Dade Battlefield Historic State Park
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Dade Battlefield Historic Memorial
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Park entrance
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| Location | Sumter County, Florida, USA |
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| Nearest city | Bushnell, Florida |
| Coordinates | 28°39′08″N 82°07′36″W / 28.65222°N 82.12667°WCoordinates: 28°39′08″N 82°07′36″W / 28.65222°N 82.12667°W |
| Area | 80 acres (32 ha) |
| NRHP Reference # | 72000353 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 14, 1972 |
| Designated NHL | November 7, 1973 |
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park is a state park located on County Road 603 between Interstate 75 (Exit 314) and U.S. Route 301 in Sumter County, Florida. The 80-acre (32 ha) park includes 40 acres (160,000 m2) of pine flatwoods and a live oak hammock. Also called the Dade Massacre site, It preserves the Second Seminole War battlefield where Seminole Indian warriors fought soldiers under the command of Major Francis L. Dade on December 28, 1835. Each year, on the weekend after Christmas (as close to the original date as possible), the Dade Battlefield Society sponsors a reenactment of the battle that started the Second Seminole War.
Under the title of Dade Battlefield Historic Memorial, it is also a U.S. National Historic Landmark (designated as such on April 14, 1972).
The United States government negotiated the Treaty of Moultrie Creek in 1824, placing the Seminoles on a reservation that included the site of the future battle. A combination of white settlers moving onto public land in violation of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, slave hunters trespassing onto the reservation to capture black Seminoles without proof of ownership, and the government's decision to move the Seminoles over the protests of Seminole chiefs infuriated the Seminoles. At around 8:00 AM on the morning of December 28, 1835, the Seminoles, led by Chief Micanopy, ambushed Major Francis L. Dade and 107 men along a segment of the Fort King Road as Dade and his men traveled to Fort King (present-day Ocala, Florida) to reinforce the troops stationed at Fort King. Dade, another commanding officer, and the entire left flank, consisting of one-half of the troops, were killed in the first volley. Over the next six hours, Dade's remaining troops and the Seminoles exchanged gunfire; the gunfire ceased as all but three of Dade's men were killed. Privates Joseph Sprague and Ransom Clarke returned to Fort Brooke (present-day Tampa, Florida); Sprague later served until the end of the Second Seminole War, and Clarke died from his injuries five years later. The Dade Massacre and the Battle of the Wahoo Swamp three days later began the Second Seminole War.
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