St. Augustine National Cemetery-- Part 2

It was designated a national cemetery in 1881.  When Spain owned Florida, it was part of a Franciscan monastery and occupied by the military during British occupation.  When the United States took over, part of the old fort barracks was set aside as the post cemetery with the first internment coming in 1828.  Many of the early burials were of men killed fighting the Seminole Indians in Florida.

On December 23, 1835, Major Francis L. Dade and his company were ordered from Tampa to reinforce General Wiley Thompson's troops at Fort King in Ocala, Florida.  They got lost and were ambushed by the Seminoles with only one survivor.

The bodies of Dade and his men were buried a few months later by U.S. troops.  In 1842, after fighting with the Seminoles ended, the bodies were reinterred in St, Augustine.

--Brock-Perry