Florida Family Getaways - 2008 - (Page 18) he United States wanted the Seminoles’ land. The government told the natives to move west or fight. The Seminoles, under the leadership of chiefs Jumper, Micanopy and Alligator, waited patiently for their chance to strike. Three days after Christmas, when Dade and his band of cold, tired and hungry men reached this point in the trail, Chief Jumper emerged from the palmettos and let loose a war whoop. Upon hearing that call to action, 180 brightly painted warriors rose from their hiding places and fi red. The fi rst volley dropped Dade and more than half of his troops and ignited the longest and costliest native American war in U.S. history. (The history is detailed at the park, which offers a 12-minute history of the event called This Land, These Men.) As I describe this scene, my children scan the trees, looking for some sign of the battle that had happened so long ago. “Don’t worry,” I assure them. “The Seminoles are very nice. In fact, if you’re good, we might meet them some day.” Back in the car and on our way, I wonder if my children are too young to start learning about Florida’s history. But then my son asks, “Where do the Seminoles live now?” “Down in the Everglades,” I answer. “Do you want to go?” He nods his head. That’s when the proverbial light bulb goes off in my head. Why not take my family on a driving tour of all the Seminole historic sites in Florida? What better way to learn about our state than to combine a history lesson with a family vacation? now called Inverness to rest and recover from their wounds alongside Lake Holathlikaha. The soldiers built a stockade out of Sandhill Cranes, Lake rough-hewn logs, fearing another at- Holathlikaha tack like the one that had wiped out Dade’s command. Scott left a young major named Mark Cooper to protect the position. The Seminole native Osceola quickly set up camp on the opposite side of the lake, but despite several skirmishes, Cooper held his own, and the fort continued to serve as an observation station and supply depot throughout the rest of the war. Today, visitors can see a portion of the palisades that have been reconstructed; each March, one of the battles that was fought is re-enacted. In addition to being a good stop on the Seminole History Trail, Fort Cooper State Park, located in Inverness north of Tampa, offers hiking, canoeing and nature observation. Farther south along the old Fort King Military Road, hidden away on the banks of the Hillsborough River near present-day Thonotosassa (pronounced tho-nota-sá-sa), you’ll fi nd another reconstructed Seminole War-era fort. In March 1836, federal troops, still reeling from what had become known as “the Dade Massacre,” knew they had to keep the road between Fort Brooke and Fort King open if they wanted to hold on to Florida. But the Seminoles destroyed the makeshift bridges across the river as fast as the soldiers could build them. A blockhouse was needed to defend the fort. Fort Alabama lasted about three months before the Indians burned that too. The soldiers returned the following winter, rebuilding the structure and calling it Fort Foster. The fort helped protect the bridge and road for two years, but it was eventually abandoned. In the late 1830s, long before doctors understood the mosquito’s role in transmitting disease, yellow fever and malaria killed more soldiers than Seminole bullets or arrows. The fort was forgotten for more than a century until 1973, when a local rancher deeded the land to the Florida Park Service, which painstakingly reconstructed the building down to the most minute detail. Re-enactors often garrison the fort on weekends, offering visitors a glimpse of what frontier life was like in the 1830s. After touring the fort, visitors can paddle the river, one of the most scenic in Florida, hike one of several trails or cool off in Hillsborough River State Park’s revamped swimming pool. Next to the pool is the Spirit of the Woods Poolside Cafe. To see it all would mean a very long trip. The battles of the Second Seminole War were fought throughout the state, from the Northwest to the Florida Keys. The action started in the north and headed south as the Indians sought refuge in areas where white men dared not venture. In the spring of 1836, Gen. Winfield Scott led a beleaguered band of Georgia volunteers to the area that is As federal troops poured into the Florida Territory, the Seminoles traveled south into the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp to avoid the troops. From these wilderness sanctuaries, the Indians would raid settlements and army bases, then retreat back into the swamp. Dade Battlefield State Park As the war dragged on year after year, it became harder for the Seminoles to fi nd the food and supplies needed to sustain their communities. In August 1840, on a
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