Existing comment:
EYES TO THE OKEECHOBEE
31" X 60" Oil Painting
Colonel Zachary Taylor on the eve of the battle of Okeechobee, December 24, 1837.
As the Second Seminole War dragged into a second full year, U.S. Army Commander General Sydney Jesup initiated a state-wide sweep intended to engage and capture the numerous bands of fugitive Seminole warriors.
In December of 1837, one of the armies in this operation was commanded by Col. Zachary Taylor. His three regiments of Infantry, a regiment of Missouri Volunteers and a militia unit known as "Morgan's Spies," moved from the west of Florida to the east, seeking a large band of Seminoles believed to be somewhere near the great lake of Okeechobee. They encountered the warriors on the shores of the lake on Christmas Day and a bitter battle raged.
The Seminoles were well positioned in the thick hammocks and had a clear fire zone as the armies approached their front. Casualties were great for the soldiers, especially the Missouri Volunteers at the forward position as they advanced. Their Commander, Col. Richard Gentry died on the field leading his men. The Seminoles were eventually routed from their positions but many escaped from to fight again. It was the last time that the Indians faced the military in a conventional engagement. They would hereafter fight a running, guerrilla style war.
The painting portrays Col. Zachary Taylor and the massed column of his command on Christmas Eve, looking south toward the distant Lake Okeechobee where the following day they would fight the largest battle of the wars.
Zachary Taylor later commanded troops in the war with Mexico and eventually became the twelfth President of the United States. |