1835]

THE SEMINOLE WAR.

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Troops were immediately ordered to Florida; and Major Dade set out from Tampa with 117 men, to join Gen. Clinch at Camp King, in the interior of the country. Dade's force fell into an ambuscade, and, though they defended themselves bravely, were all killed except one man, who, feigning death, was thrown on a pile of bodies. When the enemy had departed, he crept out and made his way through the woods to his countrymen, after incredible sufferings, which, with his wounds, soon proved fatal. General Thompson, while dining with some friends within sight of the garrison at Camp King, was massacred the same day that Dade's detachment was cut off. On the 31st of December, Gen. Clinch, having marched against one of the Seminole settlements, was attacked at disadvantage by Osceola, and, after a severe battle in which the Indians were three times repulsed, returned to Fort Drane, where he had fixed his head-quarters. The whole country was now ravaged by the Indians. Plantations were devastated, houses burned, negroes carried off, families murdered. The settlers fled to the forts for refuge, but many were cut off on the way.

On the 7th of February, 1836, Gen. Scott, who had been appointed to the command in Florida, reached St. Augustine. Learning that Clinch was hard pressed at Fort Drane, he set out as soon as possible for his relief. Gen. Gaines had also taken the field from the west, with about a thousand men. An action took place with the savages near the scene of Clinch's former battle, and the Seminoles were repulsed with loss. Before Scott could coöperate with the western army and surround the enemy, they had withdrawn to the swamps and everglades in the south, where for a time they were safe from pursuit. Scott then proceeded to the country of the Creeks, some of whom had been induced by the Seminoles to commence hostilities. After the inhabitants had suffered

the cause of the Seminole War? Who was the chief Seminole leader? Give an account of his proceedings. What action was taken by government? Give an account of Major Dade's massacre. Relate the circumstances under which Gen. Thompson was murdered. What expedition was undertaken by Gen. Clinch? What was the result? Describe the state of the country at this time. Who reached St Augustine, Feb. 7, 1886? What was Scott's first movement? Give an account of Gen. Gaines' engagement with the Indians. Before the enemy could be surrounded, what did they do? Whither did Scott

much from their depredations, the Creeks were finally subdued and compelled to move west of the Mississippi.

The remaining history of the Seminole War, though it belongs to Van Buren's administration, will be given here. Gen. Jessup succeeded Scott in the command of the army in Florida. In October, 1837, Osceola presented himself with a flag of truce at the American camp. Jessup, suspecting a repetition of treachery and desiring to save unnecessary bloodshed, disregarded the flag, seized the chief, and sent him to Fort Moultrie, near Charleston, where he died the following year. The Seminoles, notwithstanding, continued hostilities. In December, 1838, Col. Taylor (afterwards a distinguished general in the Mexican War and president of the U. S.) set out with over a thousand men for the almost inaccessible haunts to which the enemy had retreated. The sufferings this army encountered from fatiguing marches through tangled deserts and swamps filled with poisonous insects and reptiles, can hardly be conceived. On the 25th of December, 1838, they found the enemy prepared to receive them near O-kee-cho'-bee [Big Water] Lake. After a hard-fought battle, in which Taylor lost 139 men, the enemy, who had also suffered severely, were obliged to retreat. For more than a year longer the U. S. army underwent terrible privations in their endeavors to bring this harassing war to an end. A treaty was signed in 1839; but the Seminoles did not entirely desist from their ravages till 1842, when peace was firmly established. Since then, numbers of them have been removed to the West.

543. Two destructive conflagrations, which were regarded as national calamities, occurred about this time. On the 16th of December, 1835, a fire broke out in the lower part of the city of New York, which was occupied by large mercantile houses. The night being so cold that the water froze as it was drawn from the hydrants, over thirty acres were

then proceed? What did he soon compel the Creeks to do? Who succeeded Scott in Florida? How did Jessup obtain possession of Osceola? What became of this chief? In Dec., 1888, who set out on an expedition against the Seminoles? From what did his army suffer severely? Give an account of the battle of Okeechobee. How much longer did the war continue? When were peace and security finally restored? 543,

1835] DEATH OF MONROE, CARROLL, RANDOLPH.

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laid in ashes before the flames were stayed; 529 houses and $18,000,000 worth of property were consumed. It was feared that so serious a loss would embarrass the business community; a few failures occurred, but "the burnt district" was speedily covered with magnificent warehouses, which greatly improved that section of the city. The other fire alluded to took place at Washington, Dec. 15, 1836, destroying the U. S. Post Office, and the Patent Office, with 7,000 models and 10,000 designs of inventions.

544. The great men who died during Jackson's administration must not be forgotten. On the 4th of July, 1831, Monroe breathed his last at the residence of his son-in-law in New York, in his 72nd year. He died, like Jefferson and Adams, amid national rejoicings for blessings which he had helped to secure. Monroe was a native of Westmoreland County, Virginia. He shed his blood at Trenton in the Revolutionary War, served with gallantry at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, and was eminently successful as a diplomatist and statesman.

The year 1832 witnessed the departure of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, at the advanced age of 96. He had served his country in various public stations with fidelity and success, and had seen it increase in population from two to thirteen millions. The same year died Philip Freneau [fre-no'], one of the poets of the Revolution, whose patriotic verses had done much towards rousing his countrymen for that great struggle. He died at the age of 80, near Freehold, New Jersey.

On the 24th of May, 1833, John Randolph, of Roanoke, Va., a descendant of Pocahontas, died at the age of 60. He commenced public life in 1799, and served thirty years in Congress, where he became distinguished for his eccentric conduct, his sharpness of wit, and his tremendous powers of sarcasm which made him feared by all parties. In 1830, Give an account of the great fire in New York. What other fire took place about the same time? 544. Give an account of the death of Monroe. Where was he born? What is said of his previous history? What two distinguished men died in 1882? What is said of Charles Carroll? What, of Philip Freneau? When did Randolph, of Roanoke,

Jackson appointed him minister to Russia. Randolph's speeches were widely read and admired. Poetry and history were his favorite studies, and few were better versed in them than he.

Two more of the site

great men of Virginia, Chief Justice Marshall and Expresident Madison, died respectively in 1835 and 1836, the former aged 80, the latter 85. As a member of Congress, a cabinet officer, and chief justice of the U. S., Marshall did good service to his country. His abilities as a writer are conspicuously displayed in his widely-read and still popular "Life of Washington".

545. Arkansas was admitted into the Union in June, 1836, and Michigan in the following January.

546. Gen. Jackson's second term being about to expire, Martin Van Buren was nominated to succeed him by the democrats, or supporters of the administration; while its opponents, who in 1836 assumed the name of whigs, voted chiefly for Gen. Harrison, of Ohio. Van Buren was elected, and inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1837. No vice-president having been chosen by the people, Col. Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, one of the heroes of Tippecanoe, was elected by the senate to that office.

die? At what age? What is said of his public life and attainments? What two other distinguished Virginians died during Jackson's term? What is said of Chief Justice Marshall? 545. When were Arkansas and Michigan admitted? 546. Who were the candidates at the next presidential election? Who was elected? When was he inaugurated? Who was chosen vice-president?

VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION, 1837-1841.

547. MARTIN VAN BUREN was born at Kinderhook, New York, on the 5th of December, 1782. He left school at 14; was admitted to the bar at 21; was elected to the N. Y. senate in his 30th year; was sent to the U. S. senate in 1821; was chosen governor of N. Y. in 1828; became Jackson's secretary of state the following year; was appointed minister to Great Britain, and then received in succession the two highest offices in the gift of his countrymen.

548. Hardly was Van Buren seated in the presidential chair, when the business community were paralyzed by a revulsion in their monetary affairs. The last year of Jackson's administration had been one of great apparent prosperity. The national debt was extinguished, and a surplus of nearly $40,000,000 had accumulated in the treasury, which Congress ordered to be distributed among the several states. Banks had multiplied to such an extent that there were computed to be no less than 677 in the Union, with 146 branches; most of which had issued notes to a large amount beyond what they were able to redeem. Business men traded extensively on credit, and in many cases gave up honest industry for wild speculation. This unhealthy state of things was necessarily followed by a revulsion, and the crisis occurred in the spring of 1837. The banks of New York and New Orleans suspended specie payments, that is, refused to redeem their notes with gold or silver; and their example was followed throughout the country. Several hundred mercantile houses immediately stopped payment, and in New Orleans alone failures to the amount of $27,000,000 took place within two days.

An order known as "the specie circular" had been issued

547. Where and when was Martin Van Buren born? Give a sketch of his public life. 548. What took place immediately after Van Buren's inauguration? What is assigned as the cause of this revulsion? When did the crisis occur? What were the banks compelled to do? What was the consequence? What was the substance of "the specie