The Exiles of Florida Part 9

As the roll was called, and the votes given, the result became doubtful, and much interest was manifested in all parts of the hall. The bill and discussion had been thrust upon the House by slaveholders: its whole merits were based upon the most vital principles of slavery. The question of property in human flesh, const.i.tutes one of the essential elements of the inst.i.tution, without which it could not survive one hour. The slave power had not for many years been defeated on any proposition touching slavery, and it appeared painful for those interested in that inst.i.tution to have their influence doubted.

The Clerk (a deputy) was engaged a long time in counting the votes, and ascertaining the result. He was a slaveholder, and appeared perplexed; some members, even before he made report of the vote, expressed doubts of his accuracy. At length he pa.s.sed his report to the Chair. The Speaker, Mr. Winthrop of Ma.s.sachusetts, casting his eye upon the figures, rose from his seat, and announced the vote--"ayes _ninety_, noes _eighty-nine_," and then remarking that the rules of the House made it his duty to vote in all cases when such vote would _change the result_, began to give his reasons for the vote he was about to record, and as he proceeded it became evident that he was _opposed to the bill_.

The Clerk then handed him another paper, and the Speaker, after reading it, announced that the Clerk had mistaken the vote, and without saying more, announced--"ayes _ninety-one_, noes _eighty-nine_," and declared the bill "_pa.s.sed_."

The interest had now become intense in all parts of the hall. It was perfectly natural that men should be suspicious of the Clerk. Mr.

d.i.c.key, in particular, had taken a deep interest in the question. He was sitting near the Author, and expressed freely the opinion, that the Clerk had reported the vote incorrectly. So strong was this belief, that he went to the Clerk, and demanded a copy of the record giving the ayes and noes. The Clerk promised to give it soon. d.i.c.key waited a short time, and renewed his call on the Clerk, who again promised. d.i.c.key, after waiting a proper time, went to the Clerk's table, and took the record of yeas and nays, and brought it to the seat of the Author, and requested his a.s.sistance in counting the vote. They counted and _re_-counted several times, but were unable to make the vote other than "_eighty-nine_ ayes, and _eighty-nine_ noes"--showing a tie vote; which, without the Speaker's vote, would have defeated the bill. d.i.c.key returned the record to the Clerk, and then called the attention of the House and the Speaker to the fact, that the Clerk had inaccurately reported the vote. The Speaker replied, if an error had occurred, the proper time to correct it would be the next morning, on reading the Journal, when a motion to correct the entry would be in order, in preference to any other business.

On looking over the list, it was subsequently discovered, that the vote of Hon. John W. Farrelly of Crawford county, Pennsylvania, was not recorded. This added intensity to the interest already felt on the subject.

The next meeting of the House was on Monday, when the Speaker recited the facts as they occurred on Sat.u.r.day, and declared that, on a more careful examination, it was found that the vote stood--"ayes _eighty-nine_, noes _eighty-nine_."

Mr. Farrelly inquired, if his vote was recorded? The Speaker informed him it was not, but that it was his right to have it recorded, if he had actually voted on the pa.s.sage of the bill. That gentleman declared that he had voted _no_, on the pa.s.sage of the bill, and the vote being recorded, the Speaker declared the result to be "_ayes eighty-nine, noes_ NINETY," and then announced the bill "_lost_!"

The friends of freedom were greatly cheered, from the consideration, that party ties had not been strong enough to control members on this important vote. Of the twenty-one members from Ohio, only Mr. Ritchey of Perry, Mr. c.u.mmins of Tuscarawas, and Mr. Taylor of Ross, voted with the slaveholders; while such Democrats as Messrs. Faran, Fries, Kennon, Lamb, Miller, Morris, Sawyer and Starkweather voted against the doctrine that men and women may be held and treated as property. Indeed, there were but few Representatives from the free States willing to recognize that doctrine. No member from New Hamps.h.i.+re, Ma.s.sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin or Iowa voted for it.

From Maine, Messrs. Clapp, Clarke and Williams; from New York, Messrs.

Birdsal, McClay, Murphy, Necoll and Tallmadge; from Pennsylvania, Messrs. Brady, Bridges, Brodhead, Charles Brown, C. J. Ingersol, Levin and Job Mann; from Indiana, Messrs. Dunn, R. W. Thompson and Wick; and from Illinois, Messrs. McClernand and Richardson voted to pay Pacheco a thousand dollars, because General Jessup sent a most dangerous enemy out of Florida.

Mr. Burt, and the friends of slavery generally, appeared irritated by defeat. They had driven their Northern allies to revolt. The more they reflected upon the subject, the more important the issue appeared. They had caused great agitation, while professing to deprecate all discussion in regard to slavery. If slaves were not _property_ under the Federal Const.i.tution, they must be regarded as _persons_. If the civilized world looked upon them as persons, those who held them in bondage must of course be considered as oppressors of mankind, and could have no claim to the t.i.tle of Democrats or of Christians. In every point of view, the result appeared disastrous to the slave power.

It was under these circ.u.mstances, that the Hon. William Sawyer of Ohio, was induced to move a reconsideration of the vote by which the bill was lost. From the fact that none but those voting in the negative could by the rules of the House move a reconsideration, and that he subsequently voted against his own motion, it is probable he made it from personal kindness to those who supported the bill. On this motion, a long discussion subsequently arose, which did not terminate until the nineteenth of January, when the motion to reconsider prevailed, and on the final pa.s.sage of the bill the vote stood--ayes 101, noes 95. So the bill was pa.s.sed by the House of Representatives, and the struggle in that body terminated. But the bill was never brought up for discussion in the Senate, and the claim was never more moved in either House of Congress. The question of property in human flesh, however, continued to be discussed by the people, and in Congress, until it has become one of the great issues on which political parties now base their action.

NOTE.--The life of this slave Louis is perhaps the most romantic of any man now living. Born and reared a slave, he found means to cultivate his intellect--was fond of reading; and while gentlemen in the House of Representatives were engaged in discussing the value of his bones and sinews, he could probably speak and write more languages with ease and facility than any member of that body. In revenge for the oppression to which he was subjected, he conceived the purpose of sacrificing a regiment of white men, who were engaged in the support of slavery. This object effected, he a.s.serted his own natural right to freedom, joined his brethren, and made b.l.o.o.d.y war upon the enemies of liberty. For two years, he was the steady companion of Coacoochee, or, as he was afterwards called, "Wild Cat," who subsequently became the most warlike chief in Florida. They traversed the forests of that territory together, wading through swamps and everglades, groping their way through hommocks, and gliding over prairies. They bivouacked together; suffered heat and cold, hunger and thirst, together. For two years, they stood shoulder to shoulder in every battle; shared their victories and defeats together; and when General Jessup had pledged the faith of the nation that all Indians who would surrender should be protected in the enjoyment of their slaves, Wild Cat appeared at head quarters, followed by Louis, whom he claimed as his property, under slaveholding law, as he said he had captured him at the time of Dade's defeat. The ruse took.

General Jessup, being a slaveholder, and believing that slaves, like horses and cattle, were the subjects of capture, immediately sent Louis with other black warriors to Fort Pike, near New Orleans, and thence with the first emigrating party of Seminoles to the western country, where he was three years subsequently joined by Coacoochee, and these friends, again united, became intimate, sharing together the fortunes which awaited them, of which we shall speak in due time.

CHAPTER VIII.

HOSTILITIES CONTINUED.

The Allies in their Camp--News of General Clinch's advance--Two hundred men volunteer to meet him--His force--The Allies await his approach in ambush--He crosses the river in another place--They attack him--The battle--His intrepidity saves his army--The loss of the Allies--The loss of General Clinch--Escape of Florida slaves--Their blood-thirsty conduct--Families murdered--Dwellings burned--Inhabitants flee to villages--Their suffering--Effects of the War--General Jackson--Members of Congress--General Ca.s.s--His views and policy--Orders General Scott to Florida--General Gaines moves upon Florida with his Brigade--Reaches the scene of Dade's ma.s.sacre--Buries the dead--Visits Fort King--While returning, is attacked--Ino, the Exile Chief--His character--The Allies surround General Gaines--His position--Is closely invested--Sends for a.s.sistance--Provisions fail--Unauthorized Interference of Caesar--Flag of Truce--General Clinch arrives, and fires upon the Allies--They flee--General Gaines returns to Fort Brooks--General Clinch returns to Fort Drane.

The night after the ma.s.sacre of Dade and his companions was spent in exultation by the allies. Osceola and his friends brought with them from the sutler's store various goods, with which they decorated their persons; while the numerous scalps taken from the heads of their enemies, were displayed as trophies of victory. They had also found among the stores with which Major Dade's party were provided, sufficient rum and whisky to intoxicate most of them, and their rejoicings and felicitations continued, for hours, amid the darkness of night.

It was a late hour in the morning when they awoke from the stupor occasioned by severe labors of the previous day, and the night's debauch. Before they had refreshed themselves with the morning's meal, their scouts arrived, bringing intelligence that troops were advancing towards the Withlacoochee, in pursuit of Indians and Exiles. General Clinch had been lying at Fort Drane. He clearly saw the evidence of approaching hostilities; and, although wholly unconscious of the danger which had threatened Major Dade, had felt it his duty to raise such forces as he could command, and advance into the Indian country as far as the Withlacoochee. He gathered about two hundred Regulars, from the 1st, 2d and 3d Artillery, and, with some four hundred Florida volunteers, under General C. K. Call, had nearly reached the Withlacoochee before the captors of Dade were informed of his approach.

About two hundred warriors, fifty of whom were Exiles, volunteered to meet this army, of three times their own number, under the command of one of the most able and gallant officers at that time in the service of the United States.

Osceola and Halpatter-Tustenuggee commanded the allies. They hastened to the crossing of the Withlacoochee, and there lay awaiting the approach of General Clinch. Here the water was not more than two feet in depth, and they entertained no doubt that the advancing forces would seek this place for the purpose of fording the stream. Here they waited until the morning of the thirtieth, when they learned that General Clinch, with his two hundred Regulars, had already pa.s.sed the stream some two miles below. He had effected his pa.s.sage by the aid of a bark canoe, which carried only eight men at a time.

Having attained a position on the south side of the river with his Regulars, General Clinch was ready for battle; although the four hundred volunteers were yet on the north side of the stream. The Indians and Exiles immediately engaged these veteran troops, although sustained by a heavy force of volunteers, who were yet on the opposite side of the river. At twelve o'clock, on the thirtieth of December, the contending forces engaged, and a severe and deadly conflict followed.

As Osceola now for the first time engaged in battle, he felt anxious to distinguish himself by his intrepidity. His voice was heard on every part of the field, urging on his troops to deeds of daring. Undaunted by the shrill war-whoop, and the constant report of Indian rifles and the whistling b.a.l.l.s around him, General Clinch charged his enemy. The allies fell back, and he continually advanced until he drove them from the thick hommock into the open forest. The gallant general coolly pa.s.sed along the lines during the action encouraging his men, and stimulating them to effort by his presence and bravery. A ball pa.s.sed through his cap and another through the sleeve of his coat, to which he paid no attention, but continued to encourage his men.

The Exiles also displayed unusual gallantry. Feelings which had descended from father to son through several generations, had been recently inflamed to the highest degree of indignant hatred. Conscious that they were contending for their homes, their firesides, their families, their liberties, they fought with desperation, and their aim was fatal. Unfortunately, Osceola was wounded and disabled early in the contest, and it was said that the Indians did not exhibit that undaunted firmness on the field that was manifested by their more dusky allies.

They suffered less than our troops. Two negroes and one Indian were killed, and three negroes and two Indians wounded--the loss of the Exiles being twice as great as that of the Indians, although they numbered but one-fourth of the allied force.

The battle continued an hour and twenty minutes. During this time, the regular troops under Colonel Clinch were subjected to a brisk fire, and their loss was severe. Eight men were killed and forty wounded, of whom about one-third died of their wounds. Several officers were also wounded. The militia consulted their own safety by refusing to expose themselves to the fire of the enemy; while the regular troops lost, in killed and wounded, nearly one-fourth of their number. The allies drew off, leaving Colonel Clinch in possession of the field; but the victory had been won at great expense of blood; and the determined coolness and gallantry of the veteran officer who commanded our forces, saved them from a total defeat.

The blows thus far had fallen most heavily upon our own troops. It became evident, that the carrying out of General Jackson's policy, of removing the Exiles and Indians from Florida, in order to encourage and sustain slavery, was to be attended with great sacrifice of blood and treasure. But while the Government and people were looking at these unexpected exhibitions of firmness and love of liberty, on the part of the allied forces, other scenes were presented to their view. The fugitive slaves who had recently left their masters in Florida and joined the Exiles, were stimulated with that hatred which slavery alone can engender in the human breast. They thirsted for revenge upon those who had held them in bondage; who had scourged and tortured them. They were acquainted with the location of the small settlements throughout the Territory. Uniting with the more daring spirits among the Indians and Exiles, they proceeded rapidly and stealthily from plantation to plantation, burning buildings, destroying property, and scattering devastation throughout the border settlements; at times murdering whole families, killing and scalping such individuals as fell in their way.

Men who had urged on the war with the hope of seizing and enslaving the maroons of the interior, now saw their own plantations laid waste, and in frequent instances mourned the loss of wives and children, instead of rejoicing over captured slaves, whom they had intended to acquire by piratical force. Farms, and the smaller villages on the frontier, were abandoned to the enemy; and the inhabitants fled to the larger villages, where they banded together for mutual defense. The citizens of Florida who had pet.i.tioned General Jackson for the forcible removal of the Indians, because they failed to capture and return slaves, were now compelled to flee, with their families, before the infuriated servants who had left them subsequently to the signing of that pet.i.tion. Driven from their homes--their property destroyed, their servants fled--many families, who but a few months previously had been regarded as wealthy, were now suffering from the want of bread.[84]

The whole scene was calculated to impress statesmen and people with that religious philosophy which teaches, that every violation of justice or of moral principle, is, by the immutable law of the Creator, inseparably connected with an appropriate penalty. All that the Exiles or Indians had ever asked or desired of the American Government, was to leave them to themselves; to permit them to remain as they were, as they had been for many generations.

The war on our part had not been commenced for the attainment of any high or n.o.ble purpose. No desire to elevate mankind, or confer benefits upon our race, had guided our national policy in commencing the war. Our national influence and military power had been put forth to reenslave our fellow men; to transform immortal beings into chattels, and make them the property of slaveholders; to oppose the rights of human nature; and the legitimate fruits of this policy were gathered in a plentiful harvest of crime, bloodshed and individual suffering.

The great body of the people were ignorant as to the real causes of the war. General Jackson had been popular as a military officer, and was not less so as President of the United States. With his political friends his will was law. The opposing political party were comparatively few in numbers. They feared his power; and no member of either Senate or House of Representatives appeared willing to expose the great moral crimes which the Government was committing against humanity. Hence Congress granted whatever supplies were demanded for carrying on this piratical war, and enabling the President to slay those who refused to be enslaved.

[Sidenote: 1836.]

General Ca.s.s, a statesman with whose character the present generation is familiar, was Secretary of War. On him devolved the duty of controlling the movements of the army. Unfortunately for him and for mankind, he appears to have regarded moral and political duties as separate and distinct in their character. He evidently believed that no moral turpitude was attached to movements of the army, and the outrages committed upon the Indians and Exiles, in order to compel them to emigrate to the western country. He ordered Major General Scott to the field, as Commanding General of the army in Florida (Jan. 20), with authority to call on the Governors of South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama for such troops as he should deem necessary. General Eustis, commanding at Charleston, South Carolina, was directed to repair at once to Florida with such forces as were stationed in that city and Savannah, and to accept the services of such number of volunteers as he might deem necessary under the circ.u.mstances.

Major General Gaines, commanding the western military department, holding his head quarters at New Orleans, hearing of the sad fate of Major Dade and his regiment, embarked at once with a brigade of eleven hundred men, and reached "Fort Brooke" on the tenth of January. On the thirteenth, he took up his line of march for "Fort King," and on the nineteenth, encamped upon the same ground which Major Dade had occupied on the night of the twenty-seventh of December. The next day they took possession of the field of ma.s.sacre, and buried the bodies of those who had fallen in that unfortunate conflict. He then proceeded to Fort King, where he arrived on the twenty-second. Leaving Fort King on the twenty-fifth, he took a more westerly route back toward Fort Brooke.

On the twenty-seventh, as he was seeking a place at which to cross the Withlacoochee, the allied forces opened a fire upon his advanced guard from the opposite bank. The firing increased as other forces were brought into action, and continued for more than two hours, ceasing with the nightfall.

There were resident at different points upon the Withlacoochee many families of Exiles. Their commander was named "Ino" of whom General Jessup speaks in respectful terms. He is said to have been their princ.i.p.al counselor, and one of the most important chiefs among the Exiles. He, and such of his men as could be collected, hastily joined the allied forces already in the field, and shared in the dangers of that and of several following days. Both parties bivouacked upon the field, on the different sides of the river, and at daylight the next morning every man had his arms in readiness for renewing the conflict.

At sunrise, General Gaines moved down the river three miles, where he expected to find a suitable ford; but on reaching it, the Indians and Exiles opened a brisk fire upon his men. Lieutenant Izard of the dragoons, endeavoring to rally his men to ascertain the possibility of fording the stream, fell by a shot from the opposite bank.

Finding it impossible to ford the river, attempts were made to construct rafts; but the fire upon the men employed was so galling that they were ordered back out of the range of the enemies' shot. During these movements, the Exiles, understanding the English language, kept up a conversation with the whites on the opposite side of the river, and tauntingly defied them. General Gaines was too well acquainted with the Indian mode of warfare to attempt a retreat, under the circ.u.mstances with which he was surrounded. He at once dispatched an express to General Clinch, who was at Fort Drane, directing that officer to repair as soon as possible to his relief with such troops as he could at the moment bring with him. General Gaines soon after retired with his forces into a pine barren, half a mile from the river, threw up a breastwork of logs for the protection of his men, and awaited reinforcements.

The allied forces were estimated by General Gaines at fifteen hundred, though subsequent reports show they did not exceed five hundred Indians and two hundred negroes. He was immediately invested in his fortified camp, but he coolly awaited the arrival of General Clinch. As the enemy crossed the river in large forces, and became more bold in their advances toward the breastwork, their fire became more annoying. In a few days his provisions were nearly exhausted, and his men appeared to feel unsafe, and expressed solicitude for the arrival of General Clinch.

On the first of February, the allied forces made a vigorous attack upon the fortified camp, but they were repulsed after an hour of steady firing. On this day, General Gaines directed all the corn in the camp to be collected and dealt out to the men in equal quant.i.ties. It gave to each _one pint_. On the third, they commenced killing horses, and appropriating the flesh to sustain the lives of the men. The fire of the allied forces was kept up on the fourth and fifth, while the troops had nothing but horse flesh for food, and no tidings had yet arrived from General Clinch. At this time great enthusiasm prevailed among the allies. Their women were at the camp, a mile distant, casting b.a.l.l.s, cooking food for the men, and doing what they could to cheer them on to victory, which they began to regard as almost certain. In the meantime, the situation of General Gaines and his army was constantly becoming more critical. His troops were depressed with a sense of their situation; while the allies were becoming hourly more enthusiastic. They had destroyed Dade's regiment; had maintained a severe battle with General Clinch in the open forest. They knew their power, and that any attempt to retreat from them would be fatal; while it would be impossible for our troops to remain much longer in camp, as their stock of horses must soon fail.

Twenty-one years had pa.s.sed since General Gaines transmitted a letter to the War Department, giving the first official notice that the Exiles were collecting at "Blount's Fort." He then despised the friendless people who were seeking liberty. He had himself detailed Colonel Clinch and the regiment under his command, attended by Creek Indians, with General Jackson's orders "_to destroy the fort, and return the slaves to their rightful owners_." He then called the Exiles "outlaws," supposed them incapable of taking care of themselves, even if in full possession of their liberty. But he and his gallant army were now surrounded by them and their friends, who were killing his men whenever they exposed themselves to view. On the fifth of March, he had lost four men killed and thirty wounded.

A circ.u.mstance occurred on the night of the fifth of February, which has never been fully explained. About ten o'clock in the evening, John Caesar, one of the Exiles residing at Micanopy, an old man and somewhat of a privileged character among both Indians and Exiles, advanced in the darkness near the camp of General Gaines, and hailed the nearest sentinel on duty. Speaking in good English, the sentinel supposed him a messenger from General Clinch; but, on learning his true character, he was inquired of as to his object. He declared that the allies were tired of fighting, and wished to come in and shake hands with General Gaines and his men. He was told to come in the morning with a white flag.

Caesar returned to the allied camp and reported his conversation. He had spoken to our troops as if authorized, while all the chiefs and head-men denied his authority, and many were for inflicting upon him the penalty of immediate death for this unauthorized act. Osceola, now raised to the dignity of a chief, interposed to save him. He had headed the party who put to death Charley E. Mathler, a brother chief, for consenting to go West, and with his own hands had scattered the gold found on his person, declaring it to be "the price of the red man's blood:" While now a black man, one of their "allies," had committed a far greater impropriety, he interposed to save him. All agreed that their honor had been pledged, although Caesar had no authority for his conduct.[85]

The next day some of their warriors left in disgust, after it had been determined to send in a flag of truce, according to Caesar's agreement.

But those who remained to carry out the arrangement, formed at twelve o'clock into line, some forty rods in the rear of General Gaines's camp.

Three of their number, gaily dressed, advanced with a white flag.

Adjutant Barrow of the Louisiana Volunteers, met them. Osceola told him that he desired a talk with General Gaines.

While these arrangements were going forward, General Clinch arrived in sight of the Indians, on his way to relieve General Gaines. Seeing the enemy thus drawn up, facing the camp, he at once deployed his column, and opened a fire upon them. The allies supposing themselves to have been betrayed fled precipitately, and the forces under General Clinch united with those under General Gaines.

It is said that up to the time the allies received the fire of General Clinch, they had not lost a man. That fire killed two Indians and one negro, and wounded five others.

One of the Exiles, residing upon the Withlacoochee, who, after the compact with General Jessup in 1838, surrendered, with others, and emigrated West, stated that he a.s.sisted Osceola in counting the sticks handed in by each warrior engaged in this affair, and there were seven hundred present; and another bunch of sticks numbering one hundred had been sent by a party who expected to reach the scene of action the next day, when a general and determined attack was to have been made. But their forces disbanded upon the arrival of General Clinch, and they separated to their different homes.