Battle of Lake Okeechobee

On December 25, 1837, one of the significant engagements of the Seminole Wars unfolded at Lake Okeechobee. Colonel Zachary Taylor commanded a force of 1,000 U.S. Army soldiers drawn from the 1st, 4th, and 6th Infantry Regiments, joined by 132 Missouri Volunteers, in a clash against roughly 400 Seminole fighters. These warriors answered to chiefs Abiaka, Billy Bowlegs, Halpatter Tustenuggee (Alligator), and Wild Cat. The Seminoles had established a sizable camp near the lake, and it was this settlement they fought to protect when Taylor's men advanced upon them. This advance formed one piece of a broader campaign into South Florida, a strategy devised by General Thomas Jesup. When the fighting ended, the Seminoles emerged victorious, having successfully delayed the American soldiers long enough to move their people and belongings out of harm's way. Taylor's command sustained heavy losses in the encounter, with officers falling in particularly high numbers, and this toll compelled him to abandon his push through South Florida altogether. What followed was a retreat spanning more than 100 miles as Taylor led his battered army back toward Tampa Bay.

Events of the battle

Ahead of Taylor's advancing force lay a broad hammock fronted by half a mile of swampland, with Lake Okeechobee stretching beyond it. Saw grass rose five feet from ground that held three feet of mud and standing water, terrain that rendered horses useless. Every sign pointed to this spot being chosen deliberately by the Seminole as the place to fight. They had sliced down the grass before their position to clear a firing lane and carved notches into nearby trees for steadying their rifles, while lookouts stationed in the branches above tracked each move the approaching soldiers made. Lieutenant Robert C. Buchanan recorded in his diary that he had never witnessed the Seminole occupy ground so formidable anywhere in Florida. Canoes had already been drawn up along the lakeshore near the Seminole camp, readied for a quick departure.

Around twelve thirty, beneath a sun standing directly overhead in still air, Taylor pushed his men straight into the heart of the swamp, choosing a frontal assault over any attempt to surround the enemy. Every soldier advanced on foot. Leading the way were 132 volunteers from Missouri. Once these men entered rifle range, the Seminole unleashed intense volleys upon them. Casualties mounted quickly among the Missourians, and their leader, Richard Gentry, took a mortal wound while directing them forward, yet he continued commanding for a full hour before finally going down. Seeking to break free of the exposed killing ground, the Missouri men pressed onward into the hammock itself, at which point the Seminole launched a counterstrike against the troops left behind, scalping some of the fallen during the onslaught. Before the engagement, Gentry had proposed to Taylor that the troops attempt to encircle the enemy position, a suggestion Taylor dismissed while accusing Gentry of shrinking from direct combat. This exchange may explain why Gentry kept pressing his men toward the Seminole lines even though the battle plan called for the militia to fall back at the first shots and reform behind the regular infantry.

The continued charge brought further losses that eventually broke the Missourians' formation, though they kept fighting despite this. Nowhere did the saw grass claim more lives than among five companies of the Sixth Infantry, where every officer save one fell dead or wounded, along with most of the noncommissioned ranks. When these companies pulled back briefly to regroup, only four men among them remained untouched by injury. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander R. Thompson, who led the Sixth Infantry, numbered among the fallen. Lieutenant William H.T. Walker, who would later serve as a Confederate general, sustained wounds to his neck, shoulder, chest, left arm, and leg in the fighting. Also killed was Lieutenant Frank Brooke, nephew of Virginia's Governor Robert Brooke. Buchanan, himself wounded, later described in his diary how sad this Christmas had become for the soldiers and their loved ones.

By the fight's end, 26 American soldiers had died, including most of Taylor's officers and noncommissioned officers, with another 112 wounded. Seminole losses totaled 11 killed and 14 wounded. Throughout the engagement, Seminole fighters had made a point of targeting American officers specifically. Taylor's southward push came to a halt as a result, and though no Seminoles were taken prisoner, his scouts did seize 100 ponies and 600 head of cattle the following day. True to guerrilla tactics, the Seminole had bought enough time through their resistance for their people to clear out of the encampment, after which the warriors themselves crossed Lake Okeechobee by canoe. The heavy toll on Taylor's command forced his army into a retreat spanning more than 100 miles back toward Tampa.

Much later, in 1852, the Seminole chief Holata Micco, known also as Billy Bowlegs, toured Washington and was guided through the Capitol's halls filled with statues and paintings. Coming to a stop before a portrait of Zachary Taylor, he broke into a grin and declared, "Me whip!" meaning that he had beaten him. Today more than four Seminole Indian reservations thrive in south Florida, including one situated in Okeechobee County, the very ground where this battle unfolded.

Battlefield endangered

In 2000, the site earned a spot on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's roster of "America's Most Endangered Historic Places." Florida put up $3.2 million to establish a 145-acre (0.59 km2) park there, and each year a reenactment of the battle takes place to bring in funds for the state park.

When the U.S. National Park Service conducted archaeological digs at the park in 2015, no traces of the 1837 clash turned up. Where the actual fighting occurred has yet to be determined.