Get Your History On - Ride The Cove

The central Florida Highlands offer some magnificent Florida riding!  Real hills, lakes, great wooded expanses, beautiful high clear crests offering wonderful blue sky views...  all are wonderful

Riding through the area framed up from Cedar Key, to Gainesville, to Cocoa, to Tampa, one is travelling through a historical area of interest, beyond it's natural good looks.  This area was the primary territory fought for in The Second Seminole War.  The history of the three Seminole Indian Wars in Florida is pretty tremendous.  Failed treaties, broken promises, distasteful tactics employed....this war was more costly to the US Government than the western expansion indian wars more commonly known in the general public.  The Seminole Tribe never surrendered.  Battles took place through the three segments of the war from Pensacola (US General invades sovereign nation territory) to South Florida.  Local organizations host annual re-enactments at these historically important spots.  Okeechobee recently improved a section of battleground there, and hosts re-enactments in February.   Dade Battlefield has a big event, usually very early January.

The area offers numerous spots to walk the sites of battles:  Fort Foster in Zephyrhills,  Fort Cooper in Floral City, Dade Battleground in Bushnell.  The Dade Battleground is the most well developed, being able to walk the site of the battle and pay respects at the various markers on the spots where the soldiers died. An excellent museum is maintained there by the park rangers, showing Seminole and US Army dress, weaponry and way of life at the time.

Fort Foster apparently is the most built up, and is only open by appointment.  Fort Christmas is always open and a great example of the frontier fort and life, also very well restored or replicated rather, very worthwhile to ride east to Christmas!  The forts are state properties and the entrance fee is $2-$3 dollars, bring singles, put 'em in the envelope and keep your envelope stub as proof of entrance fee payment, it's usually the honor system. 

You'll see many names from places you've been to all throughout central Florida...and maybe not realized their connection to this war.  Dade, Clinch, Gaines, Osceola, Micanopy, Jessup, Jumper, on and on and on....

These locations make for great day trips out of the Orlando area.  Keep an eye out for historical markers along the way, many times the marker is all that is left of an event.  The markers tell some great tales. 

Ride, ride for your history, and ride safe in the winds of our ancestors..... 

http://dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-history/seminole-history/the-seminole-wars/