Francis L. Dade

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Visitor center at Dade Battlefield Historic State Park. Note redoubt in foreground

Francis Langhorne Dade (1793? – December 28, 1835) was a major in the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment, United States Army, during the Seminole Wars. Dade was killed in a battle with Seminole Indians that came to be known as the "Dade Massacre". Dade was born in King George County, Virginia

On December 23, 1835, Dade left Fort Brooke (now Tampa, Florida). He was commanding one hundred seven U.S. soldiers armed with the best weapons, cannons, horses, and supplies. Their goal was to resupply and reinforce General Wiley Thompson’s troops stationed at Fort King (now Ocala, Florida). During the trek from Fort Brooke to Fort King, Dade became lost, and, thinking that they had already passed through Seminole-controlled territory, his men failed to make appropriate preparations for an attack.

In the late afternoon of December 28, three hundred Seminoles lay in wait approximately 25 miles south of Fort King. The Seminoles had terrain and the element of surprise in their favor. Major Dade, who was on horseback, was the first to die. Many of the soldiers, who were in two single file lines, were quickly killed. Few even managed to get their flintlocks out from underneath their heavy winter coats. Only three soldiers purportedly survived the "massacre," and it is said that one had to crawl, due to his injuries, the 75 miles back to Fort Brooke. A few months later, when travel in the area was again possible, the dead soldiers were buried at the site. This event started the second Seminole War, which lasted until 1842.

When hostilities ceased, the Army proposed to transfer the remains of all who died in the territory, including those who fell with Dade, to a single burial ground. Reinterment took place at the St. Augustine Post Cemetery, which would become St. Augustine National Cemetery. In addition to Dade's command, more than 1,400 soldiers were interred in three collective graves. These men are remembered by the Dade Monument, which is composed of both three distinct pyramids, constructed of native coquina stone, and an obelisk. The memorial, dedicated at a ceremony on August 14, 1842, marked the end of the Florida Indian Wars.

Dade County, Missouri, Miami-Dade County, Florida, Dade County, Georgia, and Dade City, Florida are all named after Major Dade, who was originally from Virginia. The now decommissioned fort on Egmont Key was also named for 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" [1].