On Christmas Day 1837, the Battle of Okeechobee was fought in these woods, where a large band of Seminole Indians under Chief Wild Cat, Alligator, and Sam Jones was routed by a brigade led by Colonel Zachary Taylor. His force consisted of the First, Fourth, and Sixth Regiments of Infantry of the regular Army and the First Regiments of Missouri Volunteers, totaling about 800 men. The fighting was close, desperate, and bloody. Seminole losses were unknown, while white losses were 28 killed and 111 wounded. The action was the turning point of organized resistance in Florida. Officers who lost their lives were Colonel Richard Gentry of the Missouri Volunteers, and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander T. Thompson, Captain Joseph Van Swearingen, First Lieutenant Francis J. Brooke, and First Lieutenant John P. Center, all of the Sixth Infantry, Regular Army.