"They have suffered very much."
by Dale Cox
Yesterday's article focused on the forced removal of Econchattimico's and John Walker's bands from their lands in Jackson County, Floria, by U.S. troops under Brig. Gen. Zachary Taylor. Please see Zachary Taylor and the Red Ground King.
Today we continue the story of this humanitarian tragedy with the departure of the Native Americans from Florida and their arrival in Oklahoma, as well as the failure of the United States government to ever pay them for their lost homes and fields.
The following is excerpted from my book: The History Of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years.
Econchattimico's Town was sketched in 1838 by a visiting French nobleman. It stood north of today's Sneads, Florida. |
Yesterday's article focused on the forced removal of Econchattimico's and John Walker's bands from their lands in Jackson County, Floria, by U.S. troops under Brig. Gen. Zachary Taylor. Please see Zachary Taylor and the Red Ground King.
Today we continue the story of this humanitarian tragedy with the departure of the Native Americans from Florida and their arrival in Oklahoma, as well as the failure of the United States government to ever pay them for their lost homes and fields.
The following is excerpted from my book: The History Of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years.
-Excerpt-
The people from Econchattimico’s and John Walker’s reserves were joined near the mouth of the Apalachicola River by 34 refugee Creeks who had been captured following their flight from Jackson County earlier in the year. Brought from a concentration camp on Dog Island in the Gulf of Mexico, they brought the total number of men, women, and children in the group to more than 300 souls.
Brig. Gen. Taylor had reservations about the safety of moving more than 300 men, women, and children through the Gulf aboard the steamboat Rodney, so Daniel Boyd contracted two additional vessels, the schooners Octavia and Vesper. After a brief stop in St. Joseph (today's Port St. Joe), the entire party moved on to Pensacola:
Dog Island is visible on the horizon in this photo taken from top of the Crooked River Lighthouse at Carrabelle, Florida. Creek Indian refugees were held there in 1838. |
They have suffered very much from sickness. Six have died since we left Chattahoochee and more than twenty are now upon the sick list. The weather has been unusually cold for the season, which has no doubt increased the number of invalids.
The water in the Mississippi River is very low; we lay two days upon a sand bar about twenty five miles above Vicksburg. If the Arkansas River continues as low as it is reported to be at present, I will disembark the Indians at the first convenient point where transportation can be procured and proceed by land to Fort Gibson. [1]
Fortunately for the suffering men, women, and children, the Rodney was able to steam up the Arkansas River as far as Little Rock. The Native Americans transferred there to the steamboat North St. Louis to continue the trip upriver, but the second vessel ran aground at nearby Cadron, Arkansas. [2]
The Arkansas River, seen here at Van Buren, Arkansas, was too shallow for the steamboat carrying the Apalachicola survivors and they had to walk through brutal winter weather. |
The final tally of emigrants included 126 residents of Walker’s Town, 81 from Econchattimico’s village, 34 refugee Creeks, and 32 holdovers from John Blunt’s band. The latter individuals remained behind on the Apalachicola when their chief and most of his followers left for Texas in 1834. Among the residents of Econchattimico’s town was George Perryman, a well-known figure on the early frontier and the son of former principal Seminole chief Thomas Perryman. [4]
Fort Gibson in what is now Oklahoma was the western end of the Trail of Tears for the survivors under Econchattimico and John Walker. |
The new Confederate government entered separate negotiations with the Apalachicolas, treating them as a sixth "civilized tribe" alongside the Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. The Confederates secured a separate treaty with them by promising to pay the long overdue claim at the end of the war in exchange for their support and military service. The Apalachicola warriors finally took up arms against the United States, turning out to fight the government that they had tried so long to appease:
The Apalachicola warriors fought on the Confederate side in a number of engagements west of the Mississippi, including the bloody Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. |
The Apalachicola chiefs and warriors fought on the side of the Confederacy in numerous battles across the modern states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. They never received the money they were promised. The collapse of the Confederate government ended any remaining hope.
The Apalachicola served in the Creek regiments raised in the Indian Nations during the war and were among the last Confederate soldiers anywhere to give up their arms. Their war finally ended when their commander, Brig. Gen. Stand Watie became the last Confederate general to surrender on June 23, 1865.
The Apalachicola served in the Creek regiments raised in the Indian Nations during the war and were among the last Confederate soldiers anywhere to give up their arms. Their war finally ended when their commander, Brig. Gen. Stand Watie became the last Confederate general to surrender on June 23, 1865.
-End of Excerpt-
The sites of Econchattamico's and John Walker's reservations in Jackson County are unmarked. Walker's lands were along the Apalachicola River just east of present-day Sneads, Florida. Econchattimico's grounds were north of Sneads along today's River Road. Significant portions of both parcels remain in the hands of the Federal and state governments today.
To learn more about the Trail of Tears in Jackson County, Florida, please consider:
The sites of Econchattamico's and John Walker's reservations in Jackson County are unmarked. Walker's lands were along the Apalachicola River just east of present-day Sneads, Florida. Econchattimico's grounds were north of Sneads along today's River Road. Significant portions of both parcels remain in the hands of the Federal and state governments today.
To learn more about the Trail of Tears in Jackson County, Florida, please consider:
References:
[1]
Daniel Boyd to C.A. Harris,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, November 11, 1838.
[2]
Arkansas Gazette, November 28, 1838.
[3]
J.R. Stephenson, “Muster Roll of a
Company Seminole who have emigrated West of the Mississippi River,” January 10,
1839.
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
J.R. Stephenson to T.H. Crawford,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, March 6, 1839.
[6]
Supplementary Article to Treaty
between the Confederate States of America and the Creek Nation, July 10, 1861.
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