Category:1835

--68.200.66.152 10:30, 9 May 2005 (UTC)Dade Massacre in Florida

Have you ever heard of the massacre at the Alamo where the Mexican soldiers killed every soldier and civilian in the Alamo? Most people have because of all the movies that have been done about it, including one presently at the theatres starring Billy Bob Thorton.

Well, there was another massacre which occurred approximately two weeks earlier in Florida. Because Florida at the time was so far removed from civilization, and news in and out of Florida depended on sailing ships, the news of the Alamo reached the general population of the United States much sooner. Therefore, the Alamo became famous and the Dade Massacre faded into the unsung pages of history.

Major Francis Dade left Ft. Brooke (now Tampa) on December 23, 1835 commanding one hundred seven US soldiers armed with the best weapons, cannons, horses and supplies for the soldiers to march one hundred miles north to Ft. King (now Ocala) to resupply and fortify that Fort. In the late afternoon of December 28, 1835 three hundred Seminole Indians lay in wait approximately 25 miles south of Ft. King. The Seminoles also had plenty of rifles, powder and balls and had one big advantage: they were hiding in ambush behind big trees, big logs on the ground and thick bushes and other covering vegetation. The first soldier shot to death by the Seminoles was Major Dade who was on horseback. The soldiers who were in two single file lines were quickly killed ....most before they could even get their flintlocks from underneath their Great Coats (standard military cold weather jackets they were wearing). Some soldiers managed to cut some trees down to make a triangular barricade, but they were soon killed by the Seminole's overwhelming forces.

Only two soldier/civilians survived the massacre and one had to crawl, do to his injury, the 75 miles back to Ft. Brooke. This massacre started the Second Seminole Indian War which was, at the time, the costliest war in American History and lasted until 1842. Had the Alamo never occurred, you would not hear, "Remember the Alamo", but instead, "Remember the Dade Massacre".

This discription of the Dade Massacre is a very brief and truncated version. A very good book about the Massacre is DADE'S LAST COMMAND BY Frank Laumer.

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