Major Francis L. Dade Memorial - Bushnell, Florida, USA - Photos Then and Now on Waymarking.com

The United States government negotiated the Treaty of Moultrie Creek in 1824, placing the Seminoles on a reservation that included the site of the future battle. A combination of white settlers moving onto public land in violation of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, slave hunters trespassing onto the reservation to capture black Seminoles without proof of ownership, and the government's decision to move the Seminoles over the protests of Seminole chiefs infuriated the Seminoles.

At around 8:00 AM on the morning of December 28, 1835, the Seminoles, led by Chief Micanopy, ambushed Major Francis L. Dade and 107 men along a segment of the Fort King Road as Dade and his men traveled to Fort King (present-day Ocala, Florida) to reinforce the troops stationed at Fort King.

Dade, another commanding officer, and the entire left flank, consisting of one-half of the troops, were killed in the first volley. Over the next six hours, Dade's remaining troops and the Seminoles exchanged gunfire; the gunfire ceased as all but three of Dade's men were killed. The Dade Massacre began the Second Seminole War.

Located just inside the gateway arch entrance to the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park on the east side of the road near the ranger booth is the memorial indicating where Major Dade fell. This memorial was built in the early 1920's when local citizens and the State of Florida formed the Dade Memorial Park Commission to preserve this historic site.

The memorial design was based on the historic data that stated that the bodies of the soldiers were buried in a mass grave. The cannon that the unit had with them was retrieved from a nearby pond where it had been placed by the Seminole warriors. The barrel of the cannon was then inverted and placed over the mass grave. Approximately 90 years later the Dade Memorial Commission used stone and concrete to make a base for the memorial to Major Dade and a replica cannon barrel was made of concrete to represent the original marker.

Year photo was taken: 1920

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/06/2023 hart612 visited it