400 Luminaries to light the Apalachicola River on December 7th

Massive Luminary Service by the river at Scott 1817 Seminole War Battle

by Dale Cox

A luminary service underway at the site of Fort Hughes in
J.D. Chason Memorial Park in Bainbridge, Georgia, in 2017.

Four hundred candle-lit luminaries will reflect off the waters of the Apalachicola River on the night of December 7, 2019. They will honor the men, women, and children of both sides who died in events surrounding the First Seminole War and the destruction of the "Negro Fort" or Fort at Prospect Bluff.

The memorial and illumination is part of the Scott 1817 Seminole War Battle Reenactment. The annual event takes place this year at River Landing Park in Chattahoochee, Florida, on December 6, 7, and 8. The luminary service begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern/5:30 p.m. Central, and the public is encouraged to attend.

The special event will include a 19th-century military ceremony by the Jacksonian Guard from Pensacola, Florida, followed by a Native American and Maroon (Black Seminole) observance organized by the Lower Chattahoochee Band of Yuchi Indians living history unit. Both groups are participating in this year's reenactments of the Scott 1817 Seminole War Battle.

The authentic keelboat Aux Arc ("Ozark") will visit from
Arkansas to recreate the actual boat attacked in 1817 at what
is now River Landing Park in Chattahoochee, Florida.

That encounter took place at the site of today's River Landing Park on November 30, 1817, and the luminaries will be lit on the actual battlefield. The Scott Battle took place when several hundred Red Stick Creek, Miccosukee, Seminole, Yuchi, and Maroon (Black Seminole) warriors attacked a U.S. Army keelboat on its way up the Apalachicola River. The Native Americans were furious because soldiers had attacked the Lower Creek village of Fowltown, killing several men and women and igniting the First Seminole War.

The battle ended with the deaths of 34 U.S. soldiers, 6 women, 4 children, and an unknown number of Native American warriors. It led President James Monroe to order Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson's 1818 invasion of Spanish Florida and ultimately was the key factor in the cession of Florida from Spain to the United States.

The luminary service promises to be a beautiful and moving event that memorializes two crucial and connected parts of history. Approximately 136 men, women, and children lost their lives in the First Seminole War, and 136 of the luminaries will honor them.

Reenactors from the 7th Infantry Living History Association
conduct a memorial ceremony at Camp Recovery, site of a
hospital encampment during the 200th-anniversary event.

Two hundred seventy luminaries will memorialize the 270 men, women, and children killed on the lower Apalachicola River when the U.S. military destroyed the Fort at Prospect Bluff or Negro Fort on July 27, 1816. The remaining four luminaries honor the lives of four U.S. sailors who died in that campaign.

It will be the first time that all of the people who died in the fighting along and near the Apalachicola River from 1816 to 1819 will be remembered in a single memorial service. The luminaries will honor men, women, and children without regard to age, race, sex, or religious belief.

The sight of so many luminaries reflecting off the silent waters of the Apalachicola River should be unforgettable. The public is encouraged to attend.

River Landing Park is located on River Landing Road, Chattahoochee, Florida. Living history events will take place Saturday, December 7, and Sunday, December 8, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern/8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central. Battle reenactments are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Eastern/11:30 a.m. Central on Saturday, December 7, and 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central on Sunday, December 8.

All events are free, and the public is welcome!

To learn more, please visit Scott1817.com or www.facebook.com/scott1817.