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The Battle of Jupiter Inlet

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The Battle of Jupiter Inlet occurred on January 15, 1838 between the Seminole Indians / Seminole Negro and the United States Navy. This was the first of a series of battles lead by the US Navy in the area including the Battle of Loxahatchee. The battle started when Ltn Levin Powell lead an expedition of 200 soldiers, sailors and marines, down the east coast of Florida where they discovered a trail along the side of the Jupiter Inlet. Seventy-five men were landed to find the Seminole camp nearby, lead by Sam Jones, Ar-pi-uck-i. The American's that advanced on the camp were outnumbered and ambushed. After a long fight, the US retreated with five men killed in action and about twenty others wounded, Ltn. Levin Powell was one of those killed in battle. [1]


Battle of Jupiter Inlet
Part of the Second Seminole War
 
A clipper ship card of a Seminole warrior.
DateJanuary 15, 1838
Location
Result Seminole victory, United States forces retreated.
Belligerents
  United States Seminole
Commanders and leaders
  Levin M. Powell Ar-pi-uck-i
Casualties and losses
5 killed
22 wounded
unknown


Background

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After the American Revolution, Spain regained control of Florida from Britain as part of the Treaty of Paris. Seminoles set up farms and acquired land grants from the Spanish. At the same time escaped slaves were entering Florida – because the state was in Spanish control the U.S. slave masters lost authority over the slaves making Florida and the Seminoles a safe haven for black slaves. This pushed the U.S. to engage the First Seminole War (1817 - 1818) on the Florida-Georgia line pushing the Seminoles further south.

In May 1832, the Treaty of Payne's Landing required Indians to forfeit their land and move west in a 3 year window. In 1835 the U.S. Army return to Florida to enforce the treat and found the Indian's ready for war. [2]

Battle

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Results

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The Battle of the Jupiter inlet invited the U.S. to explore the area surrounding the inlet. The crew returned nine days later under the command of Thomas S. Jesup, with the help of The Tennessee Volunteers, lead by Major William Lauderdale. Three hundred Seminoles met the soldiers on the banks of the Loxahatchee River, just west of the Jupiter Inlet, in the last standing battle of the Second Seminole War, the Battle of the Loxahatchee River. After the battle, General Jesup petitioned to allow the Seminoles to remain in the Everglades and end the war. This request was denied and on January 25, 1838 General Thomas S. Jesup was forced to establish Fort Jupiter, where 600 Seminoles were captured and held under a white flag truce.

Notable People

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Joseph E. Johnston went ashore during the Battle of Jupiter and claims that there were "no less than 30 bullet holes" in his clothing, with one bullet cutting is scalp, leaving him with a scar [3]. Because Ltn. Levin Powell was killed in action, on July 7, 1838 Johnston was given a brevet promotion to captain for his actions at the Battle of the Jupiter Inlet. [4]

Thomas Jesup was an American military officer known as the "Father of the Modern Quartermaster Corps." In 1836, while Jesup was still officially Quartermaster General, President Andrew Jackson detached him first to deal with the Creek tribe in Georgia and Alabama, and then to assume command of all U.S. troops in Florida during the Second Seminole War.

The Seminole People

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Seminole is a term

The Second Seminole War

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Guinn 2005.
  2. ^ The Seminole Wars & Florida Department of State.
  3. ^ Symonds 1994.
  4. ^ Eicher 2001.


References

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  • Neil, Wilfred T. (1956). The Story of Florida's Seminole Indians. Seaside Press. p. 73.
  • Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J. (2001). Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Symonds, Craig L. (1994). Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography. New York, New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-31130-3.