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2nd Seminole War - Friendly Indian Troops

2nd Seminole War - Friendly Indian Troops

Posted: 1 Mar 2008 9:29PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Spikes
I recently came across the following entry concerning my GGgrandfather, Matthew Spikes. Matthew's mother, Martha Spikes, is recorded in the 1830 Washington County FL, US Census with 4 sons--Matthew is one of them. Here is the entry:

"Muster Roll of Captain Stephen Richard's company of the MOUNTED FRIENDLY INDIANS, 1st Brigade of the FLORIDA MILITIA, commanded by Gen'l Leigh Reid, ordered into service of the United States by Gov. R. K. Call from the 15th day of October 1837 to the 23rd of April 1838. company enrolled at Walkers' Town, Jackson County, FLORIDA. At Camp Relief, on the 23rd April 1838, Stephen Richards, capt., commander of the company, by signature certified the muster roll to be accurate, just, and true. At the same place and date, D. H. Vinton, Inspector & Mustering Officer, certified by his signature that the muster roll was accurate. Mathew served from 15 October 1837 to 26th November 1837 and from 8 march to 23 April 1838 in the FRIENDLY INDIANS." I have not confirmed this statement and would like to know resources that could provide confirmation.

Does anyone know if all members of the friendly indian troops were, in fact, native american? Or did white settlers also serve in the friendly indian troops? There has been a family story that Matthew had native american heritage, however, this is the first indication that I have found that supports the story.

Re: 2nd Seminole War - Friendly Indian Troops

Posted: 26 Aug 2012 8:51AM GMT
Classification: Query
Some of my ancestors were named Ayres, and moved from South Carolina to Georgia and then into Florida as their reservation was overtaken by settlers. They were members of the Catawba Indian tribe, which your relative may have been also. They, too, were considered "friendly Indians", and fought bravely in support of the American cause both before, during and after the American Revolution. An excellent book concerning this tribe is "The Indians's New World" by James H. Merrell: http://www.amazon.com/Indians-New-World-Catawbas-Neighbors/d... . There are also a lot of older books, which are no longer under copyright, and which may be downloaded for free, at www.archive.org . Here is the link to books on the Catawba Tribe, which I suspect your ancestor was a member of, since the Catawbas were present in Florida during that period, along with the Cherokees: http://archive.org/search.php?query=Catawba%20Indians%20AND%...

Here is a link to a webpage which gives information about the unit your ancestor was a part of: http://www.southernhistory.us/flamilind.htm . It is hard to say if they were all Indians, since many, and especially the Catawbas, used English names for many years. He isn't shown on the roster, but could be listed under his Indian name instead.
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