SW034 Doubting Thomas: Did Dade Battle Survivor Truly Trek an Epic Feat of 60 miles Overnight to Break the News to Fort Brooke?

[Editor's Note: This is the sixth in a series of podcasts over the coming weeks promoting the Seminole Wars Foundation's self-paced virtual challenge, The Major Dade Memorial March to Fort King that launches Dec. 22. Registration to join Laumer's Legion is now open. Visit www.seminolewars.us for details.]

With military marching, only the first 100 miles are hard.

If you are thinking that our virtual march challenge will be tough to complete at 102.3 miles over 90 days, then consider the case of U.S. Army Pvt. John Thomas, a wounded survivor of the Dade Battle in Bushnell. Under penalty of sudden death at Seminole hands, he high-tailed it back to Tampa – some 60 miles and overnight in hostile Indian country –  wearing 1830s-era Army boots (and not much else!) to break the news. Let's just say, his trek was "incentive-based."   

In this episode, we examine his story. While Soldiers dragged cannon and limber across the bracing, swift Big Withlacoochee River Dec. 25, 1835, Thomas injured his back severely pulling with them. A surgeon later certified him 3/4ths disabled. Historians have debated whether Thomas then left immediately for Fort Brooke, or continued with Maj. Dade's column. Either way, post returns show Thomas arrived Dec. 29. So, he either tramped back at a brisk clip of 60 miles in 30 hours with a thigh wound and an injured back after the fight -- a most challenging hike without question but not infeasible -- or he was competing for the distinction of the most malingering messenger of all time, sauntering back a full five days after this Dec. 25 crossing mishap. Listen to Jesse Marshall, our resident autodidact and aficionado on most things related to the Seminole Wars, explain not only how Thomas could have done it but also why many continue to doubt it to this day.

The late Dave "Boxcar" Leonard, long-time 1830s Soldier living historian who walked the walk, like Jesse Marshall, so he could talk the talk. He marched with the 1988 iteration of Laumer's Legion from Tampa to Bushnell to commemorate Maj. Dade's march of 1835. He even had his prescription adapted for that spectacles modeled on that era. He brought natural food snacks with him on that several day excursion and, of course, wore his uniform, carried his rifle, and camped overnight along the way to add authenticity. He would have appreciated Thomas' feat (and feet!).

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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