Fort Peyton was a stockaded fort built in August 1837 by the United States Army, one of a chain of military outposts created during the Second Seminole War for the protection of the St. Augustine area in Florida Territory. Established by Maj. Gen. Thomas Jesup, it was garrisoned by regular army troops.
Fort Peyton - Second Seminole War Fort (artist's depiction).
Capture of Osceola near Fort Peyton by US troops
Front side of the historical sign at the site of Fort Peyton (photographed May 31, 2020).
Back side of the historical sign at the site of Fort Peyton (photographed May 31, 2020).
Osceola, named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a Scotsman, James McQueen. He was reared by his mother in the Creek (Muscogee) tradition. When he was a child, they migrated to Florida with other Red Stick refugees, led by a relative, Peter McQueen, after their group's defeat in 1814 in the Creek Wars. There they became part of what was known as the Seminole people.
Osceola by George Catlin, 1838
Historical monument honoring Osceola near his birthplace in Tallassee, Alabama.
"The Wife and Child of Osceola" from Holden's Dollar Magazine, volume 6, no. 4 (October 1850): 591–592.
Osceola stabbing the treaty with his dagger. Statue in Silver Springs, Florida
