John Horse

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about John Horse, and friend, this is one you're gonna want to hear all the way through. Born in Spanish Florida in 1812, to a black mother and a Seminole father, the man who would go by John Horse, or Juan Caballo, Juan Cavallo, or Gopher John, depending on who was doin' the callin', came into a world that had no easy place for him. And yet he carved one out, again and again, in ways that would take a lifetime to fully tell.

He rose to become a prominent leader of Seminole blacks during the 2nd Seminole War, fighting alongside Seminole Chief Coacoochee, the one history remembers as Wild Cat. After that valiant fight, General Thomas S. Jesup granted him emancipation, and in June of 1838, John Horse was removed to the Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma, along with hundreds of his people.

Most men, at that point, might have stayed put. John Horse was not most men. Before long he was back in Florida, serving the U.S.

Army as interpreter, scout, combatant, and mediator with Seminoles in the latter part of the war. For those services, his freedom was officially granted again, this time by a man who would become President: General Zachary Taylor. From Indian Territory, John twice made the long journey to Washington, D.C., to stand before the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and plead his people's case.

He later claimed he and General Jesup met with President Polk himself to discuss the plight of the Seminoles. This was a man who knew how to walk into powerful rooms on behalf of people who weren't allowed in those rooms themselves. But here's where the road gets harder.

The federal government withdrew the freedom it had given. Hunted and oppressed, John Horse and Coacoochee made a move in late 1849 that was equal parts desperation and defiance, they slipped two groups of Seminoles and blacks out of Indian Territory, into Texas, bound for Mexico and the freedom that kept being promised and taken back. In early July of 1850, that band rested here.

Right here. At Las Moras Spring. You're passin' through the same ground they crossed.

In time, John settled his group at Nacimiento, on land made available by the Mexican government. The arrangement was straightforward enough: the Seminoles got land, and in exchange, they provided protection from Apache and Comanche. A hard bargain, but one they knew how to keep.

When the Seminole Scout Detachment was formed at Fort Duncan in 1870, John returned to Texas. And in 1876, while living in the Seminole Camp at Fort Clark, he survived a third attempt on his life, an ambush, near this very site. A third attempt.

Which means there were two before it. After recovering, he returned to Nacimiento. His last great journey was to meet with President Porfirio Diaz, to plead for his people's permanent land rights at Nacimiento.

That was John Horse, right to the end, still walkin' into rooms, still speakin' for people who needed a voice. He died in Mexico City in 1882, at the age of seventy. Seventy years.

Born into a world that tried to own him. Died still fighting for the people he led. That's not a footnote, that's a life.

What the marker says

Born in Spanish Florida of a black mother and Seminole father in 1812, John Horse (also known as Juan Caballo, Juan Cavallo, or Gopher John) was a prominent leader of Seminole blacks during the 2nd Seminole War. After a valiant fight alongside Seminole Chief Coacoochee (known as Wild Cat), and emancipation by Gen. Thomas S. Jesup, John Horse was removed to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) with hundreds of his people in June 1838, but within a short time John was back in Florida serving the U.S. Army as interpreter, scout, combatant and as a mediator with Seminoles in the latter part of the war. For his services, John was officially granted his freedom by future President Gen. Zachary Taylor. From his new home in Indian Territory John Twice journeyed to Washington, D.C., to plead his people’s case to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Years later John claimed he and Gen. Jesup met with Pres. Polk to discuss the plight of the Seminoles. In late 1849, oppressed and hunted after their freedom was withdrawn by the federal government, two groups of Seminoles and blacks, led by horse and Coacoochee, slipped out of Indian Territory into Texas, en route to freedom in Mexico. The band rested briefly here at Las Moras Spring in early July 1850. In time, John settled his group at Nacimiento on land made available by the Mexican government. In exchange, the Seminoles provided protection from Apache and Comanche. When the Seminole Scout Detachment was formed at Fort Duncan in 1870, John returned to Texas. In 1876, while living in the Seminole Camp at Fort Clark, John survived a third attempt on his life in an ambush near this site. After recovering, he returned to Nacimiento, Mexico. Following a trip to meet with Pres. Porfirio Diaz to plead for his people’s permanent land rights in Nacimiento, he died in Mexico city in 1882 at the age of 70.