A MEMORIAL was held on Saturday for more than 800 Muscogee warriors killed in 1814 while defending their homeland against United States forces.

Members of the Muscogee Creek Nation returned to Alabama this weekend for a remembrance service on the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. 

The battle was the single bloodiest day of conflict for Native Americans with US troops and paved the way for white settler expansion in the south-east and the tribe’s eventual forced removal from the region.

Muscogee Creek Nation principal chief David Hill told Saturday’s ceremony: “We don’t come here to celebrate. We come here to commemorate, to remember the lives and stories of those who fought and honour their sacrifice.”

One thousand warriors, along with women and children from six tribal towns, who had taken refuge on the site, were attacked on March 27 1814 by a force of 3,000.

Muscogee Nation ambassador to the United States Jonodev Chaudhuri said: “The battles we fight today to protect our culture, our way of life and our sovereignty is a direct through line to the lessons that were given to us by these brave folks who lost their lives here protecting what is most dear to us.”