Captive (55 page)
Authors: Heather Graham
“I have friends here. Jarrett’s mother’s family are wonderful people—”
“You would never be happy here.”
“Our babe is due in perhaps eight weeks—”
“I love Charleston, and will always love Charleston, and yes, it is a beautiful city, and we own a beautiful home here. I will want to visit, and we’ll have to come and keep up the plantation. One of our children will want it one day, or if we no longer want to keep it, we’ll want to make a profit on it. But I want to go home.”
“
You
are home.”
She shook her head. She smiled softly. “Not anymore, I’m not. Have you ever made love in the water? On an evening just at the time that sunset is coming? When the sun itself is like a golden orb, almost within reach yet sinking on the horizon in a mist of crimson and mauve, orange and yellow? Have you felt the breeze beneath the palms at that time … heard the sway of them, watched a pure white egret fly across the sun’s reflection in the water… ? James, home is where you
are, where we found each other, where our dreams lie, where we’ll create our own life.”
“But, Teela,” he said, lifting his hands, “I’ve told you, the war will not end.”
“And what will that matter, since, at the least, the battle is over between us?”
He laughed softly, turning against the breeze to cradle her against him. “Now, in truth, I’m not so sure that war will actually end, either, seeing that you are incredibly hardheaded and stubborn and—”
“Ah, but my love! How else does one deal with a savage?” she interrupted, pressing against his chest to stare into his eyes with her demand.
He began to laugh again.
And he knew that though his life might continue to be rich with conflict, it would be rich.
And it would be sweet.
Because with Teela, it was love that would always remain undefeated.
Southeastern Florida,
1842
J
ohn Harrington rode along the beach, picking his way around small tree stumps, trying to keep his mount walking along the hard-packed sand.
He had come to the right place. Through an endless trail of pines he could see the house in the distance, a one-story structure built strong from what they were now calling Dade County pine—since this was now a county, and it had been named after Major Francis Dade and the pine was exceptionally fine and durable. It was a wonderful home, not as lavish as Cimarron, but as comfortable in a different way. The kitchen was inside, and the first room opening off from it was a huge dining area. The family ate there, and welcomed travelers to this remote area while the children could play and be seen at all times.
“John!”
Jennifer, now a very mature and willowy girl nearly eleven years old, called to him. She was sitting on a pine stump with a book, watching over her little brothers Jerome, now nearly five, Brent, three and a half, and sister, baby Sydney, almost two, laughing away as she threaded sand through her fingers.
“Ah, ’tis the lot of you McKenzies!” John said, happily dismounting from his horse. He hugged Jennifer, offered her an elegant ivory-handled comb that caused her to squeal with delight, then gave the boys little drum sets and little Sydney a doll.
“John,” Jennifer said, the lady of the house now, “the presents are lovely, but you know, we are desperate for news these days …”
“Well, the news is this. The war is over. Worth—the general in charge now—says that it is over.”
Jennifer gasped, delighted. Then she sobered. “Have—have my people
surrendered!
”
The war years had been brutal. Osceola had died on January 31, 1838, then lived on to become legend, and though Congress had fought and politicians had screamed about costs and the Americans at large had been outraged at times, the battles had gone on and on. Zachary Taylor had taken the reins from a weary and disgusted Jesup. Walker Keith Armistead had followed Zachary Taylor, and then William Jenkins Worth had come in.
Many Indians had been forced west. Even fierce, flamboyant Wildcat had come in at last and talked others into taking the trail west. But others had stayed.
Others would never leave.
Something called the Armed Occupation Act, by which Congress had allotted huge quantities of Florida land to those who would settle on it, had kept the population of the peninsula soaring, despite the small but fierce battles that had continued on long after the big battle at Okeechobee.
And now …
Well, there hadn’t been a major battle, no fanfare at the end. The last of the Indians had not surrendered. It had just been declared over.
John smiled at Jennifer. “No, sweetheart, your people have not surrendered. Your grandma’s band is still south, and Mary herself says she’ll be here in time for your next birthday. It’s just … come to an end. Your dad will understand, I think. Know where he and Teela are?”
“They took a walk to the lagoon. My father was gone for a while, to see my grandmother’s people. Then he stopped by the settlement near Fort Dallas for some
supplies. He hasn’t been home very long, and Teela asked if I’d watch the children for them.” She said it with grave maturity. John lowered his head to hide his smile.
“The lagoon?”
“Yes. You’ll stay for dinner? I’ll tell Cook.”
“Yes, I’ll stay for dinner.”
He walked around the house toward the sunken lagoon that lay to the rear of the property. James hadn’t built on the bay but on an inland waterway, with wonderful little shallow inlets on the western side of it.
He rounded the corner, then heard her laughter.
He stood very still.
Teela stood upon a tree stump above the aqua water of the lagoon, naked, red hair flaming in a wet fall so long it nearly made her lack of apparel somehow decent. He felt his heart lunge a bit, yet not so badly now, for, with the war over, he was going to marry a girl he’d met in Tampa recently and, he hoped, buy a piece of land from James and bring her here.
This area was the future! Just because no one else saw it yet didn’t mean that it wasn’t so!
Again the laughter, jolting him back to the present.
“Jump!” he heard James call. Pitch black hair, ebony against his copper features, James stood in the shallow water, commanding her to come down to him. As naked as his wife, he remained as tautly, strongly built as ever. The two of them seemed to refuse to age.
“Jump! What if you don’t catch me?”
“And when have I not?”
She smiled.
“Come on, jump!” he encouraged.
She did so, landing perfectly in his waiting arms.
“I believe!” she whispered to him.
He kissed her.
John Harrington smiled and quickly, quietly turned away, hurrying back toward the house.
Dinner would be plenty of time to talk.
| 1492 | Christopher Columbus discovers the New World. |
| 1513 | Florida discovered by Ponce de Leon. Juan Ponce de Leon sights Florida from his ship on March 27, steps on shore near present-day St. Augustine in early April. |
| 1539 | Hernando de Soto lands on west coast of the peninsula, near present-day Tampa. |
| 1564 | The French arrive and establish Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River. |
| Immediately following the establishment of the French fort, Spain dispatches Pedro de Menendez to get rid of the French invaders, “pirates and perturbers of the public peace.” Menendez dutifully captures the French stronghold and slays or enslaves the inhabitants. | |
| 1565 | Pedro de Menendez founds St. Augustine, the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States. |
| 1586 | Sir Francis Drake attacks St. Augustine, burning and plundering the settlement. |
| 1698 | Pensacola is founded. |
| 1740 | British General James Oglethorpe invades Florida from Georgia. |
| 1763 | At the end of the Seven Years’ War, or the French and Indian War, both the East and West Florida territories are ceded to Britain. |
| 1763-1783 | British rule in East and West Florida. |
| 1774 | The “shot heard ’round the world” is fired in Concord. |
| 1776 | The War of Independence begins; many British Loyalists flee to Florida. |
| 1783 | By the Treaty of Paris, Florida is returned to the Spanish. |
| 1812-1815 | The War of 1812. |
| 1813-1814 | The Creek Wars. “Red-Stick” land is decimated. Numerous Indians seek new lands south with the “Seminoles.” |
| 1814 | General Andrew Jackson captures Pensacola. |
| 1815 | The Battle of New Orleans. |
| 1817-1818 | The First Seminole War. Americans accuse the Spanish of aiding the Indians in then-raids across the border. Hungry for more territory, settlers seek to force Spain into ceding the Floridas to the United States by their claims against the Spanish government for its inability to properly handle the situation within the territories. |
| 1819 | Don Luis de Onis, Spanish minister to the United States, and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams sign a treaty by which the Floridas will become part of the United States. |
| 1821 | The Onis-Adams Treaty is ratified. An act of Congress makes the two Floridas one territory. Jackson becomes the military governor, but relinquishes the post after a few months. |
| 1822 | The first legislative council meets at Pensacola. Members from St. Augustine travel fifty-nine days by water to attend. |
| 1823 | The second legislative council meets at St. Augustine: the western delegates are shipwrecked and barely escape death. |
| The Treaty of Moultrie Creek is ratified by major Seminole chiefs and the federal government. The ink is barely dry before Indians are complaining that the lands are too small and white settlers are petitioning the government for a policy of Indian removal. | |
| 1824 | The third session meets at Tallahassee, a halfway point selected as a main order of business and approved at the second session. Tallahassee becomes the first territorial capital. |
| 1832 | Payne’s Landing. Numerous chiefs sign a treaty agreeing to move west to Arkansas as long as seven of their number are able to see and approve the lands. The treaty is ratified at Fort Gibson, Arkansas. Numerous chiefs also protest the agreement. |
| 1835 | Summer. Wiley Thompson claims that Osce-ola has repeatedly reviled him in his own office with foul language and orders his arrest. Osceola is handcuffed and incarcerated. |
| November. Charlie Emathla, after agreeing to removal to the west, is murdered. Most scholars agree Osceola led the party which carried out the execution. Some consider the murder personal vengeance, others believe it was proscribed by numerous chiefs, since an Indian who would leave his people to aid the whites should forfeit his own life. December 28. Major Francis Dade and his troops are massacred as they travel from Fort Brooke to Fort King. Wiley Thompson and a companion are killed outside the walls of Fort King. The sutler Erastus Rogers and his two clerks are also murdered by members of the same raiding party, led by Osceola. | |
| December 21. The First Battle of the With-lacoochee—Osceola leads the Seminoles. | |
| 1836 | January. Major General Winfield Scott is ordered by the Secretary of War to take command in Florida. |
| February 4. Dade County established in south Florida in memory of Francis Lang-horne Dade. | |
| March 16. The Senate confirms Richard Keith Call governor of the Florida Territory. | |
| June 21. Call, a civilian governor, is given command of the Florida forces after the failure of Scott’s strategies and the military disputes between Scott and General Gaines. Call attempts a “summer campaign,” and is as frustrated in his efforts as his predecessor. | |
| 1837 | June 2. Osceola and Sam Jones release or “abduct” nearly 700 Indians awaiting deportation to the west from Tampa. |
| October 27. Osceola is taken under a white flag of truce; Major Sidney Jesup is denounced by whites and Indians alike for the action. | |
| November 29. Coacoochee, Cowaya, sixteen warriors, and two women escape Ft. Marion. | |
| Christmas Day. Jesup has the largest fighting force assembled in Florida during the conflict, nearly 9,000 men. Under his command, Colonel Zachary Taylor leads the Battle of Okeechobee. The Seminoles choose to stand their ground and fight, inflicting greater losses to whites despite the fact they are severely outnumbered. | |
| 1838 | January 31. Osceola dies at Ft. Marion, South Carolina. (A strange side note to a sad tale: Dr. Wheedon, presiding white physician for Osceola, cut off and preserved Osceola’s head. Wheedon’s heirs reported that the good doctor would hang the head on the bedstead of one of his three children should they misbehave. The head passed on to his son-in-law, Dr. Daniel Whitehurst, who gave it to Dr. Valentine Mott. Dr. Mott had a medical and pathological museum, and it is believed that the head was lost when the museum burned in 1866.) |
| May. Zachary Taylor takes command when Jesup’s plea to be relieved is answered at last on April 29. The Florida legislature debates statehood. | |
| 1839 | December. Because of his arguments with federal authorities regarding the Seminole War, Richard Keith Call is removed as governor. Robert Raymond Reid is appointed in his stead. |
| 1840 | April 24. Zachary Taylor is given permission to leave command of what is considered to be the harshest military position in the country. Walker Keith Annistead takes command. |
| December 1840-January 1841. John T. MacLaughlin leads a flotilla of men in dugouts across the Everglades from east to west; his party becomes the first white men to do so. | |
| September. William Henry Harrison is elected president of the United States; the Florida War is considered to have cost Martin Van Buren reelection. | |
| John Bell replaces Joel Poinsett as secretary of war. Robert Reid is ousted as territorial governor, and Richard Keith Call is reinstated. | |
| 1841 | April 4. President William Henry Harrison dies in office: John Tyler becomes president of the U.S. |
| May 1. Coacoochee determines to turn himself in. He is escorted by a man who will later become extremely well known—Lieutenant William Tecumseh Sherman. (Sherman writes to his future wife that the Florida war is a good one for a soldier; he will get to know the Indian who may become the “chief enemy” in time.) | |
| May 31. Walker Keith Armistead is relieved. Colonel William Jenkins Worth takes command. | |
| 1842 | May 10. Winfield Scott is informed that the administration has decided there must be an end to hostilities as soon as possible. |
| August 14. Aware that he cannot end hostilities and send all Indians west, Colonel Worth makes offers to the remaining Indians to leave or accept boundaries. The war, he declares, is over. | |
| It has cost a fledgling nation thirty to forty million dollars, and the lives of seventy-four commissioned officers. The Seminoles have been reduced from tens of thousands to hundreds scattered about in pockets. The Seminoles (inclusive here, as they were seen during the war, as all Florida Indians) have, however, kept their place in the peninsula; those remaining are the undefeated. The army, too, has learned new tactics, mostly regarding partisan and guerilla warfare. Men who will soon take part in the greatest conflict to tear apart the nation have practiced the art of battle here: William T. Sherman, Braxton Bragg, George Gordon Meade, Joseph E. Johnston, and more, as well as soon-to-be president Zachary Taylor. | |
| 1845 | March 3. President John Tyler signs the bill that makes Florida the 27th state of the United States of America. |
