Fort Brooke: the port where Seminoles were held, died and were shipped out (Tampa, 1830s–1858)

SUMMARYFort Brooke: the port where Seminoles were held, died and were shipped out (Tampa, 1830s–1858) [Connections: Tampa Bay, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDClio calls the fort's port "the principal starting point" for the forced removal of Seminoles, who were shipped across the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans and on to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), and says it was headquarters for "Indian emigration," especially in the Third Seminole War (1855–1858). The Seminole Tribe of Florida's Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) writes that Fort Brooke held "captured and surrendered Seminoles" during the Second Seminole War and that "many died there"; a tribal elder describes the route Fort Brooke → Egmont Key → Fort Pike and Jackson Barracks near New Orleans. FPAN archaeologist Rebecca O'Sullivan told WTSP that Seminole people were held at Fort Brooke before forced removal, calling it "a very painful history." In a 1982 Miami Herald interview, Seminole Chairman James Billie called Fort Brooke "a concentration camp" (as quoted by Florida Seminole Tourism)

PATTERNDowntown Tampa was a holding pen and shipping dock for removal

LENS (WW9)The first "residents" moved out of Tampa did not leave; they were loaded onto ships

OPENShip manifests and emigration rolls from Fort Brooke (National Archives, Office of Indian Affairs, Florida Superintendency) with counts of Seminole and Black Seminole people shipped

SOURCEFort Brooke (Clio); Egmont Key: A Seminole Story (Seminole Tribe THPO, PDF); WTSP, Seminole Tribe and Tampa history; Florida Seminole Tourism, first Seminole museum.