Francis Langhorne Dade

Major Francis Langhorne Dade (February 22, 1792 – December 28, 1835) was a United States Army officer who served in the War of 1812 and the Seminole Wars. Dade was killed in an ambush by Seminole warriors that came to be known as the Dade battle, the first engagement of the Second Seminole War, and one of the worst U.S. military defeats at the hands of Native Americans. After his death, Dade became the namesake of several places, most notably Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Life and career

Francis Langhorne Dade was born in King George County, Virginia in 1792. Dade's family was part of the elite Planter class of the South. His ancestor, also named Francis Dade, migrated from England to the colony of Virginia in 1650, and was elected as speaker of the House of Burgesses. Dade initially studied to be a lawyer under the tutelage of his cousin Lawrence Taliaferro Dade, but he later chose to pursue a military career instead. In March 1813 (during the War of 1812) he joined the U.S. Army 12th Infantry Regiment as a Lieutenant. During the war he was stationed in Louisa County. He was also promoted to Captain in 1818. Dade was later appointed as the duty officer under Andrew Jackson in Pensacola. He was promoted to Brevet Major in February 1828 after ten years of service as a Captain. At Key West he led a garrison of 47 soldiers, half of whom were European immigrants.

Major Dade's final mission was to lead a U.S. Army column of 108 soldiers (100 Enlisted men and 8 Officer, including himself) and 1 six-pounder cannon from Fort Brooke up north to Fort King. The soldiers under Dade's command were part of the 4th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Artillery Regiment, and 3rd Artillery Regiment. As the Army column marched north, the Seminoles destroyed bridges over the Hillsborough River and Withlacoochee River in order to delay the progress of the column. On December 28, 1835, Seminoles warriors led by two chiefs, Micanopy and Chipco, ambushed the U.S. Army column, killing Dade and nearly all of his soldiers, leaving only two survivors. This ambush would become known as the Dade battle. On that same day, a group of Seminoles warriors assassinated U.S. official Wiley Thompson at Fort King. Both of these attacks marked the beginning of the Second Seminole War. These events were followed in 1836 by widespread Seminole attacks on white settlers in Florida, and then by a U.S. military offensive led by General Winfield Scott. Dade and his men were not formally buried until a unit led by Edmund P. Gaines arrived at the site of the battle in February 1836. Dade's remains were only identifiable by his vest and infantry buttons. Dade County, Missouri; Dadeville, Alabama; and Dade City, Florida are all named after Major Dade. A U.S. military fort on Egmont Key called Fort Dade was also named after him. The battle is re-enacted at the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park each year. In 2002, the Dade County Courthouse was renamed the Major Francis Langhorne Dade County Courthouse by the Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County. In the resolution changing the courthouse's name, the Board noted that it found "that Major Francis Langhorne Dade is a person who made a significant contribution to Miami-Dade County".