THE RENEWAL AND PROSECUTION OF THE WAR.
Objects of the first and second Seminole War--Action of General
Jessup and the Executive in regard to the Capitulation--His alleged
arrangement--Resumes hostilities with intent to carry out original
design of General Jackson--Establishes a series of forays for the
capture of Negroes--Choctaws and Delawares employed--Cherokees
refuse--Send a Delegation to make peace--Ross, the Cherokee Chief,
addresses a Letter to Wild Cat, Osceola, and others--Difficulty
with Creek Warriors--General Order--General Jessup's policy--Creek
Warriors discharged--Capture of King Phillip--His message to Wild
Cat--Influence of Cherokees--Wild Cat bears plume, etc., from
Osceola to General Jessup, proposing to negotiate--Jessup sends
back answer--Wild Cat, Osceola and Exiles come in to Fort
Peyton--Are betrayed--Seized as prisoners--Imprisoned at San
Augustine--Wild Cat escapes--Thrilling Narrative--Cherokee
Delegation induce Micanopy, Cloud and others to visit General
Jessup--They too are seized, and one hundred Exiles
captured--Extraordinary conduct of General Jessup--Cherokees leave
in disgust.
By the articles of capitulation, entered into on the sixth of March
(1837), the second Seminole War had been terminated. General Jessup so
regarded it, and so declared it. The Exiles and Indians so regarded it,
and some eight hundred came in under it and registered their names for
emigration, in good faith. The people of Florida regarded it in that
light, and remonstrated against it. They declared it a treaty of peace;
but complained of its terms, for the reason that it gave up the slaves
whom they claimed to own.
Learning this dissatisfaction to exist among the slaveholders of
Florida, General Jessup expressed, in his correspondence, an intention
of making an _arrangement_ with the chiefs, by which the slaves
belonging to the _citizens of Florida_, captured during the war, should
be given up. Why those claimed by the citizens of Florida should be
given up, and those escaped from Georgia and Alabama remain free, he has
failed to show! Why those who escaped, or, as he expresses it, were
captured during the war, should be returned, and those who escaped or
had been captured the day previous to the commencement of hostilities,
should not be returned, he has not explained; but he soon announced,
that he had made an arrangement with the chiefs to deliver up these
persons; and at once set the army at work to restore them. This
restoration of slaves, of itself, constituted a renewal of the war. It
had caused the first Seminole war, in 1816: it had caused this second
Seminole war, and General Jessup was himself conscious that such
interference with the Exiles would induce a renewal of hostilities. That
class of Exiles was numerous; they constituted a portion of the "allies"
for whose safety he had solemnly pledged the faith of Government.
It were useless for the friends of the then existing Administration to
say, that General Jessup made an arrangement with the Indian chiefs for
delivering up these people. The Exiles were the persons interested in
their own safety, for which they had fought. No chiefs had authority to
sell them, or to deliver them over to interminable bondage. But the
reader will inquire, with what particular chiefs was this arrangement
made? When, and where was it made? What were its terms? The only
answers, so far as we are informed, are to be found in the
interrogatories propounded to Osceola and other chiefs, when they were
captured, at Fort Peyton, on the twenty-first of October following.
General Jessup's first written interrogatory was, "Are they (the chiefs)
prepared to deliver up the negroes taken from the citizens? Why have
they not surrendered them already, as _promised by Co-Hadjo, at Fort
King_?" Here he merely claimed a promise from Co-Hadjo, an obscure
chief, who was not a party to the capitulation--did not sign it, and so
far as we are informed, was not present when it was entered into.
But, to show that no obligation whatever rested on the chiefs in this
matter, his next interrogatories were, "Have the chiefs of the Nation
held a Council in relation to the subjects of the talk at Fort King?
What chiefs attended that Council, and what was their decision?" These
questions seem to admit, that Co-Hadjo had merely promised to lay the
subject before the chiefs in Council; and here we find the reasons, on
the part of General Jessup, for not laying the arrangement before the
people: yet, under these circumstances, that officer charges bad faith
upon the Indians and Exiles, in renewing the war. The Exiles possessed
no means of informing the American people, and other nations, as to
these facts, or of maintaining their honor against this charge of having
violated their plighted faith.
In renewing hostilities, General Jessup appears to have fully determined
on carrying out the designs of General Jackson, in 1816, when he
directed General Gaines to "destroy the fort, and _return the slaves to
their owners_." From this time forward, he lent his energies, and the
power of the army, to the object of capturing and returning slaves. He
also deemed it necessary to change the mode of prosecuting the war, and
to make it a series of forays for the capture and enslavement of the
Exiles.
He had, the previous year, entered into a contract with the Creek
Indians, by which he stipulated to pay them a large pecuniary
compensation, and to allow them to hold all the plunder (negroes) whom
they might capture, as _property_. He now evidently believed that such
inducements, held out to the Florida militia, would have an effect to
stimulate them to greater effort.
On the eleventh of June, he wrote Colonel Warren, saying, "There is no
obligation to spare the property of the Indians; they have not spared
that of the citizens. Their _negroes_, cattle and horses, as well as
other property which they possess, will belong to the corps by which
they are captured."
The same orders were communicated to the Commandants of other posts, and
to the militia from other States; and the system by which the _negroes
and other property_ were to be distributed among the captors, was
prescribed in a letter to Colonel Heilman, declaring the field officers
entitled to _three shares_, the company officers to receive _two
shares_, and the non-commissioned officers and soldiers _one share
each_.
These arrangements were, of course, all duly certified to the War
Department, and approved, and thereby became acts of the Administration.
The letters of General Jessup, written during the summer and autumn of
1837, to Colonel Crowell, at Fort Mitchell, Alabama; to Colonel Mills,
of Newmansville, Florida; to Thomas Craghill, Esq., of Alabama; to
Captain David S. Walker, Captain Bonneville and Captain Armstrong;[97]
all show, conclusively, that the war was to be conducted by the
organization of slave-catching forays, in which the troops were expected
to penetrate the Indian Country for the purpose of capturing negroes.
During the sickly season no active operations against the allies could
be carried on, and the time was occupied in preparing for the more
vigorous prosecution of hostilities, so soon as the unhealthy months
should be passed. In order to carry out these forays, the Indians
residing west of the Mississippi were applied to for assistance. The
Choctaws and Delawares furnished many individuals whose low moral
development did not prevent their engaging in the proposed piratical
expeditions, for seizing and enslaving their fellow-men; but of the
precise number of individuals thus furnished, we have no authentic
information. The Cherokees however appear to have rejected a proposition
which, to them, appeared incompatible with the civilization of that
tribe; they evidently felt deep sympathy for their brethren, the
Seminoles, as well as for the Exiles. They agreed to furnish a
delegation who should, in a friendly manner, visit the Seminoles, state
to them the condition of the Western Country, and advise them in good
faith to emigrate.
At that period John Ross was acting as principal chief of the Cherokee
Nation. He was the son of a wealthy white man, who had long been
engaged as an Indian trader. His mother was a Cherokee. Ross had been
educated: had seen the advantages of civilization, and of Christianity,
and was at the time, and had long been engaged, in promoting
civilization among his own people. It will readily be supposed, that the
feelings of such a man would revolt at a proposition for his people to
engage in the capture and enslavement of any portion of the human
family. The correspondence between Ross and the Secretary of War is
interesting, and its perusal would well compensate the curious
reader.[98]
This delegation from the Cherokees consisted of some twelve of their
most influential men. They bore with them an address from Ross, written
with great ability and sincerity. Among other things, he assured the
Seminoles that they might confide in the justice and honor of the United
States.[99] This address was directed to Micanopy, Osceola and Wild Cat,
the three most powerful and warlike chiefs among the Seminoles.
The Creek warriors had engaged to serve until the Seminoles were
conquered; but after the death of Captain Moniac, and their other
friends who fell in the Great Wahoo Swamp, they had shown a disposition
rather to _avoid danger_ than to _catch negroes_; and it was deemed
proper to discharge them. But difficulties intervened in regard to the
division of the negroes claimed to have been captured by them, while
acting in concert with our troops. Some ninety negroes had been
captured, in whose bones and muscles, blood and sinews, seven hundred
Creek warriors claimed an interest; while the Tennesseeans, and other
troops, had been in the field acting with the Creeks at the time of
capture; and the Creeks could, in equity, claim only a pro rata
interest. General Jessup however met the difficulty with promptness,
and, to put an end to all future strife and discontent, he issued the
following:
"ORDER No. 175. TAMPA BAY, Sept. 6, 1837.
"1. The Seminole negroes captured by the army, will be taken on
account of Government and held subject to the _orders of the
Secretary of War_.
2. The sum of eight thousand dollars will be paid to the Creek
chiefs and warriors by whom they were captured, or who were present
at their capture, in full for their claims; the amount to be
apportioned among the battalions in proportion to the numbers
respectively taken by each, viz: To the first battalion, five
thousand seven hundred dollars; to the second battalion, two
thousand dollars; and to the spy battalion, three hundred dollars.
3. To induce the Creeks to take alive, and not destroy, the negroes
of citizens who had been captured by the Seminoles, a reward was
promised them for all they should secure. They have captured and
secured thirty-five, who have been returned to their owners. _The
owners have paid nothing_, but the promise to the Indians must be
fulfilled. The sum of twenty dollars will be allowed them for each,
from the public funds.
4. Lieutenant Frederick Searle is charged with the execution of
this order. He will cause accounts to be made, in the name of the
United States, and receipts taken from the Indians in full, for all
claims to the negroes, both of the Seminoles and citizens.
Lieutenant Searle will call on the Commanding General for funds to
enable him to comply with this order.
5. Until further orders, the Seminole negroes will remain at Fort
Pike, Louisiana, in charge of the Assistant Quarter-Master at New
Orleans, and in custody of the Commanding Officer of the post. They
will be fed and clothed at the public expense."
This order was reported to the Secretary of War, and on the seventh of
October was approved and became the act of the Executive; and the people
of the nation became the actual owners of these ninety slaves, so far as
the Executive could bind them to the ownership of human flesh.
Such was, undoubtedly, the view of General Jessup, who, on the
fourteenth of September, wrote the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
saying, "The Seminole negro prisoners are now the _property of the
public_. I have promised Abraham the freedom of his family, if he prove
faithful _to us_; and I shall surely hang him if he be not
faithful."[100]
This refinement in cruelty by which the life and liberty of a man and
his family is held out as a bribe to induce him to prove traitor to his
own kindred and nation, or to be hanged, and his family enslaved in case
of refusal, appears worthy a place in the history of our Government, in
order that our successors may have a correct idea of its administration.
The intention to enslave Abraham's wife, who was an Indian woman and had
been the wife of the former chief of the _nation_, and now the wife of
the principal chief of the Exiles, exhibits a total disregard of the
feelings and sympathies of the human heart, as well as of the prejudices
and condition of both Exiles and Seminoles. These Exiles were at Fort
Pike, near New Orleans, where we will leave them for the present, to
pursue our narrative of events which were transpiring in Florida.
On the ninth of September, General Jessup wrote Lieutenant Searle, as
follows: "You will muster the Creek regiment out of service, and
honorably discharge them. Then you will proceed to New Orleans, and
obtain funds to pay the Creeks for the captured negroes. The chiefs and
warriors who were actually in the field at the time of the capture of
negroes are alone to receive any part of the sum allowed. Those who
remained in camp and did not march are to receive nothing.
"You will examine the prisoners at 'Fort Pike,' (the ninety Exiles,) and
cause an accurate description to be taken of them, specifying their
names, ages, height, sex, and such other particulars as you may deem
important. They must all be comfortably clothed, at the public expense,
immediately, by the Assistant Quarter-Master at New Orleans, who will
keep them properly clad."
It would appear that some difficulty arose with the Choctaw and Delaware
warriors, who had expected to receive higher wages than the law allowed
for serving in the army. Such had been done with the Creeks, and
undoubtedly had been promised the Choctaws and Delawares. To quiet these
discontents, General Jessup wrote Colonel Davenport, on the seventh of
November, saying, "I regret the circumstance to which you refer. The
importance of fulfilling all our engagements with the Indians with the
most scrupulous good faith, is unquestionable. To dismiss them now,
might not only cost us another campaign, but may cause us difficulties
on our western border. We must retain them at all hazards. I wish you to
assure them, that _our laws_ do not authorize the payment of the sum
_stipulated_; but that the enemy has a large property, consisting of
ponies, cattle and _negroes_, and that I will pay them for all the
cattle they take, and they will be paid _fifty dollars for every negro_.
* * * Represent to them also, that our country is just, and if they will
serve well, I will take their chiefs to Washington, and represent their
case to the Great Council (Congress), and I have no doubt they will get
all that has been promised them." He also wrote Captain Armstrong of the
Choctaw agency, and Captain Bonneville, commanding the Choctaw warriors,
encouraging the Indians to faithful effort in order to obtain negroes.
Some of the Georgia volunteers appeared anxious to know definitely the
terms on which they were to expose their lives in these slave-catching
forays; and a letter was addressed to Brigadier General C. H. Nelson,
commanding the Georgia volunteers, by J. A. Chambers, aid to General
Jessup, saying, "We have not the order book with us at this moment; but
the General directs me to say, that all Indian property captured belongs
to the capturers."
On the same day, General Hernandez of the Florida militia, found means
to secure King Phillip, an aged chief, who lived some distance south of
San Augustine, with eleven others of his tribe. It may be regarded as
somewhat unfortunate, that history has failed to give us the particulars
of this capture. The subsequent conduct of General Hernandez may lead
the reader to look back upon this incident of the war with some desire
to know the manner of King Phillip's capture; to understand whether it
was peaceful or hostile; and whether any, and how many, white men, and
how many Indians and Exiles, fell in the conflict? But we must pass over
these particulars, as we have no authentic account concerning them.
General Jessup, when called on to report to the Secretary of War as to
violations of the flag of truce, merely remarks, incidentally, that King
Phillip and his companions were captured by General Hernandez.
Phillip had long been regarded as a chief of influence among the
Seminoles. Finding himself a prisoner, he became anxious to see, and
converse with, some of his friends; and General Hernandez, at his
request, gave permission, for one of the prisoners to carry this talk to
his family, inviting them to come and visit him in his captivity. The
message was faithfully delivered to his oldest son, already known to the
reader as "Wild Cat." He had been an active warrior at the massacre of
Dade's battalion; had been subsequently elevated to the dignity of a
chief; had visited General Jessup, under the articles of capitulation of
March, 1837, and at that time delivered up "Louis" as his slave,
demanding his transportation West under those articles; and when he
learned the intention of General Jessup to deliver up a portion of the
Exiles to slavery, he left Fort Brooke, and again swearing vengeance
upon the enslavers of mankind, became one of the most active warriors in
the Seminole Nation.
[Illustration: Coacoochee. (Wild Cat.)]
The Cherokee Delegation had reached the Indian country. The address of
John Ross was directed to Wild Cat and Osceola, as two of the principal
Seminole chiefs. They were together, and received the talk of Ross, the
Cherokee chief, assuring them of the integrity and honor of the United
States. After due consideration, it was determined that Wild Cat
should comply with the filial obligations due to his aged father,
bearing with him the peace token of Osceola, consisting of a neatly
wrought bead pipe, together with a beautiful white plume, to be
presented to General Hernandez, as the assurance of Osceola's pacific
desires. Co-Hadjo, another chief, bore a similar message and emblems.
These were received by General Hernandez, who communicated immediate
information thereof to General Jessup. They were propositions for
negotiating a peace, forwarded at the special request and advice of the
Cherokee Delegation, who were active in their efforts to stop the
effusion of blood, and restore harmony between our nation and the
Seminoles. By direction of General Jessup, Hernandez returned various
presents to Osceola by Co-Hadjo, saying, that General Jessup and himself
would be glad to hold a conference with them. The same assurances and
presents were given to Wild Cat, who also became the messenger between
General Jessup and General Hernandez on the one hand, and his brethren
on the other. With the hope of effecting an arrangement beneficial to
his friends and to mankind, Wild Cat left San Augustine with the promise
to return in ten days.
Punctual to the day, he returned with the very satisfactory assurance,
that Osceola, and one hundred Indians and as many Exiles, were on their
way toward San Augustine, for the purpose of entering upon negotiations.
With the intention of hastening their arrival, and manifesting an
earnest desire for peace, General Hernandez proceeded, with Wild Cat and
other friendly Seminoles, to meet the advancing chiefs, some twenty
miles south-west of San Augustine, at a place called "Pelican Creek."
Here he learned that Osceola would join them at evening. General
Hernandez left a quantity of provisions with them, and, desiring them to
select their encampment for the next day (Oct. 22) somewhere near Fort
Peyton, at which place he would meet them with a proper escort, left
them, and returned to San Augustine. They accordingly encamped the next
day near Fort Peyton, situated seven miles south-west from San
Augustine. They approached their encampment with great formality:
Osceola and other chiefs bearing white flags, expecting to meet a
suitable escort under General Hernandez, with the well-understood
intentions of entering upon diplomatic negotiations with that grave
dignity for which the Indian is so much distinguished. These flags were
kept flying in their encampment through the night and the next morning.
At ten o'clock (Oct. 23), General Hernandez, accompanied by his staff
and by most of General Jessup's staff, in full dress, met them as had
been promised, with the apparent purpose of escorting them to
head-quarters at San Augustine. After the ordinary salutations had been
exchanged, instead of preparing to march, General Hernandez, from a
written paper signed by General Jessup, read the following questions
addressed to Osceola: "Are you prepared at once to _deliver up the
negroes taken from the citizens_? Why have you not surrendered them
already, as promised by Co-Hadjo at Fort King? Have the chiefs of the
nation held a council on this subject?"[101]
Osceola exhibited the most perfect astonishment at hearing these
questions propounded at such a moment. He appeared, however, instantly
to comprehend his situation. Turning to Co-Hadjo, he said to him in his
own dialect, "You must answer; I am choked," at the same time exhibiting
unusual emotion for an Indian chief.[102]
At this moment, by a concerted signal, armed troops at once surrounded
the whole encampment, gathered rapidly in upon the occupants, made
prisoners of them, and at once disarmed them. They were then marched to
San Augustine, and closely imprisoned in the ancient castle of that
city. There was about an equal number of Exiles captured, at this
violation of our plighted faith; they were, however, sent to Tampa Bay
for safe keeping.
Wild Cat, having been made the instrument for betraying Osceola and
other friends, felt great indignation at what he regarded as the perfidy
practiced upon him and his brethren, and determined to escape from his
imprisonment so soon as an opportunity should offer. But he was
imprisoned in the Castle of San Augustine, whose gray walls, lofty
turrets, battlements and Catholic chapel, must have presented to the
young warrior a spectacle in striking contrast with the rude huts in
which he was accustomed to lodge, in the interior of the Territory. We
prefer letting him tell the story of his escape, which we copy from the
works of one who was then serving in our army.[103] Said Wild Cat:
"We were in a small room, eighteen or twenty feet square. All the light
admitted was through a hole (embrasure) about eighteen feet from the
floor. Through this we must effect our escape, or remain and die with
sickness. A sentinel was constantly posted at the door. As we looked at
it from our bed, we thought it small, but believed that, could we get
our heads through, we should have no further or serious difficulty. To
reach the hole was the first object. In order to effect this, we from
time to time cut up the forage bags allowed us to sleep on, and made
them into ropes. The hole I could not reach when upon the shoulder of my
companion; but, while standing upon his shoulder, I worked a knife into
a crevice of the stone-work as far as I could reach, and upon this I
raised myself to the aperture, when I found that, with some reduction of
person, I could get through. In order to reduce ourselves as much as
possible, we took medicine five days. Under the pretext of being very
sick, we were permitted to obtain the roots we required. For some weeks
we watched the moon, in order that, on the night of our attempt, it
should be as dark as possible. At the proper time we commenced the
medicine, calculating on the entire disappearance of the moon."
"The keeper of this prison, on the night determined upon to make the
effort, annoyed us by frequently coming into the room, and talking and
singing. At first we thought of tying him and putting his head in a bag,
so that, should he call for assistance, he could not be heard. We first,
however, tried the experiment of pretending to be asleep, and, when he
returned, to pay no regard to him. This accomplished our object. He came
in and went immediately out; and we could hear him snore, in the
immediate vicinity of the door. I then took the rope we had secreted
under our bed, and, mounting on the shoulder of my comrade, raised
myself upon the knife worked into the crevice of the stone, and
succeeded in reaching the embrasure. Here I made fast the rope, that my
friend might follow me. I then passed through the hole a sufficient
length of it to reach the ground upon the outside (about fifty feet), in
the ditch: I had calculated the distance when going for roots. With much
difficulty I succeeded in getting my head through, for the sharp stones
took the skin off my breast and back. Putting my head through first, I
was obliged to go down head foremost until my feet were through, fearing
every moment the rope would break. At last, safely on the ground, I
awaited with anxiety the arrival of my comrade. I had passed another
rope through the hole, which, in the event of discovery, Talmeco-Hadjo
was to pull, as a signal to me upon the outside that he was discovered,
and could not come. As soon as I struck the ground, I took hold of the
signal for intelligence from my friend. The night was very dark. Two men
passed near me, talking earnestly, and I could see them distinctly. Soon
I heard the struggle of my companion, far above me; he had succeeded in
getting his head through, but his body would come no farther. In the
lowest tone of voice, I urged him to throw out his breath and then try;
soon after, he came tumbling down the whole distance. For a few moments
I thought him dead. I dragged him to some water close by, which restored
him; but his leg was so lame he was unable to walk. I took him upon my
shoulder to a scrub, near town. Daylight was just breaking: it was
evident we must move rapidly. I caught a mule in the adjoining field,
and, making a bridle of my sash, mounted my companion. The mule we used
one day; but fearing the whites would track us, we felt more secure on
foot in the hommock, though moving very slowly. Thus we continued our
journey for five days, subsisting on berries, when I joined my band,
then assembled on the head-waters of the Tomoka River, near the Atlantic
coast. I gave my warriors the history of my capture and escape, and
assured them that they should be satisfied my capture was no trick of my
own, and that I would not deceive them."
While Wild Cat and his friends were imprisoned at San Augustine, the
Cherokee Delegation had been actively engaged in exertions to induce
other chiefs and warriors to come in, for the purpose of ascertaining
what negotiations could be effected with General Jessup in favor of
peace. Their objects were of the most humane character. Anxious to stop
the further shedding of human blood, they had come a thousand miles upon
this errand of mercy.
After great effort, Micanopy, the most important chief in the Nation,
Choud, Toskogee, and Nocose Yoholo, agreed to accompany a portion of the
Cherokee Delegation to General Jessup's camp, for the purpose of
negotiation, or rather to ascertain whether further negotiation were
practicable. They were accompanied by about seventy-five Indians and
forty Exiles. They approached the American camp under a flag of truce,
that emblem of peace, which is recognized as such by all civilized
nations, and treated with respect.
They reached General Jessup's camp on the third of December, in company
with a part of the Cherokee Delegation, and confided themselves to the
power of the commanding officer, trusting to the honor of our nation.
They were received with apparent respect and good faith, and remained in
camp under the expectation of further negotiation; of which there was
much said, and frequent conversations held.
After a few days spent in this way, the Seminole chiefs and warriors
were unsuspectingly seized, disarmed, made prisoners, hurried on board a
steamboat, and sent to San Augustine as prisoners of war.
As the Cherokees saw this violation of the flag, they were struck with
astonishment, and began to remonstrate against an act which, to them,
appeared an outrage upon the rules of civilized warfare, and which
involved them in its guilt. Finding remonstrance of no avail, they
requested permission of General Jessup to converse with the Seminoles,
in order to assure them that they, the Cherokees, had acted in good
faith, and were in no degree cognizant of the fraud practiced upon the
Seminoles, or implicated in the discreditable violation of the flag of
truce. This privilege, however, was denied them.
Feeling indignant, and conscious that the Seminoles would charge them
with complicity, in this violation of faith, they next demanded that
their principal chief should have an opportunity, in the presence of
such officer or officers as General Jessup may appoint, to see the
Seminoles, and explain to them that the Cherokees had in no respect
participated in the perfidy practiced upon them. To enforce this
request, they stated to General Jessup that, if the Seminoles were sent
West, they would thereby become neighbors to the Cherokees, and, if they
believed the Cherokee Delegation to have participated in this
transaction, they would never forget it, but would thereafter be hostile
to them.
General Jessup at length consented to permit the chief of the Cherokees
to explain these facts to the Seminoles, in the presence of himself and
officers; but would not suffer any other member of the delegation to
attend him.[104]
The Seminoles were sent to San Augustine; and that portion of the
Cherokees who had accompanied them to General Jessup's camp, at once
refused all further efforts to restore peace, and returned to their
homes; leaving, however, some four or five of their brethren in the
Seminole country, who, ignorant of the occurrences just related,
continued to urge other Seminoles to make peace upon such terms as they
believed just--assuring them that the Americans demanded nothing more.