Seminole Wars and Maj. William Lauderdale. A future city is named ...

Colee Hammock Park today

Marylander and one time Key West resident William Colee (or Cooley) and his family were among the first settlers along the New River in 1824. Prosperous farmers of coontie, a fern-like plant with roots used for edible starch, the Colee family named their small plantation, Colee Hammock. Some say the family may have been responsible for planting coconut trees along New River because an old map marks the site as “Cocoanut Grove.”

Life on the 29-acre farm along the New River changed drastically in 1836.

Seminole Indians, new to the area, resented the U.S. government and its attempts to resettle them. They also bore particular animus for Colee. The Seminoles thought Colee, elected justice of the peace, had treated them unfairly in a criminal case. While he was away on a ship salvage mission off the Hillsboro Inlet in January 1836, a band of Seminoles killed Colee's wife, three children and their tutor. After returning to bury his family, he abandoned the plantation. A year later, the settler was tapped to be the first lighthouse keeper at Key Biscayne but he declined when the federal government cut back its offer on security expenses.

The Second Seminole War had begun in 1835 and continued until 1842. The Colee incident fueled mutual animosities. Major General Thomas Jesup, commander of troops in Florida, asked President Andrew Jackson (served 1829-1837) who he could recommend to lead an effective force in Florida to end the conflict. Jackson knew and had fought with William Lauderdale in the War of 1812 and highly recommended him for the mission.

Lauderdale (born in Virginia in 1782) agreed to take on the assignment in 1837. Then, as U.S. Army major, he raised five battalions of Tennessee Volunteers. After arriving in Florida, his orders were to strike a route from Jupiter Inlet to Fort Dallas (along the Miami River) to search for Seminoles who had escaped after the Battle of Loxahatchee January 24, 1838. Their march along what became known as Military Trail (first called Lauderdale Trail) took them to the New River where they knew it to be near the site of the Colee massacre. General Jesup, impressed with Lauderdale's efficiency in establishing a stronghold there, named it Fort Lauderdale.

Some say Lauderdale fought the Battle of Pine Island Ridge March 22, 1838; that is not confirmed, though he has been honored for it. Accounts reveal most of the Seminoles had left Pine Ridge before troops arrived. One hundred days later and 13 days after the Pine Island event, Major Lauderdale, ill with a respiratory disease, asked to be relieved of duty. He and his troops headed to Tampa. He died May 10, 1838 in Baton Rouge, enroute to Tennessee. He was 56.

Two other forts by the same name were built in the area (one on the beach) during the war; the Seminoles were never defeated. Today, Fort Lauderdale is a city of about 183,000 and Colee Hammock (1500 Brickell Drive), is one of its most beautiful parks.

Sources:
Gillis, Susan. Fort Lauderdale, Venice of America. Great Britain: Arcadia Publishing, 2004.  
Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. The Everglades, River of Grass. Miami: Banyan Books, 1978.
Snyder, John D. Light in the Wilderness. China: Pharos Books, 2006.
Miami News, May 16, 1965
http://pbchistory.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-last-campaign-of-major-william.html

Tags: Seminole Wars, Maj. William Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale history, New River, who was Lauderdale