See Florida history come to life

State parks and historic sites offer battle re-enactments and encampments depicting life in the 1800s. Some events are noisy; others are merely interesting.

By ADELE WOODYARD
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 24, 2002

[Times photo: Brian Tietz 2001] Swamp Owl, a Native American war re-enactor plays the part of a Seminole warrior during the re-enactment at Fort Cooper.

The past springs to life in several of Florida's state parks and historic sites, with costumed re-enactors recreating events that fashioned the state's history.

Civil War buffs can watch the South rise again -- Tallahassee was the only Confederate state capital east of the Mississippi not captured by Union forces -- in battles complete with cannons on authentic battlefields.

For history that is uniquely Florida's, see and hear Indians battle the Army. Between 1818 and 1858, the United States fought three wars with the Seminole Indians on Florida soil, with the second Seminole conflict lasting seven years.

Less noisy but no less interesting are various encampments. Here soldiers greet visitors, or a "cowhunter" spins tales in a Cracker drawl of cattle roundups during frontier days.

Here's a look at some of the major events.

DADE BATTLEFIELD: The spark that ignited the longest and costliest of the American Indian Wars occurred in a pine and palmetto forest at what is now Bushnell. An estimated 180 Seminole Indians ambushed 108 Army officers and men along the Withlacoochee River on Dec. 28, 1835. Half of the defenders, including Maj. Francis L. Dade, were killed in the first volley. Although the rest hurriedly chopped down trees to construct breastworks, only three survivors made it back to Fort Brooke in Tampa.

During this annual re-enactment, one of the survivors, Pvt. Ransom Clark, tells his story as troops straggle down the trail in a ragged march. Across the way, Seminole Halpatter Tustenuqqee counters with why the Indians refuse to give up their land for life in an Oklahoma reservation. The battle then rages behind them.

The original fight, considered to be among the most sweeping of Indian victories over the U.S. Army, is re-enacted every year on a weekend nearest to Dec. 28. Soldier and Seminole camps, sutler booths -- these were civilians who sold supplies to the troops -- and pioneer craft demonstrations add to the interest.

Dade Battlefield Historic State Park, 7200 County Road 603, S Battlefield Drive, Bushnell, FL 33513; call (352) 793-4781. Take Interstate 75 to the Bushnell exit, follow the signs.

FORT FOSTER: Located in Hillsborough River State Park, this site continues the story of the Second Seminole War on Friday and Saturday tours throughout the year. During the once-a-month garrison weekend at the log replica of a fort, an "artilleryman" wears a white uniform and distinctive black hat. He describes garrison life in 1837, when Seminoles twice tried to storm the fort and burn the bridge across the river.

A small Indian village of thatch "chickees" is hidden in the woods behind the fort. An annual re-enactment of the battle takes place in February.

Hillsborough River State Park, 15402 U.S.301N, Thonotosassa, FL 33592; call (813) 987-6771. Take Interstate 275 to the Fowler Avenue exit, head east to U.S. 301 north, follow the signs.

FORT COOPER: In April 1836, daily Seminole attacks occurred during the construction of the fort on the edge of Lake Holathlikaha, in Inverness. Maj. Mark Anthony Cooper commanded about 380 Georgia volunteers and a few army Regulars in an artillery company that had one cannon.

On one occasion, about 500 Indians led by Chief Osceola stormed the fort, but during the two-week siege only one soldier died and 20 were wounded. Two re-enactments a day take place during Fort Cooper Days in March.

Fort Cooper State Park, 3100 S Old Floral City Road, Inverness, FL 34450; call (352) 726-0315. Take State Road 39, 2 miles southeast of Inverness.

BATTLE OF OLUSTEE: Each year more than 1,500 men don Union or Confederate uniforms and shoulder authentic weapons to do battle in a major Civil War re-enactment. Each February, the Blue and the Gray clash on the battlefield near Ocean Pond, 21/2 miles east of Olustee.

When the smoke finally clears, the Union troops again will have been forced to retreat -- just as they did on Feb. 20, 1864. A two-day festival in neighboring Lake City precedes the conflict.

Olustee Battlefield State Historic Site, P.O. Box 2, Olustee, FL 32072; call (386) 758-0400. Take I-75 north to the U.S. 90 exit; drive east through Lake City and on to Olustee; the site is about 2 miles farther east.

BATTLE OF NATURAL BRIDGE: The annual re-enactment that takes place in early March shows a battle fought by a Confederate militia reinforced by old men and young boys. Together they managed to repel Union forces along a natural bridge that spanned the St. Marks River. The skirmish on March 6, 1865, saved Tallahassee from falling into enemy hands.

Natural Bridge State Historic Site, 1022 DeSoto Park Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32301; call (850) 922-6007. Head north on I-75 and west on U.S. 27 toward Tallahassee, then west on U.S. 98 to SR 363; the site is 6 miles east of Woodville.

FORT CLINCH: Both Union and Confederate forces occupied -- and helped build -- this fort at the northernmost tip of Amelia Island. Since the boys in Blue held it the longest, there are more Union garrisons than Confederate scheduled on the first weekend of each month throughout the year. Volunteers representing both sides join park rangers, who are at the fort year-round, to introduce visitors to garrison life during the War Between the States.

Fort Clinch State Park, 2601 Atlantic Ave., Fernandina Beach, FL 32034; (904) 277-7274. Take I-75 north to Interstate 10, head east toward Jacksonville, take the Interstate 295 bypass north around Jacksonville to A1A, then head to Fernandina Beach.

KISSIMMEE COW CAMP: Leave the battlefields behind for Florida's unsettled cattle country of 1876. On weekends throughout the year, a park ranger dressed as a "cowhunter" talks of the days when these men spent weeks at a time in primitive camps.

The thatched roof covered cot-sized beds made of strands of rope, and meals were cooked on an open fire. Because the scrub cattle roamed loose in dense vegetation, the cowhunters used leopard hounds called "cow dogs" to help round up the cattle for shipment to Cuba. And the nickname for old-time Floridians, "Cracker", reportedly came from the noise of the cowhunters' whips.

Lake Kissimmee State Park, 14248 Camp Mack Road, Lake Wales, FL 33853; call (863) 696-1112. Take Interstate 4 east to U.S. 27, turn south until SR 60, drive east and through Lake Wales; the site is about 15 miles east of Lake Wales.

If you go

Fort Cooper: March 23-24.

Battle of Natural Bridge: March 3.

Fort Clinch (Special Encampments): Union -- May 4-5; Thanksgiving; Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Confederate -- Dec. 14-15. Additional special events in 2002 -- commemorating the Spanish-American War, March 16-17; WWII, May 25-26.

- Adele Woodyard is a freelance writer living in Tampa.

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