OKEECHOBEE – The annual Battle of Okeechobee Re-Enactment was held Feb. 22 and 23 at the Okeechobee Battlefield Historic State Park. The park preserves 55 acres of the site of the 1837 battle, considered the fiercest and bloodiest battle of the Second Seminole War.

The original battle was fought Christmas Day 1837 near the banks of Lake Okeechobee. About 1,000 U.S. Army troops and 132 Missouri volunteers under the command of Col. Zachary Taylor fought about 400 Seminole warriors led by Chiefs Abiaka, Billy Bowlegs and Wildcat. The army was trying to move the Seminoles to a reservation in the Oklahoma territory. The Seminoles fought to stay in Florida.

Before the re-enactment, the Osceola Warrior Legacy team demonstrated Seminole battle tactics from the Second Seminole War period.

The Seminoles were outnumbered by the U.S. Army, but they had some advantages, explained the narrator. The Seminoles were, on average, taller and stronger than the U.S. average soldier at that time.  Most U.S. soldiers at the time were immigrant farmers and average height was about 5’5”. Seminole warriors average height was 5’10”.

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The Native Americans were also used to the climate, while the soldiers struggled in the heat.  The Army had such problems with heat injuries that most battles were fought in the winter.

While the soldiers spent months in the barracks, the Seminoles had a more active lifestyle. They also practiced battle skills and learned how to fight from generations of warriors.  Young Seminole women also learned to fight, often using long poles as weapons.

OKEECHOBEE -- Osceola Warrior Legacy team members demonstrated Seminole fighting tactics before the Batlte of Okeechobee Re-Enactment on Feb. 22. [Photo by Katrina Elsken/Lake Okeechobee News]

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In many cases, the Seminoles had better weapons, the narrator continued. While the U.S. Army was still using muzzle loaders, the Seminole had obtained rifles from the Spanish. Before the Second Seminole War, the Seminoles has also been given some breach-loading firearms by the U.S. Government. These weapons required a firing cap, the narrator explained. Government officials thought that if they did not provide the Seminoles with the firing caps, the weapons would be useless. The Seminoles, however, figured out how to make their own caps.

War clubs, hatchets and knives were also important weapons. After a soldier fired his weapon, the opponent just had to get past the bayonet. War clubs were often made from broken rifle stocks and studded with a piece of sharp metal. A non-lethal cut from a knife or hatchet could take a solider out of action, the narrator explained, because the infection rate was so high. About a third of the soldiers who perished in the war died from wound infections.

OKEECHOBEE -- Hatchets and knives were used in close combat. [Photo by Katrina Elsken/Lake Okeechobee News]

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Most importantly, the narrator explained, while the soldiers were in unfamiliar territory, fighting because they were ordered to, the Seminoles were fighting for their families and their way of life.

At the Battle of Okeechobee, the Seminole warriors’ goal was to keep the U.S. Army occupied long enough for the children, elders and women (those who weren’t also fighting) to escape safely into the swamp. Once their more vulnerable tribe members were safe, the warriors made their own escape in waiting canoes.

The U.S. Army, having “taken the field” claimed a victory.