Dade Battlefield State Park

In our walks around the park where we are now staying there are a few little blue herons, I would be remiss if I did not share with our readers a picture of a least one of them.  They do not hang out in groups.

On our walk through Dade Battlefield there were a few signs explaining what trees and plants were located in the state park, one of them explained the resurrection fern.  It is an air plant which needs the tree for support, but gets its nutrients from the sun, air and rain.  During dry seasons it turns brown and appears dead.  However, rain will bring it back to life.  Lately we have seen a lot of this fern hanging out with the Spanish moss on the live oak trees.  Not surprising, as we had a lot of rain last week.

In Florida's history it is all about the Seminole Indian wars.  In 1830 the Indian Removal Act had been signed by President Jackson.  The Seminoles were told that they had to move to Oklahoma.  In December of 1835 180 Seminoles ambushed Major Dade and his army of 108 soldiers.  It was an ambush, the U.S. soldiers were not prepared and 105 of them died, including Major Dade.  Pictured below is Kings Road and two memorials which noted where two of the men had fallen.  Three Indians were killed and 5 wounded.

 

There was another memorial in the park, which John saw as we were leaving the battlefield.  It was honoring all the men who had fallen and noted that they were to be remembered for fighting for our freedom.  We could not help but look with askance at that memorial, for as in the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, there are always two sides to every story.  The Seminoles loved their land and were willing to fight to their death to protect it.  They fought the United States for twenty-three years, but in the end had to leave after a majority of them were killed.  A total of 3,824 were sent to Oklahoma, a few managed to stay who hid out in the swamps of Florida.