Via Gainesville Sun: Micanopy Celebrates Anniversary of Ft. Defiance Battle

[urbanlibertarian]

Jacksonville and the surrounding plantations were greatly affected by the Second Seminole War.  There was a "blockhouse" constructed at the site where the Supervisor of Elections office is now at Monroe and Ocean streets.  There is a historical marker there.  Below is the first of three pages of the article.  The whole thing is at:

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120603/ARTICLES/120609953&tc=email_newsletter?p=1&tc=pg

Town celebrates 176th anniversary of the Battle of Micanopy

Micanopy hosts a commemoration of the Second Seminole War (1836-42) with a daylong event on June 9 that includes the dedication of the Native American Heritage Preserve and an update on the dig by the Gulf Archaeology Research Institute of Fort Defiance, which was erected in 1835 to protect the settlers south of Payne's Prairie from attack, shown outside the Micanopy Historical Museum in Micanopy.

By Chris Baldwin
Correspondent
Published: Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, June 1, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.

On a hot day in late spring of 1836, an encounter between Seminole Indians and U.S. Army soldiers near present-day Micanopy was one of many conflicts between Native Americans and early settlers to the area.

But the Battle of Micanopy â€" better described as a skirmish â€" has served as a rallying point for historic preservationists in the one-square-mile town off U.S. Highway 441.

On Saturday, the Thrasher Warehouse Preservation Board, the Micanopy Historical Society and the town commemorate the 176th anniversary of the Battle of Micanopy, which took place during the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842.

The free event will be held at the Micanopy Historical Museum from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes vendors, period crafts and demonstration booths, an authentic Seminole War army camp, and access to the museum.

According to historians, 75 U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Defiance near present-day Micanopy spotted about 200 Seminole Indians less than a mile from the fort. The soldiers flanked the Seminoles on both sides and succeeded in pushing them back.

"For the hard fighting and everything, it was surprising â€" very few casualties on the American side," said Tom Brady, a member of the Micanopy Historical Society, who has researched the battle through letters, official reports and newspapers of the era.

"[We] don't know how many Indians were hit because it was usual that they would pick up their wounded and take them with them," said Brady, 80.

The battle was significant as it foretold the abandonment of the fort, which was rampant with illness, said Brady.

Whole article here: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120603/ARTICLES/120609953&tc=email_newsletter?p=1&tc=pg