If you want to read more of my Seminole War blogs and information, you can go over to my main, original blog site at live journal.
http://seminolewar.livejournal.com
I decided to not continue on this page. One is enough. I am more familiar with live journal, and it lets me load more photos than here.
Sorry about the ads on livejournal. But since I do not get paid for this and do it for free, the provider or server of the blog must be satisfied.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse 150th.
The lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County is celebrating its 150th anniversary. It was lit on July 10th, 1860. If you are a lighthouse climber, this one is a must-see. The Loxahatchee River Historical Society Museum here is also worth visiting, and has some Seminole stuff.In 1854, Army Engineer Lt. George Meade selected the present site where the lighthouse stands. Interesting enough, is that we just celebrated the anniversary of Gettysburg, which General Meade was famous for winning.
The Third Seminole War caused construction to halt, but after the war it resumed, and was finally lit 150 years. Less than a year later, the Confederates disabled or removed the lens, but it was relit again in 1866. It is still an active lighthouse, and an active coast guard reservation. (With a BX / PX / CGX exchange, for all you active servicemen.) To go up the lighthouse, you have to go on one of the guided tours from the museum nearby.
Work is being done to spruce-up the old lighthouse. It has fresh paint, I could smell fresh paint on the steps, and concrete was still being poured for the commemorative plaque in front.
There are two mounds visible here, and the lighthouse is on the top of one. Maybe this is why it is one of the more attractive lighthouses in Florida, seeing it on top of the mound with the grass and the palm trees, amidst the contrasting urban Palm Beach.
There are 105 steps going up, and it is a spectacular view. The first-order Fresnel lens still shines at night. So the last tour leaves at 4:00 p.m. Make enough time to see it.
Read the rest of this blog and many more photos along with it at my main site: http://seminolewar.livejournal.com .
Monday, July 5, 2010
Chekika's Island / Hanging People
Every day, people driving along the Tamiami Trail west of Miami and east of Shark Valley unknowingly pass near the spot of one of the most brutal episodes during the 2nd Seminole War. Chekika's island hammock hideout. For military historians, this was also the location of what is considered one of the first Special Forces Operations in December 1840.
The Miccosukee stay away from there and don't visit the hammock island. According to Sturevant, in the Mikasuki language the place is called, "Yatcasaski," or "Hanging People." (Tequesta, 1953/Vol. 13, pg. 59.)
Chekika's Island can be seen in the distance, as a fortress of trees. A hammock Island in the Everglades. It reminds me of the castle or fortress.
Read the rest of this article at my main blog at http://seminolewar.livejournal.com
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Cedar Key
A couple weeks ago I stopped by Cedar Key. There is presently no sign of oil there, and I hope it stays that way. This is a beautiful fishing village and a favorite place in Florida to visit.In 1839 during the 2nd Seminole War, General Zachary Taylor established his headquarters here. The previous army commander in Florida was Army Quartermaster General Thomas Jesup, who emphasized that the Army needs supplies and support to continue a campaign. Well Taylor continued that idea and put it into practice, and established Cedar Key as the Army Depot for the west coast of Florida. In Florida Taylor ordered the construction of hundreds of miles of roads, hundreds of bridges, and dozens of forts watching over twenty mile wide squares in east Florida. While Jesup knew how to get support and supplies delivered to the troops during a campaign, Taylor implemented a permanent supply network.
If Cedar Key became a quartermaster depot, calling it an army headquarters was no big deal. Any place the commander of forces in Florida was at the time is called the headquarters. Since news traveled slow back then, any place the commander of forces stood would become the headquarters. The commander himself was the headquarters.
At the time the island was called Depot Key. After the war it was renamed Atsena Otie Key, which is from the Muskogee words for cedar key or cedar island. (Vcenv OtE for the correct Muskogee spelling.) This island became a major lumber source for Faber pencils with the many cedar trees that were harvested until they were gone.
Okay, go to my main blog and read the rest, with a lot more photos. You'll enjoy it. Go here:
http://seminolewar.livejournal.com/137560.html
Big Cypress Tree
You can see more photos of this on my other blog at http://seminolewar.livejournal.com
Near Sanford, Florida is a rare gem. Finding old growth trees in Florida are few and far between. I have heard many stories, but most are in places that are inaccessible. These two cypress trees were saved as a park before logging in Florida reached a peak in the 1940s and 50s.
Early visitors to Sanford would make a trip out to this area, which for many years was constantly inundated swamp and wetlands.
“The Senator” is estimated to be about 3,500 years old. It is 118 ft. tall, but had the top 47 feet pruned off by a hurricane in 1925. It is impossible to put it in one photo, so I have several different shots here. In 1929, President Calvin Coolidge visited here and dedicated the park.
Going along the boardwalk in this Seminole County park, there are also massive examples of pig nut hickory and sweetgum.
And close by is another huge cypress, dubbed “Lady Liberty.” She is only 2,000 years old and 89 ft. tall. I wonder what other huge cypress trees were once in this area?
Early visitors to Sanford would make a trip out to this area, which for many years was constantly inundated swamp and wetlands.
“The Senator” is estimated to be about 3,500 years old. It is 118 ft. tall, but had the top 47 feet pruned off by a hurricane in 1925. It is impossible to put it in one photo, so I have several different shots here. In 1929, President Calvin Coolidge visited here and dedicated the park.
Going along the boardwalk in this Seminole County park, there are also massive examples of pig nut hickory and sweetgum.
And close by is another huge cypress, dubbed “Lady Liberty.” She is only 2,000 years old and 89 ft. tall. I wonder what other huge cypress trees were once in this area?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Barron Collier and the Boy Scouts
The Boy Scouts of America are 100 years old this year. And their birthday is almost the same as mine in February. I guess that means that the scouts are Aquarius? (Joke.) But I am a few years younger than the BSA.
Until July 31st, there is an exhibit in the Collier County Museum of Barron Collier and his connection to Scouting.
I am an Eagle Scout myself, spend summers in college working at Camp La-no-che in the Ocala forest, a Vigil Honor member in the Order of the Arrow, and have my Woodbadge beads. So I have many years and fond memories from the scouts. It is like my larger family or a clan (Seminole thinking.) The troop I came from was really gung-ho, and has a strong tradition of outdoor camping. I am from the “River Rats,” Troop 625 in Maitland, Florida. (Seminole War connection: Maitland is one of the cities in Florida named after a Seminole War fort, Fort Maitland.)
One of the early influential leaders in scouting was Barron Gift Collier. Yep, the guy that Collier County, Florida, is named after. If you are not familiar with him, he was a contemporary with people that developed southwest Florida like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other northerners who came down to southwest Florida and took advantage of the mild climate, fish, and spent lots of money. And like most of them, he made his own fortune after coming up with a few brilliant ideas. Collier’s idea was advertising on streetcars.
At the top of the page: President Franklin Roosevelt with Barron Collier. Collier wears his Silver Buffalo award around his neck. Collier was good friends with Roosevelt, although they totally disagreed with politics. This is my favorite photo from the exhibit because FDR is a distant cousin of mine.
To show the contrast between Roosevelt and Collier: Collier didn't want anything to do with the CCC, but was a big supporter of the scouts. One organization was government run, the other is private.
Collier did not stop with advertising for what he did. He was Police Commissioner of New York City, and developed Interpol, the international police intelligence agency. And every day you see Collier’s legacy right in front of you. He is also the guy who came up with the idea of the lines in the roadways. Those yellow or white solid and dashed lines in the roadway were his idea.
Collier came down to Florida and invested in citrus at Deep Lake, off what is now highway 29 north of Everglades City. He purchased Ussepa Island and built a mansion that still exists off the coast of Fort Myers. So when the state of Florida did not have the money to complete the monumental task of building the Tamiami Trail highway across the Everglades, they approached Barron Collier. And he got the job done. In exchange for investing and building the trail, he was given 1.4 million acres, what is now Collier and Hendry Counties.
The Tamiami Trail created the county. We would not be here without it.
As NYC Police Commissioner, Collier was also interested in the future of our youth, and a big supporter of scouting in the early days. He received the Silver Buffalo award, which is a national award issued by the national BSA council. Only a few hundred people have received this award.
You can read the rest of this post with more photos at http://seminolewar.livejournal.com
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Florida Volunteer Militia Records
The ten volumes of Florida Volunteer soldier muster rosters have been digitized and are now available on the internet. It was originally published by the Florida National Guard and put in a few libraries in Florida about 20 years ago. But it was such an obscure source that only a few people knew that it even existed. (Myself being one of the few.) But the time I had in the library was limited, they could not be checked out, so I could not take the time to review it like I wanted.
One thing this does is provide more information for the 3rd Seminole War skirmishes. I found a lot more dates for battles around Big Cypress that I did not have beforehand.
Reading the lists, it is a "who's who" of Florida settlers during antebellum Florida. Central Florida cattle baron Jacob Summerlin and later assassinated Orange County Sheriff David Mizell can be found among the rolls. Famous names among Florida cattlemen like the Osteens or Barbers. And a few surprises, with units commanded by David Levy (Yulee) and Dr. Frederick Weedon, a few months before Weedon removed the head from the deceased Osceola. And if you are related to someone who was a settler in Florida during these wars, there is a good chance that their name will be on there somewhere.
This is a good source for forts that were manned and established by the Florida Volunteers. Skirmishes they participated in and the dates. And soldiers that were killed in battles.
It gives a better idea of the desertion rate of enlisted soldiers. How many, and sometimes where they went AWOL. Some of the desertions are very interesting. At one point Aaron Jernigan deserted, but I don't think it is the same as the Jernigan who founded Orlando because the age is different. The Aaron Jernigan who founded Orland did not fare much better and was dismissed by the governor as company commander and replaced by his brother.
And Willoughby Tillis deserted at the end of the 3rd Seminole War. He went from being at the battle of Black Point at the beginning of the 2nd Seminole War, became a 1st Lieutenant in one of the Florida units, and was active in the 3rd Seminole War when the biggest battle of that war took place on his farm. I guess he finally said that was enough and ran off. Today you can see where is buried outside of Fort Meade, Fla.
Desertions in the 2nd Seminole War were not unusual. A single company would sometimes have anywhere from one to four. But the rate during the 3rd Seminole was much higher. One unit during the 3SW had a sixth of the company desert. I think the harsh conditions during that time and the unforgiving climate of Big Cypress were very unappealing.
I noticed one company that had a high rate of desertions during the last week of the Third Seminole War in May 1858. I guess they figured that was enough and it was time to go home.
Some soldiers even enlisted in the Army. Apparently the military life appeared very attractive to them, rather than return home to their impoverished homesteads. Of those who enlisted in the Army, it states that one enlisted in the 7th Infantry Regiment, and one enlisted in the 2nd Dragoon Regiment. The regiments of the other enlistees are not given.
One of the more interesting episodes listed is by Major Sylvester Churchill in April 1841, when a company refused to show up for a muster to be sent home. Capt. John Curry's company was in service for 17 days (not a long time of service) when they were ordered to come to Fort Clarke (Alachua County) and be mustered out. They were scattered to various forts around Alachua, but the captain and his men refused to attend the muster. Curry wrote Churchill, "that he should not attend the muster nor require his company to attend." It does not say why they refused, but it might be because they were ordered to 90 days service and didn't like traveling home after only 17 days. Also, the area they were serving was the most dangerous in the whole territory, and they may have felt an obligation to stay and protect the local citizens.
Horses were often noted. A mounted soldier would received rations and pay for his horses. But it wasn't easy on the horses that would often die from disease or exhaustion. The death of the horses and cause is often listed. There are even a few that are listed as killed by snake bites. On November 27, 1857, the Seminoles killed almost an entire company's horses grazing in a pasture. This was probably in retaliation to recent raids by the Army who burned several villages in Big Cypress. But one of the horses with that unit died three months before on the steamer Grey Cloud, which was also the boat that took away Billy Bowleg's people at the end of the 3rd Seminole War.
But horses were more valuable than Negroes. Slaves are listed as servants to the officers on occasion, and if they died there are not any more details. Personal descriptions or information about the slaves are never given. Not often a name of the person is even revealed.
The most bizarre case I found in the records was when General Taylor accused one Florida soldier as being a deserter from the regular Army. It is very serious when you are accused of desertion (which can be a hanging offense) by the commanding general in Florida. The charges were investigated, and proved to be false.
Some of the reasons for soldiers being discharged were interesting. And a bit hard to figure out; like, "discharged for inefficiency," or "inability." I can only imagine.Some soldiers killed each other and were arrested by civil authorities. One of those arrested subsequently escaped from jail.
So, I hope to investigate these lists further.
One thing this does is provide more information for the 3rd Seminole War skirmishes. I found a lot more dates for battles around Big Cypress that I did not have beforehand.
Reading the lists, it is a "who's who" of Florida settlers during antebellum Florida. Central Florida cattle baron Jacob Summerlin and later assassinated Orange County Sheriff David Mizell can be found among the rolls. Famous names among Florida cattlemen like the Osteens or Barbers. And a few surprises, with units commanded by David Levy (Yulee) and Dr. Frederick Weedon, a few months before Weedon removed the head from the deceased Osceola. And if you are related to someone who was a settler in Florida during these wars, there is a good chance that their name will be on there somewhere.
This is a good source for forts that were manned and established by the Florida Volunteers. Skirmishes they participated in and the dates. And soldiers that were killed in battles.
It gives a better idea of the desertion rate of enlisted soldiers. How many, and sometimes where they went AWOL. Some of the desertions are very interesting. At one point Aaron Jernigan deserted, but I don't think it is the same as the Jernigan who founded Orlando because the age is different. The Aaron Jernigan who founded Orland did not fare much better and was dismissed by the governor as company commander and replaced by his brother.
And Willoughby Tillis deserted at the end of the 3rd Seminole War. He went from being at the battle of Black Point at the beginning of the 2nd Seminole War, became a 1st Lieutenant in one of the Florida units, and was active in the 3rd Seminole War when the biggest battle of that war took place on his farm. I guess he finally said that was enough and ran off. Today you can see where is buried outside of Fort Meade, Fla.
Desertions in the 2nd Seminole War were not unusual. A single company would sometimes have anywhere from one to four. But the rate during the 3rd Seminole was much higher. One unit during the 3SW had a sixth of the company desert. I think the harsh conditions during that time and the unforgiving climate of Big Cypress were very unappealing.
I noticed one company that had a high rate of desertions during the last week of the Third Seminole War in May 1858. I guess they figured that was enough and it was time to go home.
Some soldiers even enlisted in the Army. Apparently the military life appeared very attractive to them, rather than return home to their impoverished homesteads. Of those who enlisted in the Army, it states that one enlisted in the 7th Infantry Regiment, and one enlisted in the 2nd Dragoon Regiment. The regiments of the other enlistees are not given.
One of the more interesting episodes listed is by Major Sylvester Churchill in April 1841, when a company refused to show up for a muster to be sent home. Capt. John Curry's company was in service for 17 days (not a long time of service) when they were ordered to come to Fort Clarke (Alachua County) and be mustered out. They were scattered to various forts around Alachua, but the captain and his men refused to attend the muster. Curry wrote Churchill, "that he should not attend the muster nor require his company to attend." It does not say why they refused, but it might be because they were ordered to 90 days service and didn't like traveling home after only 17 days. Also, the area they were serving was the most dangerous in the whole territory, and they may have felt an obligation to stay and protect the local citizens.
Horses were often noted. A mounted soldier would received rations and pay for his horses. But it wasn't easy on the horses that would often die from disease or exhaustion. The death of the horses and cause is often listed. There are even a few that are listed as killed by snake bites. On November 27, 1857, the Seminoles killed almost an entire company's horses grazing in a pasture. This was probably in retaliation to recent raids by the Army who burned several villages in Big Cypress. But one of the horses with that unit died three months before on the steamer Grey Cloud, which was also the boat that took away Billy Bowleg's people at the end of the 3rd Seminole War.
But horses were more valuable than Negroes. Slaves are listed as servants to the officers on occasion, and if they died there are not any more details. Personal descriptions or information about the slaves are never given. Not often a name of the person is even revealed.
The most bizarre case I found in the records was when General Taylor accused one Florida soldier as being a deserter from the regular Army. It is very serious when you are accused of desertion (which can be a hanging offense) by the commanding general in Florida. The charges were investigated, and proved to be false.
Some of the reasons for soldiers being discharged were interesting. And a bit hard to figure out; like, "discharged for inefficiency," or "inability." I can only imagine.Some soldiers killed each other and were arrested by civil authorities. One of those arrested subsequently escaped from jail.
So, I hope to investigate these lists further.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)