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The "Dade Massacre" was an 1835 defeat for the United States Army that greatly escalated the Second Seminole War, which lasted until 1842. ==The Battle== On December 28, 1835, two U.S. companies of 110 troops (including soldiers from the 2nd Artillery, 3rd Artillery and 4th Infantry Regiments) under Major Francis Langhorne Dade departed from Fort Brooke (present-day Tampa), heading up the King Highway (military road) on a resupply and reinforce mission to Fort King (present-day Ocala). The Native Americans in Florida had grown increasingly furious at attempts by the U.S. army to forcefully relocate them to a reservation out west and Dade knew his men might be attacked by the Seminole Indians who were shadowing his regiment, but believed that if an attack were to occur, it would occur during one of the river crossings or in the thicker woods to the south. Having passed these, he felt safe and recalled his flanking scouts in order that the command could move faster. Although the terrain he was now in, pines and palmettos, could not have concealed anyone who was standing or walking, it could and did conceal crouched or prone warriors waiting in ambush. The Seminoles did not refrain from attacking in the other places because they thought they could achieve better surprise later, but because they were waiting for Osceola to join them. They finally gave up waiting and attacked without him. Several Seminoles with their warriors assembled secretly at points along the march. Scouts reportedly watched the troops in their sky-blue uniforms at every foot of the route and sent reports back to the Indian chiefs. The troops marched for five quiet days until December 28, when they were just south of the present-day city of Bushnell, Florida. They were passing through a high hammock with oaks, pines, cabbage palms, and saw palmetto when a shot rang out. Many sources state that the first storm of bullets brought down Major Dade and half his men.〔Meltzer,Milton. 2004. Hunted Like A Wolf. Pineapple Press. p.89〕 As it would turn out, in the late afternoon of that day, 180 Seminoles lay in wait approximately south of Fort King. The Seminoles had terrain and the element of surprise in their favor. Major Dade, who was on horseback, was killed in the Seminoles' very first shot fired personally by Chief Micanopy, which by pre-arranged plan began the attack. Following Dade's death, command passed to Captain George W. Gardiner. Many of the soldiers, in two single file lines, were also quickly killed. Only a few managed to get their flintlock muskets from underneath their heavy winter coats. An eyewitness account by Seminole leader Halpatter Tustenuggee (Alligator, as the white man called him) read as follows:
The battle began either at 10:00 a.m. (according to Alligator) or at 8 a.m. and ending around 2 p.m. (according to survivor Private Ransome Clarke), with the Indians leaving around sunset. After the battle, the Indians stripped and robbed the bodies. The Florida Indians had provided a haven for escaped slaves, whom the Indians employed as translators or joined the tribe. After this, "about 40 or 50 Negroes rode in on horseback." They stripped and butchered the remaining wounded, according to Ransome's statement. Only three U.S. soldiers were reported to have survived the attack. Private Edward Decourcey, who had been covered by dead bodies, and Ransome Clarke who appeared "dead enough" with five wounds and bleeding cuts on his head. The next day, a Seminole pursued them on horseback and Decourcey was killed after they had split to avoid joint capture. Clarke made it back to Fort Brooke, collapsing within a mile of the Fort and being helped all the way back by a friendly Indian woman. Clarke provided the only narrative from the Army's side of what had occurred. A third soldier, Private Joseph Sprague, also returned to Fort Brooke and continued serving in the Army. He was illiterate, and did not leave a report of the battle. In 1837, Louis Pacheco, the mulatto slave who guided and interpreted for the Dade command resurfaced and gave a third eyewitness account of the battle. Pacheco had been ahead of the column, by his account, and taken prisoner by the Indians. Some thought him to be a turncoat or informer. He was shipped west with the Indians about that time, but returned to Florida shortly before his death in early 1895. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dade Massacre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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