Negro Fort

The black and Indian warriors hoisted the Union Jack and fired upon the U.S. gunboats in defiance. The gunboats fired back. Amazingly, the ninth U.S. round -- the first hot round -- penetrated the magazine of the fort, causing a massive explosion. Clinch described the scene:

"The explosion was awful .... In an instant lifeless bodies were stretched upon the plain ... or suspended from the tops of the surrounding pines. Here lay an innocent babe, there a helpless mother .... The brave soldier was disarmed of his resentment and checked his victorious career, to drop a tear on the distressing scene." [More]

More than 250 black and Indian warriors and family members died in the ensuing carnage. Creek mercenaries captured as many of the survivors as possible. Within weeks the black survivors had been divvied up among various southern slaveholders.

Jackson's plan had been a complete success. In one blow, his armies had destroyed the heart of black resistance in western Florida.