Fort Scott State Historical
Marker
Located on the section of Ga. 310 south of
Lake Seminole, about 3.5 miles north of the intersection of Ga.
310 and 97 in southwest Decatur County
(Text)
FORT SCOTT
In June 1816 Lt. Col. D. L.
Clinch and a detachment of the 4th U.S. Infantry set up camp
one mile west of here, calling it Camp Crawford. They began construction
of a fort on the site in September 1816, naming it Fort Scott.
Need for a fort was prompted by the presence of restless Indians
who had emigrated to nearby areas -- refugees largely composed
of Seminoles and "Red Sticks" (a hostile faction of
the Creeks). Prematurely evacuated December 1816 and almost immediately
pillaged by hostile Indians, Capt. S. Donoho and his artillery
company reoccupied Fort Scott in the Spring of 1817, reinforced
later that year by additional troops of the 4th and 7th Regiments.
March 9, 1818, Gen. Andrew
Jackson arrived here with his staff and troops of the Georgia
Militia. He was joined by Kentucky and Tennessee militiamen,
who had marched through Alabama. At fort Scott Jackson concentrated
troops for his march into Spanish Florida against Indians who
had been raiding U.S. territory. He took with him the force at
Fort Scott, excepting 60 men left as garrison. Following Jackson's
campaign the garrison largely consisted of companies of the 7th
Regiment. Frontier peace and increase of malaria probably account
for the abandonment of Fort Scott in September 1821.
043-5 GEORGIA
HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1962
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