The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-12-15
THE FLORIDA WAR.
ANNUAL REPORT OF rHE sEoRErAaY.


other Annual Reports Of the Departments, from
the nature Of the subjects of which il treats
There are variety Of suggestions in il, many
OF which are no doubt valuable and worthy Of
the attention Of Congress. To these we have
not now time to aude. But the manner in
which both the President and his Secretary treat
of the Florida war demands some notice. The
President seems DESTROYS to throw the whole re-
sponsiblty of not concluding the war, upon
Generals Scott, Gaines, and Call, who, he says,
had sample powers and ample meansn under
Gen. Jackson's administration, and YET he found
the Territory prey to Indian atrocities when
he came into office. He then claims to have
made strenuous effort to end the war, and
reinforced the army until it amounted TO Gen.
Jesup and 10000 men. Not succeeding, Gen.
Taylor followed Gen. Jesup; then ensued Ma
combs truce, and at the present time, the war
is as unsettled as when he found il, and Gen.
Armistead is in the command
And not only is the war unsettled but Mr. Poinsett
dispatches tho subject in four paragraphs, which tend
only to unsettlc even the information the public have
hitherto possessed in relation to it, lie does tell
us of the reverses of the seven Generals. He does
not aude to the diseases, deaths, massacres and de-
ISOLATION of that devoted Territory. He says nothing
of the $4O0Oo,0o0 of the Peoples money expended in
this war by the agents of Mr.. Van Buren, in char
terng steamboats,, enriching unprncpled contractors
&c. Not word of the further enormous sums ne
cessary to protract it, but he recommends that Con-
gress give the Executive authority engage the
vices of militia for a twelvemonth, or during the
4. IA u
knowledging the regular army of the U. S. insult
cient for the purpose
He talks of the militia, raised render the regular
forces available" placed north Of line of posts
cupied by the regular troops" and betrays no know
ledge of reports from Florida, that Gen. Armistcad
about to destroy all the posts except few
sary depots-to sell the wagons-to march his com
pany officers foot and thus revive the old system
of hunting the enemy, which ought to be pursued.
He reports 500 regulars and alludes to some 900
territorial militia under brigades and organization,
shared in the latter by the Legislature Of Florida and
the War Office, exclusive of four companies of
Georgia militia, and that they have succeeded in
making some few prsoners!"
For aught that appears he is profoundly ignorant
that these prisoners" were squaws and papooses as
that the blood hounds ought to be somewhere in the
field" Neither to them to the losses of gallant
officers and men does he make the slightest alluson,
and little to the best musket shot made during the
whole war; which, fired by a single soldier, killed two
men and wounded officer Of troops,
1t is evident that he insinuates that these
81 twelve hundred mounted and FIVE hundred foot
under Brgader General Leigh Read, had been
gagged in making some few prisoners yet he could
not have been ignorant that Of the party had
stormeJ Taah assec and for time, held martial pos
session of the town. under orders of the Governor
Commander in Chief
In fact of the active operations Of this brigade of
1000 men, the public press be far ahead
Of the honorable Secretary's information Early in
November the fact promulgated that the Indians
attacked with the usual accomplishments, Col. Han
sons plantation, within two miles of them, f" whilst
the volunteers were at an election"
Nor were their achievements of this nature else
where less notorious. As stated by the " Tallahassee
STAR they attempted to in nearly every precinct
Of Middle Florida At Chattahooche, above sixty of
them marched up, and their votes being challenged
undertook to take forciblc posse sson Of the ballot
boxes, and threatened to vote much they
pleased" The night the Indians, ten
miles off, attacked settlement fired upon Mr. Man
ming he stood in the door of his house. which
pundercd, and much property carried off. 1t was fur
Their announced that in East Florida the process
was pursued "The cipii Governor is there-the
humbugs are there-the Brigadier has been there,
when the Indians were out of the way-and more than
ALL the people are NOT Mere-having been driven from
their homes. And the humbugs, maintained at
expense for the past year. for the purpose of
protecting the inhabitants have abandoned that duty
in order to secure the ballot boxes"
On the whole, lavish favorsm and a studied sys-
TEN Of abuses have distinguished the party tactics of
Loco focoism in this Territory. And, as a conse-
quencc armed bands Of men, hired for the defence of
the frontier against Indians have been marched into
peaceful city 10 turn their rifles against its citizens
The ballotbox has been surrounded by these indvdu
ais intent upon carrying an election than hunt
ing the enemy.
Let examine Mr.. Poinsett's third paragraph on
this war,-(bv the by the President will not consent
to call it war, but prosecution Of measures for The
renopai Of The Seminole Indiansr) The Secretary
alludes the circumstance (deemed Fortunately Of the
presence at the late attempt at treaty, of delega
ton from the Western Semnoles," as if il were an
accidental circumstance" Again, the public
TO know infinitely more than Mr., Ponsett. The Adj
ministration papers in Florida stated that il the
solemn intention of Mr.. Van Buren, to leave the Pre-
sdcncy with this closed For this purpose, the
white flag had for months been flying Florida
truce had been established, and the Commanding
General had written that he took that occasion to re-
fresh his troops, while in fact, waiting for this very
delegation which under charge of Capt. Page, U. s.
Army had to be brought from Arkansas to Tampa
bay, where they arrived the I'd November, after
having been one month and two days their way
For what purpose but announced in the Dewspa-