In the early 1830s the US told the Seminoles that they had to move to a reservation in Oklahoma which most of them did without a problem. The ones that stayed behind signed a treaty stating that they would move if they were given a year to make preparations.  These Seminoles were very powerful composed of chiefs and many warriors. They had no intentions on leaving they just were buying time to gather up enough Seminoles to fight for their lands and for the Seminole People. 

In December 1835 Major Francis L. Dade and his 108 troops left Fort Brooke (Present day Tampa Bay) to help with the reinforcement of Fort King (Present Day Ocala). The trip was roughly 100 miles so the men started their march before Christmas which means they left around December 23rd 2005. The men more then halfway their marched for 5 days in peace they did not see any Seminole Indians so no flankers were set off by Dade cause the military road was quiet during their march northward. 

The Seminoles were aware of this army that was cold, tired and marching on the military road. They were watching for roughly 5 days quietly hiding in the scrub pines and palmettos they were waiting for the right moment. If anybody has been to the Florida woods some areas are very similar to a jungle like fauna so truthfully anybody or anything can hide in the woods without being seen. Since the Seminoles were experts in the woods they were able to camouflage themselves well.

On the morning of December 28th 1835 Major Dade said "Have a good heart; our difficulties and dangers are over now, and as soon as we arrive at Fort King you'll have three days to rest and keep Christmas Gaily" to his men to encourage them. Little did he know that only 8 hours later those would be his last spoken words. 

The 108 men were pass through a high hammock of oaks, pines, cabbage palms and saw palmetto when they heard a shot. They were not able to get to their ammunition boxes because their over coats covered them due to it being a cold day. All of sudden they were in the middle of an ambush. At least half of the men were either killed or wounded one of those men was Dade. The Indians then retreated which gave some of the men a chance to construct a breastwork of pine logs to be used as a small fortification. 

Then moments later a second onslaught took place the pine breastwork was only knee high and was not completed by the men. At that point in time nearly all the soldiers were dead. Two men John Thomas and Joseph Sprague escaped and made it back to Tampa while the fighting was occurring. After everybody was thought to be dead the Seminoles left the area. Two more men named Ransom Clark and Edward Decourcey pretended to be dead on the battlefield.  Both men also headed back towards Tampa with Luis Pacheco a black guide. On the way Decourcey was killed by the Indian. 

 So in total only 3 soldiers lived to tell the tale and only 3 Seminoles were killed out of 400 to 1000 Indians speculated by the survivors.  Chief Alligator known as Hallpatter stated their were only 180 braves some slaves some warriors of the Seminole Nation. Also responsible for the massacre was Chief Mico Onapa known as Micanopy and Chief Jumper. 

 I am pretty sure the Seminoles let a couple men escape purposely to warn the US that the Seminoles would not go down without a fight. This massacre caused wraith within the US government and the Second Seminole war had begun. 

Seven weeks later the bodies from the massacre were finally found rotten and unburied. It took the men 7 weeks to arrive here cause they had to gather a new army. The men were buried on the battlefield temporarily till the bodies were moved in 1842 to a National Cemetery in St. Augustine where today three stone pyramids resides over a mass grave. 

It really is a sad place when you think about it. I mean these men did not even get to celebrate Christmas let alone even have a chance to fight back. Most were shot and killed instantly. The Indians were able to kill the men and quickly disappear into the terrain which was favorable to them but not proper military warfare for the US soldiers.  When war was declared on the Seminoles their were at least 40,000 Seminoles that were able to elude capture and because of this that war lasted around 7 years. 

In 1905 a Congressman named Stephen Sparkman asked for copies of files related to the Dade Massacre to be sent to him. He proposed a bill to save the site but it was not passed. Then later on Senator Duncan Fletcher continued to gather more documents with the encouragement of Superintendent of West point named General Douglas MacArthur. By 1921 the state legislature funded the preservation of the battle site to be used as a memorial. The arch made out of stone and wood was built in 1922 at the entrance to this 80 acre area.

Today if you were to visit you would see a part of the Fort King Military road still preserved or at least a section of it. Another section of it lies near Fort Cooper where we also investigated. Along the military road are a few memorials of the men who had fallen here.  Their is a replica of the pine breastwork or rather log barricade that soldiers used in their defense. The lodge which was built in 1955 was named Tustenuggee meaning war chief.  Their is also a reenactment battle mound, meeting hall, picnic shelters, a playground and hiking trail. The area was preserved to look very old as their are stone bridges in various parts of the battlefield.  Their is even a giant oak tree near the battlefield which is supposed to be one of the largest on the gulf coast of Florida. The battlefield was placed on the National Register Of Historic Places in 1972. Every year on December 28th the battle is reenacted or should we say the massacre. 

Although this massacre had happened here today the place is rather peaceful but its also quite haunted and of course like most places you see on our site we are the first group to do an investigation here. I mean putting yourself in the soldiers shoes one can just fathom walking down the military road and being attacked by Seminoles. You can feel the energy here and the area is very different from your typical Gettysburg battlefield. Its very woodsy, lots of tall grass, giant trees which canopy the area and a little creek that runs down the middle of it.

What secrets does the battlefield hold do the soldiers ghost roam it or have they moved on? You decide!

© By

Rick-AngelOfThyNight

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