Second Seminole War: The Dade Battle (Massacre) and the Killing of Wiley Thompson

We've already met the most of the characters who played parts in igniting the Second Seminole War, so we might as well take a closer look at two opening salvos in that war. 

Wiley Thompson was born in Amelia County, Virginia and later moved to Elberton, Georgia.  Along the way, he'd become an officer in the Georgia militia and a many-times elected United States Congressman.  He was a devoted Jacksonian Democrat and believed whole-heartedly in Jackson's policies regarding Indian Removal.  A slave-owner of the planter class, he had an incentive for removing the temptation for runaway Blacks to find easy shelter with the Seminoles.  He was just the man for Jackson to appoint as United States Indian Agent to the Seminole in 1834.  He was bound to cross paths with Osceola soon enough, and he did.  Various sources have described these two as uneasy friends or outright enemies.  More accurately, they got along when they had to and disliked the whole process.  Osceola knew why Thompson was there and resented it.  He had no intention of moving from Florida.  He had a personal dislike of slavery and ill-treatment of Blacks.  And he resented the fact that his people were confined to their reservation and not allowed to hunt beyond its boundaries.  New laws prescribed jail and lashing for any Seminole caught beyond the reservation boundaries.  The penalty was more severe if the Native had been found to have killed a Settler's livestock.  In all these cases, the man's weapons were confiscated, which stripped him of the ability to feed his family.

Osceola had proven his skills as a warrior and raider while quite young and had been appointed by Chief Micanopy as a Tustenegge.  This was a position of great responsibility among the Creeks and Seminoles.  Tustenegge were not only leaders in battle, with responsibility for muster warriors and leading them on the field, they also served as an internal police force to maintain discipline among tribal members.  One of Osceola's responsibilities was seeing to it that his people stayed within their boundaries and did not hunt Settlers' livestock.  From time to time, desperate Seminole men would do just that and Osceola had developed a relationship with previous Agents.  He would round up the offenders, take them to Fort King as though to turn them in, the plead with the Agent to allow him to take them to Micanopy for whatever punishment the Chief deemed just and proper.  He would assure the Agent that the man had just been trying to feed his family and meant no harm.  The Agent would allow Osceola to take an inconvenient problem off his hands, compensate the aggrieved Settler with money and let it go.

Not so Thompson, who intended to enforce the letter of the law.  He was irked that the Seminoles were making things worse for themselves by not just picking up and leaving for Oklahoma, more irked that they could not survive on reservation rations, really irritated that they welcomed Black runaways, and he personally disliked Osceola and hated that he had to even be courteous to him.  Their discussions devolved into shouting matches.  Accusations and threats flew both ways.  The final straw was the day Osceola came to buy ammunition at Fort King and Thompson, who was suspicious of the amounts of powder and led Osceola bought, refused the sale.  The two began shouting at each other.  Thompson later claimed Osceola drew his knife.  Osceola was incensed that he was being treated like a Black.  "My skin is dark but I am not Black!" he shouted.  "I shall make the White Man's skin red with blood!"  Thompson gave the order and four soldiers subdued Osceola, clapped him in irons and threw him in Fort King's guardhouse.  Livid, he trashed his cell and continued to shout and make threats until he was exhausted.  Abiaka, whom we've already met, arrived at the Fort, let Osceola know this wasn't the way to win battles with the Whites and promised better behavior.  Thompson wasn't impressed and demanded that Osceola sign the Treaty of Payne's Landing.  Osceola did so, and later brought in several of his men to do the same before escaping into the forest.  He had no intention of leaving, and Thompson knew it.  Whether Thompson knew or suspected that he had made out his own death warrant, no one knows.  Probably, he didn't care.  Osceola would be dealt with soon enough.

Another man who had little use for Osceola was Francis Dade, for whom Miami-Dade county is now named.  In December, 1835, he decided to reinforce Fort King and took two companies totaling 110 troops from Fort Brooke, now Tampa, up the old Spanish highway toward Fort King.  They knew that there were Seminole scouts tracking them through the trees and they suspected who it might be, but Dade thought that his men could handle Osceola if he reared his head.  They were not aware that it was Micanopy and Tiger Tail, another Tustenegge whom we've already met.  They tracked Dade's column, waiting for Osceola to join them, but he was away on personal business.  Also waiting for Dade's column was Wiley Thompson.  Osceola was staking out Fort King, waiting for a sighting of Wiley Thompson.  Meanwhile, Micanopy and Tiger Tail decided the time had come to strike. 

The area where Dade was marching was pine forest, not swamp.  Believing that he could easily see any enemy that might come his way, Dade had recalled his scouts.  While the trees wouldn't have concealed anyone standing or walking, they did conceal the warriors who were crouching in wait, watching the column of blue coated men with their artillery and heavy pack trains.  Micanopy gave the word and his men attacked.  Dade's men had no choice but to form up on the open road, their artillery now useless, and defend themselves as best they could.  At a spot near present-day Bushnell, Florida, the Seminoles surrounded their prey.  The battle was fought at such close quarters that they could hear Dade and other officers cursing at the men and the situation in general as they were cut down by a hail of bullets.  Dade, on horseback, was the first to be shot, by Chief Micanopy himself, whom Whites consistently derided as a silly, senile old man. 

According to Alligator, another leading warrior present at the battle, the Seminoles had 180 men.  The first volley not only killed Dade, but about half of his men.  Captain George Gardiner took command, and it was his cursing and swearing that rang out above the gunfire.  Some men tried to construct makeshift barricades of logs and bring the cannon into line but were killed before they could do so.  Alligator later said their ammunition boxes were empty when he checked them.  Only one man, Private Ransom Clarke, made it to Fort King to tell the story, but he would soon discover that the Seminoles, or one very famous Seminole, had already made his mark the previous night. 

Thompson had also been waiting for Dade's relief column and, on the evening of the 28th, stepped outside the Fort to take a walk with only a light escort.  He was soon surrounded by Natives bent on only one errand.  Hearing the shouts of Thompson's escort and, more importantly, war cries outside, the men inside Fort King panicked and shut the gates, trapping him outside with his mortal enemy.  Osceola personally stabbed Thompson to death and scalped him.  Natives inside the Fort recognized his shrill scream of triumph when the deed was done and identified Osceola as the attacker.  The Second Seminole War was on.