DeSoto Trail 1539-1540--Land of the Apalachee/His Dream Dies With Him - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Land of the Apalachee

On September 30, 1539…
Hernando de Soto’s army crossed into the land of the Apalachee. Its borders ran from southern Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Aucilla River to the waters of the Ochlockonee.

A Complex Culture
Part of the Mississippian culture, the Apalachee had a complex social structure. It consisted of many specialized political, priestly, warrior and artisan classes. Villages were large and well protected. Many villages included high “earthen” mounds, such as Lake Jackson State Park, just 5 miles north of here.

A Force to be Reckoned With
The Apalachee chief commanded a sizable force of warriors feared by their neighbors. Every day, warriors harassed and attacked the Spanish occupying their village. They burned huts and crops, attached anyone who strayed from camp, and shot arrows into the village.

Apalachee Subsistence
The Apalachee practiced agriculture, gathered wild foods, hunted game, and harvested marine life. Their villages were well stocked. Marine shells and handmade cloth, pottery, and stone tools were traded extensively withnative chiefdoms as far north as the Great Lakes.

His Dream Dies With Him

It’s October 6, 1539…
Hernando de Soto established his winter encampment here, at Anhayca, a principal Apalachee Village ”On Sunday, October 25, [De Soto] arrived at a town called Uzela, and on Monday, at Anhayca Apalachee where the lord of all that land and province lived. In that town, then Luis de Moscoso, whose office it is to allot and provide lodgings, lodged them all. Within a league and a half league about the town were other towns where there was an abundance of corn, pumpkins, beans, and dried plums native to the land, which are better than those of Spain and grow wild in the fields without being planted.
- Account by a Gentleman of Elvas
The De Soto Chronicles

The Taking of Anhayca
The village chief heard of De Soto’s approach and sent his warriors more than 30 miles east, to the outer edge of his chiefdom, to stop the Spanish. A five-day battle continued all the way to Anhayca. At the last minute, the chief and his people fled into the surrounding woods, leaving behind an intact village filled with corn. The Apalachee continued to attack the invaders throughout the winter, burning down many structures and attacking Spanish soldiers who wandered from the village.

Gathering Forces
De Soto’s men captured an Indian boy, whom they called Perico. He told the Spanish of great wealth to the north, igniting De Soto’s desire to explore more of La Florida. On November 17, De Soto sent Captain Juan de Añasco south from here with 29 horsemen to retrieve the rest of his men. They made a harrowing march through hostile Indian territories to their base, Camp Uzita, in present-day Tampa Bay. By the end of December, they returned to Anhayca with all 40 horsemen and 60 foot soldiers, under command of Captain Pedro Calderon – ready for adventure ahead.

The Final Leg
On March 3, 1540, the army left Anhayca, marching northward. Over the next three years, they made their way through 8 southeastern states, covering thousands of miles. Over half of the men, including De Soto, died from combat, illness, exhaustion, or starvation. Hernando de Soto was secretly buried in the Mississippi River on a May night in 1542. Around 300 survivors finally reached Mexico in September 1543 – ending a fruitless search for fortune and glory.

Marker Number: None Date: None County: Leon Marker Type: Roadside Sponsored or placed by: Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Park Service, and the National Park Service Website: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   02/25/2021 Markerman62 visited it