Last week we were able to make a trip to the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park. It is a great, little known battlefield in the state of Florida that we recommend visiting. Additionally it gave us the opportunity to begin our journey to obtain the Florida Junior Ranger pin. If you are a history buff like me or just enjoy viewing nature you should consider a visit.
As we mentioned on Thursday, we have begun exploring some of the Florida State Parks, so here at the Dade Battlefield the kids began the Florida Jr. Ranger Program. It is similar to the National Park Service's Jr. Ranger Program, which we've discussed briefly before, in that it allows kids to come to the park and learn about a site as they complete activities. We opted to print up and fill out our core booklet at home the day before our trip. At the park, the kids turned in their booklets and repeated the Jr. Ranger pledge, after which they were given a badge to wear and patch to add to their collection. (I really need to get them vest for them soon.) The ranger on duty also gave them membership cards and passports with their own member number. The membership card also gives them one free entrance for a car load of eight at any one Florida state park (with the exception of two parks: Weeki Wachee and Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs). From now on when visiting different state parks we will choose one activity page to either do that day or the week that we plan to visit. These activities sheets can be turned in and the state park will stamp their passports. Once they have 3 stamps in each of four categories, they can mail in their completed passport for a pin. It's a great program. Kate as a 6 year old, who isn't independent in her reading yet, needs some help to complete the packet. Britt as a 14 year old feels to be a little old for most of the activities. However, all of our four oldest are enjoying learning a little more about Florida State Parks; their biological, cultural, and historical significance and enjoy collecting their cool rewards.
The primary reason that we chose to visit Dade Battlefield last week was in order to take advantage of the reenactor led tour that morning. It turned out to be more of a lecture and reenactment with audience participation. The Seminole War is something that I briefly came across reading as a child, and the only reason I even recall that is I can remember doing some research and considering writing my own version of an American Girl book based around it. However, I cannot recall ever discussing it in school from elementary to college. Everyone knows about the Trail of Tears and Little Bighorn, but what about the Indians that successfully avoided being moved west? That is the story of the Seminole People in Florida.
While the Seminole People view this portion of history as a single long war, the longest in US History up until Vietnam. However, the United States at the time counted it as three separate wars. The second began here at the Dade Battlefield just 3 days after Christmas. To set the stage, President Andrew Jackson had just declared that all Indians east of the Mississippi River had to move West to the newly set up Indian Territory, or present day Oklahoma. A portion of the Seminole people after seeing the land consented to go, but another portion said they had no interest in leaving and that the other group didn't speak for all Seminoles. Tension ran even higher as Seminoles took in escaped slaves and made them full members of their nation, refusing to return them to slavery. In order to make the Indians move while shoring up defenses at Fort King (present day Ocala) Major Dade was ordered to move his troops up from Fort Brooke at Tampa Bay.
Osceola had warned that any movement across their territory by military forces would be viewed as an incursion on their sovereign territory. The military meanwhile felt they had a right to use the road they built between the two locations, and of course, the United States felt entitled to all of Florida anyway. With neither side willing to budge the perfect storm was set when the Major Dade move out with his 107 soldiers. In route, 180 Indians ambushed the soldiers immediate killing Major Dade and half of the men. They then prepared to ride out feeling that they had accomplished sending a message that they weren't giving up their land. However, at that point the remaining soldiers built a low barricade out of logs and settled down to defend themselves. The message they sent to the Indians was that they weren't giving up the land either, and so the Seminoles rode back in to kill them all, only sparing the black slave with them. After the battle they took weapons, supplies, even the bulk of the soldiers' clothing. As night fell, after the Indians left, Ransom Clark with 7 injuries including 6 bullets in him cautiously rose and found 2 other living soldiers. Practically naked during an unusually cold Florida winter they set out to walk the remaining 40 miles to Fort King. One of the soldiers decide the road was too dangerous and set out across the countryside only to be found and killed the following day. The other two made it back to Fort King where the physician was able to save Ransom Clark. This attack led the United States to declare the Second Seminole War.
For two hours last Saturday two reenactors, a United States Soldier and a Seminole Indian, recounted the circumstances leading up to the war, the story of the battle, and provided us with details of life in the army and among the Indians at this time. To conclude, they lined all 50 of us up in pairs of 2 and we marched down the Old Military Road. Only for chaos to break out and eventually bring us back to the breastworks when "shots" rang out from the Indians surrounding us. It was an informative and moving lecture. And of course the kids especially enjoyed when they explained about the differences in their fighting styles and weapons concluding in shooting off both the smooth bore musket and the muzzle loading riffle.
After that we had a picnic lunch before getting our Florida Junior Ranger program started. Next, we walked the museum and watched their 12 minute park video which included an actual reactors battle. Following that we found a geocache and enjoyed walking around the park, finishing our trip with a short excursion on the playground. All of the kids really enjoyed the experience and we are considering visiting again for the reenactment of the battle the beginning of January.
If you'd like to make a trip the address to the park is 7200 Battlefield Parkway
Bushnell, Florida 33513. The Visitor Center is open from 9 to 5 daily, and you can call 352-793-4781 for more information. Entrance to the Park is $3 for a car load of up to 8 people.
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