Battle of Flint River facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Flint River
Part of Queen Anne's War
This detail of an early 18th-century map shows the approximate location of the battle on the Flint River.
Date unknown; between October 7 and 18, 1702 Location present-day western Georgia Result English-Indian victory
Belligerents
Pro-Bourbon Spain Apalachee	Province of Carolina Creek Apalachicola
Commanders and leaders
Francisco Romo de Uriza	Anthony Dodsworth
Strength
800, mostly Indian	400, mostly Indian
Casualties and losses
most killed or captured	unknown

The Battle of Flint River was a surprise attack by Spanish and Apalachee Native American forces. It happened in October 1702 in what is now Georgia. Their target was the Creek Native Americans, but the attack failed.

This battle was an important part of the ongoing fights between English colonists from the Province of Carolina and Spanish Florida. It also set the stage for bigger military actions during Queen Anne's War. The Creeks, helped by a few English colonists led by a trader named Anthony Dodsworth, ambushed the Spanish and Apalachee forces near the Flint River. More than half of the Spanish-Indian group were killed or captured. After this battle, both English and Spanish leaders sped up their plans for the siege of St. Augustine in November 1702.

Why the Battle Happened

Early Conflicts in North America

English and Spanish settlers started clashing in southeastern North America in the mid-1600s. When English colonists founded the Province of Carolina in 1663 and Charles Town in 1670, tensions grew. The Spanish had already settled in Florida for a long time.

English traders from Carolina began moving into Spanish Florida. This led to small attacks and counter-attacks from both sides. In 1700, Carolina's governor, Joseph Blake, warned the Spanish. He said that English claims to Pensacola, which the Spanish had built in 1698, would be enforced.

Alliances and Trade

Carolina traders like Anthony Dodsworth and Thomas Nairne made friends with Creek Native Americans. These tribes lived near the rivers that flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. The English supplied them with weapons. In return, they bought animal furs and pelts from the Creeks.

The Spanish population in Florida was quite small. Since the 1500s, the Spanish had built many missions. These missions aimed to bring local Native American tribes under Spanish control and convert them to Catholicism.

Apalachee Missions Under Threat

In the Apalachee region, which is now parts of western Florida and southwestern Georgia, there were 14 mission towns. In 1680, about 8,000 people lived there. Many of these were Apalachee people. Other tribes had also moved to the area.

The Spanish usually did not give firearms to these Native Americans. Starting in 1701, Carolina raiders and their Creek allies began attacking Spanish missions in the Apalachee area.

Preparing for Conflict

In January 1702, a French naval officer named Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville suggested something. He told the Spanish commander at Pensacola to give firearms to the Apalachee. This would help them stop attacks from Carolina. D'Iberville even offered supplies for this plan.

In May 1702, Carolina raiders destroyed the Timucuan mission of Santa Fe de Toloca. After this, the governor of Spanish Florida, Joseph de Zúñiga y Zérda, approved a military trip into Creek lands.

The Battle of Flint River

Gathering Forces

Governor Zúñiga ordered Captain Don Francisco Romo de Uriza to go to Mission San Luis de Apalachee. There, Uriza gathered a force of about 800 Apalachee and Spanish soldiers from nearby mission towns. We don't have Uriza's full report, so we don't know the exact number of each group.

News of this Spanish force reached the Apalachicola town of Achita. The Carolina trader Anthony Dodsworth was meeting with local tribes there. An Native American woman later told a Spanish official that about 400 warriors joined Dodsworth. These were mainly Apalachicolas and Chiscas, along with two other white men and two Black men.

The Ambush

Dodsworth's group, which totaled about 500 people, left Achita around October 7. This was the same day Uriza left Apalachee. The exact date of the battle is not known. However, the woman who reported to the Spanish saw the battlefield on October 18. This was the day Uriza and his remaining soldiers returned to the Apalachee town of Bacacua.

A modern map of Georgia highlighting the Flint River and its watershed. The Flint River is in dark blue, and the Chattahoochee River is in light blue.

Dodsworth had assembled his force with the approval of the Apalachicola chief, Emperor Brim. The two groups met near the Flint River. The Apalachee launched a surprise attack on the Apalachicola camp before dawn.

However, Dodsworth and the Apalachicolas had expected this kind of attack. They had arranged their blankets to look like people were sleeping there. They then hid themselves near the camp. When the Apalachee attacked the empty blankets, the Apalachicolas suddenly attacked them. With their better weapons, the English-allied Native Americans completely defeated the Spanish force. Uriza was reported to have only 300 men when he returned to Apalachee.

What Happened Next

Spanish Response

This defeat immediately put Governor Zúñiga on the defensive. He ordered the fort at San Luis to be finished quickly. He also made sure enough supplies were gathered in case of a siege.

The battle also made people in Charles Town, Carolina, very upset. Governor James Moore had already gotten approval for a trip against St. Augustine. He learned that war had officially been declared in Europe between England and Spain.

Further Conflicts

Moore's expedition left Charles Town in November. It failed to capture St. Augustine. However, Spanish missions in Guale Province were destroyed during the process.

In 1704, Moore led another expedition against the Apalachee missions. This attack, known as the Apalachee massacre, almost completely wiped them out. By August 1706, "the Carolinians had destroyed everything in Spanish Florida." This included areas from the Apalachicola River to the St. Johns River. St. Augustine became the only colonial settlement in Florida still controlled by Spain.

Remembering the Battle

Today, two highway markers in Georgia remember the battle. The Georgia Historical Commission put up a marker in central Georgia in Crisp County in 1965. It is near Georgia Veterans State Park. The Historic Chattahoochee Commission placed another marker in 1985. This one is in the southern Georgia town of Bainbridge.

See also

In Spanish: Batalla del río Flint para niños