Seminole Hunting Camp

Sullivan Park Memorial

During the Second Seminole Indian War, 1835-1861, there was a traditional Seminole hunting camp in the area that is now Sullivan Park in Deerfield Beach. On April 1, 1838, Lieutenant Robert Anderson took as prisoners Chief Tuskegee and 45 followers. This was the single largest capture of Indians in Southeast Florida during the
war.

In 1976, as a part of a bi-centennial celebration, the Woman’s Club of Deerfield Beach placed a commemorative plaque on a rock in Sullivan Park, where it remains today.

Months before his capture, Chief Tuskegee attempted to broker a truce that would have allowed the Seminoles to remain in Southeast Florida. The treaty was rejected by the Secretary of War in Washington, DC.

Lieutenant Robert Anderson went on to gain immortal fame as Commandant of Fort Sumter at the beginning of the American Civil War.