Skip to main content

The Great Escape: River Run from Crockett

The Great Escape: River Run from Crockett

Beginning at The Forks near Sipsey and ending at Disney Lake in Cordova, this event traces the route Muscogee (Creek) Indians  of Black Warrior Town  used to  escape the the 800 members Tennessee Militia.

Black Warrior Town

At dawn on October 13th, the Tennessee Militia invaded Black Warrior Town. Fires still burned; food sat uneaten in the homes, but every man, woman, and child, save six elderly men, were gone.

The elder chief, Black Warrior, and five other old men had volunteered to stay behind. They kept fires burning to give the impression that the town was still occupied. 

This gave the younger chief time to get his people out of Black Warrior Town to a place of safety down river near the present day town of Cordova.

On the evening of October 13, 1813, the survivors watched as the smoke of their burning town drifted past them on the river. Black Warrior and the other old men sacrificed their lives, so that the others might live.

Join us as we remember this Great Escape and those who gave their lives so that others might live.



Event Details

October 10, 2026
8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
5840 Sipsey Road
Empire, AL 35063
Admission Charged

Images