Fort Fanning Historic Park - Fanning Springs, Florida

One of Florida's newest preserved historic sites also demonstrates how even small communities can turn historical points of interest into nice focal points.

Fort Fanning Historic Park is a city-owned facility in Fanning Springs, a community of fewer than 1,000 residents perched atop a bluff overlooking Florida's historic Suwannee River. The park preserves the site of Fort Fanning, an important fort of the Second Seminole War.

Built in 1838, Fort Fanning guarded a key crossing of the Suwannee River and also served as a base of operations for U.S. Army troops fighting against Creek and Seminole warriors in the swamps of the Suwannee valley. At least 31 soldiers died at the fort during its years of occupation, all but three of them from sickness.

The sites of very few forts of the Second Seminole War survive and can be visited by the public today, a fact that makes Fort Fanning such a unique feature for North Florida. The park features the restored gates and a section of stockade wall of the fort, paved walking paths and a series of scenic overlooks that provide beautiful views of the Suwannee River. Just across U.S. 19 is Fanning Springs State Park, home to natural spring that feeds the famed river.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortfanning.

Dade Battlefield Historic State Park - Bushnell, Florida

Although it was small compared to some of the massive engagements of the Civil War, the battle fought on this ground on December 28, 1835, was one of the most significant in American history.

Dade's Battle (often called Dade's Massacre) was the first major battle of what would prove to be the longest and most expensive Indian war in American history. It was the antebellum era's "Little Bighorn."

The battle took place when Seminole warriors led by Micanopy, Jumper and Alligator attacked a column of 108 U.S. troops led by Major Francis Dade as it moved up the old Fort King Road from Fort Brooke on Tampa Bay to Fort King (modern Ocala) in the central part of the Florida peninsula. Although some skirmishing and other incidents had already taken place, open war had not yet erupted between the Seminoles and the United States.

The situation, however, was very tense. Government officials were trying to force the Seminoles to relocate to new lands west of the Mississippi, but hundreds of Native American chiefs and warriors were violently opposed to the proposal. Dade's command was marching to Fort King as part of a planned move to assemble a large military force in Florida to force the issue if necessary.

Dade knew there was a possibility of attack, but his column passed through heavy swamps and wilderness area without detecting any sign of Native American warriors. On the 28th of December, the soldiers emerged into fairly open pine country and breathed sighs of relief that they had passed the most likely points for attack. The day was cold, so they even wore their heavy coats over their weapons.

The Seminoles picked this moment to attack. Half the soldiers fell in their first volley and by the time the smoke cleared, all but four of the soldiers were dead. The four survivors were seriously wounded and crawled away from the battlefield. One was killed the next day, but three made it back to Tampa Bay to tell the story. The Second Seminole War had begun.

To learn more about Dade's Battle and the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park, located within easy driving distance of both Orlando and Tampa, please visit our new Dade Battlefield page at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/dade.

An Artifact of the Second Seminole War

This unusual artifact was actually used by Native American warriors during an attack on a frontier family in Gadsden County, Florida, during the Second Seminole War.

A "lightard" or lightwood pine knot, it was used as a war club by Creek warriors that had taken refuge in Florida following the Creek War of 1836-1837.

Their fight against the whites continued after their flight to Florida and is remembered in that state as part of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842).

In 1840, a group of warriors attacked the McLane cabin near Telogia Creek in Gadsden County, using this pine knot to kill several members of the family.

If you would like to learn more about this incident of the Second Seminole War, please visit http://gadsdencountyhistory.blogspot.com/ where you can read three excerpts on the McLane Massacre from my new book, The Early History of Gadsden County.