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Posted on 06/24/2003 12:00:03 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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1812-1819 The wars against what we now call the Seminoles started somewhat earlier than this, but these years would greatly influence the upcoming conflicts. While Spain was in control of Florida it had several problems to deal with. First, the climate and unhealthy conditions of the territory was not attractive to people in terms of settlement. Second, there was a gentleman named Napoleon that roamed Europe at will and proved to be of greater importance in the minds of the rulers of Spain as the decade progressed.  To solve the first of the problems stated above, in 1790, Spain invited Irish Catholics, English citizens, and citizens of the United States to settle inside the borders of the territory. They offered titles of land to any and all individuals who stayed on a land claim for ten years at the end of the term of occupancy the individuals would be exempt from taxes and military service to Spain. Thomas Jefferson stated that he wished 100,000 U. S. citizens would take Spain up on their gracious offer. In 1804, due to problems that U. S. citizens were causing the local authorities and Spanish citizens of the territory the invitation to settle was cancelled (remind anyone of Texas prior to the Mexican War). In 1812, the Governor of Florida had encourage the Seminoles of the Alachua area to raid U. S. farms and settlements inside the territory. This date should sound familiar, yes thats right, same time frame as the War of 1812. Due to uprisings of the Seminoles and the war against England, the Governor of Georgia organized his state militia and decided he would take Florida before the British did and rid the territory of Georgia's troublesome neighbors to the south, the Seminole. The Seminoles were becoming extremely bothersome to Georgia. Since the war with Britain started, the British encouraged the Seminoles and Creeks to raid settlements along the Georgia-Florida frontier to draw forces from the Canadian border.  Although Florida was under Spanish rule in the early 1800s, the Seminole Indians did not respect Spanish authority. The Seminoles made it a practice, for example, to harbor runaway slaves. General Andrew Jackson, having achieved a major military success against the Creek Indians in 1814, led an army into Florida against the Seminoles in 1817, looting and burning their villages. These advances led to a war between the United States and Spain. Jackson seized Pensacola in northern Florida, bringing the U nited States and Spain to a point where they had to negotiate or fight. On February 22, 1819, the Florida Purchase Treaty was signed, ceding Florida to the United States. When Jackson became President in 1828, he set about moving the Seminoles out of Fl orida altogether, an effort which led to the Second Seminole War of 1835-42. In Fall of the year 1812, the so-called Patriot army had already established a provisional government under President John H. McIntosh, with Col. Ashley as his Minister of War, and had its capital at St. Mary's, Georgia, in March, 1812, before the Georgia forces arrived. General Geo. Matthews of Georgia had charged of the movement, and was promised help from the U. S. regulars should he need it. Col. Daniel Newnan, of the Georgia Militia, who was at Fort Picolata was attacked by a party of Seminoles at the fort. After a fierce battle the forces under Col. Newnan defeated the beseiging force. He soon started making plans to hit the Seminoles were they lived. On September 24th, 1812 a force of 110 men he undertook to penetrate the enemy's country over one hundred miles, and attack two formidable chiefs surrounded by their warriors on Spanish territory while the U. S. and Spain were supposedly at peace. Upon reaching the area near what is today Gainesville, Fla., Col. Newnan engaged the Alachua Seminoles. Over a period of about 10 days, Col. Newnan's force was under constant danger from attack while it retreated back to Fort Picolata, out of the original force he left with all but 50 were effectively out of action, and he had completely exhausted all supplies. After reaching the safety of reinforcements they hailed this action as a victory and celebrated their supposed triumph. The Patriots would soon give up their crusade to acquire the territory of Florida, but the United States would soon be back to try again. General Gaines and Colonel (later general) Duncan Clinch in response to reports of a fort being manned by runaway slaves and a variety of Seminole and Creek warriors on the Apalachicola River, ordered the build up of armed camps in the vicinity. This in the eyes of the United States was many things; a beacon for slaves in Georgia to run to for safety, the possibility of Spain's collaboration and support of the hostile bands, and a base of operation for bands to raid U. S. settlements on the frontier. General Gaines ordered Col. Clinch to take provisions for Camp Crawford (north of the fort), which included cannons, powder and other war supplies. On the 17th of August Lieutenant Loomis, USN, arrived at the mouth of the Apalachicola River with two gunboats on the same mission. In order for the gunboats to get to Camp Crawford they had to pass the fortification. The orders to both commands was if any opposition was made by the negro fort that it should be reduced to rubble.  In one of the first combined arms attack made by U. S. forces the fort was dessimated in short order. On the 26th of August the gunboats try to pass the fort, which was replied with cannon fire. Col. Clinch's and his forces at Camp Crawford heard the gunboats open fire upon the fort and headed for the Negro Fort by land. After only the 5th discharge from the gunboats, a round known as a "hot shot" (a round ball of iron heated over a fire till it is red hot) found the powder magazine of the fort. Around 100 men and 200 women and children were insidethe fort for protection, only a sixth of the total occupants survived the horrible blast. A force was seen advancing by Col. Clinch's scouts, but it dispersed before engaging him. Florida from this time through 1816 was in a state of anarchy. The U.S. regular army had manned outposts and small forts all along the Florida Georgia line until mid 1817, which was successful in maintaining peace in that region. The army decided to pull its forces closer to the Alabama River which was west of the border areas. It is during this time that altercations between the Georgia settlers and Seminoles started to increase. General Edmund P. Gaines learned of the hostilities there and ordered Major Twiggs with a detachment of 300 men to take an Indian village named Fowl Town near the Florida line. During the initial attack an alarm was sounded and many Seminoles escaped into the swamps. This would start a series of events that would effectively start the war. Fowl Town was again visited by U. S. forces this time by Captain McIntosh with an equivalent number of men as the first time. This was to obtain the supplies that were left at the town after the first visit. Only this time the Seminoles were waiting for them. A small skirmish commenced and light casualties were felt by both forces engaged.  Micanopy In retaliation to the attacks upon Fowl Town the Seminoles gathered support from other local clans and made an assault against Fort Scott. The garrison force at Fort Scott of 600 regular soldiers, commanded by General Gaines was confined to their post and the seige began. General Jackson upon hearing of the predictament faced by Gen. Gaines musters up a force of 1800 men comprised of regulars, Tennesee volunteers, and Georgia Militia, to relieve the beseiged troops at Fort Scott. At the same time General Gaines is able to muster a force of 1600 Creek Indians to the service of the U. S. under Brigadier General McIntosh. McIntosh and Jackson joined forces on the 1st of April and proceeded to the beseiged fort. The force of Seminoles only numbered from 900 to 1000 men and did not wish to contend with such a force. The Seminoles fled back into the swamps and Fort Scott was saved. The force under Jackson then focused on Miskasuky towns, destroying them on their way to St. Marks. Jackson took St. Marks without firing a shot at the small Spanish garrison stationed there. Upon taking over control of St. Marks, April 7, 1818, he promptly arrested and held a trial against two British agents (Arbuthnot and Ambrister) in Florida and accused them of arming and inciting the natives to rise up in force against the U. S. The two British agents were found guilty and one was hung from the yardarms of the U. S. vessel that was in port at the time and the other shot. Gen. jackson then proceeded to Pensacola. This move was according to Gen. Jackson to take control over territory that the Spanish could not control due to their weak military and political influence in the territory. If the Spanish couldn't control the natives he would.  St. Marks, Fla., April 1818 -- Two Seminole chiefs, or micos are captured by Jackson's forces who used the ruse of flying the British flag to lure the Indians to them. Picture from the Florida State Archives. On May 24, 1818, Gen. Jackson's force was outside Pensacola and preparing to seige the town and the small Spanish garrison in the territorial capitol. Upon Jackson's arrival the Spanish governor fled to Santa Rosa Island and escaped capture by Jackson's forces. This according to Jackson was the only great failure of his campaign, his inability to capture, hold trial, and hang the Spanish governor for assisting the enemy of the U. S. In the following year the U. S. Army would build up the frontier fortifications to help quell the Seminole raids into Georgia. This would lead to the treaty of 1819 which would make West Florida officially the territory of the United States. Later in 1821, a treaty would be signed by the U. S. and Spain for the rest of Florida and the islands off the coast of Georgia and Florida.
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I found another excellent website called Tour of the Florida Territory during the Seminole (Florida) Wars, 1792-1859.
You can take a county by county tour of the war through Florida.
Fake Seminoles in the Confederate Army (1864)
by Christopher Kimball
Source: http://www.tfn.net/SeminoleWar/fakemili.htm
This interesting list from the Civil War came to my attention while researching the Florida Militia cards in the genealogy section of the library. A friend was asking about possible Florida Seminole involvement in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. This information is on microfilm, copied from the original individual enlistment cards, and also printed in "Biographical Rosters of Florida's Confederate and Union Soldiers 1861-1865, Volume V" by David W. Hartman and David Coles.
What I found was, "Captain McBride's Company (Indians), Florida, (Confederate.)" This is a company that Captain McBride supposedly recruited for service to the Confederacy. All of the enlistment cards are signed by J.W. Wilkinson as "copyist." On each card is printed, "We the undersigned, respectfully volunteer and tender our services to the Confederate States of America, begging to be immediately admitted into their armies, having chosen A. McBride for our Captain. Dated Everglades, Fla., July 7, 1864."
Captain A. McBride is listed in "Biographical Rosters" as born in 1808, and "served in the Indian Wars under General Andrew Jackson." If this is true, he would have only been 10 years old when Jackson came to Florida in the First Seminole War. After Jackson served as Florida Territorial Governor in 1821, he returned home to Tennessee, and then went into politics. It is unlikely that McBride could have ever served under Jackson.
This roster of names is most likely fabricated, because many are not names that we see the Florida Indians use, many even quite comical. I do not know of any other examples where Seminole use name like Banana, Corn Stalk, Dry Eye, Fat Arms, or Thin Legs. No common Seminole or Muskogee names are used, like other lists from "friendly" Indian units who served on the side of the United States during the 2nd Seminole War.
The enlistment cards state that the names are taken from a list. A single list as opposed to separate rosters or enlistment papers. I would say that this entire unit was fabricated by the commanding officers to get themselves a paid commission out of the state government before the war ended. Most all of the names appear to be imagined around the campfire at night with a cheap bottle of whiskey. (There are some Anglo names on the list that are probably real people; part of the forgery.) It is also unlikely that any white man could have convinced this many Seminoles to gather at one location after fighting against them for the last several decades. After the last group of Florida Seminoles were taken to the western territories five years earlier, this many warriors could not even be found in Florida. What we do know of the Florida Seminoles in the Civil War is that they were very careful not to get involved.
These enlistment cards are signed in 1864. By then the war was not going very well for the Confederacy, and there would not be too many more battles that could have called this unit into action. If they did, the Captain could easily say that he could not reach the Seminoles in the Everglades in time for the battle, or that the Indians decided to flee instead of fight.
Another piece of evidence not considered before that would make this enlistment highly unlikely is the time of year. The recent new moon would have been three days before on July 4, 1864. That would have been the first new moon after the summer solstice, and very likely the time of the Green Corn Dance involving all of the remaining Seminole community. I can imagine that during this time, most Seminoles would not want any involvement with the white man. And none of the Seminoles in this muster would have cut short their important community ceremonies, to travel a few days to meet some white guy they just finished fighting against a few years ago.
Names on the enlistment cards:
Captain A. McBride
Privates:
Banana Bud
Big Dark
Big Stream
Big Watchie
Big Wave
Black Dog
Black Feet
Bounding Buck
Bowhatchie
Nick Bowings
Neal Briles
James Buckeye
Hector Carston
Hector Costard
Cotton Stalk
Dark River
Deep Sky
Drop
Bill Drover
Ostar Drung
Dry Eye
Jim Dukes
Fat Arms
Richard Gourd
Gray Woods
Green Pine
Harsh Water
Hassy Ossy
Joe Hatch
Jake Hundreds
Land Drum
Little Boaster
Little Hatchie
Smith Locker
Rice Mallitch
(?) Marston
Miles Marston
Nick Minsing
Musk
Nansummy
New Snaps
Sandy Nickols
Oak Tree
Oscar William
Mola Puly
Red Eye
Jones Richard
Scales
Shark
Short Legs
Shuck
Skipping Deer
Small Eye
Spade
Spike
Joseph Starkison
Henry Starns
Sweet Airs
Thin Legs
Josep Tree
White Hawk
White Nails
Henry white Oak
Wip
Yellow Orange
YAHA-HAJO (Mad Wolf) was the second principal war chief of the Seminole nation, and had been among the seven chiefs selected to inspect the western lands reserved for the Seminoles.
OSCEOLA (Asseola, Assyn-ya-hola) was a fearless and cunning leader of the Seminoles who was born in Alabama between 1800 - 1806. His fighting tactics and daring brought many victories to his people over the U. S. Army.
MENAWA (Great Warrior) was a war chief of the Oakfuskee tribe of the Creek Nation. He lived in what is now central Alabama. He worked for the U.S. Army in the war against the Seminoles in Florida.
McINTOSH was born in the Creek Indian nation, in what is now the state of Georgia, about 1785. His father was Scottish and his mother a Creek. He rose to be chief of the Coweta tribe.
CHITTEE YOHOLO (The Snake That Makes a Noise) was a Seminole Chief -who was born in Florida. During the 1830's he participated in numerous attacks on outposts and settlements as the Seminole War escalated.
TUKO-MALTHIA (known as John Hicks) was chief of the Seminole Indians of Florida from 1824-1833. His portrait was painted in 1826 when he was in Washington on a diplomatic mission.
ITCHO YUSTENNUGGE (Deer Warrior) was a chief all the Seminole Indian nation. He, along with Chief Micanopy and five other chiefs, went to Washington in 1826 to confer with President Adams.
Al Gore invented seccession.
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