Dade Battlefield Site - Bushnell, Florida, USA
Posted by: 
BoomersOTR
N 28° 39.084 W 082° 07.528
17R E 390010 N 3169882
Rustic directional and distance sign located at the spot of the infamous Dade Massacre.
Waymark Code: WM17H0C
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/20/2023
Views: 2
In December of 1835 Brevet Major Francis L. Dade and his detachment of 107 soldiers were on their way from Fort Brooke on Tampa Bay to Fort King near present day Ocala. They were going to Fort King to reinforce troops already stationed there due to Seminole unrest.
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.
The directional/distance sign has two slats, one indicating the northern direction to Fort King at 64 miles and the second slat indicating the southern direction to Fort Brooke at 41 miles. Both are mounted on a Florida pine lighter post.
Historic significance:
This directional/distance sign has been placed at the location of the attack on this preserved section of the old Fort King Road.
Location nearest to where you live now:
Fort Brooke
Date placed: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
To log an existing waymark in this category, please describe why you visited this marker, provide a photograph of the marker (preferably with yourself or a friend) of the marker, and list the "arrow" that comes closest to where you live now.