SW011 Ambush and Anguish in Alachua County

 

In war, death plays few favorites, making little distinction whether one is wealthy or poor; civilian, soldier or Seminole; pretty or plain; male or female. Take one example: On the fifth anniversary of the Dade Massacre, December 28, 1840, the daughter of the richest businessman in Cincinnati, the beautiful 19-year-old wife of Army Lieutenant Alexander Montgomery, took what she thought would be a pleasant Sunday coach ride out from Fort Micanopy only to arrive at a violent death, when a Seminole party waylaid her Army escort.

This week we examine the incalculable human cost to war, at least, on the American side. In Alachua County, Florida during the Second Seminole War, ambush and anguish exacted a heavy price. Lost voices of individuals long gone speak to us speak of their tragic tales in Chris Kimball’s Alachua Ambush. Through a compilation of stunning personal accounts, recounted from graphic eyewitness testimony in letters, newspapers, and official reports, he resurrects these sorrowful stories to remind us that war yields more tragedy than triumphs and treasures.

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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