GENERAL HOSTILITIES.
The Troops along the Florida frontier become active--The Exiles on
Suwanee and Withlacoochee prepare for War--General Gaines's
representation of their numbers--Depredations committed during the
Spring and Summer of 1817--Massacre of Lieutenant Scott and his
party--Its Effect upon the Country--Congress not consulted as to
this War--General Gaines authorized to Invade Florida--General
Jackson ordered to the Field--Mr. Monroe assumes the Duties of
President--His Cabinet--Character of Congress--Public Sentiment in
regard to discussion of Subjects connected with Slavery--General
Jackson concentrates his Army at Fort Scott--Proceeds to
Mickasukie--Battle--Destruction of the Town--Marches to St.
Marks--Indian Chiefs decoyed on board a Vessel--Hanged by order of
General Jackson--The Army moves upon Suwanee--Its Situation--Exiles
prepare for a decisive Battle--Severe Conflict--General Jackson
takes the Town--Captures Indian Women and Children--Burns the
Villages of that region--Returns to Pensacola--Capture and Trial of
Arbuthnot and Ambrister--Their Execution--Invasion of Florida
condemned by some of our Statesmen, and vindicated by others.
The nation having been precipitated into war (1816), the Officers of
Government, and the army, at once became active in carrying it on.
Orders were sent to General Gaines, exhorting him to vigilance, caution
and promptitude. He was on the southern frontier of Georgia, where it
was naturally supposed the first blow, in retaliation for the massacre
of Blount's Fort, would fall. His scouts were constantly on the alert,
his outposts strengthened, and his troops kept in readiness for action.
The Seminole Indians had lost some thirty men, who had intermarried with
the Exiles, and were in the fort at the time of the massacre. They
entertain the opinion that the souls of their murdered friends are never
at rest while their blood remains unavenged; nor could it be supposed
that the Exiles would feel no desire to visit retributive justice upon
the murderers of their friends. Long did this desire continue, in the
minds of the surviving Exiles, until, many years subsequently, their
vengeance was satiated, their hands were stained, and their garments
saturated, in the blood of our troops.
The surviving Exiles had their principal remaining settlements upon the
Suwanee and Withlacoochee rivers, and in the Mickasukie towns. These
settlements were on fertile lands, and were now relied upon to furnish
provisions for their support during hostilities. Savages are usually
impetuous; but the Exiles were more deliberate. Colonel Clinch had
returned to Georgia; Sailing-Master Loomis was at Mobile Bay, and no
circumstances demanded immediate action. They gathered their crops,
obtained arms and ammunition from British and Spanish merchants, and
made every preparation for hostilities. During the summer and autumn of
1816, General Gaines reported slight depredations on the frontiers of
Georgia, but in February, 1817, he reported that larger bodies of
Indians were collecting in some of their villages; and in one of his
letters he stated that _seven hundred negroes_ were collected at
Suwanee, and were being daily drilled to the use of arms. This number of
fighting men would indicate a larger population of Exiles than is
warranted by subsequent information.
[Sidenote: 1817.]
During the Spring and Summer, both parties were in a state of
preparation--of constant readiness for war. A few predatory excursions
to the frontier settlements, marked the action of the Indians and
Exiles, while the army, under General Gaines, often sent parties into
the Indian country, without any important incident or effect. The first
effective blow was struck in November. A boat was ascending the
Appalachicola river, with supplies for Fort Scott, under the escort of a
Lieutenant and forty men, in company with a number of women and
children. Information of this fact was communicated to the Exiles and
Indians resident at Mickasukie, and a band of warriors at once hastened
to intercept them. They succeeded in drawing them into ambush, a few
miles below the mouth of Flint River, and the Lieutenant, and all his
men but six, and all the children, and all the women but one, were
massacred on the spot. Six soldiers escaped, and one woman was spared
and taken to Suwanee as a prisoner. Here she was kept by the Exiles
through the winter, and treated with great kindness, residing in their
families and sharing their hospitality. She had thus an opportunity of
learning their condition, and the state of civilization to which they
had attained, as well as their desire to be at peace with mankind, in
order to enjoy their own rights and liberties.
[Sidenote: 1818.]
This massacre was regarded by the country as a most barbarous and wanton
sacrifice of human life. The newspapers blazoned it forth as an
exhibition of savage barbarity. The deep indignation of the people was
invoked against the Seminoles, who were represented as alone responsible
for the murder of Lieutenant Scott, and his men. Probably nine-tenths of
the Editors, thus assailing the Seminoles, were not aware of the
atrocious sacrifice of human life at "Blount's Fort," in July of the
previous year. Even the President of the United States, in his Message
(March 25), relating to these hostile movements of the Seminoles, during
the previous year, declared "_The hostilities of this Tribe were
unprovoked_," as though the record of the massacre at "Blount's Fort"
had been erased from the records of the moral Universe. Notwithstanding
our army had, in a time of profound peace, invaded the Spanish
Territory, marched sixty miles into its interior, opened a cannonade
upon "Blount's Fort," blown it up, with an unprecedented massacre, in
which both Seminole Indians and negroes were slain, and two of their
principal men given over to barbarous torture; yet, the President, in
his Message, as if to falsify the history of current events, declared
that "as almost the whole of this Tribe inhabit the country within the
limits of Florida, Spain was bound, by the Treaty of 1795, to restrain
them from committing depredations against the United States." Such were
the efforts made to misrepresent facts, in relation to the first
Seminole War. With its commencement, the people had nothing to do; they
were not consulted, nor were their Representatives in Congress permitted
to exercise any influence over the subject. The correspondence between
General Gaines and the Secretary of War, in regard to the occupation of
the fort by the Exiles, had commenced on the fourteenth of May, 1815. It
was continued while Congress was in session, in 1815 and 1816, but no
facts in regard to the plan of destroying it, and entering upon a war,
for the purpose of murdering or enslaving the Exiles, had been
communicated to Congress or the public.
Orders were now issued to General Gaines, authorizing him to carry the
war into Florida, for the purpose of punishing the Seminoles. General
Jackson was ordered to take the field, in person, with power to call on
the States of Tennessee and Georgia for such militia as he might deem
necessary, for the due prosecution of the war; and the most formidable
arrangements were made for carrying on hostilities upon a large scale.
Mr. Monroe had assumed the duties of President in March, 1817. He had
appointed Hon. John Quincy Adams Secretary of State, at the commencement
of his administration; but the office of Secretary of War was not filled
by a permanent appointment, for some months, in consequence of Governor
Shelby's refusal to accept it, on account of his advanced age. It was
finally conferred on Hon. John C. Calhoun, who, through his entire
official life, was distinguished for his devotion to the institution of
Slavery; and this war having been entered upon for the support of that
institution, it may well be supposed that he exerted his utmost energies
for its vigorous prosecution.
The fifteenth Congress assembled in December, 1817. Most of the members
from the free States had not enjoyed the advantages of having served
long in that body. They afterwards showed themselves able men; but the
business of legislation requires experience, industry, and a perfect
knowledge of the past action of government. This cannot be obtained in
one session, nor in one Congress; it can only be gathered by the labors
of an active life. It is, therefore, not surprising that Congress
granted to the War Department whatever funds the President required to
carry on the war.
It is not our province to applaud, or condemn, public men; but history
represents no member of the fifteenth Congress as having proclaimed the
cause of this war, or the atrocious massacre which characterized its
commencement. On the contrary, those who spoke on the subject,
represented it as entirely owing to the Indian murders on the frontiers
of Georgia, and to the massacre of Lieutenant Scott and his men. There
was great delicacy exhibited, and had been for many years previously, in
regard to the agitation of any question touching the institution of
Slavery; and the people of the free and slave States appeared to feel
that silence on that subject was obligatory upon every citizen who
desired a continuance of the Union. These circumstances rendered it easy
for the Administration to prosecute the war, with whatever force they
deemed necessary for the speedy subjection of Indians and Exiles.
On entering the field of active service, General Jackson called on the
State of Tennessee for two thousand troops. He repaired to Harford, on
the Ockmulgee, where a body of volunteers, from Georgia, had already
assembled, and organizing them, he requested the aid of the Creek
Indians also. They readily volunteered, under the command of their
chief, McIntosh, ready to share in the honors and dangers of the
approaching campaign. With the Georgia volunteers and Creek Indians,
General Jackson marched to Fort Scott, where he was joined by about one
thousand regular troops.
With this force, he moved upon the Mickasukie towns, situated near the
Lake of that name, some thirty miles south of the line of Georgia. It
was the nearest place at which the Exiles had settled in considerable
numbers. There were several small villages in the vicinity of this Lake,
inhabited almost entirely by blacks. A large quantity of provisions had
been stored there. There were also several Seminole towns between
Mickasukie Lake and Tallahasse, on the west.
The Exiles appear to have viewed the approach of General Jackson with
coolness and firmness. They had evidently calculated the result with
perfect accuracy. Their women and children were removed to places of
safety, and their herds of cattle were driven beyond the reach of the
invading army; and some of their Indian allies followed the example thus
set them by the Exiles; yet others were not equally careful in
calculating future events.
Neither Indians nor negroes had made these towns their general
rendezvous; nor did they expect a decisive battle to occur at that
point; yet they prepared to meet General Jackson, and his army, in a
becoming manner. Most of their forces were collected prior to the
arrival of our troops. In making the requisite dispositions for battle,
the Indians were formed in one body, and the negroes in another--each
being under their respective chiefs.
General Jackson encountered the allied forces at some little distance
from the Mickasukie towns, April first. The battle was of short
duration. The Indians soon fled. The Exiles fought with greater
obstinacy. Their fire was so fatal that a reinforcement was ordered to
that part of the field, and the Exiles were driven from their position,
leaving twelve of their number dead upon the field.
In his official report of this battle, General Jackson insisted that
British officers had drilled the negroes, and British traders had
furnished them ammunition. He also reported that he burned more than
three hundred dwellings, and obtained a supply of provisions and cattle
for his army.
The Exiles, generally, retreated to Suwanee, and the Indians continued
to hang around the American army, watching its movements. General
Jackson, however, directed his course towards St. Marks, a Spanish fort,
situated on the river of that name, some fifty miles southwest of
Mickasukie Lake.
The American army reached St. Marks on the seventh of April, and
remained there several days. One of the American vessels lying in
Appalachicola Bay, hoisted British colors, in order to decoy some
Indians who were looking at them from the shore. Two of the "Red Stick"
band ventured on board; they were said to be chiefs, and in alliance
with the Seminoles. General Jackson ordered them to be hanged, without
trial or ceremony, justifying the act by charging them with having
participated in the massacre of Lieutenant Scott and his party, during
the previous autumn, apparently unconscious that, by his own orders, two
hundred and seventy people, including innocent children and women, had
been most wantonly and barbarously murdered at the fort on
Appalachicola, and that Lieutenant Scott and _thirty_ men were murdered
in retaliation for that act, according to savage warfare. He appears to
have felt it due to offended justice, that these men should die for
being suspected of participating in that act of retaliation. In all
these cases, the most assiduous efforts were exerted to misrepresent the
real state of facts.
The time occupied in the approach and capture of Fort St. Marks, gave to
the Exiles and Indians full opportunity to concentrate their forces at
Suwanee. It constituted the most populous settlement of the Exiles,
after the destruction of that upon the Appalachicola. It was regarded as
their stronghold. Surrounded by swamps, it was approached only through
narrow defiles, which rendered it difficult for an army to reach it.
Here many of the Exiles had been born and reared to manhood. Here were
their homes, their firesides. Here their chief, Nero, resided; and here
they concentrated their whole force. They had removed their women and
children, their provisions and cattle, to places of safety, and coolly
awaited the approach of General Jackson's army.[44]
Scouting parties were, however, sent out to harrass his advance guard,
and delay his approach, and render it more difficult; but,
notwithstanding these obstacles, the army steadily advanced, and on the
nineteenth of April reached the "Old Town" of "Suwanee," and found the
allied forces in order of battle, prepared to contest the field. The
Indians were again formed on the right, and the Exiles constituted the
left wing, bringing them in conflict with the right wing of General
Jackson's forces.
With the Exiles, there was no alternative other than war or slavery; and
they greatly preferred death upon the battle field, to chains and the
scourge. We may well suppose they would fight with some degree of
desperation, under such circumstances; and the battle of Suwanee gave
evidence of their devotion to freedom. They met the disciplined troops,
who constituted General Jackson's army, with firmness and gallantry.[45]
At the commencement, their fire was so fatal that the right wing of the
American army faltered, and ceasing to advance, gave signs of falling
back. But the left wing, opposed to the Indians, made a successful
charge; the Indians gave way, and the reserve was suddenly brought into
action to sustain the right wing, when a general charge was ordered, and
the Exiles were compelled to fall back.[46]
General Jackson, in his official report of this battle, refers to the
desperation with which the negroes fought, and says they left many dead
upon the field, but does not mention their number. He entered the town
and set fire to the buildings, and burned all the villages in the
vicinity. He also captured some three hundred Indian women and children,
while those belonging to the Exiles had been carefully removed beyond
the reach of the American army. This superior caution and provident care
appears to mark the character of the Exiles in all their conduct; while
the Indians appear to have practised none of these precautions.
But the allied forces, defeated, and their warriors scattered in various
directions, were pursued by McIntosh and his Creek warriors, who had
accompanied General Jackson, until fearing the Seminoles might rally in
force against them, they returned and again united with the American
army.
This battle substantially closed the war of 1818. It had been commenced
for the destruction of the Exiles; they had shared in its dangers, and
by their energy and boldness, had given intensity to its conflicts. From
the time they united in the expedition for the destruction of Lieutenant
Scott and his party, in November, 1817, until the close of the battle of
Suwanee, they had been active participants in every skirmish, and had
uniformly displayed great firmness; bearing testimony to the truth of
those historians who have awarded to the African race the merit of great
physical courage.
General Jackson appears to have spoken as little of the Exiles as duty
would permit, when communicating with the Secretary of War; yet he was
more free to complain of them in his correspondence with the Governor of
Pensacola. In a letter to that officer, dated a few days after the
battle of Suwanee, he says: "_Negroes who have fled from their masters,
citizens of the United States, have raised the tomahawk, and, in the
character of savage warfare, have spared neither age nor sex_. _Helpless
women have been massacred, and the cradle crimsoned with blood._"
We can, at this day, scarcely believe that this eloquent description of
savage barbarity was from the pen of a man whose order for the massacre
of defenseless women and children, at the Fort on Appalachicola, bore
date less than two years before writing this letter; nor can we readily
comprehend the effrontery of him who thus attempted to justify the
invasion of Florida, by reference to acts done by the Exiles long after
the army under his command had entered that territory, and committed the
most atrocious outrages ever perpetrated by civilized men upon an
unoffending people.
After the battle of Suwanee, General Jackson returned to St. Marks,
being unable to follow the Indians and Exiles into the more southern
portions of Florida. While at St. Marks, he ordered a court-martial,
constituting General Gaines president, in order to try Arbuthnot and
Ambrister. The history of their trial and execution is familiar to the
reader. The first and principal charge against Ambrister was, that he
excited the _negroes_ and Indians to commit murder upon the people of
the United States; the second charge was for supplying them with arms.
On these charges he was convicted and executed. It was also alleged,
that he was present at the battle of Suwanee; and some writers say he
commanded the Exiles on that occasion, and had previously taught them
military discipline.
In May, General Jackson issued an Address to his troops, declaring the
war at an end; and wrote the Executive, asking permission to retire to
his home in Nashville, there being no further use for his services in
the field.
The Exiles now returned to their homes. They had full leisure to
contemplate their situation. Many of their best men had fallen. Nearly
the entire population residing upon the Appalachicola River had been
massacred. Their villages at Mickasukie and Suwanee had been burned; and
it is probable that nearly one half of their entire population had been
sacrificed, in this first war waged by the United States for the murder
and recapture of fugitive slaves.
The invasion of Florida by General Jackson was condemned by many public
men, and was approved by others with equal ability. Even the then
Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, in his correspondence with Don
Onis, the Spanish Minister, defended the invasion with great ability.
But in the discussions of this subject, we find no allusion to the
massacre at "Blount's Fort;"[47] that appears to have been regarded as
a subject of too delicate a nature for public scrutiny. In the alcoves
of our National Library, we find many volumes of documents touching this
war, embracing some thousands of pages, in which there is the strongest
censure expressed against the Seminoles for provoking the war, and
condemnation for the barbarous manner in which they conducted it; but we
search them in vain to find any condemnation, by American statesmen, of
the object for which the war was commenced, or the unprovoked and worse
than savage massacre which marked its beginning.