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Record Group Number: 900000
Series/Collection Number: M86- 12
Creator: Jesup, Thomas Sidney, 1788-1860
Title, Dates: Thomas Sidney Jesup diary, 1836-1837.
Amount: 1 v.
1.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
1 DVDs
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: Chronological.
Restrictions: Restricted:  Access to original diary is restricted due to its fragile condition;  MICROFILM or DIGITAL version is first-use copy.
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:     General Thomas Sidney Jesup (1788-1860) was the third general to command Florida troops during the Second Seminole War. Jesup, a career military man, served 18 years as Quartermaster General before President Andrew Jackson called him to active duty during the Seminole Wars.

    Jesup first went to Alabama, where he led a successful campaign to capture and remove Creek Indians from the frontier. In Florida during this time, Governor-General Richard K. Call was having difficulties organizing and launching a campaign against the Seminole Indians. President Jackson directed Jesup to proceed to Florida upon completion of his business in Alabama and take command "unless General Call is in the field." When Jesup arrived in Florida in September 1836, Call had finalized arrangements for a campaign against the Seminoles. Not willing to usurp Call's position, Jesup declined command and volunteered to serve under him. In December, however, the command was officially transferred to Jesup, and Governor Call returned to the duties of his office.

    Secretary of War General Benjamin Butler ordered Jesup to attack Seminoles in their stronghold on the banks of the Withlacoochee and drive them from established posts at or near the mouth of the Withlacoochee, at Fort King, and at Volusia. Ultimately, he was to see to the "subrogation and removal" of the Seminoles. This "removal" referred to the migration of Native Americans to reservations west of the Mississippi River.

Summary:     This collection consists of the campaign diary of General Jesup while commanding his first campaign of the Second Seminole War from October 1, 1836 to May 30, 1837. The diary details the routine of a commander issuing orders, requisitioning supplies, and directing troop movement. It also documents Jesup's relationship with the War Department and the state militia, and his communications with the Seminoles on their behalf. The diary reflects the hardships and problems Jesup and his men encountered in searching for the elusive Seminoles in the extensive Florida wilderness, as well as Jesup's personal thoughts about the campaign.

Finding Aids:
Additional Physical Form: This collection has been digitized and is available on the Florida Memory web site: https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/historical_records/jesup/
Microfilm.
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates: State Library of Florida, Florida Collection also holds a microfilm copy of this diary.
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note: Original previously State Library of Florida Manuscripts Collection MS79.
Electronic Records Access: https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/historical_records/jesup/
Subject Access Fields: Military administration.
Seminole Indians Wars
Seminole War, 2nd, 1835-1842.
Withlacoochee (Fla.), Battle of, 1835.
Diaries. aat
Tampa Bay (Fla.)
Volusia (Fla.)
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