Fort Gardiner was a

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

with two

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

s that was built in 1837 by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. It was one of the

military outpost In military terminology, an outpost is a location where detachments of military personnel are stationed at a distance from the main armed force or formation in a region. Outposts are usually located in remote or sparsely populated areas, posi ...

s created during the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

to assist Colonel

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

's troops to capture

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

Indians and their allies in the central part of the

Florida Territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish ...

that were resisting forced removal to federal territory west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

per the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...

.Roberts, Robert B. Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States. New York: Macmillan. 1988, p. 169.

Brief History

After Major General

Thomas S. Jesup Thomas Sidney Jesup (December 16, 1788 – June 10, 1860) was a United States Army officer known as the "Father of the Modern Quartermaster Corps". His 52-year (1808–1860) military career was one of the longest in the history of the United St ...

, Quartermaster General and Commander of all U.S. troops in Florida, had given up hope of bringing the Second Seminole War to an end by

negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...

he ordered Colonel Taylor “to proceed with the least possible delay against any portion of the enemy and to destroy or capture the same.”The Memoirs of Major General Zachary Taylor – Chapter II, The Bloody Battle of Lake Ohee-chobee. The Daily National Whig (Washington, District of Columbia). May 25, 1847, p. 1. On December 2, 1837, Colonel Zachary Taylor, commander of 1,400 troops of the First Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army of the South, ordered the construction of a

on the banks of the

Kissimmee River The Kissimmee River is a river in south-central Florida, United States that forms the north part of the Everglades wetlands area. The river begins at East Lake Tohopekaliga south of Orlando, flowing south through Lake Kissimmee into the large ...

just south of

Lake Tohopekaliga Lake Tohopekaliga, Tohopeka (from tohopke meaning fence, fort); Tohopekaliga (from tohopke meaning fence, fort + likv meaning site), also referred to as Lake Toho, West Lake, or simply Toho, is the largest lake in Osceola County, Florida, ...

in the central part of the

- present-day

Polk County, Florida Polk County () is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as ...

. This particular fortification was named Fort Gardiner after Captain George Washington Gardiner, who was killed on December 28, 1835 during the battle of

Dade's Massacre The Dade battle (often called the Dade massacre) was an 1835 military defeat for the United States Army. Under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 the U.S. was attempting to force the Seminoles to move away from their land in Florida provided by ...

in present-day

Sumter County, Florida Sumter County is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,752, and was estimated to be 154,693 in 202 ...

. On December 19, 1837, Colonel Taylor marched south from Fort Gardiner with 1,032 soldiers (180 Missouri volunteers, 47 from the “Morgan Spies” company, 70

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

Indians and 735 regular U.S. Army troops) to join General Jesup’s campaign to penetrate deep into Seminole territory with large forces and trap the Seminoles and their allies and force them to fight or surrender. On December 21, 1837, Colonel Taylor ordered another fortification constructed to support his plans. This particular fortification was named Fort Basinger after Lieutenant William E. Basinger who was killed during the battle of Dade's Massacre. Colonel Taylor stationed one company of troops and approximately 85 sick men and some Indians at Fort Basinger. The remaining troops marched south and captured small parties of Indians as they surrendered. Meanwhile, about 380 to 480 Seminole Indians and their allies led by Old Sam Jones, Alligator and Coacoochee were preparing a battleground to confront Colonel Taylor’s soldiers. On December 25, 1837, the

Battle of Lake Okeechobee The Battle of Lake Okeechobee was one of the major battles of the Seminole Wars. It was fought between 1,000 U.S. Army troops of the 1st, 4th, and 6th Infantry Regiments and 132 Missouri Volunteers under the command of Colonel Zachary Taylor, ...

took place. It was a tactical victory for the Seminoles and their allies as the U.S. forces suffered 26 killed and 112 wounded compared to 11 killed and 14 wounded on the Seminole side. The Seminoles and their allies retreated, however Colonel Taylor could not pursue them as his forces sustained too many casualties. Colonel Taylor regrouped his soldiers and marched back to Fort Basinger and from there they proceeded to Fort Gardiner where they set up a makeshift hospital. Many of the wounded soldiers were then escorted to

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River (Florida), Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native S ...

for further care.Mahon, John K. History of the Second Seminole War (1967). Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press. pp. 219-230.Andrews, Mark. Forts Played Role in Florida History. Orlando Sentinel. August 11, 1991. pp. K1, K4. While at Fort Gardiner Colonel Taylor wrote a letter to Brigadier General Roger Jones in Washington, D.C. titled “Seminole Campaign, Official, Report of the Battle of Okeechobee, on the 25th December 1837” where he detailed his operations prior, during and after the battle, and praised his fallen men. The Battle of Lake Okeechobee led to the promotion of Zachary Taylor and was most likely his first step towards being elected the 12th President of the United States in 1849. Fort Gardiner was abandoned at the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842, and most likely burnt to the ground. Rolland, Dean. Time and the River. The Orlando Sentinel. October 15, 1967, pp. 6-F, 7-F.

Fort Gardiner’s Namesake: George Washington Gardiner

George W. Gardiner was born around 1795 in Washington, District of Columbia. He was a U.S. Army cadet at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

and graduated on March 11, 1812, and was promoted to Third Lieutenant, 1st Artillery. He served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

from 1814 to 1815 while stationed at the garrison at Ft. Columbus, New York, and from 1815 to 1816 while stationed in Portsmouth, NH. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant, 1st Artillery on May 1, 1814 and was transferred to the Corps of Artillery on May 1, 1814. Gardiner returned to the United States Military Academy as an Adjutant from October 12, 1816 to September 15, 1817. He became the Commandant of Cadets from February 10, 1819 to March 9, 1820, and an Instructor of Infantry Tactics from September 15, 1817 to April 2, 1818. He was promoted to First Lieutenant, Corps of Artillery on April 20, 1818. He served as First Lieutenant, 2nd Artillery at the garrison in New York Harbor in 1820, the garrison at

Fort Mifflin Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International ...

from 1821 to 1824,

Fort Delaware Fort Delaware is a former harbor defense facility, designed by chief engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.Dobbs, Kelli W., et al. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union / Unite ...

from 1824 to 1827, the

Augusta Arsenal The Augusta Arsenal was a 19th-century fortification in Augusta, Georgia. Established in 1816 and initially completed on the Georgia bank of the Savannah River in 1819, it was moved to the former Belle Vue estate in the Summerville (Augusta, Georgi ...

, Georgia from 1827 to 1830, in the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

from 1830 to 1831, the garrison at Marion, Florida from 1831 to 1832, the Augusta Arsenal, Georgia from 1832 to 1833, the Cherokee Nation in 1833, in garrison at Fort Mitchell, Alabama from 1833 to 1834, Fort Jackson, LA in from 1834 to 1835,

Fort Pickens Fort Pickens is a historic pentagonal United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. It is the largest of four forts built to defend Pensacol ...

, FL in 1835. He was promoted to Brevet Captain on April 20, 1828 for Faithful Service Ten Years in one Grade. Gardiner was killed during the battle of

on December 28, 1835. He is buried in the

St. Augustine National Cemetery St. Augustine National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida, St. Augustine in St. Johns County, Florida. Located on the grounds of the active military installation known as St. Francis Barra ...

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

.Cullum, George W. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy. Class of 1812. #19.

Site of Fort Gardiner

Today, no remnants of Fort Gardiner exist, but its site is marked with a Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials sign at

Camp Mack Camp Mack is a fishing lodge, RV resort campground and recreation event venue in Lake Wales, Florida. In March 2018 the lodge was rebranded as Camp Mack. The camp offers access to Lake Kissimmee, Hatchineha, Cypress and Tohopekaliga and is hos ...

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census. History Early history A survey by W.A. Williams and J. ...

. The sign reads, “South of this site, on the banks of the Kissimmee River, stood Fort Gardiner. This Second Seminole War army post was named for Captain George Washington Gardiner who died in the Dade Massacre in 1835. Established December 2, 1837 by Colonel Zachary Taylor on his march to the Battle of Okeechobee. Designated as the Headquarters, First Brigade, Army of South of the Withlocoochee. It was used as a supply depot and in 1838 by the Fourth and Sixth Infantry. Following the Battle of Okeechobee, the wounded were brought to this depot and sent forward to Tampa on January 1, 1838. The original marker designating this site was dedicated in 1968 and replaced in 2020 due to damage." In August 2020, the Historical Marker was relocated from the side of Camp Mack Road after it was damaged to

, a

Guy Harvey Guy Harvey (born 16 September 1955) is a Jamaican marine wildlife artist and conservationist. His depictions of sealife, especially of sportfish such as marlin, are popular with sportfishermen and have been reproduced in prints, posters, T ...

Lodge, Marina & RV Resort. The Marker is now on the Kissimmee River and very close to the actual site of the Fort. The Marker is part of the

Heritage Trail which was developed by

and the Polk County Historical Commission over a year in 2019/2020. Fort Gardiner Historical Marker at Camp Mack

References

External links

2nd Seminole War Fort Diagram (Ft. Micanopy).

Florida Seminole Wars Heritage Trail.

Florida Frontiers: Search on for fort.

Find a Grave – George Washington Gardiner (1795? – 1835).
*

{{Zachary Taylor, state=collapsed

Gardiner Gardiner may refer to: Places Settlements ;Canada * Gardiner, Ontario ;United States * Gardiner, Maine * Gardiner, Montana * Gardiner (town), New York ** Gardiner (CDP), New York * Gardiner, Oregon * Gardiner, Washington * West Gardiner, ...

Pre-statehood history of Florida Seminole Wars Second Seminole War fortifications