"Origin of Fort Toulouse" essay

Fort Toulouse (also called Franca choka chula, Fort des Alibamons and Fort Toulouse des Alibamons) is a historic fort near the city of Wetumpka, Alabama, United States, that is now maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. The French founded the fort in 1717, naming it for Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse. In order to counter the growing influence of the British colonies of Georgia and Carolina, the government of French Louisiana erected a fort on the eastern border of the Louisiana Colony in what is now the state of Alabama.

The number of troops in garrison varied between 20 to 50 French Colonial Marines. Living and working at the fort, the Marines traded extensively with the local Creek Native Americans and cultivated friendly relations with them. Due to the poor living conditions at the fort, which was neglected by the French government, the troops mutinied in 1722. They killed Captain Marchand and captured the other officers, tying them before leaving the fort. The imprisoned officers managed to escape, and with the help of nearby Creek, they captured the mutineers and sent them to Fort Conde in Mobile for punishment.

In 1763 the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. As the French had been defeated by the British and ceded their territory, the French garrison spiked their cannons and left for New Orleans and eventual return to France for some. The British chose not to occupy the Fort, which eventually collapsed into decay. During the War of 1812 and the simultaneous Creek War, General Andrew Jackson encamped his troops on the site of the old Fort Toulouse. He ordered construction of a larger fort, which was named Fort Jackson by General Joseph Graham in honor of Jackson's victories against the Creek and in the Battle of New Orleans.