1836 Map of Camp Izard, central Florida, Second Seminole War

This is a scarce 1836 map detailing Camp Izard, in west central Florida, during the second Seminole War. Camp Izard was located on the Withlacoochee River. The map lillustrated the bend in the River, General Gaines's route, and the quadrangle of defensive works known as Fort Izard. Across the river the encampments of the besieging Seminole forces are noted.

The Camp Izard Incident

Camp Izard was a U.S. Army fortification located on a sharp bend in the Withlacoochee River near modern day Stokes Ferry, Florida. It was established on February 27, 1836, during the Second Seminole War by General Edmond P. Gaines. General Gains and his force were attempting to cross the Withlacoochee River when they came under attack by about 1500 Seminole Indians led by chiefs Osceola and Alligator. The numerically superior Seminole forced the Gaines and his Dragoons into a 250 square yard square, which they hastily fortified, naming it Izard, after James F. Izard, the first causality of the engagement. Gaines sent messengers for reinforcement, but two weeks of siege passed without word. Ultimately, the Seminole offered parley, offering the besieged soldiers free passage as long they simply left the Seminole alone. Nonetheless, in the midst of negations, 500 U.S. reinforcements arrived and instantly attacked the Seminoles, who fled. The fort was maintained and used intermittently until the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842.

Second Seminole War

Fought between 1835 and 1842, the Second Seminole War was a conflict between the United States Government and the various American Indian groups known collectively as the Seminole. Fought primarily in peninsular Florida, the Second Seminole War was the most significant of the three Seminole Wars, and the longest Indian War in U.S. history.

The Seminole were a composite tribe formed from various southeastern American Indian tribes that were relocated to a large reservation in Central Florida. These included the Alabamas, Choctaw, Yamasees, Yuchis and Creek people, as well as escaped slaves.

In 1834 the United States government forced the Seminole to sign the Treat of Payne's Landing, which gave the tribe three years to move west of the Mississippi and join the Creek Tribe. The Seminole, rightly claiming unfair negotiations, renounced the treaty and, instead of moving west, entrenched themselves in the Florida swamps. The subsequent war proved long and bloody, with neither side gaining a solid early advantage. Ultimately, the superior resources and numbers of the United States military proved decisive. Most of the Seminole were removed to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) while the remaining Seminole in Florida removed to a large informal reservation located between Lake Okeechobee and Tampa.

This map is obscure, and there is no imprint. There were at least three variants published, all in 1836. The first appear, as here. The Second has a border all around. The third is just the map. The present map was probably issued with Senate documents associated with the Second Seminole War. The map is today quite scarce. We have noted at least two examples that have appeared on the private market. The OCLC identifies only a single example, at the University of California, Los Angeles.