On October 3, 1539, Hernando de Soto’s army crossed a large swamp east of here and came under attack from Apalachee warriors as it advanced toward the village of Ivitachuco. The narrow trails made the cavalry useless, forcing the Spaniards to dismount and move on foot while warriors shot arrows at them. After reaching a clearing, they found barriers built to block their way, tore them down, mounted, and rode forward, killing many warriors. When they reached Ivitachuco, they found it burning, as the Apalachee had destroyed their own village rather than let it be occupied. De Soto was an accomplished cavalry soldier and officer who had served during the conquest of Nicaragua and Panama, sailed in 1518 with Aviar Nuñez Balboa’s expedition to the Southern Sea, and in 1531 was commissioned by Francisco Pizzaro to lead a cavalry army against the Inca Empire; in his La Florida expedition, he made the cavalry unit the largest and most important division. The Apalachee men and women were known throughout North Florida for bravery and ferocity in battle, and one account says an Apalachee woman fought a Spanish soldier so fiercely that it took several soldiers to free him from her grasp.