Fort Peyton
Fort Peyton | |
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South of Moultrie Creek Near St. Augustine, Florida in United States | |
Coordinates | 29°49′29″N 81°21′36″W / 29.82472°N 81.36000°W |
Site history | |
Built | August 1837 |
Built by | United States Army |
In use | 1840 |
Materials | Pine log stockade and buildings |
Fate | Abandoned in May 1840, burnt to the ground on February 14, 1842 |
Events | Capture of Seminole leader Osceola occurred nearby on October 21, 1837 |
Garrison information | |
Past commanders | Lt. Richard H. Peyton |
Garrison | Regular army troops |
Fort Peyton was a stockaded fort built in August 1837 by the United States Army, one of a chain of military outposts created during the Second Seminole War for the protection of the St. Augustine area in Florida Territory.[1] Established by Maj. Gen. Thomas Jesup, it was garrisoned by regular army troops.
The fort stood about seven miles southwest of St. Augustine,[2] on the south side of Moultrie Creek, where the Treaty of Moultrie Creek had been signed in 1823 between the government of the United States and the chiefs of several bands of Seminoles living in the territory.[3] On October 21, 1837, the Seminole leader Osceola was captured about a mile south of this site by Gen. Joseph Marion Hernández under a white flag of truce, on Gen. Thomas Jesup's orders.[4][5]
History
On October 20, 1837, Osceola had sent Juan Caballo (also known as
Osceola requested that Gen. Jesup come out and talk with them. Jesup remained within the fort and did not reply, but directed Lt. Peyton to persuade Osceola and his men to come inside the fort and seize them. Osceola, however, refused to enter it, and Gen. Hernández was dispatched to parley with the Indians. Riding from St. Augustine, he picked up 250 dragoons under the command of Maj. James A. Ashby,[8] and rode on to Fort Peyton.
In the meantime, Jesup sent Lt. Peyton to learn whether the Indians had given satisfactory answers to the questions Gen. Hernández asked them; the junior officer reported that their answers were evasive and unsatisfactory. Jesup then ordered Maj. Ashby to capture Osceola and his party, even though the conference was under a white flag of truce. Major Ashby obeyed his orders, and with the aid of Hernández, took the seventy-five armed Indian warriors, including Osceola, prisoner without a gun fired. This treacherous action was a flagrant violation of the laws of warfare, resulting in Jesup being denounced in the press and roundly condemned by public opinion.[9][10][11]
Overview
This post was first known as Fort Moultrie, but its name was changed in honor of 1st Lieutenant Richard H. Peyton, 2nd U.S. Artillery, the post commander in 1837, who died in 1839 at Tampa.[12]
The historian
Signage at the Site of Fort Peyton
The historical sign at the site of Fort Peyton reads, "Fort Peyton, established by Major General
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Front side of the historical sign at the site of Fort Peyton (photographed May 31, 2020).
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Back side of the historical sign at the site of Fort Peyton (photographed May 31, 2020).
Network of outposts near St. Augustine during the Second Seminole War
There were many fortifications built near vital road and waterway routes in the St. Augustine area and to its south to protect the large plantations against Seminole Indian attacks. These fortifications were typically simple defensive structures and were used as supply depots, transportation and communication links, shipping points, field hospitals and housing for regular U.S. Army troops and militiamen. Many were abandoned by U.S. Army troops or militia forces during the Second Seminole War, and when the Seminoles found them abandoned and unguarded they looted any available supplies and burnt the forts and associated building structures.[16]
In addition to Fort Peyton and
Site of Fort Peyton
Today, the site of Fort Peyton is in an overgrown and heavily wooded area that is accessed via a dirt road. A concrete marker and historical sign are the only visual traces of this Second Seminole War fort.[18]
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A Marker and Sign identify the site of Fort Peyton (photographed May 31, 2020).
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The site of Fort Peyton is now overgrown with thick vegetation and woods (photographed May 31, 2020).
References
- ^ Hegarty, Joanne (May 14, 2001). "Signs marking Osceola's capture fading from view". Associated Press. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ Charles H. Coe (1898). Red Patriots: The Story of the Seminoles. Editor Publishing Company. p. 81.
- ISBN 0-8032-9728-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8173-5332-2.
- ISBN 978-0-313-35209-6.
- ISBN 978-0-313-36042-8.
- ISBN 978-0-313-35210-2.
- ISBN 978-0-208-01719-2.
- ^ Samuel G. Drake (1845). The Book of the Indians, Or, Biography and History of the Indians of North America, from Its First Discovery to the Year 1841. Benjamin B. Mussey. p. 142.
- ^ Edward Sylvester Ellis (1892). The Indian Wars of the United States: From the First Settlement at Jamestown, in 1607, to the Close of the Great Uprising of 1890-91 ... Cassell Publishing Company. p. 270.
- ^ Robinson, Jim. Osceola's History - It is interesting to see how treachery plays out. Orlando Seminole. November 20, 2005, pp. K1, K5.
- ^ Arthur E. Francke (1977). Fort Mellon, 1837-42: A Microcosm of the Second Seminole war. Banyan Books. p. 98.
- ^ Charles H. Coe (1898). Red Patriots: The Story of the Seminoles. Editor publishing Company. p. 84.
- ^ Jennifer Edwards (October 19, 2009). "Osceola's capture site hidden". The St. Augustine Record. Gatehouse Media. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ Jim Robison (December 16, 2001). "Site Marking Osceola's Capture Could Be Park". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ^ a b Jaye, Randy. Second Seminole War (1835-1842) Fortifications in the Present-day Volusia and Flagler County Area. Halifax Herald, Volume 35, Number 2, Fall 2017.
- ^ Mahon, John K. (1967) History of the Second Seminole War. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press.
- ^ Word, Ron. Historic Osceola sites vanishing. The Tampa Tribune. May 11, 2001, p. 31.