Swampy's Florida

We’re sad to learn of the death of Frank Laumer. The ultimate expert of the best known battle of the Seminole Indian War, the Dade Battle. We all know of the Dade Battle, the details and can experience the re-enactment each year at the Dade Battlefield due to Laumer.

Due to a picnic stop at the park are of the battle in 1962 had Laumer realize little was available to know about the massacre of Federal soldiers by Seminoles Christmas time in 1835. 6 years later Laumer produced ‘Massacre’. A bit obsessed with the subject, Laumer unearthed more and more and in 1995 a second book, ‘Dade Last Command’ was published. I recall many of us Florida history nuts knowing that book was coming and waiting breathlessly for what more Laumer was to present about the battle. We were very happy with the results.

After that Laumer wrote of Ransom Clark, a survivor of the massacre that he reports crawled from the Battlefield in Bushnell back to Fort Brook in, what would become, Tampa. This book was a fictionalized version of the vast facts Laumer knew. So, it’s just short of being non-Fiction.

Laumer also wrote wrote and edited other books and articles of the battle and other points in Florida history.

LAumer could be found each year at the annual ‘Dade Battle’ re-enactment portraying Ransom Clark. I was so pleased to see him again this past year, though age was more obvious each year. I recall wondering how much longer he could be part of the event. Now I’m sad we won’t see him there again. But he will be there in spirit and we will all hail him and so much he did for our Florida history.

You can get a copy of ‘Dade’s Last Command’ Here: https://amzn.to/34fHPfS
You can get a copy of ‘Massacre’ here: https://amzn.to/37lpIXL
You can get a copy of ‘Nobody’s Hereo’ here: https://amzn.to/2O9pbAw

Here’s is Laumer speaking of his favorite subject via C-Span:
https://seminolewars.org/index.php/history/c-span-frank-laumer-on-the-florida-war/