1ST Lt.William Elon Basinger was cut down in battle in what is now know as "The Dade Massacre".
Basinger was the Last officer to die at the young age of 29.Some have said he would have been a great General if he would have lived to get that chance.The bodies of the slain in the battle remained where they had died for seven weeks.In February an expedition under General Edmund P.Gaines arrived and buried the remaines,after identifying the bodies by their personal effects.The enlisted men were buried in two graves inside the breastwork,while the officers were buried together on the east side of the of the Fort King trail.The cannon which Lieutenant Basinger had fired as long as he could was placed at the head of the officer's grave.Toward the end of the Second Seminole War a fund was raised by the officer's and men to pay for removing the remains of those killed in the Massacre to what is now the National Cemetery at St. Augustine.Three stone pyramids mark this final resting place.At West Point a marble shaft facing the Library was erected to "Dade and his Command.
At the burial of William E. Basinger, General Taylor, later the 12th President of the United States, stated, " This day I bury an officer as dear to me as a son and by reason of his untimely death the United States has lost a soldier who would have become one of our great generals."
Fort Basinger, located on Okeechobee County on U. S. Highway 98, about 35 miles west of Fort Pierce, was established by General Zachary Taylor December 23, 1837, just two days before the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. When he returned from that battle on December 28th he found that the stockade had been nearly completed by Captain Munroe of the 4th Artillery, whom he had left in charge of the depot. It was built on a sandy hill on the west bank of the Kissimmee River. The fort consisted of pine logs standing upright, with sharp, pointed tops. Blockhouses and lookout towers were placed at the northwest and southeast corners. the stockade was intended to serve as a supply station for Taylor's expedition against the Indians in the Lake Okeechobee region.
Basinger was the Last officer to die at the young age of 29.Some have said he would have been a great General if he would have lived to get that chance.The bodies of the slain in the battle remained where they had died for seven weeks.In February an expedition under General Edmund P.Gaines arrived and buried the remaines,after identifying the bodies by their personal effects.The enlisted men were buried in two graves inside the breastwork,while the officers were buried together on the east side of the of the Fort King trail.The cannon which Lieutenant Basinger had fired as long as he could was placed at the head of the officer's grave.Toward the end of the Second Seminole War a fund was raised by the officer's and men to pay for removing the remains of those killed in the Massacre to what is now the National Cemetery at St. Augustine.Three stone pyramids mark this final resting place.At West Point a marble shaft facing the Library was erected to "Dade and his Command.
At the burial of William E. Basinger, General Taylor, later the 12th President of the United States, stated, " This day I bury an officer as dear to me as a son and by reason of his untimely death the United States has lost a soldier who would have become one of our great generals."
Fort Basinger, located on Okeechobee County on U. S. Highway 98, about 35 miles west of Fort Pierce, was established by General Zachary Taylor December 23, 1837, just two days before the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. When he returned from that battle on December 28th he found that the stockade had been nearly completed by Captain Munroe of the 4th Artillery, whom he had left in charge of the depot. It was built on a sandy hill on the west bank of the Kissimmee River. The fort consisted of pine logs standing upright, with sharp, pointed tops. Blockhouses and lookout towers were placed at the northwest and southeast corners. the stockade was intended to serve as a supply station for Taylor's expedition against the Indians in the Lake Okeechobee region.
1ST Lt.William Elon Basinger was cut down in battle in what is now know as "The Dade Massacre".
Basinger was the Last officer to die at the young age of 29.Some have said he would have been a great General if he would have lived to get that chance.The bodies of the slain in the battle remained where they had died for seven weeks.In February an expedition under General Edmund P.Gaines arrived and buried the remaines,after identifying the bodies by their personal effects.The enlisted men were buried in two graves inside the breastwork,while the officers were buried together on the east side of the of the Fort King trail.The cannon which Lieutenant Basinger had fired as long as he could was placed at the head of the officer's grave.Toward the end of the Second Seminole War a fund was raised by the officer's and men to pay for removing the remains of those killed in the Massacre to what is now the National Cemetery at St. Augustine.Three stone pyramids mark this final resting place.At West Point a marble shaft facing the Library was erected to "Dade and his Command.
At the burial of William E. Basinger, General Taylor, later the 12th President of the United States, stated, " This day I bury an officer as dear to me as a son and by reason of his untimely death the United States has lost a soldier who would have become one of our great generals."
Fort Basinger, located on Okeechobee County on U. S. Highway 98, about 35 miles west of Fort Pierce, was established by General Zachary Taylor December 23, 1837, just two days before the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. When he returned from that battle on December 28th he found that the stockade had been nearly completed by Captain Munroe of the 4th Artillery, whom he had left in charge of the depot. It was built on a sandy hill on the west bank of the Kissimmee River. The fort consisted of pine logs standing upright, with sharp, pointed tops. Blockhouses and lookout towers were placed at the northwest and southeast corners. the stockade was intended to serve as a supply station for Taylor's expedition against the Indians in the Lake Okeechobee region.
Basinger was the Last officer to die at the young age of 29.Some have said he would have been a great General if he would have lived to get that chance.The bodies of the slain in the battle remained where they had died for seven weeks.In February an expedition under General Edmund P.Gaines arrived and buried the remaines,after identifying the bodies by their personal effects.The enlisted men were buried in two graves inside the breastwork,while the officers were buried together on the east side of the of the Fort King trail.The cannon which Lieutenant Basinger had fired as long as he could was placed at the head of the officer's grave.Toward the end of the Second Seminole War a fund was raised by the officer's and men to pay for removing the remains of those killed in the Massacre to what is now the National Cemetery at St. Augustine.Three stone pyramids mark this final resting place.At West Point a marble shaft facing the Library was erected to "Dade and his Command.
At the burial of William E. Basinger, General Taylor, later the 12th President of the United States, stated, " This day I bury an officer as dear to me as a son and by reason of his untimely death the United States has lost a soldier who would have become one of our great generals."
Fort Basinger, located on Okeechobee County on U. S. Highway 98, about 35 miles west of Fort Pierce, was established by General Zachary Taylor December 23, 1837, just two days before the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. When he returned from that battle on December 28th he found that the stockade had been nearly completed by Captain Munroe of the 4th Artillery, whom he had left in charge of the depot. It was built on a sandy hill on the west bank of the Kissimmee River. The fort consisted of pine logs standing upright, with sharp, pointed tops. Blockhouses and lookout towers were placed at the northwest and southeast corners. the stockade was intended to serve as a supply station for Taylor's expedition against the Indians in the Lake Okeechobee region.
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