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Francis L. Dade

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Francis Dade
Engraving of the death of Francis Dade (on horseback)
BornFebruary 22, 1792
King George County, Virginia, United States
DiedDecember 28, 1835 (aged 43)
Sumter County, Florida, United States
Buried
St. Augustine National Cemetery
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1813 - 1835
Rank Major
Unit4th Infantry Regiment
CommandsKey West Army Base
Battles/wars

Francis Langhorne Dade (February 22, 1792 – December 28, 1835) was a United States Army soldier who served in the War of 1812 and the Seminole Wars. Dade was killed in a battle with Seminole Indians that came to be known as the "Dade Massacre".

Life and career

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Francis Dade was born in King George County, Virginia in 1792.[1] Dade's family was part of the elite slave-owning class of the South.[2] His ancestor, also named Francis Dade, immigrated from England to the Virginia Colony in 1650, and was elected to the House of Burgesses. Dade initially studied to be a lawyer under the tutelage of his cousin Lawrence Dade, but he later chose to pursue a military career instead.[3] In March 1813 (during the War of 1812) he joined the U.S. Army 12th Infantry Regiment as a Third Lieutenant. During the war he was tasked with recruiting duty.[3] After the war ended he was transferred to the 4th Infantry Regiment in May 1815.[4]

In 1818 Dade was part of Andrew Jackson's army that invaded Florida and raised the U.S. flag over Pensacola [5] He was also promoted to Captain in 1818. Dade later successfully led two expeditions, in 1825 and 1826, from Fort Brooke to Fort King, which paved the way for a military road between the two forts. In January 1827 Dade and his soldiers displaced a number of Seminoles from their villages in retaliation for the murder of a White settler family by the Aucilla River.[2] In December 1827 Dade married Amanda Middleton in Pensacola.[5] Francis and Amanda Dade would have two daughters, both of whom would die of disease at a young age. Dade was later put in command of the United States Army base in Key West.[6] He was promoted to Brevet Major in February 1828 after ten years of service as a Captain.[4] By 1835, he commanded at Key West a unit of 47 men, half of whom were European immigrants.[6] Dade was stationed in Key West until late 1835, when tensions rose with the Seminoles over the Indian Removal Act, which would soon culminate in the Second Seminole War. Because of these tensions, General Duncan Clinch ordered Dade to leave 1 non-commissioned officer and 3 Privates in Key West before taking the rest of his men to Fort Brooke.[7]

Major Dade's final mission was to lead a U.S. Army column of 110 soldiers and 1 six-pounder cannon from Fort Brooke up north to Fort King. The soldiers under Dade's command were part of the 4th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Artillery Regiment, and 3rd Artillery Regiment. Led by Chief Micanopy, the Seminoles destroyed bridges over the Hillsborough River and Withlacoochee River in order to delay the progress of the column, and ambushed the soldiers on December 28, 1835, killing Dade and most of his men, and leaving only two survivors. The attack was followed in 1836 by widespread attacks on white settlers in Florida, and then by a US military buildup under General Winfield Scott. Dade and his men were not formally buried until a unit led by Edmund P. Gaines arrived at the site of the massacre in February 1836, Dade's remains only being identifiable by his vest and infantry buttons.[6]

Legacy

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The Dade Monument, located at the West Point Cemetery.

When hostilities ceased, the Army proposed to transfer the remains of all who died in the territory, including those who fell with Dade, to a single burial ground. Reinternment took place at the St. Augustine Post Cemetery, which would become St. Augustine National Cemetery. In addition to Dade's command, more than 1,400 soldiers were interred in three mass graves. These men are memorialized by the Dade Monument, which is composed of three distinct pyramids, constructed of native coquina stone, and an obelisk. The dedication of the memorial at a ceremony on August 14, 1842, marked the end of the Florida Indian Wars.

The Dade Monument was erected in 1845 at the United States Military Academy Cemetery to honor Major Dade and the men under his command killed in the Seminole War.

Miami-Dade County, Florida (Dade County, until 1997); Dade County, Georgia;[8] Dade County, Missouri; Dadeville, Alabama; and Dade City, Florida are all named after Major Dade. The now decommissioned fort on Egmont Key was also named for him. The battle is re-enacted at the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park each year. In 2002, the Dade County Courthouse was renamed the Major Francis Langhorne Dade County Courthouse by the Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County. In the resolution changing the courthouse's name, the Board noted that it found "that Major Francis Langhorne Dade is a person who made a significant contribution to Miami-Dade County".[9]

Notes

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  1. ^ Laumer, Frank (1968). Massacre!. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. p. 177.
  2. ^ a b Brown, Jr., Canter (2022-03-15). "The Florida Crisis of 1826-1827 and the Second Seminole War". Florida Historical Quarterly. 73 (4).
  3. ^ a b White, George (1849). Statistics of the State of Georgia: Including an Account of Its Natural, Civil, and Ecclesiastical History ; Together with a Particular Description of Each County, Notices of the Manners and Customs of Its Aboriginal Tribes, and a Correct Map of the State. W. Thorne Williams.
  4. ^ a b Historical Register and Dictionary of the US Army
  5. ^ a b Laumer, Frank (1995-08-03). Dade's Last Command. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-5958-7.
  6. ^ a b c Steele, W.S. (1986). "Last Command: The Dade Massacre" (PDF). Tequesta. 46: 5–19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  7. ^ Patrick, Rembert (1963). Aristocrat in Uniform: General Duncan L. Clinch. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press. pp. 87–88.
  8. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
  9. ^ "Legislative Matter". Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2005-10-21.

References

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