navigate the rivers in the Creek lands; the Creeks had to promise to
stop trading with British and Spanish posts; and they were made to
cede to the United States all the lands which their people had claimed
west and southeast of the Coosa River--more than half of their ancient
territories. Thus was the glory of the Creek nation brought to an end.

Meanwhile the war with Great Britain was entering a new and
threatening phase. No notable successes had been achieved on land, and
repeated attempts to reduce Canada had signally failed. On the Great
Lakes and the high seas the navy had won glory, but only a handful of
privateers was left to keep up the fight. The collapse of Napoleon's
power had brought a lull in Europe, and the British were free to
concentrate their energies as never before on the conflict in America.
The effects were promptly seen in the campaign which led to the
capture of Washington and the burning of the Federal Capitol in
August, 1814. They were equally manifest in a well-laid plan for a
great assault on the country's southern borders and on the great
Mississippi Valley beyond.

The last-mentioned project meant that, after two years of immunity,
the Southwest had become a main theater of the war. There was plenty
of warning of what was coming, for the British squadron intended for
the attack began assembling in the West Indies before the close of
summer. No one knew, however, where or when the blow would fall. To
Jackson the first necessity seemed to be to make sure of the defenses
of Mobile. For a time, at all events, he believed that the attack
would be made there, rather than at New Orleans; and an attempt of a
British naval force in September to destroy Fort Bowyer, at the
entrance to Mobile Bay, confirmed his opinion.