samuel Dale

Samuel Dale was an American soldier and pioneer.Dale was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia to Scotch-Irish parents from Pennsylvania. As a boy, both he and his parents moved many times with westward border expansion, most notably in 1775 and 1783. With the death of his parents in December 1792,...

, who commanded the expedition.Samuel Dale

Samuel Dale

Samuel Dale was an American soldier and pioneer.Dale was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia to Scotch-Irish parents from Pennsylvania. As a boy, both he and his parents moved many times with westward border expansion, most notably in 1775 and 1783. With the death of his parents in December 1792,...

, Jeremiah Austill, and James Smith become frontier heroes in this Creek War episode on the Alabama River known as The Canoe Fight. From their canoe, paddled by a black man named Caesar, the three Americans engaged a large canoe carrying nine Creek warriors. As militiamen and Indians watched from opposite sides of the river, Dale, Austill, and Smith killed eight warriors in hand-to-hand combat, and fatally wounded another.