Dade Massacre

Ok, so this is the site of Dade's Massacre, a very important site in the history of Florida and the Antebellum US. It was here that the Second Seminole War, America's longest and most expensive Indian War, began. On Dec 23, 1835, 107 men and officers under command of Major Francis Dade, set out from Fort Brooke, in modern day Tampa. They were travelling the King's Road to Fort King, in present day Ocala. Seminole Warriors trailed them until Dec 28, when they launched an ambush. Seminole leader Alligator describes the battle, "We had been preparing for this more than a year... Just as the day was breaking, we moved out of the swamp into the pine-barren. I counted, by direction of Jumper, one hundred and eighty warriors. Upon approaching the road, each man chose his position on the west side... About nine o'clock in the morning the command approached... So soon as all the soldiers were opposite... Jumper gave the whoop, Micanopy fired the first rifle, the signal agreed upon, when every indian arose and fired, which laid upon the ground, dead, more than half the white men. The cannon was discharged several times, but the men who loaded it were shot down as soon as the smoke cleared away... As we were returning to the swamp supposing all were dead, an indian came up and said the white men were building a fort of logs. Jumper and myself, with ten warriors, returned. As we approached, we saw six men behind two logs placed one above another, with the cannon a short distance off... We soon came near, as the balls went over us. They had guns, but no powder, we looked in the boxes afterwards and found they were empty". Major Dade fell in the first rifle volley, along with half his command. Contributing to the panic following, was the fact that most of the soldiers had their rifles inside their uniform coats to protect them from moisture, but making them much more difficult to arm in a hurry. Only three soldiers survived, Edwin DeCourey, Joseph Sprague, and Ransom Clarke. Sprague and Clarke returned to Fort Brooke alive. This event enraged the country and would probably be remembered better, except less than two months later, a mishap occured at a place called the Alamo. It was not until Feb 20, 1836, that an expedition under General Edmund Gaines returned to the site and buried the dead, to mass graves for the enlisted, one for the officers. The canon that the command had with them had been thrown in the swamp by the Seminoles, but gaines command retrieved it, and placed it barrell down into the ground as a monument. In 1842, the bodies were reinterred at St Augustine. The photo above shows the original road the command was travelling, and a marker modeled after the original canon, marking where one of the command's offiders fell.

Reproductions of what the soldiers and Seminole warriors would have worn at the battle.

An example of the type of rifle the soldiers would have carried.
Above, a diorama representing the Seminoles setting their ambush for the approaching army. Below, an artist's rendering of the battle, after the small log fort had been hastily put together.

Above, artifacts found on the battlefield. Below, the only weapon known to have been at the battle. The Seminoles took all the weapons they could find, but this sword was found later at the site.

Modern reconstruction of the hastilly built fort. below, looking down the road the other way.

This monument marks where Major Dade himself fell. There are three of these monuments marking where individual officers were killed. They are modeled after the canon placed in the ground by General gaines. Below, a nearby marker for a fort named after Major Dade. note that the much later fort built on Egmont Key in Tampa was also named Fort Dade.

The Dade Massacre(Will McLean)

Lawless men, they were to blame.

From the Georgia line they came.

Burning, killing, stealing slaves,

From the Seminole Indian braves.

Major Dade and his hundred

Were marching along,

By the edge of a thick swamp.

It was shortly past dawn.

Through scrub and palmetto

Their harnesses did ring.

They were marching from Tampa

On the way to Fort King.

Oh, the sun's rays were burning,

Dade's temper was short

His scout had deserted

Somewhere to the north.

The men had a feeling,

The land was too quiet.

They held their guns tightly

Their eyes showed their fright

Well, it came of a sudden,

That wild cry of craze,

From the screaming throats

Of the Seminole braves.

Black smoke, thudding bullets

From Indian guns.

I'll tell you, the Dade

Massacre had begun.

Major Dade, he fell first

With a deep mortal wound.

'Twas from Jumper's rifle

That he met his doom.

His men were all killed

Without mercy or plea.

This legend lives ever

In our history.

Now the land is all serene,

There's a marker at the scene.

Where Major Dade sleeps

Among his hundred men.

Macdill AFB

Ok, so this is Macdill AFB. You military types may recognize this as the home of Central Command (Centcom) which is in charge of the Middle East area. The base officially began on April 16, 1941 and was named for Col Leslie Macdill, an early aviation pioneer who had been killed. The early missions of the base included anti-submarine patrols, training, and ferrying aircraft overseas. The training mission continued through WW2 and into the Cold War. The base was also a filming location for the Jimmy Stewart movie Strategic Air Command. It also took on refueling operations until it became a Tactical Air Command base in 1962. It fielded combat ready fighter squadrons until 1993, when its fighters were moved to Luke AFB, Arizona. The base was saved from closure by adopting the National Oceanic and Atmospherric Administration, Centcom, and other organizations. These photos are near the Centcom building and include a KB50 refueling plane (above and below) and an F4 Phantom, and F16 Fighting Falcon.

Ybor City

Ok, so Ybor City has an interesting story. Most people think of it as a subdivision of Tampa, but that's not entirely right. It in fact got its start when a man named Gavino Gutierrez, who was a produce canner, came to Tampa seeking guava trees. While this mission failed, he found Henry Plant (see previous two posts) was building a railroad and resort in the small fishing village known as Tampa. Seeing the prospects for future success in the soon to be city, he went to his friend Don Vicente Martinez Ybor in Key West. Ybor made a highly succesful cigar brand in Key West and Cuba, known as the Prince of Wales, or El Pricipe de Gales brand. He had left Cuba after helping refugees escape the Spanish, but was not satisfied with business in Key West. Already, he had looked at several southern US locations, and in fact, Tampa almost lost his business to Galveston, Texas. But in the end, Ybor moved his business to land near Tampa, on land given to him by the city. It was here that Ybor City was founded, based entirely around the cigar factories. But unlike other company towns of the time, workers, some of whom were very well paid for their artistic work, could own homes or businesses, instead of the company owning them. In 1887, Tampa annexed Ybor City, citing concern over a lack of police force, and extra tax money. This did not happen without many complaints from Ybor City residents, though. One of the unique things about the city and its factories was the El Lector. Because Cigar making could be very tedious, factories hired an El Lector, the reader. He would stand elevated in the factory and read books or newspapers to the workers to keep their minds active. Ybor City hit its peak just before the Great Depression, when millions of cigars were being manufactured a year, and it was sometimes called the Cigar Capitol of the World. Through the depression and following WW2, former workers moved away to find jobs and cheaper housing, and the former city went into disrepair. Much of it was torn down, until in the 1980s, artists seeking cheap studios came to the old city and soon it was reborn. The 1990s saw development of businesses in the area, and since 2000, the city of Tampa has worked to encourage growth around the area. The old city is now a National Historic District, with many of its buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Above is an arch built in 2000 as an entrance to the old city, and below is a look down one of the historic streets.




Below are examples of cigar manufacturing tools, now found in the visitor center.

This monument above and below is for Tampa's role in the Spanish American War, and now marks Rough Riders Park.

Plant Hotel

Ok, so last post we talked about the story of Henry Plant and the Plant Hotel. Now, it's time to look around the outside. Above is the exstensive ornate back porch of the main Hotel building, which now serves as the main entrance to the administrative hall of the University of Tampa, as well as the Plant museum. Below is a view of the former Hotel from the "back".

These bronze hunting dogs above were an invitation for guests to use the Hotel's dogs for local hunting. Originally, they faced the other way, looking at a bronze squirrel in a tree. The squirrel dissapeared, and the dogs were turned around. Below is a marker for the hotel.

This walk of Cabbage palms used to be much longer, and led from the Hotel to the Hydriotic Esplanade, docks, and boat slips. The Canon below are from Fort Brooke, built during the Seminole Wars, that became the first settlements of Tampa. The Hotel's casino, power plant, and conservatory all used to be behind these canon, but several of the original buildings are now gone.

Two more views of the main building.

This schoolhouse actually predates the Hotel, as it was built in 1855 by General Jesse Carter. Plant bought the property and used as the Hotel Apothecary Shop.

Inside and outside of the schoolhouse

Above, a marker for Babe Ruth's longest homer, occuring on the Plant Field. Below, the entrance to the main Hotel building that faced the railroad cars, and was thus considered the front entrance.

This gun was originally posted at Fort Dade (on Egmont Key, see post for Fort DeSoto) but was moved here as a monument to defenders of Tampa in the Spanish American War. Below is the original gatehouse for the Hotel.

Above, another view of the main building, below a marker saying this is where Spanish explorer DeSoto Parleyed with the Indians (see post labeled DeSoto NHS)

Markers for Roosevelt's Rough Riders (above) and the University of Tampa (below)

Plant Museum

Ok, so this is the Henry B. Plant museum, AKA the University of Tampa, formerly the Tampa Hotel. What am I babbling about? A man named Henry Plant, who was born in Connecticut and went to work for a steamboat company in 1836. He worked for various Railoroad and Express companies up through the Civil War, then he and his investors put together several railroad companies to link North and South. Henry wanted to build a resort hotel that people would take his trains to. Tampa, Florida was selected as the location and architect J.A. Wood was hired to design the resort. It finally opened on Feb 5, 1891, as the first all electric hotel in Florida. In the first season, over 4000 guests came to the hotel. This was the begining of modern day Tampa. During the Spanish American War, Plant convinced the government to make Tampa a primary embarkation port, bringing thousands of soldiers to Tampa and to the Tampa Hotel. It was because of this that the hotel became a National Historic Landmark in 1977. Though Plant died in 1899, the Hotel continued to operate until 1932, and saw many famous guests including Babe Ruth, Anna Pavlova, Booker T. Washington, and John Philip Sousa. In 1933, The University of Tampa made the former Hotel the main building of its new campus, and the City of Tampa established the Plant museum inside. In these pictures you see original furniture arranged to recreate some of the rooms the Hotel had, as well as some of the priceless artwok from around the world that adorned the inside.