It was a time when you lived in fear of seeing an Indian looking
through your bedroom window. On the evening of May 14,1856, that
fear came true, as Hernando County was raided for the last time by
Seminoles. Their target was Capt. Robert Bradley, a veteran of the
Second Seminole War. The Seminoles were on a rampage having killed
inhabitants of Sarasota, Bradenton, and Tampa including a ferry
boat operator, John Carney and continued burning homes along the
Alafia River. People in Tampa and all neighboring areas carried
guns during their daily rounds. In May, the Seminoles struck again
at various settlements, then traveled north of Tampa toward
Hernando County. By 1856, the Seminoles were on the ropes. During
the 1830's and 1840's, thousands had been captured and sent
westward or to military forts or had just died of disease or
poverty. Many escaped and hid out in the Everglades, by working
their way down the Gulf Coast. An uncaptured remnant took up arms
against the white settlers during the mid 1850's in what is now
called the Third Seminole War under the influence of chief Billy
Bowlegs 11. At the end of the war, there were only about a hundred
Indians left. They would be captured or escape into the darkness of
the vast Everglades. Gone were the heroes of the tribes who fought
so nobly against overwhelming odds. Chiefs and warriors like
Oscepla, Micanopy, Jumper, Alligator, Tiger Trail, Coacoochee and
Billy Bowlegs 11. In 1856, Hernando County extended south to what
is now Pasco County. The last raid in 1856 was at the outpost of
Darby, about 15 miles south of Brooksville. It is interesting to
note that the Seminoles bypassed other likely targets, saving their
hostility and wrath toward the Bradley household. Captain Bradley,
a known Indian fighter and one of the settlers under the Armed
Occupation Act was hated by the Seminoles, for he was held
responsible for the death of the brother of Tiger Tail, a noted
Seminole leader. Life was shattered for the Bradleys on that
evening in 1856 as the younger children were playing in the
passageway between the two sections of their log cabin home. A
band of fifteen Seminoles rode up and opened fire on them. The
frantic mother who tried to save her screaming children became a
target herself. Before it was over, the two children had died along
with five other members of the household, very likely slaves.
Bradley, who was ill at the time, rose from his bed and managed to
kill the leader of the band. Even after the leader's death, the
Indians continued fighting for several more hours before retreating.
In 1915, Frank Saxon recalled that a group of settlers led by Captain
T.C. Ellis took off after the Indians. Despite expert tracking by
"Uncle Joshua" Mizell, they failed to catch them. All that was found
was a bloody sheet, which they believed was used to by the Indians
to carry off one of their wounded. The attack produced even greater
fear among Hernando County residents, especially those living in
rural areas. Virginia Hope, daughter of William Hope was taken out
of the Lykes School and brought home until the scare was over.
Church services were interrupted everywhere. Concern was so great,
that a committee of local citizens sent a note to General Carter
of Tampa on May 31,1856, asking for a detachment of soldiers for
the county. The Seminoles were now very few in numbers and when
the Third Seminole War ended in 1858, 38 warriors and 85 women
and children including Chief Billy Bowleggs were deported off
Egmont Key and sent to the Oklahoma Indian Reservation.
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6:12
Gotta Remember-EN.movby floridafrontiers502 views
A friend and i did a small living history at this park on the 150th an. A number on the Bradly desendace stopped in to talk to us at end of the day.
we might reenact the Bradly Raid at a near by
county park some day
Matt M.
black75powder 3 years ago