BONF

Andrew Jackson

A U.S. general who played a major role in expanding American territory in the early 1800s, Andrew Jackson led military campaigns against Native Americans and maroon communities in Spanish Florida. His actions around the Battle of Negro Fort reflect early American imperialism and the growing desire to eliminate any threat to slavery near U.S. borders. Jackson’s campaign helped justify later U.S. invasions of Florida, leading to its eventual acquisition from Spain.

Benjamin Hawkins

A U.S. Indian agent to the Creek Nation, Hawkins acted as a mediator between Native groups and the U.S. government. He sought to assimilate Native Americans into European-American agricultural practices, aligning with U.S. expansionist goals. His role during the period surrounding the Battle of Negro Fort highlights the tension between Native sovereignty and U.S. territorial ambitions.

British Post (on Prospect Bluff)

Originally built by the British during the War of 1812, this fort—later known as the “Negro Fort”—was located along the Apalachicola River in Spanish Florida. It served as a British outpost for training and supplying both Native and African allies. After the war, it became a haven for formerly enslaved people and maroons seeking freedom, symbolizing resistance against slavery and colonial oppression.

Certificates of Freedom

These documents proved that a person of African descent was legally free. In the context of The Battle of Negro Fort, such certificates were crucial for formerly enslaved people living near the Spanish border, where their legal status was often challenged by both U.S. officials and slaveholders. Their existence underscores the fragile nature of freedom in this era.

Creeks (U.S. Allies vs. Redsticks)

The Creek Nation was divided during this period. The “Redsticks” were a faction that resisted U.S. expansion and sided with the British and Spanish, while the other Creeks allied with the United States. This internal division weakened Native resistance, playing a part in how the U.S. gained control of southeastern territories, including Florida.

Choctaws

Another major southeastern Native group, the Choctaws often aligned with U.S. interests against rival Native groups or maroons. Their involvement in southern conflicts demonstrates how some Native nations navigated alliances strategically to preserve their people amid American expansion.

Edward Nicolls

A British officer who helped organize the defense of Prospect Bluff during the War of 1812, Nicolls trained both maroons and Native allies. After the war, he left the fort with a large supply of arms, which later empowered the maroon community that remained. His role shows how British imperial interests indirectly fueled resistance to U.S. slavery.

Garçon

A Black leader and former British corporal, Garçon commanded the Negro Fort after the British departed. He organized the maroons and resisted U.S. military threats, becoming a symbol of freedom and defiance. His execution after the fort’s destruction demonstrates the brutal suppression of Black independence during this era.

Great Britain’s Corps of Colonial Marines

A British military unit made up of formerly enslaved Africans who fought for the British in exchange for freedom during the War of 1812. Many members later settled near Prospect Bluff and helped establish the Negro Fort, representing one of the earliest free Black military communities in North America.

Maroons (Key Term)

Maroons were communities of escaped enslaved people who built independent settlements, often in remote or difficult-to-reach areas. In Florida, maroons allied with Native groups such as the Seminoles, forming a powerful resistance to U.S. slavery and expansion. Their existence challenged the foundations of the slave system and symbolized freedom through resistance.

Seminoles

A Native American group that included both Indigenous people and African maroons. The Seminoles became key defenders of freedom in Florida, often sheltering runaway slaves and resisting U.S. control. Their alliances with maroon communities led to the Seminole Wars, part of the U.S. effort to eliminate havens for free Black people.

William McIntosh

A Creek chief who favored cooperation with the United States and signed land treaties that ceded Native land to the U.S. His actions reveal how internal Native divisions aided American expansion and dispossession of Indigenous peoples in the Southeast.

American Imperialism

The push for U.S. territorial expansion and dominance in the early 19th century. The destruction of Negro Fort shows how American leaders justified invasion and violence in the name of national security and manifest destiny, even beyond official U.S. borders.

British Imperialism

Refers to Britain’s global expansion, including its influence in Florida during the War of 1812. The British built outposts like Prospect Bluff to counter U.S. growth, using alliances with African and Native communities to maintain power in the region.

Maroons (Key Idea)

A key idea symbolizing freedom and defiance. Maroon communities represented the possibility of life beyond slavery, and their presence near U.S. territory was seen as a major threat to the slaveholding South.

Native American Dispossession

The systematic removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands. The Battle of Negro Fort connects to this idea because U.S. expansion into Florida displaced Native and maroon communities alike, erasing multiethnic societies that resisted American control.

Slave Power

The political and economic dominance of slaveholders in early U.S. society. Fear of maroon communities like those at Negro Fort reflected how deeply the U.S. government was committed to protecting slavery as an institution.

Slave Expansion

The spread of slavery into new territories, including the Deep South and Florida. The destruction of Negro Fort was motivated by the belief that such free Black settlements threatened the expansion and security of the slave system.