![]() | |||||||
On July 17, 1849, while people were flocking to California for the gold rush, people in the interior of Florida were abandoning their homes in panic. Seminole/Miccosukee warriors attacked the settlement in Fort Pierce on July 12th. Five days later they raided and burned the Trading post on Paynes Creek. You can visit the site at Paynes Creek State park and see the site of Fort Chokonikla that was built a few months later. This started what is known as the "Panic of 1849" in Florida. Later Chief Billy Bowlegs met with Colonel Twiggs and negotiated a peace, and turned over the warriors who were guilty of killing the people in the store. There have been a few articles written over the years, in Tequesta, and maybe also the Florida Historical Quarterly. Some of them have raised some interesting questions and speculations. We will probably never know the truth. One article speculated that Sam Jones was behind the upraising, that he thought it was a good time to strike back at the white man, but was surprised at the sudden military response, and backed down. The same article looked at the identities of the attackers. Apparently there is conflicting stories of the identies, and the ones handed over were of a rival clan from Billy Bowlegs. It also seems strange that the attackers traveled about 100 miles in just five days in the middle of summer, when it is difficult to do so. But I don't think we will ever find out the answer. On October 24th and 25th we will be having a living history festival and commemoration of the establishment of Fort Chokonikla at Paynes Creek State Park south of Polk County / Bartow. It is near the small community of Bowling Green off highway 17 in Hardee County. That is off the beaten track for those who stick to the interstate, but it has been one of the most enjoyable festivals I have done in the past two years. And many of the people participating and visiting the festival are from old families in the area, and related to the people involved in the Panic of 1849 and the Third Seminole War. About 10 miles down the road is the town of Fort Meade, and I can tell you about some Third Seminole War sites worth visiting in the area. (I mentioning them previously in this blog.)
|
|||||||
Previous Entry · Leave a comment · Share · Next Entry |