Dade Battlefield Historic State Park - Bushnell, Florida, USA
Posted by: 
BoomersOTR
N 28° 39.238 W 082° 07.508
17R E 390045 N 3170166
The Dade Battlefield Historic State Park located in Bushnell, Florida preserves the site of the Dade Massacre of 1835 that resulted in the start of the Second Seminole War.
Waymark Code: WM17H4M
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/21/2023
Views: 1
"After Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, the slow influx of settlers created increasing friction between between pioneers and Seminole Indians who had long called Florida their home. The Seminole practice of giving refuge to fugitive slaves added to the tension. By the 1830s, this conflict had risen to the boiling point. With the signing of the Treaty of Payne's Landing in 1832, several chiefs agreed to relocation of the Seminole people west of the Mississippi, to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. But many Seminoles refused to go.
Faced with the prospect of being forced by the federal government to move, Seminoles opposed to the treaty decided to fight for their homes. On December 28, 1835, a column of 107 officers and men under the command of Brevet Major Francis Langhorne Dade was enroute from Fort Brooke on Tampa Bay to reinforce the garrison at Fort King in present day Ocala. About 50 miles short of their destination, they were attacked by 180 Seminole warriors in a pine forest in present day Bushnell. All but three of the soldiers were killed, while only six warriors fell in the battle. Known at the time as the "Dade Massacre," Dade's Battle of 1835 sent shock waves across the nation. It marked the start of the Second Seminole War, the longest and most costly Indian War in American history.
In 1921, the Florida state legislature appropriated funds for the preservation of the battle site as a memorial. Under the title of Dade Battlefield Historic Memorial, it is also a United States National Historic Landmark (designated as such on April 14, 1972). Monuments indicating the locations of the officers’ deaths stretch from the park's entrance to about 300 feet south. A museum, which details the Seminole War, lays 49 feet from the replica of the breastworks and about 600 feet from the northernmost commemorative monuments." Copied from Trail of Florida's Indian Heritage website.
The "Official Tourism" URL link to the attraction: [Web Link]
The attraction’s own URL: [Web Link]
Hours of Operation:
8:00 am to sunset 365 days a year
Admission Prices:
3.00
Approximate amount of time needed to fully experience the attraction: Half of a day (2-5 hours)
Transportation options to the attraction: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.