Lot 104

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Lot 104
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Zachary Taylor "in striking distance of the enemy...the Indians did not wish to shed any more blood... they had... opportunities of killing the whites. Superb Fla. History!
Zachary Taylor "in striking distance of the enemy...the Indians did not wish to shed any more blood... they had... opportunities of killing the whites. Superb Fla. History!
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Description:

Zachary Taylor "in striking distance of the enemy...the Indians did not wish to shed any more blood... they had... opportunities of killing the whites. Superb Fla. History!

In this letter, Colonel Zachary Taylor writes to fellow Colonel Persifor F. Smith to coordinate their efforts as part of Major General Thomas Jesup's plan to drive the Seminoles into the interior of southern Florida. Taylor ordered Major William Hoffman of the 2nd U.S. Infantry to join Smith as soon as possible.

ZACHARY TAYLOR, Manuscript Letter Signed, to Persifor F. Smith, November 22, 1837, Tampa, Florida. 3 pp., 8" x 9.75". Expected folds; brittle; professionally repaired splits along folds; very good.

Complete Transcript
Head Quarters, Army South of the Withlacoochee
Tampa, Novr 22d 1837.
Colonel,
Having been instructed by Major General Jesup to re-inforce you with a portion of the regular force at this place, I have ordered Major Hoffman of the 2nd Infy with four Companies nearly full, to join you with the least possible delay, he will leave to morrow if transportation can be furnished, and I hope will be with you in two or three days after getting under way; This command is one of the best in service, and will enable you with the force already under your orders to act efficiently, should you be in striking distance of the enemy, which I know you will not fail to do.
Accompanying this, you will receive a letter from the Major General, forwarded through me, containing instructions in relation to your operations, from which you may find it necessary to deviate in some particulars, as you must in some measure be governed in your movements, by your own knowledge of the country and such information as you may be able to collect from other sources, as well as from the information you may be able to obtain from time to time, as to the number, position &c of the hostile Indians. I have been also directed by General Jesup to employ Capt. Buner & his men, which I shall direct the Quarter Master here to do, as soon as he can meet with him, with instructions to report to you, to be employed in such way as you may deem most advantageous to the public service towards terminating the war in which we are engaged. Major Brant has instructions likewise to employ Buner's vessel, should the public service require it, in which case I will keep constantly on board of her to ensure her usefulness, a Subaltern officer with a few men selected from the marines or Army.
Major Hoffman will take with him, or they will follow immediately, forty thousand rations of provisions, four hundred bushels of Corn, with a due proportion of hay, in order to meet any contingency which may occur, for it is possible that should we find the enemy on the Kissimmee or on Lake Istokposa, or in their vicinities & we drive him from the same, he may fall down in the direction of Charlottes Harbour, in which case we may pursue him, & in that event must depend on your depots for supplies.
In a communication from the Commanding General dated at Picolata, the 12th inst, he says “The whole force on this side of the Peninsula will move forward in two or three days. Lt Col Harney has acended the St Johns with a Steam boat forty or fifty miles above Fort Mellon –all our advanced Depots are already established &ca. I shall leave here for Peases Creek on the 27th, Monday next at which place by that time, there will be a considerable depot of Provisions & forage established, where I expect to remain only a day at most, perhaps only a few hours, after which to push on in pursuit of the hostile Indians in any direction I may ascertain they are located & hope by which time you will have your depots established & will be able on the arrival of Major Hoffman to take the field against them. I learn from a runner, I sent with a talk to Micanopy, who returned after an absence of ten or twelve days without seeing him, that he found Alligator with his band encamped a few miles beyond the Kissimmee, that he had a talk with him, Alligator informed, that the Indians did not wish to shed any more blood, that they had frequent opportunities of killing the whites during the past summer, but, had, on all occasions refrained from doing so. wishing you health & success
I remain with respect / & esteem
Yr Friend & Obedt St
Z. Taylor Col. Comdg
Coll P. F. Smith
Commdg at Charlotts Harbour / E. F.

P.S. I had hoped Capt. Buner who accompanied you would have returned ere this & would have brought me a communication from you.

Historical Background
Adjutant General Persifor F. Smith commanded a group of Louisiana volunteers for an expedition to Florida early in 1836 in the Second Seminole War. Smith again left New Orleans with approximately 250 Louisiana volunteers by November 2, 1837, bound for Tampa. There, he was to meet five companies of Philadelphia troops and portions of the 2nd U.S. Infantry, giving him a force of about 800 men.

Major General Thomas Jesup planned for Colonel Smith to commence operations at Charlotte Harbor, 85 miles south of Tampa, and proceed up the Caloosahatchee River. Colonel Zachary Taylor would lead a force from Tampa Bay directly east. Other columns would pressure the Seminoles from different directions, forcing them into the Everglades and away from outside assistance and their food supply, thereby ending the war by the Spring of 1838.

On December 2, 1837, Taylor ordered the construction of Fort Gardiner on the banks of the Kissimmee River, just south of Lake Tohopekaliga. On December 19, he marched south from Fort Gardiner with just over 1,000 soldiers to join General Jesup's force that had been moving up the St Johns River and continued moving south. On December 21, he ordered the construction of Fort Basinger, where he left a company of soldiers and more than 80 sick soldiers. He continued marching south and on December 25, he met a party of Seminoles led by Abiaca, Alligator, and Holata Micco (Billy Bowlegs). He ordered a direct attack by the Missouri militia, but they were driven back by the Seminoles, who counterattacked. The Seminoles inflicted heavy casualties on Taylor's forces, with 26 soldiers, including most of the officers, killed and 112 wounded, while the Seminoles lost 11 killed and 14 wounded. Although the Seminoles left the field, Taylor could not pursue them and returned to Fort Basinger and then to Fort Gardiner. Though both sides claimed victory, Taylor sent a report to Washington, detailing his operations and praising his fallen men. The Battle of Lake Okeechobee led to Taylor's promotion to brigadier general and set him on the path that led to his election as president in 1848.

In the course of his operations in southern Florida, Persifor F. Smith's troops captured or accepted the surrender of more than two hundred Seminoles, who were transported to Tampa and then New Orleans to await final transfer to the Indian Territory. Smith returned to New Orleans by May 1, 1838.

Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) was born in Virginia and in 1810 married Margaret Smith, with whom he had six children. In 1808, Taylor joined the army with a commission as a first lieutenant. During the War of 1812, he successfully defended a fort in Indiana Territory from an attack by Native Americans. By 1819, he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel, and he served in the Black Hawk War in Illinois and the Second Seminole War in Florida. His Christmas Day victory at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee in 1837 gained him a promotion to brigadier general. After posts in Florida and Arkansas, Taylor was posted to Louisiana in anticipation of the annexation of Texas. Although Winfield Scott and Edmund P. Gaines were more senior generals, they were closely identified with the Whig Party, and Democratic President James K. Polk selected the apolitical Taylor for the task. Taylor moved his forces to near Corpus Christi, Texas, before advancing to the Rio Grande in March 1846. During the Mexican War, Taylor led his army to victories at the Battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterrey. After many of his troops were transferred to the command of General Winfield Scott, he successfully resisted an attack by the Mexicans at the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847. As a career army officer, Taylor had not been involved in politics, but the Whigs nominated him as their presidential candidate in 1848. He defeated Democrat Lewis Cass and Free-Soil candidate Martin Van Buren to win the presidency and took office in March 1849. His brief presidency was marked by preparations for the admission of California as a state, the organization of Utah as a territory, and the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 with Great Britain to construct a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Nicaragua. Taylor died suddenly in Washington on July 9, 1850, and Vice President Millard Fillmore became president.

Persifor S. Smith (1798-1858) was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) in 1815. He studied law and moved to New Orleans in 1819, where he practiced law and rose rapidly in local politics and the militia. In 1835, he was appointed as adjutant general of the Louisiana militia. After two expeditions in southern Florida during the Second Seminole War in 1836 and 1837-1838, Smith returned to New Orleans, where he served as a judge on the city court of Lafayette and the court of Jefferson Parish. During the Mexican War, he served under both Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott and obtained a brevet promotion to brigadier general. He served as the military governor of Vera Cruz in 1848, gained promotion to brevet major general in 1849, and took command of the Division of the Pacific. He later commanded the Department of St. Louis and the Department of Utah, where he commanded a force preparing to quell the Mormon disturbances. He received the full rank of brigadier general in 1856 and died at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, preparing to lead an army into Mormon territory.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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