The Fort’s Construction
We know some details of its construction from the journals of Lieutenant Colonel William S. Foster, and Lieutenant Henry Prince, who had just finished building Fort Foster north of Tampa Bay. The fort was square, with blockhouses at opposite corners. The walls of the fort were not the standard vertical pickets, but are believed to have been made up of horizontally stacked logs which connected the blockhouses and several storehouses. These two-story blockhouses were sentry posts, but also provided quarters for the men.
Fort Dade’s Role in the War
Before construction was completed, General Jesup set up temporary headquarters at Fort Dade. Detachments of infantry and cavalry were sent from the fort to scour the neighboring countryside for Seminole camps and war parties. Tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition were stored at the fort, along with thousands of rations for the troops and an immense quantity of forage for the horses. It was here on March 6, 1837, that Jesup, along with five Seminole chiefs and representatives, signed the Capitulation that effectively ended the war. The Seminoles agreed to emigrate, and Jesup, on behalf of the United States, agreed to protect and provide for them. For the next three months the Seminoles collected supplies from the Army, and then disappeared overnight on June 2nd. Fort Dade continued to serve as an outpost; it was burned on June 4th, 1838, rebuilt, and reoccupied seasonally throughout the war. No sign of it remains today.
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“Do Your Best" by Jackson Walker Last hour of Dade’s Battle, Second Seminole War,1835
© Jackson Walker Studio.
Archaeological Excavations
The Seminole Wars Foundation has acquired the Fort Dade site, and in conjunction first with Dr. Brent Weisman of the University of South Florida and currently with Gary Ellis of the Gulf Archaeological Research Institute, is sponsoring an archaeological investigation. The general outline of the fort has been found and numerous artifacts collected, including clay pipe stems and bowl fragments, cut iron nails and spikes, and bottle glass, burned glass and ironstone pottery sherds possibly associated with this time period.
Camp Izard
Early on Sunday morning, February 28, 1836, nearly a thousand U.S. Army regulars and Louisiana Volunteers, led by Maj. Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, pushed through the thickets cloaking the steep banks of the Withlacoochee River. Their objective was to cross the river for a strike against the Seminole Indians and their Black Seminole allies, who had gathered in the Cove of the Withlacoochee to fight against U.S. government attempts to remove them from their Florida homes.
Upon his first step into the dark Withlacoochee, Lt. James Farley Izard fell mortally wounded, shot by Seminole rifles fired from the south bank of the river. Immediately the Seminoles poured heavy fire on the advancing troops “spatter, spatter, then whang! whang!” in the words of one of the soldiers. The cannon was fired but to no avail. Gaines had not expected to meet such stiff resistance. As many as 1,500 Seminole warriors led by Alligator, Jumper, and Osceola lay concealed behind trees and underbrush on both sides of the river. The troops were forced to pull back behind a hastily constructed log breastwork, named Camp Izard in honor of the battle's first casualty.
Sporadic but heavy Seminole firing held the soldiers captive behind their breastwork through March 6. Rations ran short and the men were forced to eat their horses. Peace talks on March 6 were accidentally interrupted by Gen. Duncan Clinch's reinforcements, who fired on the Seminole delegation. On March 9, Gaines turned his command over to Clinch and the army retreated north to Fort Drane. The war had not ended. For now, the army had met its match. Six more years of conflict would take a heavy toll on both sides.
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Five soldiers were killed during the Izard battle, 46 wounded. The Seminoles later reported 33 killed and five wounded. The Battle of Camp Izard was the largest and longest action of the Second Seminole War. On March 27, Gen. Winfield Scott reoccupied Camp Izard and from there swept through the Cove of the Withlacoochee. But he too failed to crush the elusive Seminoles.
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Among the infantry soldiers under fire at Izard was Henry Prince, a 26-year-old 2nd lieutenant from Eastport, Maine, that state's first graduate of West Point. Prince kept a journal of the sights and sounds of battle, a remarkable eyewitness account that brings the action alive for the modern reader.
"the bullets twitter over our heads like a rush of blackbirds on a fine morning”
Henry Prince writing from Camp Izard, March 5, 1836
Archaeological Investigation
Archaeology is playing a major role in preserving the Camp Izard site and understanding its importance. Using the Prince account and military maps as guides, archaeologists have located the general area of the breastwork. Soil stains, topography, and the recovery of artifacts such as lead shot all provide clues in the search for traces of battle positions. No above-ground remains of Camp Izard exist. Future investigations will focus on discovering areas within the breastwork where the soldiers cooked and slept and where the Seminoles were hidden in the surrounding woods.
Partners in the Camp Izard Battlefield archaeological project include the Seminole Wars Foundation, Inc., Gulf Archaeological Research Institute, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the University of South Florida.
Preserving the Past
Preserving Florida’s unique natural and cultural treasures is a goal shared by many of us. Florida’s land acquisition programs lead the nation in making public funds and agency support available for buying lands of critical environmental and historical importance. In 1994 the Southwest Florida Water Management District purchased the 8,110 acre tract (containing the Camp Izard site), now known as the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, using funds from the Save Our Rivers and Preservation 2000 programs. Under a special use agreement lease, the Seminole Wars Foundation leads research, education, and management efforts at the Camp Izard site as well as other historically significant locations.
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