University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2005 Trade and Plunder Networks in the Second Seminole War in Florida, 1835-1842 Toni Carrier University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Carrier, Toni, "Trade and Plunder Networks in the Second Seminole War in Florida, 1835-1842" (2005). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/2811 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Trade and Plunder Networks in the Second Seminole War in Florida, 1835-1842 by Toni Carrier A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Brent R. Weisman, Ph.D. Robert H. Tykot, Ph.D. Trevor R. Purcell, Ph.D. Date of Approval: April 14, 2005 Keywords: Social Capital, Political Economy, Black Seminoles, Illicit Trade, Slaves, Ranchos, Wreckers, Slave Resistance, Free Blacks, Indian Wars, Indian Negroes, Maroons © Copyright 2005, Toni Carrier Dedication To my baby sister Heather, 1987-2001. You were my heart, which now has wings. Acknowledgments I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the many people who mentored, guided, supported and otherwise put up with me throughout the preparation of this manuscript. To Dr. Brent R. Weisman, Dr. Trevor R. Purcell and Dr. Robert H. Tykot: thank you so much for the support and mentoring you provided throughout my graduate studies, and for your guidance as members of my committee. Dr. Roger Landers has been a generous mentor and an enormous influence throughout my studies as well. No thanks are sufficient to acknowledge Dr. Joe Knetsch’s acessability, candor, guidance and generosity in sharing his hard won research so freely. I thank you so much, Joe. I am deeply grateful to Dr. James Cusick and to Paul Eugen Camp for scouring their archival holdings for materials that address this specific research, and for their technical guidance on citing the unpublished materials among their holdings. I thank Chris Bell and Dr. Deborah Plant for their unwavering friendship and many kind favors. And, most important, I thank my husband Melvin for his support, and all of the sacrifices that he made as I wrote this manuscript through four major hurricanes, and filled the house with stacks of books and papers. Thank you, Melvin, so much. Table of Contents List of Figures ii Abstract iii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Theoretical Framework 2 Research Focus 3 Methodology 5 Types of Evidence 5 Chapter Two: Historical Background: Economic Exploitation of Florida 9 Spanish Trade and Industry 10 English Trade and Industry 12 Creek and Seminole Trade and Industry 16 Black Seminole Trade and Industry 23 Slave Trade and Industry 26 Free Black Trade and Industry 28 1812: The Beginning of Troubled Times 29 Impending American Control 35 Chapter Three: The American Presence and the Prelude to War 41 American Control of English Enterprise 42 American Control of Spanish Enterprise 44 American Control of Slave Enterprise 48 American Control of Free Black Enterprise 49 American Control of Seminoles and Black Seminoles 49 The Treaty of Moultrie Creek 50 The Treaty of Payne’s Landing 57 Incidents of Plunder During the Prelude to War 64 Preparations for War 67 Chapter Four: Trade, Plunder and Acquisition of Goods During the War 72 Attacks Below St. Augustine 73 Winfield Scott’s Command 86 Evidence of Trade and Plunder During Scott’s Command 88 Richard Keith Call’s Command 91 Thomas Sidney Jesup’s Command 99 Zachary Taylor’s Command 115 i Walker K. Armistead’s Command 119 William Jenkins Worth’s Command 127 Chapter Five: Predictive Model: The Archaeology of War Camps 138 Patterns of Plunder 138 Targeted Procurement 142 Timing of Plundering Raids 144 Subsistence Goods 144 Clothing 148 Guns, Powder and Ammunition 152 Content of Recovered War Caches 155 The Eastern Seaboard Below St. Augustine 156 The Cove of the Withlacoochee 157 The Southern Peninsula 158 Implications of Regional Variation 159 Predictive Model: The Contents of War Caches 159 Archaeological Landscapes and Second Seminole War Camps 161 Archaeological Model: Location of War Camps and Trading Sites 161 Challenges to the Discovery of War Camps 163 The Cultural Significance of Seminole War Camps 164 Chapter Six: The Political Economy of the Second Seminole War 165 Discussion 165 Resistance Before the War 169 Resistance During the War 170 Outside Aid from Slaves and Free Blacks 171 Outside Aid from the Spanish 173 Outside Aid from English or American Wreckers 175 Outside Aid from Whites 176 Reports of Intensive Activity as Evidence of Outside Aid 177 Cattle Driving and Jerked Beef Manufacturing 177 Possible Market for Fresh and Dried Beef 181 Activity in the Southwestern Cape 182 Activity in the Southeastern Cape 184 The Strategic Importance of Human Capital 187 Conclusion 189 References 190 ii List of Figures Figure 1. Wreckers at Work 15 Figure 2. Post 1816 Black Seminole Villages 32 Figure 3. Pease Creek Settlements 1812-1819 35 Figure 4. Location of Black Caesar’s Cut 38 Figure 5. Andros Island Locations Referred to in Text 40 Figure 6. Seminole Indian Reservation Boundaries, 1829 55 Figure 7. Kaskaskia Point 143 Figure 8. Dunn’s Lake/Haw Creek Area 157 Figure 9. Deadman’s Bay and Surrounding Lands 180 Figure 10. Area Below Old Town 180 Figure 11. Cape Romaine 184 Figure 12. Cape Sable 184 iii Trade and Plunder Networks During the Second Seminole War in Florida, 1835-1842 Toni Carrier ABSTRACT The Second Seminole War in Florida, 1835-1842, was a time of disruption and upheaval for all of those unfortunate enough to occupy the territory of Florida during the seven years of this protracted battle over Seminole removal to the West. Illicit trade was a major factor which enabled the Seminoles to resist removal for such an extended period. Illicit trade requires outside assistance. Documentary evidence suggests that such assistance was rendered by Spanish fishermen, English and American wreckers, slaves, free blacks, Native Americans and white American settlers. This thesis examines the evidence for plunder and illicit trade, and the possible outlets for various classes of plunder. Evidence is examined within a political economy theoretical framework. An archaeological research design is also developed to aid in identifying and recognizing war camps and war caches in the archaeological record. Because the events and stresses of the Second Seminole War may have contributed to Seminole ethnogenesis, it is important to recognize and preserve Seminole and Black Seminole war camps and war caches. iv Chapter One Introduction The Second Seminole War in Florida was a time of turmoil and upheaval for all of those unfortunate enough to inhabit the Territory of Florida during its seven year tenure from 1835 to 1842. At issue were the valuable lands occupied by the Seminole Indians when the United States gained control over Florida, and the Black Seminoles and runaway slaves who found a haven among the Seminoles. The effort to remove the Seminoles was part of the national policy of Native American removal which began with the Indian Removal Act of 1830 (Mahon 1985:72). The United States found its stiffest resistance to that policy in the Florida Seminoles, who determined to die upon the soil, rather than remove to the West. The result of that determination was the Second Seminole War, the costliest American Indian war ever fought by the United States, both in money spent and lives lost. The United States government spent some thirty million dollars and lost 1,466 men in its attempt to remove the Seminoles, and it never quite succeeded, for the war simply wound down and ended with a cease-fire rather than a treaty. At war’s end, between 200 and 300 Seminoles remained unconquered (Mahon 1985:325-326; Weisman 1999:1). The Seminole victory was not without a cost, however. By the end of the seven year war, 4,420 Seminoles and Black Seminoles had been deported to Indian Territory, and several hundreds had lost their lives (Weisman 1999:57). When the Seminoles and their allies resolved to fight rather than leave their Florida homeland, they became fugitives in their own homes; sought after by U.S. military troops whose duty it was to force their migration to the West. The United States military clearly underestimated the Seminoles’ numbers and their ability to resist removal. The war dragged on for seven years as the United States government sent a succession of their best and brightest military commanders to Florida in hopes of securing the Seminoles’ surrender and migration West (Knetsch 2003; Mahon 1985). 1 A variety of circumstances contributed to the Seminoles’ ability to continue their resistance for the seven years that the war dragged on. Among these were the Seminoles’ superior knowledge of the geography and terrain of Florida, the United States’ inability to provide adequate troops and supplies for prosecuting the war, the necessity of withdrawing United States military troops each summer because of sickness among the troops, and an array of cultural factors (Knetsch 2003; Mahon 1985, Sprague 1848). The current discussion will focus on those cultural factors and their effect on the Seminoles’ ability to continue to resist removal for seven years. Researchers such as Porter (1943, 1945 and 1996), Knetsch (2003), Mahon (1985) and Boyd (1951) have suggested that the synergy of collective resistance among the diverse groups who shared the Florida soil with the Seminoles played an important role in strengthening the Seminoles’ access to resources, and their ability to continue their struggle to remain in Florida.