Brighton Seminole Reservation hosted the 2024 Field Day Festival Feb. 17-19.

Festival attractions include Native American dancers, alligator wrestling, a traditional Seminole village, a rodeo, live entertainment, arts and crafts booths and traditional foods.

During the Osceola Warrior Legacy program, the narrator explained the Seminoles were able to successfully fight the U.S. Army because Seminole men and women were trained from childhood how to fight and how to survive in the Florida wilderness.

He said Seminole women often accompanied the men on the battlefield. Men often fought nearly naked and the women carried their supplies. The women also joined in the fighting.

The narrator explained Seminole women carried long sticks to sweep away snakes, alligators and anything else on the ground in front of them as they walked. They also used these sticks as weapons. The soldiers had rifles, but the rifles had to be reloaded after one shot. This could give the Seminole warrior a chance to rush the solider.

While the soldiers struggled in uncomfortable uniforms in the Florida heat, Seminole men removed most of their clothing before battle for practical reasons, the narrator continued. They knew that if they were struck by a rifle ball clothed, the rifle ball would carry part of the cloth into the wound, making infection more likely. In hand-to-hand combat, the warrior could gain the advantage by grabbing a soldier’s shirt while the soldier had more difficulty getting a grip on the warrior.

The narrator said Seminole braves fought with knives and hatchets. These were not only their weapons but tools they carried everywhere and used every day. The soldiers carried heavy rifles. While the rifles had bayonets, the bayonets were only sharp at the very tip. As long as they could avoid the tip of the bayonet, the warriors did well in the close combat.

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