August 14, 1842 was the day that the Second Seminole War ended, when Colonel William J. Worth declared hostilities in Florida at an end. This long and bloody seven years' war had come to a quiet end. The last battle had been fought four months earlier in April 1842.
Because the Second Seminole War was a long and costly war, it seemed as if it had lasted a generation. The Seminole leaders at the beginning of the war were either captured and sent out west, or dead. The Army commanders in Florida in 1835 and 1836 were mostly disgraced because they were unsuccessful in removing the Seminoles and ending the war. Gone were from Florida were Micanopy, Osceola, King Philip, Coacoochee, and Jumper. Also were gone were the famous generals of Winfield Scott, Thomas Jesup, Duncan Clinch, and Edmund Gaines. Now the Army was commanded by Colonel William J. Worth, who was trying to capture the aged Medicine Maker Sam Jones and young, fierce Miccosukee Indian war leader known as Halleck-Tustenuggee. The last battle of the war was not fought in south Florida, but in central Florida.
In April 1842, Colonel Worth personally led a concerted effort with companies of the 2nd, 4th, and 8th Infantry Regiments, and 2nd Dragoons, on a march to cover central Florida and capture any Indians they could find. They scoured the Wahoo Swamp, Cove of the Withlacoochee, Lake Panasoffkee, and Lake Tsala Apopka. A young Army officer named John T. Sprague, who was Worth's adjutant, tells about this final campaign in his book, "The Origin, Progress, and Conclusion of the Florida War."
Lieutenant Benjamin Alvord was with a company of the 4th Infantry Regiment searching the west side of the Cove of the Withlacoochee. He had been the last officer to see Major Dade and his command alive in 1835, and had the distinction of participating in the first and last major campaigns of the war. No signs of any Indians were found, except old, dilapidated villages, and abandoned cornfields. The Army had friendly Seminoles and Negro guides, who were unable to find any trace of renegade Seminoles.
One of the guides was Holartoochee, who was related to Micanopy. Once he had been banished from the tribe for adultery, but after four years with the Spanish Indians in the Everglades, he had become a war leader and speaker for the anti-removal forces. Now he was guiding the Army in the area where his uncle's town used to be.
Holartoochee found a single track leading to Palatlakaha Hammock (near modern day Clermont) about 20 miles from Colonel Worth's position. It was believed that this track belonged to a lone Indian who was spying on the movements of the Americans. The Army command camped at the abandoned Abraham's Town, four miles from what was believed to be the Indians' hideout.
Sprague writes of an interesting encounter between the Indian and Worth: In the middle of the night, Holartoochee went to colonel Worth's tent and pleaded for the lives of the Seminoles that the Army would battle the next day.
"There privately, with deep interest and feeling, pleaded for the lives of women and children in the approaching conflict; and that the men, if taken prisoners, might not be hung. The fervent appeals of this old chieftain, at such an hour, could not but be regarded. The Great Spirit," he said, "told him the Indians were there prepared to fight."
Colonel Worth was deeply moved by this passionate display.
The next day, April 19, 1842, the Army column set out. The Negro interpreters and Indian guides were very quiet and took extraordinary care to load their weapons and prepare to fight. Everyone was expecting a battle.
Dismounting from his horse and checking the grass, Holartoochee said, "An Indian has just passed here!"
"How do you know?" was the response.
"This blade of grass," holding it up, "was trod upon this morning: you see it is crushed; the sun, nor the light of day had not shone upon it-had either, it would have wilted----you see it is green, but crushed. Here are more-there is the print of a foot!"
More tracks were found indicating that the Indian was running to warn of the approach of the troops.
A further chase of three miles led to a hammock where the Seminoles had secreted their village. The Seminole village was a heavily defended stronghold of Halleck-Tustenuggee. Located southeast of Palatlakaha Swamp in the direction of Lake Ahapopka (now known as Lake Apopka), the hammock was two miles by three miles. On three sides were water and mud one to three feet deep, and a thick, almost impenetrable growth of foliage.
The Infantry companies charged the hammock but were repelled by heavy fire of waiting Seminole warriors numbering around 40. The constant, shrill war-whoop was in unison with a constant fire. Shouts of the soldiers added to the mayhem. A bayonet charge was tried, but the heavy fire and dense swamp kept the soldiers from taking the Seminole position. The soldiers had extreme difficulty attacking the Indian position. Their rifles became entangled in the vines, and some could not even bring their weapons up to their shoulders to fire.
Halleck-Tustenuggee and his warriors were prepared for battle as indicated by their standard Seminole wardress.
"He as well as his followers were in a state of nudity, their bodies painted scarlet, and the scalps, and other trophies from the whites, decorated the foremost in the fight."
One soldier was killed and three wounded in the four-hour long battle. When Private Augustus Wandell was killed, his fellow soldiers dug a grave for him in the mud with their hands and tin cups. He was wrapped in a blanket, and the grave was obscured to prevent it from being dug up by the Indians, as the battle continued.
Colonel Worth and the Dragoon soldiers attacked the rear the Indian position where the Seminoles were retreating. The Seminoles fought behind fallen trees and were only 20 feet from the soldiers. Halleck-Tustenuggee was giving orders above all the noise, and the Indians were in a panic once they realized their avenue of retreat was closed of f by the Dragoons.
The Seminoles concentrated their fire upon the Indian guides and Negro interpreters. The Seminoles knew who betrayed their position, and without the guides and interpreters, the Indians would never have been found. One of the interpreters was Gopher John, a Black Seminole and personal friend of Coacoochee who escaped with him from the prison fortress of Fort Marion in St. Augustine in November 1837. Now Gopher John was working for the Army and under heavy fire from his former Seminole allies.
As musket balls struck the tree next to him, he drew a flask from his pocket and said, "God-e massa, I feel all over, mighty queer, de Ingen fight so strong! I must take a big un." and emptied his bottle of all its alcoholic contents.
Holartoochee fought fiercely:
"Mounted upon his fleet and favorite pony, his breast bare, his sleeves rolled up to the shoulder, his long black hair, intermingled with locks silvered by time, streaming in the wind, and raised in his stirrups, with his rifle waving in the air, gave his piercing whoop, while his onward, rapid, and fearless charge, told the enemy that the voice, which once cheered the Seminoles in battle, and that heart, which had pleaded in their behalf, was still as loud and stern as when dictated by the reckless impulses of his youth."
The Army pressed forward, and the Dragoons were hitting the Indians from behind. The Seminoles realized that further resistance was useless, and broke into parties of tour or five and disappeared into the surrounding swamp and hammocks. The soldiers took the camp and examined the articles left behind. The women and children had fled the night before, but had left behind clothing, cooking utensils, and food supplies, indicating a hasty departure. Exploring the surrounding area and trails of retreating Indians only turned up one elderly Indian, O-son-e Micco, "King of the Lakes," who happened to be the father-in-law of Halleck-Tustenuggee. Later evidence revealed that the Seminoles had two killed and three wounded, but were carried away from the battlefield by their fellow warriors. The lone prisoner was allowed to leave with a promise to bring Halleck-Tustenuggee to a negotiation with Colonel Worth in five days.
Several days later O-son-e Micco met Colonel Worth at Warm Springs near Lake Panasoffkee, as agreed upon after the battle. He was given supplies to take to Halleck-Tustenuggee, including a shirt, because the warrior had been forced from his camp without any clothes. Colonel Worth was met by Halleck-Tustenuggee and his family on April 29th. Halleck-Tustenuggee's band faced starvation and was soon forced into surrender. Halleck-Tustenuggee himself went to different Army posts collecting supplies, but was captured and imprisoned after demanding too many supplies and when he delayed emigrating to the west longer than what the Army wanted.
In August 1842 Colonel Worth was able to cease the war. He had tried for several months to end hostilities with the Seminoles and allow the remaining Indians to stay in Florida far away from white settlements. The Army was reduced in numbers to whatever was needed to give protection to areas of large white population. Seminoles could visit outposts like Fort Brooke at Tampa Bay for trade and remain unmolested. Thus a quiet end to the Second Seminole War.
Quotes from John T. Sprage's book on the Florida War.
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© 1997, 2002 Chris Kimball
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