Attack on Cape Florida

The Florida Territory -- 1836
ATTACK ON CAPE FLORIDA tells the true story of the two men who defended the Cape Florida Lighthouse during the Second Seminole War.
One of the men is John Thompson, a veteran sailor in his late thirties who has been recently discharged from the Navy, while the other, Aaron Carter, is an escaped slave who has lived on his wits in freedom as a wrecker (one who retrieves spoils from ships that have run aground) in South Florida for most of his sixty-five years.
As they watch for a Seminole attack, the two men share their life stories, explaining why they have accepted such a dangerous assignment. Carter, who believes in God, feels he is repaying a "Debt to the Almighty"
for enabling his escape, while Thompson, an agnostic, sees one last chance to prove he can face combat since the United States was not at war during his tour of duty.
Despite the anxiety of the men guarding the lighthouse, Wildcat, the Seminole chief for South Florida wants to keep the turret in operation since his warriors also rely on its beacon for guidance along the South Florida coast. Then, in what is now Dade County, two white renegades kill an old Seminole brave to steal his fur pelts. Consequently, Wildcat has to take revenge against the only white person within easy reach -- John Thompson..
At 4:00 PM, on July 23, 1836, Wildcat stages a surprise raid. Despite the fact they are outnumbered twenty-to-one, however, the men in the lighthouse have prepared a barricade that will repulse the attack. They seem secure until they learn that the walls of the lighthouise are not solid brick but a shell. Then, the Seminoles accidentally ignite the oil for the beacon stored in the bottom of the lighthouse tower.
To escape the heat, Thompson first tears apart the spiral staircase leading to the iron gallery atop the tower. Then, he and Carter eventually move out to the circling balcony where they can view the beach stretching out before them.
And face the Seminoles surrounding the lighthouse.
While both men lie flat on the balcony to avoid exposure, as the night progresses, Seminole bullets wiill take one of them, while the other will be maimed for life.
He is also stranded atop the lighthouse, with no means of leaving his perch, so, as he yearns for relief , is it the believer or the agnostic who prays for the forgiveness of his sins?
In the meantime, the captain of the USS Motto, a schooner patroling the Florida coastline twelve miles away, learns of the attack and will arrive the following day, hoping to relieve the two men.
How does the captain of the Motto know of the threat and how will he rescue the survivor.?
These events took place four months after the fall of the Alamo. While blacks were present with the defenders at that siege, they did not participate because they were slaves.
Carter's willingness to stand shoulder-to shoullder with John Thompson shows that, had there been no such abomination as slavery, more blacks could have earned the honor history has bestowed on men like Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.
(On a personal note, on September 2, 2014, after nearly a month's stay in a hospital, my mother died in my arms. As she wanted the courage of Aaron Carter and John Thompson recognized as strongly as I do, she was constantly urging me to publish ATTACK ON CAPE FLORIDA. For that reason, I would like to dedicate this work to the memory of my mother Kathleen Keating Jackson.
I, G.M. Jackson III, am also the author of the prevoious KIndle work THE SIEGE OF ADOBE WALLS, which has received five 5-Star reviews. The cover image, which depicts the actual attack, appears courtesy of HistoryMiami.)














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