The Dade Battlefield State Historical Park preserves the site of the opening shots of the Second Seminole War in 1835. I diaried the story of the Seminole Wars here. An excerpt:
So in 1832, the Seminoles were called to another meeting, at the Oklawaha River, and informed that they must sign another agreement. The Treaty of Payne’s Landing committed the Seminoles to leaving Florida for resettlement in Indian Territory, on condition that they found the land suitable. In 1832 a Seminole delegation was taken to Oklahoma, then pressured into signing a statement that they accepted the area. Congress ratified the Treaty in 1834.
Conflict was immediate. Many Seminole leaders hadn’t signed the Treaty, or had signed only under duress. The terms of the agreement gave the Natives three years to move, but the US now argued that the clock had started running in 1832 when the Treaty was signed, not 1834 when it was ratified. That brought opposition from some of the chiefs who had already signed. Amidst the rancor, a young war leader named Osceola pledged to resist the relocation. In a series of raids, both Americans and Seminoles were killed: when the Seminole chief Emathla agreed to move to Fort Brooke (present-day Tampa) to be relocated, Osceola met him on the road and killed him.
Fearing another outbreak of war, the Army sent a group of 110 men from Fort Brooke, under the command of Major Francis Dade, to reinforce the outpost at Fort King, near present-day Ocala. On December 28, 1835, Dade and his men were ambushed by around 200 Seminole warriors led by the war chiefs Micanopy, Alligator, and Jumper, near the current town of Bushnell. Only one trooper survived to retreat back to Fort Brooke and tell the tale. The Second Seminole War was on. It would be the longest and bloodiest of all the “Indian Wars” fought by the United States.
The State Historical Site was established in 1921. It contains a Visitors Center with a small museum, a section of the military road that Dade was following, and a replica of the log breastworks built by the troops during the battle.
The site has also been listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Some photos from a visit to the battlefield:
For those who don't know, I live in a converted campervan and travel around the country, posting photo diaries of places that I visit. I am currently in Florida for the winter. :)