Campaigns of 1838
Second Seminole (Florida) War
Campaign of Gen. Thomas Sidney Jesup
January
A line of forts are completed that form a boundary that starts at the Indian River Inlet to present Bradenton.
These fortifications are as follows:
Fort Pierce
Fort Floyd
Fort Bassinger
Fort Myakka
Fort Hamer
January 3d
Gen. Jesup leaves Fort Christmas with the St. John's Wing, of his army, south.
January 15th
Lieutenant Powell's force experiences their fiercest skirmish, near the headwaters of the Jupiter River, against Tuskegee
band.
January 18th
Gen. Jesup and the St. John's River Wing meet up with Colonel Taylor's forces near the Indian River Inlet.
January 24th
The Battle of Lockahatchee, the last battle Gen. Jesup commands, is fought.
January 31st
Osceola dies of Malaria in prison.
February 8th
Tuskegee and Halleck Hajo come in to parley with Gen. Jesup. The band is requested to camp near Jesup's force
and a letter is sent out by Gen. Jesup stating that the Seminoles request a reservation be set aside in South Florida.
February 20th
The U. S. Senate finds that there was no fault on the part of Colonel Zachary Taylor in the defeat at the
battle of Okeechobee.
February
Since the war in Florida started a total of 1,076 officers and 17,438 citizen soldiers served in the theatre.
March 17th
Reply from Washington D. C. states that the reservation proposal is refused.
March 21st
Colonel David E. Twiggs rides into the Seminole camp to disarm the band gathered there. This capture would be the
largest capture of the war with around 500 Seminoles being taken 151 of whom are warriors. This would lead to the entire territory
erupting in violence as bands start to head northward pass Jesup's columns.
March 22d
Lt. Col. James Bankhead in South Florida engages a band o warriors led by Holatoochee with no resulting captures.
March ??
Holatoochee is captured near the battle of the 22d and brought into custody.
First Week of April
Abraham and Holatoochee go out and convince Chief Alligator to turn his band in to the army.
April 24th
Lt. Col. William S. Harney leads a force that engages a small band in South Florida resulting in one Seminole killed
and one captured.
May 15th
Gen. Jesup turns over his command in Florida to Zachary Taylor, who is now breveted a Brigadier General due to the
battle of Okeechobee. Gen. Jesup's campaigns resulted in 100 Seminoles killed, and 2,900 captured.
General Zachary Taylor takes Command
May 27th
Near the Okefenokee Swamp and engagement between 40 Florida Militiamen and a band of hostiles result in two
militiamen being wounded.
June 4th
A force based out of Fort Brooke engages a band near Camp Izard on the Withlacoochee River. The Seminoles manage
to burn Fort Dade to the ground and attempt to do the same to a bridge across that river.
Major Benjamin L. Beall led an engagement on Kanapaha Prairie resulting in the death of Capt. Walker of Newnansville
and six dragoons wounded.
August 20th
With Middle Florida in a state of hostilities, the Secretary of War approves the enlistment of 500 mounted Florida Militia
to guard that area.
October 1st
The few remaining Apalachicola Indians agree to leave Florida.
November
Gen. Taylor sets his Fall and Winter Campaigns in motion.
Colonel Twiggs; I sent to hunt the area east of the St. John's River south to New Smyrna and build a post there.
Colonel Fanning; Was to re-establish Fort Mellon on Lake Monroe.
Colonel William Davenport; Was to re-establish Fort Clinch on the Withlacoochee River and scour the Cove of the Withlacoochee
for hostiles.
Lt. Col. Green; Was to patrol the area from the St. Marks River to the Suwannee River.
Major Gustavus Loomis; Was to patrol the Okefenokee Swamp area.
The purpose of these forces, other than engaging the enemy, was to build a system of forts and roads so as to
make it easier for patrols to locate the bands and force them south of the line between Tampa Bay to New Smyrna.
By the end of November the newspapers in the territory deemed the operation a failure.