Early on the morning of the twenty-fourth, the troops were again put in motion: the enemy keeping sufficiently in advance to be beyond the reach of musket or rifle balls. General Taylor and his followers were in close pursuit; and as the allies left a swamp, or hommock, or prairie, Taylor and his men entered it, hoping to bring on a general action.
At about ten o’clock, the enemy were traced to a swamp of some three-fourths of a mile in width, thickly covered with saw-grass, not less than four feet in height. Through it flowed a turbid stream, whose current was scarcely perceptible, while it seemed to stretch away to the left in an endless savanna, and to the right it appeared to deepen into an impassable morass. After the proper reconnoissance, it was found that it could not be passed by horses; and on the farther side a thick hommock reached down to the very edge of the swamp.
It was now plain that the enemy intended to make a stand at this point, and give battle. Perhaps the whole territory did not furnish a more advantageous position than that now occupied by the allied forces. General Taylor saw at a glance the difficulties which lay before him. He well understood the superiority of the enemy’s position, but determined to maintain the honor of the service. He did not hesitate in entering upon the conflict. His arrangements were soon made. The volunteers were directed to dismount, and act on foot. Knowing well that the battle was to be fought here if anywhere, he directed his troops to divest themselves of all baggage, which together with the horses, was left under the charge of a small guard. His troops entered the swamp in two lines. The first was composed of the volunteers, spies, and friendly Indians, under the command of Colonel Gentry. They were ordered to engage the enemy, and maintain their ground until reinforced; or, if compelled to fall back, they were directed to form immediately in rear of the second line, and await orders.
They entered the swamp in this manner at about twelve o’clock. The sun was shining pleasantly, and a quiet stillness appeared to pervade the scene around them. They passed the stream in safety, and the front line was approaching the thick hommock in front. There, too, all was silent; not an enemy to be seen; no voice was heard, nor could they discover any evidence of animal life within the dense forest before them.
There, however, lay Wild Cat and his band, and the prophet and other mighty chiefs of the nation with their followers. Wild Cat had been stimulated to desperation by what he regarded the perfidy of General Jessup, and his imprisonment at San Augustine, from which he had just escaped. Most of the Exiles, who remained among the Seminoles, and were capable of bearing arms, were collected here under their respective leaders. They had retreated to this point for the purpose of separating our troops from their horses, and then engaging them at such superior advantage as would be most likely to insure victory. Their spies had climbed into the very tops of the trees, whence they had witnessed every movement of our troops in the swamp, and given constant information to their comrades who were on the ground, and who, acting under the information thus received, were enabled to place themselves directly in front of those who were pursuing them. Every warrior was protected by a tree, and the thick foliage of the hommock shielded every movement from the scrutiny of our spies and officers.
Soon as the first line, commanded by Colonel Gentry, came within point-blank shot of the hommock, the allies opened a heavy fire upon them. The saw-grass was so high as partially to protect the bodies of our men from view; but the fire was very fatal. Colonel Gentry, the gallant commander of the volunteers, fell at the first fire; his son, an interesting youth, acting as sergeant-major, was wounded almost at the same moment. Captain Childs, and Lieutenants Rogers and Flanagan, of the same regiment, and Acting Major Sconce, and Lieutenants Hare and Gordon of the spies, and twenty-four men, fell wounded at the very commencement of the action.
It was hardly to be expected that militia would stand such a fire. They broke, fell back, and instead of halting in the rear of the regulars as directed, they continued their flight across the swamp, to the place where they left their horses; nor were the officers of General Taylor’s staff able to induce them again to join their comrades, who soon became engaged in a most deadly conflict.
But the regulars moved steadily to the charge, under Colonel Thompson, a most gallant and estimable officer. General Taylor says: “The weight of the enemy’s fire seemed to be concentrated upon five companies of the 6th Infantry, which not only stood firm, but continued to advance until their gallant commander, Lieut. Colonel Thompson, and his adjutant, Lieutenant Center, were killed; and every officer, with one exception, as well as most of the non-commissioned officers, including the sergeant-major, and four of the five orderly sergeants, were killed or wounded. When that portion of the regiment retired a short distance and re-formed, it was found that one of these companies had but four men untouched.”
Amid these difficulties, Lieut. Colonel Foster of the 4th Infantry, with six companies, numbering about one hundred and fifty men, gained the hommock in good order, and, after maintaining his ground a short time, charged upon the allies and drove them from the field, with the loss of nine Indians and one of the Exiles killed, and eleven wounded.
The battle commenced at half-past twelve M., and continued nearly three hours, and proved the most desperate, and to our troops the most fatal conflict which occurred during the war. It was past three o’clock in the afternoon when the allies gave up the field, for which they had contended against a force more than double their own numbers.