On This Day: In 1835 the Seminoles attacked and defeated Major Dade and two U.S. companies of army troops near the present-day city of Bushnell, Florida, beginning what has come to be known as the Second Seminole War. Only two soldiers surv...ived, and one died of his wounds a few days later. Over the next few months Generals Clinch, Gaines and Winfield Scott, as well as territorial governor Richard Keith Call, led large numbers of troops in futile pursuits of the Seminoles. In the meantime the Seminoles struck throughout the state, attacking isolated farms, settlements, plantations and Army forts, even burning the Cape Florida lighthouse. The Second Seminole War was an effort by the U.S. to remove the Seminole from Florida, and lasted between 1835-1842. Although the U.S. claimed victory in the war, they failed in their objective as many Seminole remained in Florida and continue to live on their traditional lands to this day.

 

BY Bruce Winfield