Our Florida Tour Part 2: Hillsborough River State Park, Thonotosassa, Monday, Nov. 5 – Monday, Nov 12

Our Florida Tour Part 2: Hillsborough River State Park, Thonotosassa, Monday, Nov. 5 – Monday, Nov 12

 We moved to Hillsborough River State Park on the 5^th. The Hillsborough River was named in the late 1700’s but human activities around the park date back to prehistoric times when native peoples hunted, fished, and foraged along the river’s flood plain. 

One of the interesting things to do was Fort Foster, which is located a mere 1800 feet from parking area 4 in Hillsborough River.  In 1835, at the beginning of the Second Seminole War, Fort Alabama was built to protect the bridge over the Hillsborough River on the trail from Fort King in Ocala to Fort Brooke, Tampa. A few months later it was abandoned and destroyed by fire.  Fort Foster was built on the same site in 1836, has been reconstructed, and may be explored today. There are also ranger-led tours available.  (More on the Seminole Wars taken from the park brochure at the end of this chapter.)

Although Hillsboro River is a beautiful park, most of the sites are on the small side and very close together with little buffer.  In fact many of them are separated only by tree limbs laid on the ground. EWWWW! We were in the River’s Edge Campground and there were two restrooms – one was old and tired, the second fairly new.  There were dish washing sinks and dish drainers at both, and the new one had washers and dryers, although there was an “out of order” sign that had been posted on one but had fallen down, so couldn’t tell which one didn’t work. That seems typical of the campground maintenance, although park literature calls the structures “rustic” and “in harmony  with the natural environment".  There is also a swimming pool, a café, golf cart, and pedal cart rental and these seemed very well maintained and are far from “rustic”.  It also costs less to rent a powered golf cart then a pedal powered two person cart.

There are several trails around the park – some long and others short. One of the walks is the Rapids Trail, which is 1.2 miles and runs along the river to the series of rapids created by the river as it flows over outcroppings of Suwannee limestone.  While on this trail, one can make a short detour to the suspension bridge, which is fun to cross. There is also a recreation hall and two playgrounds.  Freshwater fishing is allowed in the river and there are ranger programs, none of which we took advantage.

We stuck around camp most of the time and had planned on doing some fishing, hiking, and visit Fort Foster, adjacent to the park, but somehow never managed to do it. We did do our hard 30 minute walk every morning,

Beth and Kevin brought the kids by Wednesday afternoon and they had dinner with us. . It was the first time we saw Pete since he was born on September 29 (he wasn’t due until Nov. 2) and increased stimulus caused him to lose weight. Since he only weighed 4 pounds 3 ounces when he was born, we didn’t want to take that chance. He was finally up to nearly 6 pounds, but Rich’s hand completely covered his torso. He’s as cute as he can be, and growing well – he is in the 75^th percentile for his length, so is catching up nicely.  

Pete and Rich's hand

Lizzie

Charley

 On Saturday, Beth brought them over to spend the night with us and we visited for a while before she left. Leigha also came by Saturday evening and had dinner with us. It was good to see Leigha but she had just returned from a week-long business trip to Washington state and must have been tired out. We’re pleased she joined us and it was good to catch up with her.

Leigha

In case you are interested, here is more on the Seminole Wars and Fort Foster from the brochure provided by Hillsborough River State Park:

“The Origin of the Seminoles

When the Spanish came to Florida in 1513, there were five major Native American cultures: the Apalachees, in northwest Florida; the Timucuans in the central and north-east portion of the peninsula; and the Ais, Tequesta, and Calusa in south Florida.

The Spaniards, and then the English and Creeks fought and killed many of the Native Floridians. Many of them were victims of European diseases. By the early 1700s, the original Native Floridians had been all but exterminated. The majority of the survivors left with the Spanish during the temporary occupation of Florida by the English in 1763.

During the 1700s, Native Americans from the north, primarily Creeks, spurred by tribal disputes and conflicts with settlers, began to immigrate into Florida, filling the vacuum left by the Native Floridians. The Immigrations continued into the early 1800s.

The immigrants eventually became known as Seminoles.  They maintained the Creek culture and continued some ties with the Creek Indian Nation until the end of the First Seminole War in 1818.

The First Seminole War

Beginning in the 1780s and continuing through the early 1800’s, the Seminoles made regular raids into Georgia. The Georgia settlers retaliated with similar raids on the Seminoles living in Spanish-ruled Florida. In addition, a steady flow of slaves, escaped or taken in raids by the Seminoles, entered Florida during this period. These activities brought about the First Seminole War in 1817.

General Andrew Jackson led 3,500 troops, including 2,000 Creeks, into Florida. They killed more than 800 Seminoles and burned their villages. This was the climax and the end of the war, leaving the Seminoles weakened and demoralized. Therefore, when Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, the government thought it would be easy to return the slaves to their owners and send the Seminoles to a reservation west of the Mississippi River. It soon became evident that the U.S. government had underestimated the determination of the Seminoles to stay and retain their slaves.

Not all of the Blacks living in Florida were Seminole slaves. Many were free, having their own chiefs and villages. The Blacks were an integral part of the Seminole community, acting as interpreters and making up a significant portion of the Seminoles’ fighting force.

The Second Seminole War

After three treaties failed to produce the desired results the Federal Government, early in 1835, intensified the efforts to relocate the Seminoles and return the Blacks to white ownership. The Seminoles, rallied by Osceola, adamantly refused, and relations continued to deteriorate.

In June, 1835, Indian Agent Wiley Thompson had Osceola seized and placed in irons. The next day, Osceola gained his freedom by signing a document declaring that the Payne’s Landing Treaty, the last of the three, was valid. Now Osceola was more dangerous than ever. In November, he killed Charley Emathla, a chief who had agreed to relocate. In December, on Christmas Day, the Seminoles began a two-week campaign that ended with the virtual destructions of the sugar plantations east of the St. Johns River.

On December 28, Florida was plunged into a war as the Seminoles struck their most decisive blows. Thompson. Another band of Seminoles, led by Chiefs Alligator and Jumper, attacked a column of 108 troops led by Major Francis Dade, as they marched along the Fort King Road from Fort Brooke to Fort King. All but three soldiers were killed.

As the hostilities accelerated, it became clear that the U.S. Army had never experienced this kind of war. The clever ambushes and hit-and-run tactics of the Seminoles were highly effective. The U.S. soldiers found themselves unable to engage the enemy. After a volley of musket fire from behind cover, the Seminoles would simply vanish into the swamp.

Fort Alabama

Overland travel in frontier Florida was difficult and rivers were significant obstacles. Whenever an adequate crossing site was discovered, it was extensively used. Only one suitable crossing existed on the Hillsborough River. The Fort King Military Road, constructed in 1828, from Fort Brooke at Tampa Bay to Fort King (present-day Ocala), intersected the river at that point.

This crossing was recognized early in the war as a strategic location. The still-smoldering ruins of the bridge destroyed by the Seminoles were found by Major Dade and his ill-fated troops upon their arrival at the river in 1835. Its destruction delayed the march for two days.

Fording the Hillsborough River was a difficult task which made the troops vulnerable. A fort at this location would make it difficult for the Seminoles to ambush the men as they crossed. Such a stronghold would also protect the new bridge and could supply units in the field, thus eliminating the necessity of returning to Fort Brooke for rations and equipment.

In March 1836, Fort Alabama was built on the site. It was named after the Alabama volunteers who constructed and garrisoned it during its brief existence.

During March and April, the Seminoles tried twice to overwhelm Fort Alabama. Although they were unsuccessful in both attempts, they killed or injured several volunteers while losing a few warriors themselves.

On April 26,, only two months after its construction, Fort Alabama was abandoned. Before leaving, the volunteers booby-trapped the powder magazine by placing the barrel of a rifle into a keg of powder. Strings were tied from the trigger of the rifle to the door of the magazine, which opened outwardly when unlatched. Before they had marched two miles, they heard the explosion. Later it was learned that at least three Seminoles had been killed by the blast.

Fort Foster

Lt. Col. William S. Foster, who was in charge of the withdrawal from Fort Alabama, received orders on November 28, 1836, to re-establish the fort. He left Fort Brooke with 320 men. They arrived at the Hillsborough River on the following day and immediately began constructing the fort and a bridge. When the work was nearly completed, Foster left enough men and tools to finish and proceeded to the Withlacoochee River, where he built a similar fort and bridge.

Commanding General Thomas Sidney Jessup inspected that fort as it neared completion several days before Christmas. He was pleased with the installation and named it Fort Foster. The construction crew was replaced January 1837 by a group of fifty sailors led by Lieutenant Thomas L. Leib. Through Out the ends of January and into February, these defenders were harassed by the Seminoles who fired occasional rounds at the fort. On two occasions, the Seminoles tried to storm the fort and burn the bridge. Despite this constant harassment, regularly scheduled convoys deposited arms, ammunition, and rations at the fort.

Not long after the stocking of Fort Foster, rumors concerning an end to the war began to circulate. Finally, in the middle of March, word reached the post that the Seminoles had agreed to move south of the Hillsborough by April, 12, and to be in readiness to emigrate to the west by May 10. It became the duty of Fort Foster command to enforce the orders restricting Seminoles to south of the Hillsborough and settlers to the north. As men were slowly withdrawn from the field, the sailors at Fort Foster were replaced by the 2^nd Artillery, under the command of Major R.A. Zantziger.

The major’s records show that 305 men were assigned to the post. By the end of March, however, only 180 men were present. Nearly all of his command were on detached service, furlough, or absent without leave. It was impossible to accommodate even those men present within the fort.

Therefore, most of the command slept in tents erected outside the fort walls. Palmetto sheds were built over the tents to make them more comfortable and to protect property from the weather.  

The cramped quarters, the damp environment along the Hillsborough, and the warm Florida spring with its hoards of mosquitoes and flies made life miserable at the fort. By April, the unhealthy conditions had resulted in an increasing rate of sickness and disease. Dr. J.H. Baldwin, the post physician, recommended the fort be abandoned. General Jesup heeded his request and on May 15, allowed all but fifty men to move to a camp on Lake Thonotosassa, a few miles to the south. Conditions continued to deteriorate at the fort. In June, the General ordered the post abandoned for the summer.

In the meantime, it became evident that the Seminoles had no intention of fulfilling their agreement.

On June 5, Jesup sent a note to the adjutant general in which he stated, “I have the honor to report that this campaign, so far as it relates to Indian emigration, has entirely failed.”

In October, when the weather improved, Fort Foster was reoccupied and continued its function as a supply depot. The fighting had moved away from the fort, and life was a little more relaxed. A sutler was authorized to sell his goods at the post, but the soldiers were more interested in the bootleg whiskey that he usually kept in good supply.

In the spring of 1838, General Jesup was replaced as commanding general by General  Zachary Taylor. Jesup, in a letter to Taylor, advised him to remove the troops from Fort Foster before the first of June. Jesup’s advice was taken. The fort remained abandoned throughout the rest of the year.

As the war progressed, the Seminoles were gradually pushed southward. The conflict lasted almost seven years and resulted in the relocation of 3,824 Seminoles. At the official end of the war, on August 14, 1842, only a few hundred Seminoles were left in Florida, in the Everglades, where their descendants remain to this day.

During the war, the U.S. expended approximately $35 million, making the Second Seminole War the most costly Indian war in U.S. history. Of 10, 169 regular army soldiers who participated in the war, 1,400 died in Florida.  Only 328 were killed in action. Most of the rest succumbed to disease.

Fort Foster was reactivated briefly in 1849, when it appeared the Seminoles would again go to war. For the next 129 years, the fort site remained relatively undisturbed. The Fort King Military Road remained in use until U.S. 301 was constructed in 1934.

Fort Foster Today

After much research, Fort Foster and the bridge it protected have been authentically reconstructed on the original site by the Division of Recreation and Parks. On special weekends, the fort is garrisoned by soldiers and the United States army and militia representative of the Second Seminole War era. The soldiers will be performing their duties at the fort and will gladly explain its function, their personal views of the war and the life of a soldier in a frontier fort in Florida. Their uniforms, weapons and other equipment are authentic replicas of those used during the Second Seminole War.

The walking distance from the parking lot to the fort is approximately 1800 feet; no restrooms are available at the fort.”