The Battle of Okeechobee Historic State Park

The Battle of Okeechobee Historic State Park occupies part of the actual battleground of the fiercest battle of the Second Seminole War. Federal and volunteer soldiers led by Colonel Zachary Taylor were part of a large army attempting to drive all Indians from Florida. The Seminole, skilled in guerrilla tactics, chose a wooded hammock protected by a sawgrass swamp on the north shore of the lake. To make their stand, approximately half of Taylor’s force of 850 men, with Missouri volunteers at the forefront, marched into battle in traditional formation, while the others were held in reserve. By the end of the battle, approximately a third of the soldiers who entered the swamp were dead or wounded, including nearly every officer of the Missouri Volunteers and the Sixth Infantry Regiment. As the battle drew to a conclusion, the Seminole took to their canoes, leaving the army in control of the battlefield and giving Taylor the opportunity to claim victory. The Seminole, suffering far fewer casualties, could also claim victory, having stopped the army long enough for the women, children, and elders to escape to the safety of the everglades.

Taylor Creek, Florida · United States