These counties were the location of some incredible Florida history that has been little exposed. There were tremendous goings-on during the Second Seminole Wars in that area that even the Seminole Wars scholars have neglected. Some tidbits: Pascofa, the Creek leader and his band were captured by Ethan Allen Hitchcock at Fort Preston. The site of the fort is now under the river. Pascofa was considered a real savage by the locals and was blamed for every outrage in the area. He surrendered peacefully and gracefully to Hitchcock and later became one of the principal chiefs of the Seminoles in Oklahoma. He fought for the union in the civil war and even met with Lincoln. He was intelligent and a real peacemaker. Very little has been written about him. Aspalaga was a major center of the area. It no longer exists. Someone needs to write the definitive history of the town....site of the first ferry, the national road across the state...home of Squire Goodson, one of the leading slave traders of the era. Rumors persist of slave trading there through the 1850's, even possible importation of slaves from Africa off loading at the steamship docks long after that was illegal. Aspalaga is now a bunch of woods on the river, virtually nothing exists of the once prosperous community with church, hotel, store and an active social life....the whole nine yards. Jackson went through there.....great history.... Fort Preston needs researched. It was a significant place used by Hitchcock and a center of Middle Florida Second Seminole War history...no one knows much of anything about it. Ocheesee Landing.....wonderful history in both Native American and early settlers history. The two largest oaks in the State of Florida were there. One still is. The other burned down. I interviewed the burner downer of the other tree! I had to promise silence until he passes away! He is concerned his still could get arrested! Ha! What a great story! My lips are sealed! Someone needs to write the history of the Apalachicolas in that area. Tragic stuff. The mystery of what happened to Coe's slaves after he died......stories of mass murders on the property after emancipation.....fascinating stuff....needs studied.... I could go on and on....probably will bore you all to death...... By the way, Mr. Nobles credited me the other day with being the editor of the Hentz book. I am an enthusiastic endorser of the book, but was not the editor. Just wanted to set the record straight so that Professor Stowe doesn't get irritated at me.....Ed Baptist's book is the other great volume recalling the history of this time period. It is quite a read though....his doctoral dissertation recently published. You need a lot of caffeine to get through that one..... Gotta get to church.....I will get back to my lurking self... Phil -- Phil Stover - President/Sr Partner The Portolan Group, Inc. pstover@portolangroup.com http://www.portolangroup.com 941 927 2797

Phil, FYI, the Fort Preston site is still above water. It is situated on the high bluff at Bristol. I think the theory that the fort site is gone comes from the fact that it is sometimes confused with the Confederate battery erected during the War Between the States a short distance upriver at Alum Bluff. That site has largely eroded into the river, although a few traces of the earthworks can still be seen. Fort Preston was originally known as Fort Griffin and was established by local settlers and militia during the late 1830s following a series of raids by Creek warriors in the area. It was not a large fort as we think of them today, but was just a stockade of logs with some crude huts inside where people could take shelter in the event of an attack. What is now Bristol was at the time the site of several large plantations, one of which (originally Carnochan's) had been established in 1820 well before Florida's cession from Spain to the United States. Across the river, of course, were the Blunt fields and reservation, along with the farm of William Hambly. Hambly had served as an interpreter during Andrew Jackson's 1818 campaign and was a well known figure in Florida when the territory was still Spanish. The name of the stockade was changed from Fort Griffin to Fort Preston during the Davenport campaign of 1840. Colonel William Davenport came to the site with several hundred U.S. troops during the late winter, early spring of 1840 and launched a fairly extensive campaign to root out groups of refugee Creeks who were hiding in what is now the Apalachicola National Forest. These people had fled Alabama during the Creek War of 1836-1837 and lived deep in the swamps. There were several groups and one, as noted, was lead by Pascofa. From time to time they came out to attack white settlements, often to secure supplies. These attacks were bloody, however, and the public outcry (as well as an attack on two army wagons in Gadsden County) resulted in Davenport's campaign. Moving south from Fort Preston along the Apalachicola, he sent squads of men through the swamps covering virtually the entire area from the Apalachicola to the Wakulla River, but only with limited results. Similar efforts also failed and so finally, in 1843, Major Ethan A. Hitchock was sent down to Florida to try to negotiate with Pascofa. He came first to Fort Stansbury, a permanent post on the Wakulla River near Wakulla Springs, then crossed over to the Apalachicola and took a steamboat down to Fort Preston. He arranged a meeting with Pascofa, who finally agreed to surrender after having time to gather his people. The actual surrender took place around on the lower Ochlockonee River. To the best of my knowledge, though, this brief visit was the last time Fort Preston was used by troops. Best, Dale The Portolan Group - Phil Stover <pstover@portolangroup.com> wrote: These counties were the location of some incredible Florida history that has been little exposed. There were tremendous goings-on during the Second Seminole Wars in that area that even the Seminole Wars scholars have neglected. Some tidbits: Pascofa, the Creek leader and his band were captured by Ethan Allen Hitchcock at Fort Preston. The site of the fort is now under the river. Pascofa was considered a real savage by the locals and was blamed for every outrage in the area. He surrendered peacefully and gracefully to Hitchcock and later became one of the principal chiefs of the Seminoles in Oklahoma. He fought for the union in the civil war and even met with Lincoln. He was intelligent and a real peacemaker. Very little has been written about him. Aspalaga was a major center of the area. It no longer exists. Someone needs to write the definitive history of the town....site of the first ferry, the national road across the state...home of Squire Goodson, one of the leading slave traders of the era. Rumors persist of slave trading there through the 1850's, even possible importation of slaves from Africa off loading at the steamship docks long after that was illegal. Aspalaga is now a bunch of woods on the river, virtually nothing exists of the once prosperous community with church, hotel, store and an active social life....the whole nine yards. Jackson went through there.....great history.... Fort Preston needs researched. It was a significant place used by Hitchcock and a center of Middle Florida Second Seminole War history...no one knows much of anything about it. Ocheesee Landing.....wonderful history in both Native American and early settlers history. The two largest oaks in the State of Florida were there. One still is. The other burned down. I interviewed the burner downer of the other tree! I had to promise silence until he passes away! He is concerned his still could get arrested! Ha! What a great story! My lips are sealed! Someone needs to write the history of the Apalachicolas in that area. Tragic stuff. The mystery of what happened to Coe's slaves after he died......stories of mass murders on the property after emancipation.....fascinating stuff....needs studied.... I could go on and on....probably will bore you all to death...... By the way, Mr. Nobles credited me the other day with being the editor of the Hentz book. I am an enthusiastic endorser of the book, but was not the editor. Just wanted to set the record straight so that Professor Stowe doesn't get irritated at me.....Ed Baptist's book is the other great volume recalling the history of this time period. It is quite a read though....his doctoral dissertation recently published. You need a lot of caffeine to get through that one..... Gotta get to church.....I will get back to my lurking self... Phil -- Phil Stover - President/Sr Partner The Portolan Group, Inc. pstover@portolangroup.com http://www.portolangroup.com 941 927 2797 ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FLJACKSO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

To Gil Roberts and anyone on the Heritage Book Committee who may have contributed to the Cartledge story on p. 141. I am researching this family and looking for any info. I may have asked this before, but I lost most of my email in December and have nothing to reference. Would like to contact anyone working on Cartledge or Joseph Collier. Cynthia

Since Phil mentioned a number of signficant historic sites around the area, I thought these links might be of interest to you. Some of these sites are still under construction, so don't judge me too harshly on spelling, etc.! I'm slowly building pages for all of the key historic sites in the counties bordering the Apalachicola River, but it will take me several months to complete the project. In the meantime, here are some you can check out: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/calhoun1.html (This is a link to the site I am developing for Calhoun County. So far I have the Ocheese sections of the site online). http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/FLFortGadsden1.html (Fort Gadsden State Historic Site and the Negro Fort) http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/apalachicolabluffs1.html (Alum Bluff and the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, Liberty County) http://www.jacksoncountyhistory.com (Jackson County, Florida, including Two Egg and a lot more). http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/kolomoki1.html (Kolomoki Mounds, Early County, Georgia http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/coheelee1.html (Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge, Early County, Georgia http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortscott1.html (Fort Scott on Lake Seminole, Decatur County, Georgia) http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/camprecovery1.html (Camp Recovery, Decatur County, Georgia) http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/forthughes1.html (Fort Hughes, Decatur County, Georgia) http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/FLArsenal1.html (U.S. Arsenal, Chattahoochee, Gadsden County, Florida) The Portolan Group - Phil Stover <pstover@portolangroup.com> wrote: These counties were the location of some incredible Florida history that has been little exposed. There were tremendous goings-on during the Second Seminole Wars in that area that even the Seminole Wars scholars have neglected. Some tidbits: Pascofa, the Creek leader and his band were captured by Ethan Allen Hitchcock at Fort Preston. The site of the fort is now under the river. Pascofa was considered a real savage by the locals and was blamed for every outrage in the area. He surrendered peacefully and gracefully to Hitchcock and later became one of the principal chiefs of the Seminoles in Oklahoma. He fought for the union in the civil war and even met with Lincoln. He was intelligent and a real peacemaker. Very little has been written about him. Aspalaga was a major center of the area. It no longer exists. Someone needs to write the definitive history of the town....site of the first ferry, the national road across the state...home of Squire Goodson, one of the leading slave traders of the era. Rumors persist of slave trading there through the 1850's, even possible importation of slaves from Africa off loading at the steamship docks long after that was illegal. Aspalaga is now a bunch of woods on the river, virtually nothing exists of the once prosperous community with church, hotel, store and an active social life....the whole nine yards. Jackson went through there.....great history.... Fort Preston needs researched. It was a significant place used by Hitchcock and a center of Middle Florida Second Seminole War history...no one knows much of anything about it. Ocheesee Landing.....wonderful history in both Native American and early settlers history. The two largest oaks in the State of Florida were there. One still is. The other burned down. I interviewed the burner downer of the other tree! I had to promise silence until he passes away! He is concerned his still could get arrested! Ha! What a great story! My lips are sealed! Someone needs to write the history of the Apalachicolas in that area. Tragic stuff. The mystery of what happened to Coe's slaves after he died......stories of mass murders on the property after emancipation.....fascinating stuff....needs studied.... I could go on and on....probably will bore you all to death...... By the way, Mr. Nobles credited me the other day with being the editor of the Hentz book. I am an enthusiastic endorser of the book, but was not the editor. Just wanted to set the record straight so that Professor Stowe doesn't get irritated at me.....Ed Baptist's book is the other great volume recalling the history of this time period. It is quite a read though....his doctoral dissertation recently published. You need a lot of caffeine to get through that one..... Gotta get to church.....I will get back to my lurking self... Phil -- Phil Stover - President/Sr Partner The Portolan Group, Inc. pstover@portolangroup.com http://www.portolangroup.com 941 927 2797 ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FLJACKSO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message