I've launched a new website on Scott's Massacre of 1817, a Seminole War battle fought in the Apalachicola River between today's Sneads and Chattahoochee.
The battle took place when several hundred Creek and Seminole warriors attacked a U.S. Army boat as it made its way around the sharp bend between the railroad and U.S. 90 bridges. The strong current forced the boat to navigate close to the Gadsden County shore, where the warriors were waiting. They were infuriated by an unprovoked attack by soldiers on the Lower Creek village of Fowltown in today's Decatur County, Georgia, and took their revenge on the unfortunate passengers in the vessel.
The boats commander, Lieutenant Richard W. Scott of the 7th U.S. Infantry, fell in the first volley, along with most of his 20 able-bodied men. The Indians then waded into the river and stormed the boat. By the time the fighting was over, only six men and one woman were still alive.
The six soldiers, four of whom were wounded, escaped by leaping overboard and swimming underwater to the Jackson County shore. The woman, Elizabeth Stewart, was taken prisoner and held in slavery by her captors until she was freed the following spring by soldiers under Andrew Jackson.
The rest of the passengers, including an estimated 34 soldiers, 6 women and 4 children, were killed and mutilated. The deadly attack prompted authorities in Washington, D.C., to order Major General Andrew Jackson to the frontier with authority to invade Spanish Florida. His campaign would eventually bring him through present-day Jackson County where many of his soldiers were so impressed with the quality of the land that they soon returned to settle the wilderness.
To visit the new Scott's Massacre site, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/scottsmassacre1.
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