GENERAL JESSUP OVERTHROWS HIS OWN EFFORTS IN FAVOR OF PEACE.
Mr. Van Buren's advent to the office of President--Follows the
policy of his predecessor--General Jessup's stipulation in favor of
the Exiles--Sustained by precedent, and by National Law--Not
contrary to General Jackson's object in commencing the
War--Citizens of Florida protest--Compact ratified by War
Department--General Jessup for a time endeavors to carry out
Articles of Capitulation--Begins to yield--Promises to make
arrangements with Chiefs to deliver up Slaves who had left their
Masters during the War--Then declared he had done so--No such
Compact found by the Author--Subsequent history shows that he had
made such arrangement, by parol, with Co-Hadjo only--He also uses
army to seize and return Exiles claimed by citizens of
Florida--Revokes Order No. 79--Indians and Exiles take alarm--Flee
to their fastnesses--General Jessup acknowledges _all is lost_--The
War renewed.
On the fourth of March, Mr. Van Buren assumed the duties of President of
the United States, and General Jackson retired to private life.
Belonging to the same political party to which General Jackson had
attached himself, Mr. Van Buren was not expected to make any particular
change in the administration of the Government. Indeed so popular had
General Jackson been, that it would have required great boldness in his
successor to attempt any very obvious change in our national policy; and
so far as the Florida war was concerned, there was none whatever.
It was therefore fortunate that, under the administration of General
Jackson, the existence of the Exiles, as a distinct people, had been
acknowledged. In the articles of capitulation, they were again
recognized as the "allies" of the Indians. In entering into this
stipulation, General Jessup went no farther than his legitimate powers
extended. The peace of the country in that region was entrusted to his
judgment, under the direction of the President. If necessary to secure
peace, he had the undoubted right to send every slave, of whatever
description, from the Territory of Florida; and it would appear, that no
doubt whatever could arise as to his authority to transport to the
Western Country, all who were engaged in actual hostilities against our
nation, and that too without stopping to inquire whether one portion of
the people were, or were not, claimed as property by the people of
Florida. General Jackson had set a noble example on this subject which
was well worthy of imitation. When New Orleans was threatened by the
British, in 1814, he proclaimed martial law--ordered men into service
without inquiring whether they were slaves or freemen. Many of them were
slaves, and on the day of battle were emancipated by being captured or
killed by the enemy. The same powers had been exercised by our officers
almost constantly during the Revolution. It is a principle understood by
all intelligent men, that when war exists, peace may be obtained by the
emancipation of all the slaves held by individuals, if necessary.[93]
These articles of capitulation were duly transmitted to the War
Department, and were regularly approved by the Executive. It would
appear impossible that General Jessup, or any other person, could either
misapprehend or fail to understand this stipulation, which was in no
respect modified by other covenants.
But this solemn covenant was in direct conflict with the views and
feelings of the slaveholders in Florida and the adjoining States. They
understood the war to have been commenced for the purpose of reënslaving
the Exiles. These articles of capitulation constituted not only an
abandonment of that policy, but actually operated as an emancipation of
all the slaves who, having fled from service in Florida, Georgia and
Alabama, had joined the Seminoles and taken up arms against their
oppressors. The slaveholders were indignant at this stipulation, nor did
they fail to express their indignation.
A few gentlemen of distinction, who, with their families, had been
driven from the Territory, were residing at Charleston, South Carolina.
Having learned the character of the capitulation from private sources,
without waiting for its publication, they at once addressed the
Secretary of War, stating they had casually learned from a gentleman who
was present, that a treaty of peace had been concluded with the Seminole
Indians which contained "no stipulation for _indemnity, on the part of
the Indians, for such property of the inhabitants as had been captured
by said Indians_, and destroyed. Nor (say they) is it, we are told,
exacted from them that they should even _make restitution of such stolen
and other property, to wit_, NEGROES, _etc._, _as they now have in
possession_, or as has been invited into their country and allowed
refuge from its owners. We respectfully conceive, that the termination
of the war on such terms, anxiously as we desire peace, would be a
sacrifice of the national dignity, and an absolute and clear triumph on
the part of the Indians, who cannot fail to view the proposition made to
them, to close hostilities, followed up by a treaty permitting to them
such extraordinary terms, as a virtual suing for peace on the part of
the United States, and evidencing a want of confidence in their ability
to conclude the war through the means of their belligerent and physical
strength."[94]
But the most singular portion of this memorial is the reference to the
treaty of Camp Moultrie, by which the Indians agreed to arrest and
return fugitives; and the memorialists insisted that unless the Indians
be compelled to perform this stipulation the owners "_may never regain
their slaves_."
The gentlemen who thus attempted to control the action of our National
Government appear to have forgotten that the treaty of Camp Moultrie had
been abrogated by that of Payne's Landing, which our Government was now
professing to enforce. By this latter treaty, the Indians agreed to pay
seven thousand dollars as an indemnity for all slaves then in their
territory. This was accepted as a full indemnity, and the slaves then
resident with the Indians became free in law.
This memorial, though written at Charleston, South Carolina, bears date
only twelve days later than the articles of capitulation, entered into
at "Fort Dade in Florida." Of this movement of the slaveholders, General
Jessup appears not to have been informed at the time; nor is there any
doubt that he then intended to carry out this solemn compact in good
faith. On the nineteenth of March, we find his aid-de-camp Colonel
Chambers, by order of General Jessup, writing Lieutenant Colonel Harney,
stationed at Fort Mellon, directing him not to permit the friendly
Indians (the Creeks) to pass into the country occupied by the Seminoles,
and to distinctly inform the Creeks they "_must make no more captures of
property_;" and if they had made any since the signing of the treaty,
(meaning the capitulation,) Harney was directed to take a list of such
captures.
But the first serious difficulty suggested to General Jessup, in
carrying out his stipulations with the "_allies_," appears to have been
a letter from Major Thomas Child, commanding at Fort Armstrong,
informing him that a "Colonel Dill," a citizen of Florida, was at that
post, wishing to pass into the Indian country for the purpose of
reclaiming certain negroes which he professed to have owned, but who
were then supposed to have fled to the Seminoles.
In reply to this note Colonel Chambers said: "I am _instructed by the
commanding General_ to say, that 'Colonel Dill,' the person whom you
report having detained at Fort Armstrong, must not be permitted to pass,
_but be required to return from whence he came with all convenient
dispatch_. Hereafter, no person, not in the employment of the
Government, or express rider, must be allowed to pass your post. The
necessity of this order, and the strict enforcement of it, arise from
the necessity, that, if persons come forward to urge their claims to
negroes, it will evidently prevent the negroes from coming in; and if
they do not come in, the commanding General is decidedly of opinion,
that the Indians themselves will be greatly delayed, if not entirely
prevented, from compliance with the terms of capitulation."
The termination of the war had been regarded as certain by the
commanding officer, and by him so reported. The first article in the
capitulation, provided for the cessation of hostilities. But they were
renewed soon after, and the Indians and Exiles charged with a breach of
faith, both by General Jessup and by the Executive. And it becomes
important to the truth of history, that facts should be stated. The
articles of capitulation pledged the faith of the nation for the safety
of both persons and property of the "Seminoles _and their allies_."
Those "allies" could have been no other people than the black men who
were with them contending against a common foe. It is also evident that
Abraham and the Exiles who came in for the purpose of emigrating so
understood it. It is equally certain that the people of Florida who
memorialized the Secretary of War so understood it; and we need only
read the letters and orders of General Jessup to learn that he surely so
understood it: and the whole conduct of the Indians shows that they put
the same construction upon it. While, therefore, justice should be done
to General Jessup, we should be careful to do no injustice to either the
Seminoles or the Exiles. As further evidence of General Jessup's good
faith at the time, we quote an extract from a letter, bearing date six
days later than the one last referred to. It was addressed to Lieutenant
Colonel Miller, commanding at Tampa Bay, and is dated March
twenty-seventh, 1837. It is signed by General Jessup himself, who says:
"I have also been informed that Mr. Cooley's business at Tampa Bay is to
_look after negroes_. If that be so, he must be sent away; a trifling
circumstance would _light up the war again. Any interference with the
negroes which would produce alarm on their part would inevitably deprive
us of all the advantages we have gained._ I sympathize with Mr. Cooley
in his afflictions and losses; but responsible as I am for the peace of
the country, _I cannot and will not permit that peace to be jeopardized
by his imprudence_."
But these demands for slaves increased. The slaveholders were indignant
at the loss of slaves, and it soon became apparent that the stipulation
of safety to the "allies" of the Seminoles was _unpopular_ in Florida.
On the twenty-ninth of March, General Jessup wrote Colonel Warner, of
the Florida Militia, saying, "There is no disposition on the part of the
great body of the Indians to renew hostilities; and they will, I am
sure, faithfully fulfill their engagements, if the inhabitants of
Florida be prudent: but any attempt to seize their negroes, or other
property, would be followed by an instant resort to arms. _I have some
hopes of inducing both Indians and Indian negroes_ to unite in bringing
in the _negroes taken from the citizens during the war_."
In this letter, General Jessup begins to modify his former position. He
still entertains no fear of the Indians, if _their_ negroes or other
property be not interfered with, and suggests the hope that he may
effect an arrangement with the Indians and Indian negroes to bring in
(that is, to surrender up,) the negroes _taken during the war_. This
letter gives the first evidence, which we find on record, of General
Jessup's intention to modify or disregard the solemn compact he had
made, or to make another with the Indians and Indian negroes by which
they should betray those who had fled to them during the war.
But that he did make some arrangement of that character with the chiefs,
we are led to infer from a letter bearing date May fifth, 1837,
addressed to General Jessup by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
informing him that his articles of capitulation with the Seminoles had
been submitted to the Secretary of War, "_together with his letters of
the first and fifteenth of April, and had been approved_;" and the
writer then adds: "In relation to the negroes captured by the Seminoles
and to be _surrendered_, I am directed to say, that your arrangement for
having them delivered to officers of posts on the St. John's River, _is
approved_."[95]
This letter also directs General Jessup to keep a registry of all
negroes delivered to citizens, showing their names, age, sex, etc.
A general order, dated Tampa Bay, April fifth, and numbered
seventy-nine, announces first, "The commanding General has reason to
believe that the interference of unprincipled white men with the _negro
property of the Seminole Indians_ will prevent their emigration, and
lead to a renewal of the war. Responsible as he is for the peace and
security of the country, he will not permit such interference under any
pretense whatsoever. And he therefore orders that no white man, not in
the service of the United States, be allowed to enter any part of the
territory, between the St. John's and the Gulf of Mexico, south of Fort
Drane."
On the eighth of April, General Jessup wrote Colonel Harney, saying, "I
have made an arrangement with the chiefs _to-day_ to surrender the
negroes of white men, particularly those taken during the war."
With what particular chiefs this arrangement was made, or what were the
terms of the arrangement, the Author has not learned; yet, as we shall
see hereafter, he represented it to have been made at "Fort King" with
_Co-Hadjo_, an unimportant chief, and then attempted to hold the
Seminole Nation responsible for Co-Hadjo's promise. But under these
circumstances, the reader will ask what consideration was paid Co-Hadjo
to bribe him to enter into such a contract? That chief and General
Jessup and General Cass, Secretary of War, must have known he possessed
no power to bind the Seminole Nation, nor to surrender those persons to
slavery. It will long remain a subject of inquiry. Why did the War
Department sanction this violation of the solemn articles of
capitulation, which these officers termed a _treaty_, and which
certainly possessed all the solemnity and binding force of a treaty?
There is also an inexplicable obscurity attending this subject. General
Jessup wrote Colonel Harney, on the eighth of April, that he had _that
day_ made the arrangement, etc.; while the Secretary of War states that
he had learned of this arrangement by General Jessup's _two_ letters,
dated the first and fifteenth of April. One of these letters appears to
bear date seven days before, and the other seven days after, the day on
which he declares the arrangement was made. The withholding of such fact
seven days from the War Department would be as incompatible with
military duty as the giving it seven days before its existence, is
irreconcilable with the common perceptions of mankind.
In several instances, General Jessup had foretold that a renewal of the
war would follow any attempt to deliver up negroes to the claimants in
Florida, and it would appear that he must have expected that result; but
he communicated to the commandants of nearly all the different posts,
that he had made arrangements _with the chiefs_ for returning slaves
_captured during the war_. But, up to the twenty-sixth of April, he
steadily insisted that no obligation rested upon the Indians to bring in
runaway negroes who had fled to them before the war.
On the twenty-sixth, he wrote Colonel Brown, of St. Augustine,
saying:--"I have made arrangements with the Indians for the delivery of
the negroes _captured during the war_. They are to be delivered, if they
can be taken without delaying the Indians in their movements, at the
posts on the St. John's. The Indians are not bound to surrender runaway
negroes. _They must, and shall, give up those taken during the war_: at
all events, they shall not take them out of the country. Further than
that, I shall not interfere."
But while relating facts on this subject, we should be unfaithful to the
truth of history were we to omit the letter which this officer wrote, on
the following day, to Hon. J. L. Smith, a citizen of Florida. This
letter, bearing date at Tampa Bay on the twenty-seventh of April, 1837,
says:
"I received, yesterday, your letter of the eighteenth, with a list of
the slaves which you claim. Ansel is the only one of the three who has
been taken. I have him employed, at one of the interior posts, as an
interpreter. _The negroes generally have taken the alarm_, and but few
of them come in; and those who remain out, prevent the Indians from
coming. But for the premature attempts of some citizens of Florida to
obtain possession of their slaves, a majority of those taken by the
Indians during the war, as well as those who absconded previous to it,
would have been secured before this time. More than thirty negro men
were in and near my camp, when some of the citizens, who had lost
negroes, came to demand them. The Indian-negroes immediately
disappeared, and have not been heard of since."
It is believed that, in the conducting of this second Seminole war, no
act of any public officer will hereafter appear more inexplicable than
the conduct of General Jessup, in regard to this stipulation in favor of
the Exiles. No person can suppose there was any doubt in regard to the
original design of this stipulation. He at first appears determined to
carry it out in good faith; this was before he learned the complaint of
the slaveholders of Florida, made to the Secretary of War. He next
expressed his intention to make an arrangement with the chiefs to
surrender negroes captured during the war--as though the chiefs were
authorized to consign "their allies" to slavery. He next says he had
made such an arrangement, but fails to say with whom. At length it comes
out, in the future history, that he alleges it to have been made with
Co-Hadjo, an obscure chief, in no way a party to the capitulation, or
connected with it. And finally, in this letter to Judge Smith, he
intimates that he would have _betrayed_ many of those allies to slavery,
if the people of the Territory had been quiet.
Our present duty, however, is to record facts, without asking attention
to the intended treachery or fraud of individuals; but this avowed
intention of entrapping the negroes by inducing them to come in under
the expectation of emigrating West with their Seminole friends, and then
consign them to bondage, must attract the attention and excite the
wonder of Christian men. This wonder is increased by the fact, that
language is constantly used by slaveholders apparently intended to
mislead the Northern reader. For instance, General Jessup speaks of
slaves "_captured during the war_," as though the Indians made prisoners
of slaves. This is believed to be entirely without foundation. Slaves
being regarded by Southern men as _property_, incapable of thought,
whenever they fled from their masters and sought an asylum with the
Indians, the masters spoke of them as _captured_.
Soon us it was known that slaves were to be seized and returned, claims
were preferred from all quarters. The correspondence on this subject,
now in the Department of War, would of itself form a volume, if quoted
at length. Spaniards sent in claims for slaves lost while the Territory
was in possession of Spain, in 1802 and 1803. Claims from South
Carolina, from Georgia, Alabama and Florida, and from Creek Indians,
were presented to the commandants of different posts. Slaveholders
evidently felt that they were to be permitted to seize such colored
prisoners as they could lay their hands upon, and enslave them. They no
longer waited for black prisoners to be brought to the St. John's, or
other posts, but like wolves greedy for their prey, they hurried into
the Indian Country, and risked their lives in order to secure victims
for the slave-markets.
The Legislative Council of Florida became affected with this general
mania, and in the most formal manner declared the right of masters to
regain possession of their slaves, without regard to the Federal
Government or its officers.
Finding General Jessup incapable of resisting the popular clamor, the
claimants for slaves openly demanded a revocation of the General Order,
by which they were prohibited from entering the Indian territory for the
purpose of seizing slaves. A public meeting of the citizens of various
parts of Florida, was held at San Augustine, and a committee appointed
to remonstrate with General Jessup, and procure a rescission of his
order, No. 79, prohibiting them from entering the Territory, between the
St. John's River and the Gulf of Mexico, south of Fort Drane. The
committee addressed him in a long, written protest, in which they
declare, "the regaining of their slaves constitutes an object of
scarcely less moment than that of peace to the country."[96]
General Jessup now began to modify his order, No. 79, so as to admit
citizens to enter the Territory as far south as the road leading from
Withlacoochee to Volusi; and, on the first of May, so informed Major
McClintock, commanding at Fort Drane. On the day following, he addressed
a letter to Brig. General Armistead, directing that officer to "consider
Order No. 79 so far modified, that citizens will be permitted to visit
any of the posts on the St. John's, and to traverse or remain in any
part of the country south of Withlacoochee. There are large herds of
cattle in that part of the country which no doubt _belong to the
citizens_, and by allowing them to go into the country, they may perhaps
secure a large portion of them."
It will be recollected, that General Scott would not permit the people
of Florida to interfere in the discharge of his official duties, and
that they, through their representative in Congress, had demanded his
removal from command of the army. They now applied directly to the
Secretary of War, remonstrating against the action of General Jessup;
and it is possible that officer deemed it prudent to yield to their
dictation. Be that as it may, it is certain that he now lent the power
of the army to carry out the wishes of the citizens. Officers and men
were detailed to take black prisoners--who had come in and surrendered
with the expectation of emigrating West--from their places of rendezvous
to certain points where it would be most convenient for claimants to
receive them.
On the seventeenth of April, Major Churchill, aid to General Jessup,
wrote Colonel Harney, saying, "I am instructed by the commanding General
to acknowledge the receipt to-day of your letter of the seventh instant,
and to inform you that the negro prisoners captured from the Indians,
and supposed to belong to the white people, were sent from this place,
on the eleventh instant, to Lieutenant D. H. Vinton, at St. Marks, for
the purpose of being returned to their owners. The Indians have agreed
to send all slaves, _taken from white people during the war_, to Fort
Mellon and Volusi; and runners are now employed in the interior on that
service." On the same day, information was given to William De Payster,
that seven of the number sent to Volusi probably belonged to him. On the
same day also, "A. Forrester" was informed of the fact, that those
slaves "had been sent to St. Marks, and that six of the number probably
belonged to him."
Other plans were devised for securing slaves, as we are informed by a
letter from General Jessup to E. K. Call, Governor of Florida, dated
eighteenth of April, 1837, in which he says: "If the citizens of the
territory be prudent, the war may be considered at an end; but any
attempt to interfere with the _Indian negroes_, or to _arrest_ any of
the chiefs or warriors as _debtors_ or _criminals_, would cause an
immediate resort to arms. The negroes control their masters; and have
heard of the act of your legislative council. Thirty or more of the
Indian negro men were near my camp on the Withlacoochee in March last;
but the arrival of two or three citizens of Florida, said to be in
search of negroes, caused them to disperse, and I doubt whether they
will come in again; at all events the emigration will be delayed a month
I apprehend in consequence of this alarm among the negroes."
The emigration of those Indians who had come in to Fort Brooke, and
registered themselves as ready for emigration, was delayed in
consequence of the difficulty of collecting those who were expected; and
General Jessup began to see the effects which his violation of the
articles of capitulation had wrought on the minds of both Indians and
negroes. Indeed, he had in plain and distinct language repeatedly
affirmed that the negroes _controlled the Indians_; that any
interference with the negroes would cause a resort to arms; yet he
himself subsequently ordered negroes to be sought out, separated from
their friends, and delivered over to slavery.
The ships were yet lying in the harbor. About seven hundred Indians were
encamped ready for emigration, and had been waiting for others to join
them. Impatient at delay and disappointment, on the twenty fifth of May,
he wrote Colonel Harney, as follows:
"If you see Powell (Osceola) again, I wish you to tell him that I intend
to send exploring and surveying parties into every part of the country
during the summer, and that I shall send out and _take all the negroes
who belong to the white people_, and he must not allow the Indians or
Indian negroes to mix with them. Tell him I am sending to Cuba for
bloodhounds to trail them, and _I intend to hang every one of them who
does not come in_."
This intention to reënslave the Exiles who had recently taken up their
residence with the Seminoles became known, and created general alarm.
Many of the blacks, who had come in for the purpose of emigrating,
became alarmed and fled; and General Jessup, doubtful whether more could
be obtained by peaceful means, seized about ninety Exiles who were
confined within the pickets at Tampa Bay, on the second of June, and at
once ordered them to New Orleans, under the charge of Lieutenant G. H.
Trevitt, of the United States Marines.
This struck the Indians and Exiles with astonishment. The chiefs,
warriors and families, numbering some seven hundred, who had collected
at Tampa Bay for the purpose of emigrating to the western country,
thinking themselves betrayed, now fled to their former fastnesses, far
in the interior, and once more determined to defend their liberties or
die in the attempt. A few, however, were secured at other posts, and
sent to New Orleans, where they were delivered over to Quarter-Master
Clark, and confined at "Fort Pike."
On the fourteenth of June, General Jessup, writing General Gadsden of
South Carolina, says: "_All is lost_, and principally, I fear, _by the
influence of the negroes_--the people who were the subject of our
correspondence. * * * I _seized_, and sent off to New Orleans, about
ninety Indian negroes, and I have about seventeen here. I have captured
ninety, the property of citizens; all of whom have been sent to St.
Marks and St. Augustine, except four at this place, twelve at Fort
Mellon, and six who died."
General Jessup now saw that both Seminole Indians and negroes had clear
conceptions of justice and honor. That his efforts to deliver over
negroes to slavery had defeated the entire object of the articles of
capitulation of the eighteenth of March. The Indians had fled. The
negroes, except those who were imprisoned, had fled. The twenty-six
vessels, collected at Tampa Bay to transport them to New Orleans, were
yet idle; and, to use his own words, "_all was lost!_"
Abraham, acting for his brethren while West, in 1833, had caused the
article to be inserted in the supplemental treaty, giving the Seminoles
a separate country for their settlement.
In forming the articles of capitulation with general Jessup, he again
exhibited his capacity for negotiation; obtaining the insertion of an
article which, if carried out, would have proved a triumphant
vindication of their cause. But from this second manifestation of his
powers for negotiation, the Government of the United States found it
necessary to recede, in order to maintain its designs of enslaving the
Exiles.