During the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson, as the leader of the Tennessee militia, decisively defeated Creek fighters who were allied with the British. His defeat of the British in the Battle of New Orleans (1815) cemented his reputation as a war hero among Americans. In 1817–18, during the First Seminole War, he led U.S. forces in attacks on Seminole villages and took control of Spanish posts that hastened the acquisition of Florida by the United States.