1816/07/17 Ambush of Navy personnel on Apalachicola River, Spanish Florida, during reconnaissance of fort and settlement occupied by free African Americans and escaped slaves, 17 Jul. 1816. Four Navy killed. (US Navy & Marine Casualties) Seminole Wars begin in Florida as a result of many slaves taking refuge with Seminole Indians. (Underground Railroad Chronology, National Park Service) Three hundred fugitive slaves and about 20 Indian allies held Fort Blount on Apalachicola Bay, Fla., for several days before it was attacked by U.S. Troops. (Major Revolts and Escapes, Lerone Bennett, Before the Mayflower) Throughout the colonial period and until 1819, slaves escaped from the lower south into East and West Florida. While the famous Negro Fort, once the British Fort Gadsden, was taken by American troops in 1816, it was not until 1819 that the United States made a bold play to take all of East Florida. In that year, Congress attempted to put a stop to slave runaways and Indian raids across the Florida border by sending Andrew Jackson to make war on the encampments and communities of Africans and Native Americans. Jackson went farther and claimed all of Florida for the United States. Spain was not strong enough to reclaim Florida and the descendants of many fugitives moved on to Cuba or retreated into the swamps. (The Underground Railroad In American History, the National Park Service)
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 01:36:06 +0000