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Rebellion February 1836     
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Ruins of Bulowville
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Ruins of the Bulow Plantation. John von Bulow was a wealthy planter with a reputation for cruelty. He once shot a slave for mishandling his skeet traps. His plantation was one of the first targets of the uprising. After the militia withdrew from Bulowville on January 23, the Seminoles burned it to the ground, leaving only a mass of ghostly stone ruins, many of which are still visible today. Photo by John Bradley.
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Slave Uprising slide tickerslide ticker

In the general uprising, blacks and Indians specifically targeted the sugar plantations in St. Johns and Mosquito Counties south of St. Augustine. At the time these were some of the most developed plantations in all U.S. territory in one of the richest sugar-growing areas in the South. Their destruction was swift and devastating. By February of 1836, less than two months into the war, the Seminole allies had destroyed 17 plantations. Where slavery and sugar mills once flourished, soldiers found smoking ruins and an industry laid waste.

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Sources: Boyd "Seminole" 58-69, the section subtitled "A Sugar Empire Dissolves." ©
Part 2, War: Outline  l  Images
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 Trail Narrative
 + Prologue
 + Background: 1693-1812
 + Early Years: 1812-1832
 - War: 1832-1838
+ Prelude to War
+ Revenge
spacer spacer War Erupts
"Massacre"
Withlacoochee
Key Actors
Florida
Slave Uprising
Army Response
National Mood
Distractions
Seminole Success
+ Deceit
+ Liberty or Death
 + Exile: 1838-1850
 + Freedom: 1850-1882
 + Legacy & Conclusion