Dade's Battle
The
Second Seminole War
With
the Treaty of Payne's Landing in 1832, the Seminole Indians were supposed to
move their people west of the Mississippi River within 36 months. By 1834, only
3,824 Seminole's had made the move with the greater majority, led by their
chief Osceola, refusing to leave their land. On December 28, 1835 Osceola
murdered Wiley Thompson, an Indian Agent. On that same day, Major Francis
Langhorne Dade and his detachment of U.S. soldiers were ambushed by 300
Seminole warriors on their march from Fort Brooke to Fort King. These incidents
would begin the Second Seminole War. The Seminoles soon retreated into the
Everglades and began waging a war of attrition, using guerilla tactics against
their U.S. adversaries and would fight on desperately for more that seven
years.
Primary Sources
[1] Barr, James.
A Correct and Authentic Narrative of the Indian War in Florida. New York
: J. Narine
This book gives accounts from Ransom
Clark, one of the two surviving soldiers after the battle. This narrative gives
accounts of his involvement during Dade's massacre in which his detachment
fought against the Indian forces in Florida.
[2] Clarke, Ransom. The
Surprising Narrative of Ransom Clarke. Binghampton, N.Y. :
Being one of two men to survive the attack on their
detachment, Clarke was able to write about his experiences first hand;
giving the reader a personal account of what went on during the surprise
attack.
[3] Secretary of War. Treaty
with the Florida Indians. House Document No. 74, 19th Congress, 1st
Session. 1826.
Secondary Sources
[4] Laumer, Frank. Dade's
Last Command. Gainsville, FL : University of Florida Press, 1995.
Laumer's latest book is over the destruction of Major
Francis Dade's detatchment of troops in 1835. This work is more complete than
his previous effort in Massacre!
since the author has uncovered previously unrecorded documents, letters and
period interviews.
[5] Mahon, John K. History
of the Second Seminole War. Gainsville, FL : University of Florida
Press, 1967.
This book gives a very comprehensive overview of the wars
that took place in Florida. He details the origins of the Seminoles as well as
the events that were the First, Second and Third Seminole Wars.
[6] Laumer, Frank. Massacre!
Gainsville, FL : University of Florida Press, 1968.
This book was Laumer's first attempt at discussing the
events that led to the defeat of Major Dade and his command. He divides
his book into each of the days spent on the fateful march up from Fort Brooke
to that of Fort King. Though he tends to glorify the soldiers and give them an
air of utter patriots at times, he thoroughly analyzes the events that made for
their destruction.
[7] Florida
of the Seminoles. M. C. Leonard. 1995. Hillsborough Community College.
April 25, 2006 . <http://www.floridahistory.org/floridians/seminol.htm>
Professor Leonard gives the reader a very brief outline of
the events that made up the wars in Florida. In his detailings he seems to lend
a sympathetic view to that of the settlers pushing onward to fulfill their
desire for statehood and doesn't really express an interest in the views of the
natives being evicted from the lands they had lived on.
[8] Seminole
Wars. Wikipedia. April 20, 2006. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. April 23,
2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seminole_Wars>
As with most all Wikipedia explanations this gives a well
broken down outline of those events that made up the Seminole Wars. It as
well has many links to continue ones search for more information regarding the
events that led up to and that were a result of the wars.
[9] Fairbanks, Charles H. "Reminiscences
of the Second Seminole War". Winter '71. Volume 18, Issue 1, page
63-4. April 25, 2006. <http://search.epnet.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=7683422>
Using Academic Search Premier I was able to find this review
of a paper written after the war by a Mr. John Bemrose who served in the war,
giving his accounts of what took place during.
[10] Knetsch, Joe. Florida's
Seminole Wars 1817-1858. Great Britain : Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
This title covers the history of all three of Florida's
Seminole Wars. Illustrated with artwork from the time, the book touches base on
all three of the wars, the detail given for each is then somewhat lacking.
Though this is more of a cursory examination of the Seminole troubles, it still
grants an overview fit for an unexperienced reader on the subject. John K.
Mahon's Second Seminole War would still be a more complete detailing of this
conflict.