There were resident at different points upon the Withlacoochee many families of Exiles. Their commander was named “Ino” of whom General Jessup speaks in respectful terms. He is said to have been their principal counselor, and one of the most important chiefs among the Exiles. He, and such of his men as could be collected, hastily joined the allied forces already in the field, and shared in the dangers of that and of several following days. Both parties bivouacked upon the field, on the different sides of the river, and at daylight the next morning every man had his arms in readiness for renewing the conflict.
At sunrise, General Gaines moved down the river three miles, where he expected to find a suitable ford; but on reaching it, the Indians and Exiles opened a brisk fire upon his men. Lieutenant Izard of the dragoons, endeavoring to rally his men to ascertain the possibility of fording the stream, fell by a shot from the opposite bank.
Finding it impossible to ford the river, attempts were made to construct rafts; but the fire upon the men employed was so galling that they were ordered back out of the range of the enemies’ shot. During these movements, the Exiles, understanding the English language, kept up a conversation with the whites on the opposite side of the river, and tauntingly defied them. General Gaines was too well acquainted with the Indian mode of warfare to attempt a retreat, under the circumstances with which he was surrounded. He at once dispatched an express to General Clinch, who was at Fort Drane, directing that officer to repair as soon as possible to his relief with such troops as he could at the moment bring with him. General Gaines soon after retired with his forces into a pine barren, half a mile from the river, threw up a breastwork of logs for the protection of his men, and awaited reinforcements.
The allied forces were estimated by General Gaines at fifteen hundred, though subsequent reports show they did not exceed five hundred Indians and two hundred negroes. He was immediately invested in his fortified camp, but he coolly awaited the arrival of General Clinch. As the enemy crossed the river in large forces, and became more bold in their advances toward the breastwork, their fire became more annoying. In a few days his provisions were nearly exhausted, and his men appeared to feel unsafe, and expressed solicitude for the arrival of General Clinch.
On the first of February, the allied forces made a vigorous attack upon the fortified camp, but they were repulsed after an hour of steady firing. On this day, General Gaines directed all the corn in the camp to be collected and dealt out to the men in equal quantities. It gave to each one pint. On the third, they commenced killing horses, and appropriating the flesh to sustain the lives of the men. The fire of the allied forces was kept up on the fourth and fifth, while the troops had nothing but horse flesh for food, and no tidings had yet arrived from General Clinch. At this time great enthusiasm prevailed among the allies. Their women were at the camp, a mile distant, casting balls, cooking food for the men, and doing what they could to cheer them on to victory, which they began to regard as almost certain. In the meantime, the situation of General Gaines and his army was constantly becoming more critical. His troops were depressed with a sense of their situation; while the allies were becoming hourly more enthusiastic. They had destroyed Dade’s regiment; had maintained a severe battle with General Clinch in the open forest. They knew their power, and that any attempt to retreat from them would be fatal; while it would be impossible for our troops to remain much longer in camp, as their stock of horses must soon fail.
Twenty-one years had passed since General Gaines transmitted a letter to the War Department, giving the first official notice that the Exiles were collecting at “Blount’s Fort.” He then despised the friendless people who were seeking liberty. He had himself detailed Colonel Clinch and the regiment under his command, attended by Creek Indians, with General Jackson’s orders “to destroy the fort, and return the slaves to their rightful owners.” He then called the Exiles “outlaws,” supposed them incapable of taking care of themselves, even if in full possession of their liberty. But he and his gallant army were now surrounded by them and their friends, who were killing his men whenever they exposed themselves to view. On the fifth of March, he had lost four men killed and thirty wounded.
A circumstance occurred on the night of the fifth of February, which has never been fully explained. About ten o’clock in the evening, John Cæsar, one of the Exiles residing at Micanopy, an old man and somewhat of a privileged character among both Indians and Exiles, advanced in the darkness near the camp of General Gaines, and hailed the nearest sentinel on duty. Speaking in good English, the sentinel supposed him a messenger from General Clinch; but, on learning his true character, he was inquired of as to his object. He declared that the allies were tired of fighting, and wished to come in and shake hands with General Gaines and his men. He was told to come in the morning with a white flag.
Cæsar returned to the allied camp and reported his conversation. He had spoken to our troops as if authorized, while all the chiefs and head-men denied his authority, and many were for inflicting upon him the penalty of immediate death for this unauthorized act. Osceola, now raised to the dignity of a chief, interposed to save him. He had headed the party who put to death Charley E. Mathler, a brother chief, for consenting to go West, and with his own hands had scattered the gold found on his person, declaring it to be “the price of the red man’s blood:” While now a black man, one of their “allies,” had committed a far greater impropriety, he interposed to save him. All agreed that their honor had been pledged, although Cæsar had no authority for his conduct.[85]
The next day some of their warriors left in disgust, after it had been determined to send in a flag of truce, according to Cæsar’s agreement. But those who remained to carry out the arrangement, formed at twelve o’clock into line, some forty rods in the rear of General Gaines’s camp. Three of their number, gaily dressed, advanced with a white flag. Adjutant Barrow of the Louisiana Volunteers, met them. Osceola told him that he desired a talk with General Gaines.
While these arrangements were going forward, General Clinch arrived in sight of the Indians, on his way to relieve General Gaines. Seeing the enemy thus drawn up, facing the camp, he at once deployed his column, and opened a fire upon them. The allies supposing themselves to have been betrayed fled precipitately, and the forces under General Clinch united with those under General Gaines.