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A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 51/340

A History of Columbia County, Florida

Another tragedy struck the county on May 28, 1839. About
sunset a raiding party of Indians attacked the farm of James
Osteen located only about two miles east of Alligator Lake. Osteen
was shot and killed near his stable. Osteen’s wife, children, and
sister-in-law fled to an adjacent farm when the shooting started,
although one was wounded in making the escape. Simeon Dell was
working in the stable when Osteen was killed. He rushed to the
empty house in search of a gun. Finding none he picked up a stick
and thrust it out the door as the raiding party approached.
Thinking Dell was armed, the Indians withdrew to the edge of
the woods. Dell again searched the house and found a gun in time
to use it as the Indians returned. Dell shot at the Indians and they
returned fire, wounding him in the breast. The Indians then
withdrew from Osteen’s farm and went to the plantation of Asa
Roberts about a quarter of a mile away. Roberts had heard the
shooting at the Osteen place and took his family to the house of a
relative Zachariah Roberts who lived close by. Finding no one at the
Asa Roberts’ house the Indians completely destroyed the farm and
took the family’s only horse.47
The savage nature of guerilla warfare in which frontier
families bore the brunt of the fighting made it increasingly
difficult for the war to be concluded through a peace settlement. In
response to the Osteen massacre, the Savannah Georgian con­
cluded: “It is truly melancholy to record these atrocities, and that,
too, after we had been led to expect that the war was indeed over.
We fear no treaty can bind these wretches and that extermination
alone will stay their slaughtering merciless arms.”48
The Savannah Georgian's comment about expecting that the
war was over was in reference to the peace proposals of General
Alexander Macomb, Jesup’s successor, who took charge of military

47 Letter to the editor, Savannah Georgian, reprinted in Niles Register, Vol. LVI,
June 15, 1839, p. 243.
^Ibid.
50

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