Philip D. Logan, Private, of Captain Jett Thomas’ Artillery company was wounded during this battle.  He was the great, great grandfather of Arnold Rodolph Logan III.  This article was prepared in conjunction with Arnold’s research efforts tracing his ancestry back to Philip Logan, Revolutionary War Soldier, also of Baldwin County at the time of his death.  With the exception of the list of dead and wounded, the article is based in large part upon the account of the battle, “Night Attack at Calabee Creek” written by Thomas G. Rodgers and published in the “Journal of the Historical Society of the Georgia Nation Guard”, Vol. 4, No. 4, Spring 1995, page 12.
The night attack at Calabee (Challibee) Creek took place in the morning darkness of January 27, 1814, in what is now Macon County, Alabama (near Tuskegee). About 1,300 Red Sticks (the “war faction” of the Creek nation) launched the best planned Creek attack of the war against what remained of the Georgia army commanded by General John Floyd.

Within minutes the camp was in confusion and panic, as soldiers, half-asleep and disoriented, stumbled to their feet uncertain of the source of the enemy attack.  The adruptness of the attack in the morning darkness came close to routing Floyd’s army.  Floyd quickly regained his composure.  “Cheer up boys,” he yelled, “we will give them hell when daylight comes.”  Fortunately, some of the veteran companies rallied quickly.  Especially, the Baldwin Volunteer Artillery, a company from Milledgeville led by Captain Jett Thomas, held steady and kept up a consistent fire against the enemy.

When it became light enough to see the enemy and to make out objects in the dawn, Floyd ordered his men to counterattack with the bayonet and the Red Stick attack was broken.  The hostiles retreated, leaving 49 dead.  The Georgians lost 17 killed and 132 wounded.

The Callabee Creek fight lasted nearly an hour.  It could have been disaster for the little Georgia army but determination and quick reflexes prevailed.  The cannoneers actions in saving the two pieces of artillery may have been the most critical phase of the battle.  The Red Sticks came close to destroying Floyd’s entire army.

The following list was reported by Hospital Surgeon Charles Williamson.  The names have been alphabetized within the killed/wounded categories.  The names are spelled as shown on page 23 of the August 2002 Taylor County Tracer which was taken from the GEORGIA JOURNAL, Milledgeville, Ga., February 2, 1814.

Copyright and Submission by Arnold Logan
10/14/2005