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Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
 

Seminole Wars / Mexican War

 
 
Seminole Wars 1814- 1858 Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 13, 2013
1. Seminole Wars 1814- 1858 Marker
Inscription.
Seminole Wars
1814-1858


I am Private Pet Younger of the 4th US Infantry Regiment. I joined the Regular Army in November 1835 at age 15. I was specially trained as part of the light infantry company whose main jobs were scouting and skirmishing. My training was mighty timely because I had stumbled right into the Second Seminole War! The Seminoles were a mixture of original Florida natives, Creeks fleeing Alabama and Georgia after the Creek War, and fugitive slaves. The conflict dates back to May 1814, when British forces landed in Western Florida, armed the Indians and built a fort. When General Jackson chased the British and their Indian allies out of Mobile and Pensacola, fugitive slaves took over the fort. Southern whites saw it as a dangerous inspiration for their slaves to run away. In 1817, American squatters and outlaws raided the Seminoles, killing villagers and stealing cattle and the Seminoles replied in kind. They killed a group of American sailors, which led to the First “official” Seminole War. Jackson attacked the Indians and Spanish and in 1819, Spain ceded West Florida to United States. Victory was declared and the Seminoles were allowed a reservation in central Florida. The Second War stemmed from President Jackson’s Indian Relocation Act (Trail of Tears) in 1830, requiring all Indians
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to move west of the Mississippi River. The Seminoles rebelled and ambushed and massacred most of Major Francis L. Dade’s force of 108 men on 28 December 1835. My regiment immediately went to Florida to begin a miserable, hellish, swampy trek lasting seven years. Regimental line of battle formations completely failed in the swamps. But by 1841, the Army started using light infantry skirmish drill. This succeeded and in 1842, the last 300 starving Indians surrendered. Our exhausted Army declared victory allowing the Seminoles the reservation shown in yellow on the map. However in 1855, with settlers and soldiers moving onto his lands, Billy Bowlegs’ band attacked an Army camp killing four men, which started the Third Seminole War. The Florida Militia was called up but proved worst than useless. In 1856 and 1857, Regulars took over and successfully attacked swamp camps using boat companies. On May 8, 1858 the war was over and the remaining 100 Seminoles in the southern Florida swamps stayed quite permanently. Thus ended a long, costly, brutal, unpopular period of American history.

Mexican War
1846-1848

I am Corporal Lemuel Ruffin of the First Marine Battalion. We fought in the war with Mexico. This war was the result of Texas joining the United States. When the Texians (you now call them Texans) won their independence in 1836, Mexico regarded it as a state
Seminole Wars Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 13, 2013
2. Seminole Wars Marker
in rebellion but still a MEXICAN state. So when it was accepted as the 28th state of the United States on December 19, 1845, the Mexicans got down right peeved. They insisted that the border was not the Rio Grande but the Nueces River 150 miles to the north. So they sent troops across the Rio Grande to reclaim the disputed territory. Now President Polk had been trying to buy a big chunk of Mexico to fulfill the idea of Manifest Destiny. That was the notion that our nation was destined to extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. With Mexican troops on American soil, the US declared war in 1846 and quickly occupied New Mexico and California and blockaded the Pacific coast. General Zachary Taylor and 2,300 soldiers charged into northern Mexico, guns ablazing. Our better weapons and new tactic of using mounted artillerymen, “flying artillery”, helped us overcome the larger Mexican Army and seize northern Mexico. In March 1847, the Marines landed with General Winfield Scott’s Army of 10,000 men near Vera Cruz on Mexico’s east coast without the loss of a single life. We lay siege to the city and bombarded it with field artillery and huge ship’s guns that we moved on shore to take the city. They gave up on March 29 and in April we started a march to the Capital, Mexico City. We were in a number of pitched battles along the way but even though outnumbered we were better
Mexican War Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 13, 2013
3. Mexican War Marker
trained, armed, and supplied and always victorious. My toughest fight was storming Chapultepec Castle perched on top of a 200-foot hill south of Mexico City. Five hundred men including me and a company of marines charged forward and were hit with a hail of musketry and cannon balls from above. Through sheer determination and bravery we gained the summit, swarmed over the walls, and drove the enemy out. Scarcely pausing, we pressed on to Mexico City and by nightfall held two gates to the city. At dawn the next day, September 14, the city surrendered and we raised the American flag over the Halls of Montezuma! In February 1848 the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war. Texas was recognized as part of the United States and a huge part of Mexico was ceded to the United States, extending our boundaries west to the Pacific Ocean. We marines always gave a good account of ourselves in Mexico and added more honor to our reputation. We also added the first line of the Marine Corps Hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma”.

Captions:
Ringgold's battery at Palo Alto

Artillery Tools and Equipment: 1-Vent Pick (for puncturing powder bag); 2-Vent Clearing Punch (for cleaning vent); 3-Fuse Plug (holds fuses in shells); 4-Sponge Cover; 5-Sponge (for swabbing barrel); 6-Rammer (for ramming round); 7-Worm-and-Bruch (for
Patriots Walkway image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 13, 2013
4. Patriots Walkway
cleaning barrel); 8- Trail Handspike (for moving cannon by hand); 9-Water Bucket (for sponge); 10-Leather Thumb Stall (placed on thumb over vent to prevent air entering during cleaning); 11-Gunner’s Haversack (for carrying rounds); 12-Lanyard and Friction Primer (for firing); 13-Pendulum Hausse and Case (used to aim the gun); 14-Gunner’s Pouch and Belt.
 
Erected 2013.
 
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Patriots & PatriotismWar, Mexican-AmericanWars, US Indian. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #07 Andrew Jackson, the Former U.S. Presidents: #11 James K. Polk, and the Former U.S. Presidents: #12 Zachary Taylor series lists.
 
Location. 34° 44.102′ N, 86° 35.315′ W. Marker is in Huntsville, Alabama, in Madison County. Memorial is at the intersection of Monroe Street Northwest and Washington Street Northwest, on the left when traveling east on Monroe Street Northwest. Located along Patriots Walkway in Veterans Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 200 Monroe Street Northwest, Huntsville AL 35801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Barbary Coast Wars (here, next to this marker); Civil War (here, next to this marker); Late Indian Wars
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(here, next to this marker); War of 1812 (here, next to this marker); Revolutionary War (a few steps from this marker); Spanish American War 1898/Philippine Insurrection 1899-1913 (a few steps from this marker); World War I (Great War)/1914 – 1918 (a few steps from this marker); Korean War / Cold War-Korea 1953- (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huntsville.
 
Also see . . .  Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial. (Submitted on January 22, 2014.)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 7, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 21, 2014, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 994 times since then and 14 times this year. Last updated on July 17, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 21, 2014, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024