View source for 39th Infantry Regiment (War of 1812)

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The '''39th United States Infantry''' was a regiment of the [[Regular Army (United States)|regular Army]]. It was authorized on January 29, 1813, and recruited in the East by Col. Williams of [[Tennessee]].<ref name="Brandau">{{cite book
|last=Brandau
|first=Alexander F. III
|date=2010
|title=The Horseshoe Colonel
|publisher=Self-published
}}</ref> It was commanded by Colonel [[John Williams (Tennessee politician)|John Williams]], who had previously led the Mounted Volunteers of East Tennessee.<ref name-"Tenn">{{Cite web |url=http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/military/1812reg.htm |title=Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812 |access-date=July 30, 2005 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927214947/http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/military/1812reg.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> On December 31, 1813 Major General [[Thomas Pinckney]] ordered the regiment to join [[Andrew Jackson]]'s force, countermanding orders that had been sent from General Flournoy at New Orleans who wanted them there,<ref name="Brandau" /> thus providing a disciplined core and strategic resupply for his command, which was down to about 75 men eating roots and acorns.<ref name="White">Memoirs of Hugh Lawson White</ref> The historian [[Henry Brooks Adams|Henry Adams]] speculated that, without this regiment, Jackson would have fared no better in 1814 than he had the previous year.<ref name="Adams">{{cite book
|last=Adams
|first=Henry
|date=1986
|title=History of the United States of America During the Administrations of James Madison
|publisher=Library Classics of the United States, Inc
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofuniteds00henr/page/794 794-795, 797]
|isbn=0-940450-35-6
|author-link=Henry Brooks Adams
|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofuniteds00henr/page/794
}}</ref>
Jackson welcomed the 39th. Since the beginning of his campaign in the [[Creek War]], Jackson was troubled by serious discipline problems with his militia and volunteers, particularly the militia from East Tennessee. So he prosecuted a Private John Woods, only 18 under false charges. Woods had spent his last month in the camp of the 39th. The night before his execution the officers of the 39th signed and sent Jackson a petition asking for mercy. He not only failed to grant it, he made the 39th shoot him.<ref name="Brandau" /> He told his quartermaster that "I am truly happy in having the Colonel with me. His regiment will give strength to my arm and quell mutiny". The 39th was never happy with Jackson after that and Col. Williams never returned to lead the unit. Williams said in a campaign pamphlet in 1828 that Woods cried "bitterly and loudly"; the Jackson camp claimed he was belligerent and deserved to die.<ref name="Armstrong">{{cite book
|last=Armstrong
|first=Dr Joseph
|title=An Account of the Trial and Execution of the Poor and Unfortunate John Woods
|location=Russellville, KY
|publisher=Charles Rhea, printer
|pages=7–8}}</ref>
At the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]], Jackson placed the regiment, (because they were the best-trained soldiers he had)<ref name="Brandau" /> in the center of his assault force. Consequently, the 39th suffered significant casualties &mdash; 20 killed and 52 wounded, and those figures are disputed.<ref name="Brandau" /> Col. Williams reported to Sec. of War Armstrong that "one half of the officers and one sixth of the troops of the 39th engaged in the battle of Tohopeka are among the killed and wounded. The officers remaining with the regiment fit for duty are insufficient for ordinary camp duty." It is said that the Creek nation lost more casualties that day than any other one day in the history of the entire Indian Wars. They gave up over a million acres of what was described as the "best land for settlement" that was left east of the Mississippi River.<ref name="Brandau" />
==Postwar consolidation of regiment==
In 1815, after that war ended, the 39th was consolidated with the 8th and 24th Regiments to form the [[7th Infantry Regiment (United States)|7th Infantry Regiment]]. The Flag of the 39th was returned to Col. Williams and is now on display at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville. It was embroidered by the handiwork of Col. Williams' sister-in-law, Mary (Polly) Lawson McClung Williams.<ref name="Brandau" /><ref>{{cite web | title = Lineage And Honors Information, 7th Infantry (Cottonbalers) | publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]] | date = June 2, 1997 | url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0007in.htm | access-date = October 28, 2008 | archive-date = May 23, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080523181154/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0007in.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Creek War]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1813]]
[[Category:American military units and formations of the War of 1812]]
[[Category:Infantry regiments of the United States Army|0039]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the United States in the Indian Wars]]
[[Category:1813 establishments in the United States]]