Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: On December 26, 1817, U.S. Secretary of War John C. Calhoun directed General Andrew Jackson to protect citizens trying to settle in Florida. Jackson arrived in Florida with the largest army ever to invade the state to date – 2,000 Creek Warriors and 1,000 Georgia and Tennessee militiamen. After leaving Nashville, Tennessee, they traveled through Georgia and on to Florida, winding up in Suwannee-Old Town (now Dixie County). Jackson’s goal was to remove the Indians, destroy their homes and confiscate their horses, cattle and food and slaves. In four days he had killed or driven off all Indians and escaped slaves. Near this spot, in April 1818, while on a “seek and find” mission, Jackson and his army captured Indian traders Robert Armbrister and Alexander Arbuthnot. They were British subjects who were supposed to be protected by a truce between England and the United States. Jackson had Arbuthnot hanged and Armbrister shot, which almost caused a war between the two countries. The Jackson Trail ran alongside Highway 19, branching south to the Coast on the west side of what is now the Horseshoe Beach Road (Highway 351).