Historical marker describes Fort Bibb and early Alabama pioneers, leaders

Fort Bibb Historical Marker near Greenville.

This week’s featured historical marker is the “THE BUTLER MASSACRE/FORT BIBB” marker in Butler County, Alabama. The marker is located on State Highway 10, west of Greenville, Alabama.

This marker was erected by the Butler County Historical Society in 2012. There’s text on both sides of this marker, and both sides are unique. What follows is the complete text from the marker.

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“FORT BIBB: Named for Alabama Territorial Governor William Wyatt Bibb, Fort Bibb was built in winter 1817-1818 to protect settlers from Creek Indian attacks. It was said to be a stockade enclosing Capt. James Saffold’s home at the Flats (Pine Flat). Col. Sam Dale helped strengthen Fort Bibb in spring 1818 as he and his militia build Fort Dale 13-14 miles northeast on the Federal Road. These forts were Butler County’s first election sites in 1820.”

“THE BUTLER MASSACRE: On March 28, 1818, Capt. William Butler, Capt. James Saffold, William Gardner, Daniel Shaw and John Hinson left Fort Bibb to meet Col. Sam Dale. They were attacked near Pine Barren Creek by Savannah Jack and his warriors. Gardner and Shaw were shot dead; Butler and Hinson wounded. Saffold and Hinson escaped on horseback to Fort Bibb, but Capt. Butler, thrown from his horse and left on foot, was killed by the Indians. Butler County was named in his honor.”

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William Wyatt Bibb, the first governor of Alabama, not only had a fort named after him, but he also had counties in Alabama and Georgia named after him. He was Alabama’s territorial governor from August 1817 to December 1819 and once Alabama became an official state, Bibb served as governor from December 1819 until the day he died, July 10, 1820. Prior to becoming Alabama’s territorial governor, Bibb represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate.

Samuel Dale lived from 1772 to May 24, 1841. A native of Virginia, he was many things – a soldier, frontier guide and scout, legislator, military courier, mill owner and operator, politician and trader. Dale County, Alabama is named after him, and he died in Lauderdale County, Miss. He’s arguably best known for being involved in a canoe fight with Creek Indians during the Creek Indian War of 1813.

William Butler was a native of Virginia, but no one’s sure exactly when he was born. He briefly served as an elected official in Georgia and went on to become a militia leader in the early Alabama Territory. His mutilated body, along with five others, was found the day after the Butler Massacre.

The Federal Road mentioned above stretched from Fort Wilkinson near Milledgeville, Ga. to Fort Stoddert near Mobile, Ala. It originated as a horse path for mail delivery between Washington, D.C. and New Orleans. Later, the road stretched from Augusta, Ga. to Pensacola, Fla.

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.