Show ara Z icv N z a A N we vui abia AS Z s aaa 7 7 5 5 x X M X 1 J V MG F WN V AA FN n 4 I 1 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON 28 Is the anniversary aih of one of the most inspiring deeds in the history of the american or army ly it you go to the united states military academy at west point you will see gee there opposite the library a tall white shaft shafi capped by the carved likeness of an eagle and with these words engraved upon one face of the base to corn com Ine the battle of the of december between a detachment of united states troops and the Semi seminoles noles of florida in which all of the detachment save three fell without an attempt to retreat on another tide side of the monument the inscription reads dado dade and hta his command major dade fourth infantry captain gardiner second artillery lieutenant 73 assinger second artillery lieutenant mudge third artillery lieutenant Lieu tea keals heals third artillery lieutenant henderson ne second artillery doctor gatlin medical staff the third side tells that the monument was erected by the three regiments and the medical staff whose comrades fell on the of december 1835 serving their country and promoting their profession and the fourth records that the remains oi of the dead repose near OL st augustine August ln pla fla such Is the simple record of heroism to in a now almost forgotten battle of one of the costliest cost liest wars aver ever waged by the united states the war originated in the determination of the united states to remove the seminole indians from their ancestral home lu in florida to beyond the mississippi river the result was protracted warfare extending over ever seven years during which time osceola Oace oln a young seminole war chief and his warriors some two or three thousand in number had taken the lives of more than 1600 1500 regular army soldiers and at least that number of settlers and volunteers and the tha war had cost the united states twenty millions of dollars early in december of 1835 two of the ten companies of the regular army stationed I 1 in n florida were ordered from fort brooke on hillsboro bay near the present tampa to meet a force from rom fort longin long king in ln the center of the state near the forks of the wathla coochee boochee river for or a punitive expedition against the Semi seminoles noles at fort brooke brooka enough men were dratted drafted from maj francis 4 dades fourth infantry detachment tach ment to complete two full companies of 60 50 men each of the second sy a tillery and the third infantry commanded by captains gardiner and frazer respectively lieutenants bossin henderson enderson II mudge and keats keala and assistant surgeon gatlin were the subordinates captain gardiner was to com command manI the expedition but when it was ready to start it was discovered that his bla wife was seriously ill major dade thereupon volunteered to lead the party so that gardiner could remain with his wife on the morning of december 24 the expedition composed of officers and men cay carry irk ten days provisions and nied by a six drawn uy tour four oxen and ong one light horse wagon set out but with a spanish negro to guide it to the rendezvous on the within co Soon after they left captain gardt ner found that be could send his wife to her family on a transport which was just ready to salt sail for key west and having done that he hastened after dados dades party in ohp tu meantime the ox team had broken down and dade had bad sent li back ck for horses to pull the cannon because of this delay gardiner or was able to catch up with the detachment that evening little realizing that what he regarded ded as ag a fortunate circumstance in reality meant his mom the progress of the expedition was slow blow it taking dade four days to make 65 05 miles during that time no Semi seminoles noles had made their appearances although unknown to him tile the negro guide was a traitor who tied had betrayed the route of the he expedition to the indians and chief osceola had resolved to ambush the oncoming soldiers the seminole leader had intended to direct the attack la in person but on that day he had been busy elsewhere making a swift raid rear near fort king where he shot down general thom P son eon the indian agent who had bad once put him in irons and four others so it was micanopy Ml MI canopy the head chief of the Semi seminoles noles who was in charge that day on the morning of december 28 dade and his men had crossed the fork of the and were marching along a trail which ran across tin an open barren on oil one side of the trail was a stretch of swains swamp overgrown with grass five fc feet et high and in this grass Allean opy had hidden warriors with strict orders to hold bold their fire until he gave the signal bignal unmindful of the hidden danger dades force tn marched ached along the trail with captain frazer and lieutenant mudge leading the advance not a sound came from the indians until the whole column was under their guns then taking careful aim ml bit canopy shot major hade dade killing him instantly at that signal the tall grass was ablaze with flame captain prazer frazer was killed at tle tile first fire and lieutenant mudge mortally woun wounded uen lien teri tenants ants henderson and reals keats were severely wounded and captain lieutenant bassinger nger and doctor gattin were the only off officers leers who were unhurt under the circumstances the surprise of the attack and the appalling losses it would not have been surprising if the whole abol column hart find been thrown into a panic finale immediately such a thing had happened more than once before when white troops were ambushed nm bushed by their red enemies but it Is to the everlasting zloty glory of these regulars that there was no stampede on this occasion the soldiers let left the road instantly took to the trees which stood on the other side of the road and poured a heavy fire bre upon their assailants then for or forty min utes they stood firm there fighting at a coolly as though there had been no surprise and holding their tire until they caught sight of an indian and knew that they could make their spots shots effective As a result the withdrew their forces and the fighting ceased cut but captain gardiner who had assumed command after dades dadea death knew that this was not the end of the affair hastily collecting the wound ed he be moved back a short distance and immediately set his men now less than fifty in number at work felling trees and throwing up a triangular breastwork but before this had risen three small tree trunks high the indians heavily reinforced returned to the attack in a few moments moment a furious battle was in progress surrounded on all sides by the indiana who poured their fire alre into the depression in which the little fort hod had been built the result was inevitable captain gardiner mortally wounded cried outs out 1 I 1 can give you no more orders lads do your beatt outside the breastwork lieutenant bassinder Bas sIner and a small detail of artil continued to fire their six until every man except the lieutenant was killed then seriously wounded he dragged himself inside the logs and fired a musket until a bullet cut him down in spite of a broken arm lieutenant henderson enderson II did the same by two the fire of tile tha defenders had been silenced the indians indiana swarmed into the little fort and began scalping the dead then fearing that the troops from fort king would arrive any minute the deml boles n 0 tea fled after they left the battlefield a party of some fifty renegade negroes appeared to plunder the dead they found lieutenant bassinger still alive and despite his appeal tor for mercy cut him down with their hatchets three of tile the privates who were severely wounded feigned death and the negroes left without molesting them two iwo others although wounded had managed to get away during the con fusion of the fight and although one was killed by an indian who discovered them during their flight toward port brooke the other finally reached the tort fort a tragic messenger ot of the defeat it was not until the following february that an expedition from fort king hing was able to visit the scene of the dade disaster and in the report of capt 13 A of the first infantry on what he found in the little log forte fort one reads this statement within the triangle were wera about thirty bodies mostly were mere skeletons tying lying every one of them in precisely the same they roust must have occupied during the fight their heads next to the logs over which they had delivered thelt fire and their bodies stretched with striking regularity parallel to each cacti other they had dil dently been shot dead at their posts shot dead at their posts what better epitaph tor for an american soldier than that |