SW009 ’Gone to Florida to Fight the Indians’ -- A.Henderson, Marine Corps’ Commandant, 1836

 

The US Army that began the Second Seminole War was a small one. Congress distrusted large standing armies and disliked the cost for funding them even more. As former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld famous remarked about a later conflict: “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” Fortunately, the U.S. Army did not fight unaided.

The US Government saw fit to send in the Marines to assist. Tradition says that the Marine Corps Commandant, Colonel Archibald Henderson, pinned a note to his door: "Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when the war is over.” 

Joining us today to discuss the historic part that the U.S. Marine Corps played in the Second Seminole War is Dave Eckardt, author of the first book on their mobilization, aptly titled, The U.S. Marines in the Second Creek and Seminole Wars. He is also a Marine re-enactor, seen below sporting the summer uniform, during an event at Fort Foster in Florida, and above in the winter uniform at an exhibition event.  

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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