Soldiers cross the Flint River at Bainbridge, Georgia

Twiggs marches start the Seminole Wars

by Dale Cox

Archaeologist Brian Mabelitini (left) and historian Dale Cox
look out at the Flint River from Burges's Bluff from
J.D. Chason Memorial Park in Bainbridge, Georgia.

Note: This article continues a series leading up to the annual Scott 1817 Seminole War Battle Reenactment at Chattahoochee, Florida. The event is set for December 6-8 and commemorates the first U.S. defeat of the Seminole Wars.

United States troops from the 4th and 7th Infantry Regiments used dugout canoes to cross the chilly Flint River to Burges's Bluff 202 years ago today. The site is recognized today as Bainbridge, Georgia.

The 250-men were on their way to start the first battle of the Seminole Wars. This series of conflicts lasted more than forty years until the very eve of the American War Between the States or Civil War. Thousands of men, women, and children lost their lives, and tens of thousands more were forced west on the Trail of Tears.

A section of the original Fort Scott Road or "Jackson Trail,"
no longer in use, is still visible on an island in Lake Seminole.

The objective of the soldiers, who left a large but still-incomplete frontier stockade called Fort Scott, was Fowltown, a Creek Indian village on the margin of the swamps that surrounded Four Mile Creek south of present-day Bainbridge. Maj. Gen. Edmund P. Gaines was ordered by the Monroe Administration to take and hold the town's chief, Neamathla (Eneah Emathla), as a hostage until his followers agreed to give up their lands to the United States. Please see yesterday's article.

He drafted written orders to Maj. David E. Twiggs for a raid on Fowltown 202 years ago this morning:

The hostile character & Conduct of the Indians of the Fowl Town, settled within our limits, rendering it absolutely necessary that they should be removed, you will proceed to the town with the detachment assigned you, and remove them. You will arrest and bring the chiefs and warriors to this place, but should they oppose you, or attempt to escape, you will in that event treat them as enemies. Your men are to be strictly prohibited, in any event, from firing upon, or otherwise injuring, women and children. [1]

The 7th United States Infantry Living History Association
recreates a march along a section of the old 10 Mile Still Road
during the Scott 1817 event two years ago.

The route of the battalion followed today's 10 Mile Still Road, which follows the original "Jackson Trail" or "Fort Scott Road" from the point it plunges into Lake Seminole until it disappears under the modern development of the city of Bainbridge.

The original path ended on the west bank of the Flint river opposite Burges's Buff, a high plateau where the historic district of downtown Bainbridge exists today.

The bluff takes its name from the late 18th and early 20th-century deerskin trader James Burges. He operated a trading house there in the Lower Creek town of Pucknauhitla, which spread from about Oak City Cemetery on the north to the vicinity of J.D. Chason Memorial Park in the south. The crossing point was just below Chason Park.

Burgess died some 10-15 years before the Fowltown raid, and Pucknauhitla was no longer occupied, but his old crossing was still there, and the old fields and ruins of the houses were still evident.

The Flint River crossing site at Bainbridge, Georgia.

Subsequent reports from Fort Hughes, a small stockade built on the bluff four days later, indicate that the only boat at the crossing was a dugout canoe. The soldiers undoubtedly used this vessel to get across the river, a process that would have been slow and laborious. 

Curiously, just such a dugout was found in the river not far away by modern searchers and is on display at the Decatur County Historical Society Museum in Bainbridge. It was made with metal tools, but it is impossible to say whether it is the same canoe.

The day was blustery as temperatures dropped throughout the Southeast. Ice formed in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, that night as the first cold front of the season swept down through the region. Temperatures had been unseasonably warm all month, but things changed as Twiggs, and his men slowly crossed the Flint River and climbed up Burges's Bluff.

The cold wind was perhaps an omen to what they were about to unleash.

Editor's Note: This series will continue tomorrow with the story of the first U.S. attack on Fowltown and the beginning of the Seminole Wars. To learn more about the upcoming Scott 1817 Seminole War Battle Reenactment, please visit Scott1817.com.

References:

[1] Maj. Gen. Edmund P. Gaines to Maj. David E. Twiggs, Nov. 20, 1817.

Bigfoot Attack in the Okefenokee Swamp!

A 19th century Sasquatch attack in Georgia?

by Dale Cox

The Okefenokee Swamp is a vast wetland that covers more
than 680,000 square miles in Georgia and Florida.

The Okefenokee Swamp has been the focus of stories about giants and other strange creatures for as long as anyone can remember. Is it possible that a Bigfoot or some similar monster actually attacked a party of hunters there in 1829?

Early Muscogee (Creek) Indians regarded the swamp with both reverence and wariness. They told naturalist William Bartrum that in its center was an island of high ground inhabited by a race of incredibly beautiful women called the "daughters of the sun." Their husbands were "fierce men, and cruel to strangers." [1]

Glimpsing this mysterious island from afar, a group of Creek hunters tried to reach it but found that it was protected by strange magic:

...[I]n their endeavors to approach it, they were involved in perpetual labyrinths, and, like enchanted land, still, as they imagined they had gained it, it seemed to fly before them, alternately appearing and disappearing. They resolved, at length to leave the delusive pursuit, and to return; which, after a number of inexpressible difficulties, they effected. When they reported their adventures to their country-men, their young warriors were inflamed with an irresistible desire to invade, and make a conquest of, so charming a country; but all their attempts have hitherto proved abortive, never having been able again to find that enchanting spot, nor any road or pathway to it, yet they say that they frequently meet with certain signs of its being inhabited, as the buildings of canoes, footsteps of men, &c. [2]

A massive old-growth cypress in the
Okefenokee Swamp.

Legends grew that the husbands of the "daughters of the sun" were men of gigantic stature who would kill any outsider who dared to enter the swamp. The Creeks called it Ekana Finaca or "Trembling Earth." 

Frontier settlers cleared farms along the margins of the great swamp by the late 1700s but generally avoided the hundreds of square miles of wetland that made up its interior. The winter of 1828-1829, however, was a time of extraordinary drought, and two men decided to explore as deep into the swamp as possible. 

Taking their flintlock rifles, they headed into the Okefenokee and for two weeks, explored a large area of it. The two men - and one of their young sons - were nearing the center of the swamp when they discovered gigantic footprints:

...The length of the foot was eighteen, and the breadth nine inches. The monster, from every appearance, must have moved forward in an easy or hesitating gait, his stride, from heel to toe, being a trifle over six feet. [3] 

The men decided that they "had seen enough" and started a long retreat from the swamp. Reaching their homes after nearly a four-week absence, they told friends and neighbors what they had seen. A bigger party of hunters from just across the Florida line decided to see for themselves, and one of the men from the first group agreed to guide them. 

...Following, for some days, the direction of their guide, they came at length upon the track first discovered, some vestiges of which were still remaining; pursuing these traces several days longer, they came to a halt on a little eminence, and determined to pitch their camp, and refresh themselves for the day. [4]

Many of the swamp's trees are rooted in peat and will actually
shake or tremble as you walk past them.

The party of nine men started firing off their rifles to clear them of damp powder, planning to reload them for the night. At this point, though, a strange creature suddenly charged their camp:

...[T]he next minute he was full in their view, advancing upon them with a terrible look and ferocious mien. Our little band instinctively gathered close in a body and presented their rifles. The huge being, nothing daunted, bounded upon his victims, and in the same instant received the contents of seven rifles. [5]

The wounded creature reacted by killing five of the explorers, "which he effected by wringing the head from the body." The survivors continued to fight until "writhing and exhausted," the monster collapsed. The last four men gathered around the creature for a closer inspection. They found it to be 13-feet tall from head to toe, with "his breadth and volume of just proportions." [6]

Terrified that the dying monster's howls and cries might attract others of its kind, the hunters fled their camp. They eventually emerged from the Okefenokee to repeat their tale. Their five companions were left where they had fallen, but no one was brave enough to venture back into the swamp to locate and bury them.

The 1829 account is one of the first to describe the creature known today as Bigfoot, Sasquatch, or the Skunk Ape. People in the area continue to report the discoveries of giant footprints, and some even claim to have seen an enormous hair-covered creature deep in the wetlands and prairies of the Okefenokee Swamp.

If you are interested in learning more about the Okefenokee, please visit Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

To see stunning views of the swamp, please click play for a great free video:

We also have more links to help you explore some of its great places to visit:

Stephen C. Foster State Park

Suwanee River Sill Recreation Area

Okefenokee Swamp Park

Visit the Swamp: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

References

[1] William Bartram, Travels of William Bartram, 1790.

[2] Ibid. 

[3] Milledgeville Statesman, January 1829, republished by the Connecticut Sentinel, February 9, 1829.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

Creek towns on the Chattahoochee (Part 4 of 4)

Northernmost section of the
Woodbine Map of 1814.
Click the image to enlarge.

This is the final part of a four part series on the newly discovered Woodbine Map of 1814.

The map was drawn by Capt. George Woodbine of Great Britain's Royal Marines. He arrived on the Apalachicola River in 1814 with weapons and other supplies for the Creek and Seminole Indians of the region. His instructions required him to make contact with as many of these groups as possible and to do so he set out up the river, mapping not only its bends, but also the villages, towns and camps that he encountered.

To read the previous parts in this series before continuing, please follow these links:

Part One: Map reveals details

Part Two: New details from 1814 map

Part Three: Creek Indian villages

The final towns visited by Woodbine in June 1814 were the Lower Creek towns on the Chattahoochee River between today's cities of Columbia and Eufaula, Alabama. These were located on both sides of the river and surrounded by extensive fields, most occupying sites they had staked out in 1717-1718 following the Yamassee War.

This section of the map is its upper or northernmost part. At the bottom you will see Emussee Talofa, which was covered in the last part of this series.

Beginning at Cedar Creek, which is visible on the west or Alabama side of the river near the bottom of today's section, we will move north up the river to the top of the map.

The first villages encountered as we move north up the map from Cedar Creek are a series of small ones on both sides of the river where creeks enter from the east and the west nearly opposite to each other. The stream flowing in from the west is today's Abbie Creek in Henry County, Alabama, while the one joining the river from the east is Brickyard Creek in Early County, Georgia.

Continuing upriver, Amuckah Creek can be seen entering the river from the east. Now called Factory Creek, it is noted for its series of beautiful waterfalls. These powered an important manufacturing operation during the 19th century. The creek is located in Early County, Georgia.

The massive platform mound at Kolomoki Mounds is
more than 50-feet tall and over 1,000 years old.

The next named stream moving north was called Oakolomokee Creek by Woodbine. This name survives today as Kolomoki Creek. It rises near the massive prehistoric ceremonial complex at Kolomoki Mounds State Park just north of Blakely, Georgia.

This mounds were long abandoned by the time of Woodbine's visit. They date from the Woodland era, represented in this region by the Swift Creek and Weeden Island cultures. Some researchers believe that Kolomoki may have been the largest city north of Meso-America at its height. Its importance peaked and faded away more than 1,000 years ago.

Moving upstream from the mouth of Oakolomokee Creek a stream can be seen entering the river from the west. This is today's Beaverdam Branch in Henry County, Alabama.

Carving of Otis Mico (Onis Mico) at Fort Gaines.
He was the chief of Etohussewakkes in 1814.

Above Beaverdam Branch, several small village symbols are shown on both banks of the river. These are in the approximate site of the known town of Etohussewakkes, which was three miles south of today's Fort Gaines, Georgia. This town was still occupied by Lower Creeks when the U.S. Army established Fort Gaines two years later.

Continuing up the river a stream can be seen entering from the east. This is Cemochechobee Creek at present-day Fort Gaines. It would soon mark the southern limits of the Creek Nation as defined by the Treaty of Fort Jackson.

Upstream is a town called Oakete Ackanee by Woodbine and Okitiyakani by other writers. This was the second town of this name that he encountered. The other was lower down the river. Like some of the towns near the forks of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers discussed in the first part of this series, it was led by mestizo chiefs from the Perryman family and was a large town.

Fort Mitchell has been restored on its original site
in Russell County, Alabama.

Woodbine does not appear to have traveled above this town as he shows the river using dashed lines from this point north. This usually indicates a presumed or believed route for a river or road on old maps. This was likely a wise decision on his part as the Cowetas who exerted great power from this vicinity forward were strong allies of the United States. The U.S. Army post of Fort Mitchell also served as a barrier to any further advance up the Chattahoochee.

He did note the presence of the Euphalla or Eufaula tribe on the west side of the river near today's city of Eufaula, Alabama, and mentioned the large towns (Coweta and Cusseta) higher up in the area of today's Columbus, Georgia, and Phenix City, Alabama.

Capt. Woodbine turned back downstream from Okitiyakani and was back at Prospect Bluff on the lower Apalachicola River by mid-June 1814. The British soon began the construction of a fort there and would build a second - Nicolls' Outpost - at present-day Chattahoochee, Florida, before the end of the War of 1812. 

Here are all of the sections of the Woodbine Map of 1814, presented in order as they show the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers, beginning in the vicinity of Eufaula, Alabama, and continuing downstream to Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Vicinity of Columbia, Alabama to vicinity of Eufaula, Alabama

Just below Alabama State Line to vicinity of Columbia, Alabama

Alabama State Line to Chattahoochee, Florida

Chattahoochee to Apalachicola

More new details from 1814 British map of Apalachicola & Chattahoochee Rivers

Section of Woodbine's
Map of 1814.
National Archives of Great Britain
(Click to Enlarge)

I first showed you part of the newly discovered Woodbine Map of 1814 in a post earlier this week. If you missed it, just click here to read that part before continuing with this article.

Today we are focusing on the next part of the map, which covers the Apalachicola River from the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. In the next post, we will look at the section that covers the Chattahoochee River north from the Alabama state line to above Eufaula.

The more than 200 year old Woodbine Map was discovered in the National Archives of Great Britain. It reveals a great deal of new information about the location of Native American settlements and refugee camps along the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers in the days immediately following the Creek War of 1813-1814.

Red Stick Creek refugees were pouring south into Spanish West Florida following the defeat of their last army at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Alabama. They were starving and fleeing for their lives. Not only were they being pursued by U.S. troops, but white-allied Creeks under William McIntosh and Choctaws under Pushmataha had joined the chase. Even William Weatherford, a former Red Stick fighter, was now guiding U.S. troops in pursuit of his former friends and allies.

 The Woodbine Map was drawn at a time when Red Stick families were establishing refugee camps along the Conecuh, Choctawhatchee, Chattahoochee, Apalachicola and other rivers of the region. So many of these refugees had died along the way that one old warrior told a British officer that he knew the trail to his enemy because it was marked by the graves of his children.

Capt. George Woodbine of the British Royal Marines arrived on the Apalachicola in May 1814. Ordered to recruit Creek and Seminole warriors to the cause of Great Britain in the ongoing War of 1812, Woodbine traveled as far upstream as Eufaula on the Chattahoochee River. His map appears to have been drawn during his journey and pinpoints the locations of both established towns and refugee camps.

It should be noted before continuing that the map was drawn at a time when large numbers of Native American men, women and children were still on the move. Many of the sites shown were transitory at best. Some were occupied for no more than a few weeks, which makes the document extremely valuable in understanding the movements of Red Stick groups as they entered Florida.

In our last article about the map, we discussed the massive number of towns and camps that had appeared along the relatively short section of the Chattahoochee River in Jackson County, Florida. Most Red Stick groups had not yet reached the Apalachicola River.

Looking at today's section of the map, we will move south down the Apalachicola from the forks of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers. The Tocktoethla towns of the Perryman family, shown just above the forks, were discussed in the last article.

The Apalachicola River as seen from River Landing Park in
Chattahoochee, Florida. Mosquito Creek enters from the left.

Moving downstream from the forks, the map shows Mosquito Creek flowing into the river from the east were the City of Chattahoochee stands today. The large island in the river below Chattahoochee is also shown.

The first Native American village below the confluence was the town of "Tomathleu" (also spelled "Tomatley" and "Tomathli") on the west bank in what is now Jackson County, Florida. This town had been established in the 1760s by a Creek band that moved down the river at the invitation of the British, who possessed Florida from 1763-1783.

Tomatley was one of the towns where the white trader James Burges had a home and operated a trading post. He also lived, had a family and operated a store on the bluff at today's Bainbridge, Georgia. Burges had died by 1814, but his children and grandchildren by his Tomatley wife still lived in the town.

The village was also the home of a man called Vaccapuchasse by the Spanish and the "Mulatto King" by the Americans. A maroon or escaped slave, he was the child of black and Native American parents and had become one of the principal chiefs of Tomatley. John Yellowhair was also an important leader in the town, which stood near the old Jackson County Port Authority complex.

Section of the Woodbine Map showing "Ocheesee Town" and
"Negro Settlements" in what is now Calhoun County, Florida.

The next village down the Apalachicola was Ocheesee Talofa, which stood on Ocheesee Bluff in what is now Calhoun County, Florida. This well-known town had also been established in the 1760s and was the one-time home of the white trader John Mealy. He had provided horses and other support to the British during the American Revolution. His son, Jack Mealy, was now the principal chief of Ocheesee.

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the Apalachicola River section of the newly discovered map is the large "Negro Settlements" that it shows running down the west side of the river below Ocheesee Bluff. This previously unknown settlement had been established by maroons (runaway slaves) who fled to the Apalachicola during and following the Creek War of 1813-1814. Some had been held by white plantation owners but others had been the slaves of Creek chiefs and principal men.

These individuals were now free and living in Spanish Florida. Woodbine undoubtedly spent considerable time with them as one of his assignments was to recruit a battalion of black soldiers for service in the British Colonial Marines. The maroon settlement below Ocheesee was not shown on later maps and its villagers probably moved downstream to Prospect Bluff at Woodbine's request. A number of the recruits who enlisted in the British service there gave their home town as "Ocheesee Talofa."

Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River.

The last Creek town shown on the river was Yawalla (Iola), the primary town of chief John Blunt. This village was at the site of today's Blountstown and not at Iola Landing lower down the river.

Blunt had fled with his people from the Creek Nation during the war and had suffered great losses in the process. White people sometimes called him Lafarka, but this must be a corruption of an Indian name or title as the Muscogee language includes neither the letter "r" nor its equivalent sound.

More Red Sticks would soon arrive on the Apalachicola as the bands of Prophet Josiah Francis, Homathlemico (Hoboithle Mico?) and others made their way east from the western Florida Panhandle. At the time of Woodbine's trip, however, these groups were still on the Choctawhatchee, Conecuh and other rivers to the west.

A noteworthy point of interest is Forbes Island just below Panton's Cliffs. This was not the Forbes Island today, but an upriver island formed by the confluence of the Apalachicola with the River Styx and other streams. It was also shown as Forbes Island on Spanish maps of this era.

Lower Apalachicola River as shown on the
Woodbine Map. Notice Prospect Bluff on the
east bank and the offshore anchorage of the
British warship HMS Orpheus.

Panton's Cliffs was Estiffanulga Bluff. It had been called Estiffanulga as late as 1804, but officers of John Forbes & Company renamed it in honor of William Panton. He had been a partner in Panton, Leslie & Company, the original name of the trading company. The name never stuck, however, and Estiffanulga remains in use today.

Further downstream can be seen the mouth of the Chipola River and Prospect Bluff. The bluff, called the Loma de Buena Vista by the Spanish, was the site of a Forbes & Company trading post and would soon be selected by the British as a location for one of two forts that they would build on the river.

Below Prospect Bluff, no settlements are shown as existing on the Apalachicola River. The map does show the anchorage of the HMS Orpheus off Cape St. George. The Orpheus was a British warship filled with arms and ammunition for the Creeks and Seminoles. She remained offshore while Woodbine made his trip up the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers. The war materials from the ship were being landed on St. Vincent Island where they were housed in temporary structures until they could be transported up to Prospect Bluff.

The next installment in this series will focus on the Chattahoochee River from the Alabama line north to Eufaula. If you would like to learn more about British activities on the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers during the War of 1812, please consider my books Nicolls' Outpost: A War of 1812 Fort at Chattahoochee, Florida and Milly Francis: The Life & Times of the Creek Pocahontas.

Both are available in either book or Amazon Kindle formats.

      

Map reveals details of Jackson County's Native American population

Portion of the Woodbine Map of 1814
showing what is now eastern
Jackson County, Florida
National Archives of Great Britain
(Click to Enlarge)

A newly discovered map from the National Archives of Great Britain is proving an incredible view of the Native American groups living in what is now Jackson County at the end of the Creek War of 1813-1814.

The map is believed to have been drawn by a British officer, Capt. George Woodbine, who arrived at Apalachicola Bay on May 10, 1815. His orders were to recruit and train an auxiliary force of Seminole, Red Stick Creek and maroon (escaped slave) warriors that could assist in coming British movements against the Gulf Coast.

Woodbine established himself twenty miles up the Apalachicola River at Prospect Bluff, where John Forbes & Company had a trading post and where the British would soon build a powerful fort. He moved from there up the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers as far as present-day Eufaula, Alabama. He met with chiefs and principal men at each village that he encountered, hoping to obtain their support for the British cause in the War of 1812.

The newly discovered map appears to have been drawn by Woodbine as he made his way upriver. It reveals an incredible amount of new information about Native American and maroon populations on the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers in 1814. This was a critical moment in history due to the sudden arrival in the area of thousands of Red Stick Creeks who had been driven from their homeland by American armies. Woodbine's arrival on the Apalachicola came less than six weeks after the devastating defeat of the main Red Stick army at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Alabama.

Red Stick Creek refugees were flooding into West Florida where they hoped to obtain food and protection from the Spanish who then controlled the province. Woodbine's map shows that several previously unknown groups of Creeks were establishing camps along the eastern border of what is now Jackson County during the time of this tragic migration.

Neals Landing Park, site of the Creek Indian town of
Ekanachatte ("Red Ground"), in Jackson County, Florida.

Looking at the map from top to bottom, it shows Irwin's Mill Creek flowing into the Chattahoochee River from the northwest just above the site of today's Neal's Landing. The village of Ekanachatte or "Red Ground" had been established here in the 1760s and was a well-known and prosperous town by 1814. It was the home of the chief Econchattimico ("Red Ground King") who had succeeded his uncle, Cockee, who was also known as "the Bully" for his abilities as a trader.

Moving down the river, the map shows small symbols for Creek settlements on the river just out from the area of today's Buena Vista Landing. Small springs in this vicinity made it a logical place for refugee camps.

At the northern end of today's Apalachee Wildlife Management Area can be seen a "Tallasee Town." Tallasee was a well known town on the Tallapoosa River from which Peter McQueen and other chiefs had joined the Red Stick movement. The settlement shown as "Tallasee Town" on Woodbine's map was undoubtedly occupied by refugees driven from their homes in the Creek Nation.

Immediately below Tallasee Town is seen Fowl Town, also a settlement of refugee Red Sticks. Led by Neamathla (Eneah Emathla) this settlement occupied both sides of the river with the main town being on the eastern or Georgia shore. This settlement was established in the winter of 1813-1814 after Neamathla and his warriors were defeated by William McIntosh and the white-allied Coweta warriors at the Battle of Uchee Creek below present-day Phenix City, Alabama. The Fowl Town people did not remain at this site for long but with a couple of years moved over to a new location near Bainbridge, Georgia.

To the southwest of Fowl Town is a settlement of people from the "Euchee Tribe." A band of the Yuchi (or Euchee) led by their chief Billy had been part of the Red Stick force at the Battle of Uchee Creek. They came downriver to what is now Jackson County where they lived until 1817.

Neamathla (Eneah Emathla)
Chief of Fowl Town in 1814-1818.

Downstream below Fowl Town and at a site now submerged beneath Lake Seminole can be seen a settlement that was built on both sides of the river and called "Saokulo Tribe." These may have been Sawokli refugees who had gone against most of the other Lower Creeks and joined the Red Stick movement with the Fowl Town and Euchee bands. Their presence so near the forks of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers is interesting as they were living in the vicinity when they were first encountered by the Spanish during the 1600s.

At another site now beneath the waters of Lake Seminole can be seen a village of Oketee Ockane (Okitiyakani) people. These were undoubtedly Red Stick refugees from a much larger town of the same name located higher up the Chattahoochee River. Most of the town's people stayed neutral in the Creek War or fought on the side of the United States, but some joined the Red Stick forces that tried to overthrow the traditional leaders of the Creek Nation and had to flee for their lives down into the Spanish borderlands.

Finally, just above the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers, can be seen the towns of the "Tochtohule Tribe." These were the Tocktoethla villages of Thomas and William Perryman, long-time residents of the region. The former, who lived on the Georgia side of the river, was the principal leader of the Seminoles at the time. The latter lived on the west bank in what is now Jackson County. Both of the sites shown on the map are now beneath Lake Seminole.

The Woodbine map adds a great deal of new information to our knowledge about what was happening in the Chattahoochee River region of Jackson County. A large number of Red Stick refugees had suddenly appeared there, placing a great strain on the more established towns such as Ekanachatte and Tocktoethla. The refugees were starving and, as the British soon reported, were digging up seed corn to eat as fast as it could be planted.

The groups and villages shown on the map all joined the British cause during the War of 1812 and were closely associated with the British Post at Prospect Bluff ("Negro Fort") and the forward base called Nicolls' Outpost at what is now Chattahoochee. Many relocated completely to Prospect Bluff over the coming winter, while others remained on the lower Chattahoochee River.

Please click here to read the next article about the map.

Please click here to learn more about the British presence on the Apalachicola River in 1814-1815.

Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail is now complete!

Interpretive Panel at Mission San Carlos site

The new Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail is complete!

The trail is a 150-mile driving tour that takes visitors to eleven unique Spanish colonial sites in Jackson County, including the sites of Spanish missions, historic American Indian villages, noted landmarks and a surviving trace of the real Old Spanish Trail. It begins and ends at the historic Russ House & Visitor Center at 4318 Lafayette Street in Marianna.

You can pick up a free guide booklet at the Russ House that features information and photographs of each site, a map of the entire drive and directions to each of its stops. The booklets are available from a display stand on the porch when the visitor center is closed.

Blue Springs in Jackson County, Florida

To give you a brief overview, the driving tour leaves the Russ House and stops first at historic and scenic Blue Springs, the only first magnitude spring in the Chipola River basin and landmark noted in reports and journals by early Spanish explorers. Also at Blue Springs is Tour Stop #2, the Original Old Spanish Trail. An interpretive kiosk points out an original section of the Old Spanish Trail and describes its significance.

Canopy oaks along Reddoch Road

From Blue Springs, the tour follows Reddoch Road to State Highway 69 north of Grand Ridge. This section of modern roadway follows the original trace of the Old Spanish Trail and as you drive beneath its canopy oaks, you will be following a path that Spanish explorers used as early as 1674. From the intersection of Reddoch Road and Highway 69, the trail turns south to Grand Ridge and U.S. 90, today's "new" Old Spanish Trail. It follows U.S. 90 through Sneads to the eastern edge of the county and the Jim Woodruff Dam Overlook on the west bank of Lake Seminole.

View of Mission San Carlos site (bottom) and Lake Seminole

The Overlook is the site of Mission San Carlos, a Spanish mission that served Christian members of the Chatot (or Chacato) tribe from 1680-1696. During these years it was the westernmost Spanish settlement in all of Florida. An interpretive kiosk on the shores of the lake tells the story of the mission and its tragic destruction by Creek Indian raiders in 1696.

The tour then leads back along U.S. 90 to Sneads and up River Road past Three Rivers State Park and through the beautiful Apalachee Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Drivers enjoy stunning views of Lake Seminole and the many waterfowl that flock to the WMA. Picnic areas can be found along the route at Three Rivers, Parramore Landing Park and Buena Vista Landing.

Chattahoochee River at site of Ekanachatte

The next stop is at Neal's Landing Park on the banks of the Chattahoochee River. An interpretive panel here tells the story of Ekanachattee ("Red Ground"), a Creek Indian village established during the 1760s. British soldiers stopped here in 1778 as the American Revolution raged and many of the town's chiefs and warriors volunteered to join the British in their fight against the American colonists in Georgia. Ekanachatte remained an important town during the Second Spanish Era (1783-1821) and was one of the bases of the notorious pirate and adventurer, William Augustus Bowles.

Section of Old Pensacola-St. Augustine Road near Malone

From Neal's Landing the tour takes drivers west along State Highway 2, which follows the general route of the original Pensacola-St. Augustine Road. This early trail was first mapped by a British military expedition in 1778 and is believed to be the trail that famed pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone followed during his long walk across Florida!  An interpretive panel that tells the story of the early road can be found at Veterans Park on State Highway 71 in Malone.

Campbellton Baptist Church

From Malone the drive continues west on State Highway 2 across the Forks of the Creek swamps to Campbellton Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist church in Florida still in continuous use. The existing structure dates to the 1850s and was a landmark of the Civil War's raid on Marianna. It was founded in the 1820s by a congregation that included a number of men and women who came and settled in the Campbellton area in 1819-1820 when Florida was still part of Spain. This Spring Creek settlement grew to become the modern town of Campbellton and an interpretive kiosk on the grounds of the church tells its story. A second historical marker provides details on the history of the church itself.

Heritage Village at Baptist College of Florida

Leaving Campbellton, the tour continues west on State Highway 2 to Graceville and the outstanding Heritage Village on the campus of the Baptist College of Florida. This landmark historic preservation effort features an array of beautifully restored historic structures maintained by the college. Individual structures include churches, homes, a log cabin, a one-room school, a syrup shed and more. The interpretive panel on the grounds tells the story of the Chatot (Chacato) Revolt of 1675, an uprising against the Spanish by part of the Chatot tribe. Led by the old chief Dioscale, Chatot and Chisca warriors drove the Spanish out of Jackson County but in turn were defeated by a Spanish military raid.

Bellamy Bridge Heritage Trail

From Graceville the tour follows Highway 2 back to Campbellton and then turns south on U.S. 231. From 231 it turns east on Highway 162 (Jacob Road) and continues on to the next stop, the Bellamy Bridge Heritage Trail. This interpretive nature trail leads to Florida's oldest and most haunted bridge! The historic bridge, which turns 100 years old this year, stands at the site where it is believed that Spanish explorer Marcos Delgado crossed the Chipola River in 1686. Multiple interpretive panels along the trail detail its history and as you walk its 1/2 mile length you experience a hardwood floodplain forest that has been restored to feature the trees and plants that Spanish explorers found growing in Jackson County during the 1600s.

Tunnel Cave at Florida Caverns State Park

After enjoying the Bellamy Bridge Heritage Trail, you continue east on Highway 162 to the Old U.S. Road which leads south to Caverns Road and Florida Caverns State Park. The park features Florida's only public tour cave and is rich in history. The original Old Spanish Trail crossed the Chipola River via the natural bridge that can still be seen in the park. The Army of Major General Andrew Jackson crossed the river on this geological feature in 1818 as the First Seminole War raged during the Second Spanish Era (1783-1821). The park visitor center features displays on its geology and history.

Mission San Nicolas interpretive panel

From Florida Caverns State Park the trail returns to U.S. 90 at Marianna, continues west through downtown and then turns north on State Highway 73 to the next stop at the intersection of Highway 73 and Union Road. This interpretive kiosk tells the story of Mission San Nicolas, a Spanish church complex established in 1674 at the mouth of a large cave. The precise site has never been found, but it was at one of the numerous caves in this vicinity.

Fernandez de Florencia interpretive panel at Cottondale

From the Mission San Nicolas stop, the trail continues on to U.S. 231 and turns south to Cottondale and the final stop at the parking area behind Cottondale City Hall. This interpretive panel details the 1676 Fernandez de Florencia expedition, a military raid that passed through Jackson County en route to an attack on a Chisca Indian fort in today's Walton or Okaloosa Counties. The expedition passed across the site of Cottondale, following an old trail that led southwest into what is now Washington County.

After enjoying Cottondale, take U.S. 90 east back to Marianna and the end of the tour!  For more information, pick up the new free guide at the historic Russ House and be sure to visit: http://visitjacksoncountyfla.com/heritage/spanish-heritage-trail/

#97 Daniel Boone's Long Walk (100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida)

Daniel Boone
Painted in old age by Chester Harding

#97 on our list of 100 Great Things about Jackson County is Daniel Boone's Long Walk. Click here to read previous posts in this series.

It is a little known fact that in 1765 (250 years ago next year), the famed American explorer and pioneer Daniel Boone passed through Jackson County on his long walk across Florida. He later told the story of the journey to his son, Nathan Boone, who recorded it along with many of his father's other memories.

After 250 years of Spanish rule, Florida was surrendered to Great Britain at the end of the French & Indian War in 1763. Spain had sided with France in that conflict and lost Florida as a result.

As the British took over the colony, a steady flow of settlers began to move down from Georgia, the Carolinas and even Virginia. Pensacola and St. Augustine were the primary destinations of these settlers, but others spread out through the back country where they were welcomed by the Lower Creek and Seminole Indians. The British were on good terms with the American Indians who lived in Florida.

Daniel Boone and his dog
Drawing by Alonzo Chappel

Two years after Great Britain gained control of Florida, Daniel Boone joined a party of men headed south on a journey of exploration. He then lived in North Carolina, was 31 years old and had survived Braddock's Defeat, the bloody ambush and defeat of British troops portrayed in the book and movie, Last of the Mohicans. Boone, in fact, was the primary model for the hero of the story, Natty Bumpo (renamed Nathaniel Poe for the movie).

Contrary to legend, Daniel Boone did not wear a coonskin cap. He was from a Quaker family and wore a flat brimmed hat. He had blonde hair and blue eyes.

Boone and his fellow travelers came south through Georgia to St. Augustine. From there, with Boone leading the way, the men set out on a more than 400 mile journey to Pensacola through the vast Florida wilderness. They were following a trail called the Pensacola-St. Augustine Road.

The "road" was really little more than a footpath that wound its way west from St. Augustine to the Suwannee River and then on to Lake Miccosukee near present-day Tallahassee. From there, the trail split into two paths, both of which angled north into what is now Decatur County, Georgia, before reuniting just outside the city of Bainbridge.

Daniel Boone leading a party of settlers
Painting by George Caleb Bingham

A settler and trader named James Burges (or Burgess) had settled where Bainbridge stands today and the explorers crossed the Flint River at his settlement. They then followed the trail on past the present site of Donalsonville, Georgia, and crossed the Chattahoochee River into Jackson County and back into Florida at Ekanachatte ("Red Ground"), a Lower Creek village at what is now called Neal's Landing.

Assuming that Boone and the other men remained on the main trail, from Neal's Landing they passed west along the route of today's State Highway 2. Their journey would have taken them across the sites of today's towns of Malone, Campbellton and Graceville. They crossed Holmes Creek out of Jackson and into Holmes County near Graceville.

1778 Map of the road followed by Boone

None of these towns or counties existed then, of course, and the only people that Boone encountered in what later became Jackson County were the Creek Indians who lived at Ekanachatte and at a small town called Pucknawhitla ("Peach Tree") which stood on the present site of Campbellton.

Section of road followed by Boone through Jackson County

The journey was long and difficult. At one point Boone and the others lost track of the path and became confused in the wilderness. He later told his son Nathan that he never was lost in his life, but was confused once for a few days.

Daniel Boone had not been impressed with the lands he saw between St. Augustine and the Chattahoochee River, but once he crossed into what is now Jackson County he found richer lands and pristine forests. Deer and other animals were plentiful and the pioneer was impressed.

Daniel Boone from Life
Painting by John James Audubon

After the group reached Pensacola, Boone made arrangements to acquire land in West Florida (the British divided the modern state into two colonies, East Florida and West Florida). He planned to relocate to the area and become one of its first English settlers.

The explorer's wife, Rebecca, had other ideas. She firmly objected to the move because it would take her so far from her family in North Carolina. Boone complied with his wife's wishes and the idea of moving to Florida was abandoned.

Other members of the pioneer's family, however, would follow in his footsteps. Among the earliest American settlers of Jackson County was Gilley Crawford Boone Neel, a member of Boone's family. She first settled with her husband and children near Neal's Landing and later lived in the Paront community north of Grand Ridge. She and many other relatives of Daniel Boone are buried at Cowpen Pond Cemetery near Dellwood.

Great Oaks in Greenwood, Florida

Other relatives of the famed pioneer and his wife settled in Greenwood. Rebecca Bryan Boone was a member of North Carolina's noted Bryan family. That family was instrumental in the founding of Greenwood and Great Oaks, a beautiful antebellum home, was originally the Bryan Mansion. Members of the Boone and Bryan families are buried in numerous cemeteries around Greenwood.

The historic Pensacola-St. Augustine Road, which Boone followed across Florida, is interpreted on the new Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail. A kiosk at City Park on Highway 71 in downtown Malone tells the story of the historic road.  Click here for more information.

Daniel Boone's long walk is an almost forgotten footnote of Florida history, but it is one of the 100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida.