Page 65 - a-history-of-columbia-county-florida-(1996)-edward-f-keuchel

A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 54/340

The Second Seminole War

The failure of Macomb’s peace plan meant a bloody continua­
tion of Indian raids in Columbia County. The prolonged fighting
took its toll in disrupting the regular operations of the county as
well as endangering the lives of its inhabitants. Courts did not
meet in the county for three years from 1837 to 1840 because of the
Indians. For John Bryan of Columbia County this meant he could
not obtain a divorce when his wife ran off to live in adultery with
another man. Finally in 1840 the legislative council granted him a
divorce by enactment.56
The continuation of the war also spawned feelings of resigna­
tion, and military commanders found fewer and fewer men willing
to serve as volunteers. General Walter K. Armistead, stationed at
Cedar Keys, wrote to the Secretary of War on August 17,1840, that
no volunteers to serve as footmen had come foward for over three
months.57 The Indians did not let up. From late summer of 1840
and throughout most of 1841 Tiger Tail and his Mikasuki warriors
continued to operate in the region of Fort White down to Cedar
Keys.58
On January 29, 1841, in a letter to William J. Worth, Governor
Call described the area of Middle and East Florida as “an entire
wilderness, of which the Indians have undisturbed possession.”
The road from Mineral Springs on the Suwannee to Jacksonville
was said to be without protection or settlers, and inhabited houses
could be found only every twenty-five or thirty miles. The situation
in the southern part of Columbia County had deteriorated to the
point that Call wanted Fort White, which had been vacated in
1840, reoccupied.59

66 Mahon, History of the Second Seminole War, p. 273.
57Walter K. Armistead to Secretary of War, August 17, 1840, in Carter,
Territorial Papers, Vol. XXVI, p. 197.
58Niles Register, Vol. LIX, January 9,1841, p. 297, Vol. XI, October 2,1841, p. 74.
69R. K. Call to Colonel William J. Worth, June 29, 1841, in Carter, Territorial
Papers, Vol. LXXVI, pp. 353-54.
53

www.LakeCityHistory.com LCH-UUID: 02905885-C4E0-4A35-9DAE-804ED8349EC9