SW0133 Soldiers, Seminole Adapted and Innovated Amidst A Climate of Hostility in Florida

Seminole Wars Authority

SW0133 Soldiers Adapted and Innovated Amidst A Climate of Hostility in Florida

In the Second Seminole War, probably every soldier complained about the hostile Florida climate. But, only a few ever did anything about it.

In this episode, Professor Jacob Hagstrom of The Citadel joins us to discuss the climate of operations for soldiers in that war. Jacob examines and assesses disputed overall casualties; whether the climate was uniquely inhospitable; whether it was indeed so hostile that the Army could not successfully remove the Seminole from Florida; and how soldiers -- and Seminole -- adapted and innovated within its confines.

To increase soldier mobility or to slow down Seminole escape, Gabriel Rains fashioned land mines. John Lane fashioned rubber pontoon bridges so soldiers could more easily cross streams and rivers. And Hezekiah Thistle crafted a saddle that could aid evacuation of casualties who would ride “comfortably” in the prone position.

This culture of innovation became so well known that it reached the consciousness of one Edgar Allen Poe, late of the US Military Academy at West Point, who penned a satirical account, The Man That Was Used Up, about service in Florida at the time.

The Seminoles, for their part, innovated as well, switching from labor-intensive log cabins to easily constructed chickees. And they modified their diets to adapt to available produce in the Everglades. They also used the environment to take cover and to conceal themselves from advancing soldiers.

Take a listen to learn how this all panned out.

Seminole adapted to their new south Florida Everglades climate.

Hezekiah Thistle improvised a litter that could be attached to a horse's back for medical evacuation of casualties.

John Lane's rubber bridge pontoons increased the Army's mobility and saw later use in the US-Mexican War and the U.S. Civil War (above). (Below) Edgar Allen Poe wrote a satire on the Army's war innovation. Jacob Hagstrom summed it all up in Florida Historical Quarterly.

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Fla.

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