READING ROOM
Here you can review the historical documents that the LFA scholars and the Historical Research Team have gathered to aid our understanding of the story of Angola.
If you would like to join in the search for clues about Angola and freedom-seekers in Colonial Florida, we welcome you! Once you have reviewed the documents here, you will be ready to join the Historical Research Team by signing up for the Team Forum, where you can communicate with your fellow Historical Research Team members.
You can use the Team Document Upload form to send us the documents that you uncover in your research. Happy hunting, and thank you for joining the LFA Historical Research Team!
Below are links to the articles and primary documents in the Document Reading Room:
BOOK EXCERPTS:
“Tales of Angola: Free Blacks, Red Stick Creeks, and International Intrigue in Spanish Southwest Florida, 1812-1821” by Canter Brown, Jr.: Canter Brown, Jr.’s latest and most comprehensive research article on Angola!
Book Excerpt: Black Seminoles in the Bahamas by Rosalyn Howard: Read about Dr. Rosalyn Howard’s work among the residents of Red Bays, Andros Island, Bahamas, who are descendants of some of those who fled Angola’s destruction.
PRIMARY DOCUMENTS:
The Exiles of Florida: from the Florida Heritage Collection, Congressman Joshua Giddings’ 1858 account of the struggles of freedom seekers in Florida. Digitized from original source held at Florida A & M University Libraries.
Letter: Jno. Crowell, Agent for Indian Affairs, to John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, August 20, 1821 Source: T.J. Petty, “Creek Letters 1820-1824” (Transcription, Georgia Dept. of Archives & History, Atlanta): Indian Agent John Crowell reports the raid on Angola to Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, and requests instructions on what to do with the captives.
Letter: J.C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, to Col. John Crowell, Agent for Indian Affairs, September 29, 1821 Source: T.J. Petty, “Creek Letters 1820-1824” (Transcription, Georgia Dept. of Archives & History, Atlanta): Secretary of War John C. Calhoun expresses his disapproval of the raid on Angola. He orders that a list of captives be sent to him immediately.
Letter: Jno. Crowell, Agent for Indian Affairs, to John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, January 22, 1822 Source: T.J. Petty, “Creek Letters 1820-1824” (Transcription, Georgia Dept. of Archives & History, Atlanta): Indian Agent John Crowell reports to Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, what measures he has taken in regard to the captives, and encloses a descriptive list of those taken in the raid. A transcription of that list appears at: “Description of the Negroes brought into the Creek nation by a detachment of Indian Warriors under the command of Col. Wm. Miller a half breed Indian (Viz)” from the website Creek Indian Researcher.
Letter: Jno. Crowell, Agent for Indian Affairs, to J.C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, July 24, 1823 Source: T.J. Petty, “Creek Letters 1820-1824” (Transcription, Georgia Dept. of Archives & History, Atlanta): Crowell transmits a second list of Angola captives to Secretary of War John C. Calhoun. A transcription of that list appears at: “Description of the Negroes brought into the Creek nation by a detachment of Indian Warriors under the command of Col. Wm. Miller a half breed Indian (Viz)”: The second of three similar lists of captives from the raid on Angola, from the website Creek Indian Researcher.
“Description of the Negroes brought into the Creek nation by a detachment of Indian Warriors under the command of Col. Wm. Miller a half breed Indian (Viz):” A third list of captives from the raid on Angola, from the website Creek Indian Researcher.
“List of 72 Negroes Taken from William McIntosh, April 30, 1825” from the website Creek Indian Researcher, some names on this list appear to overlap with the list of those captured in the raid on Angola.
LINKS TO ONLINE ARTICLES:
“Black Seminoles, Maroons and Freedom Seekers in Florida, Part 1: Early Freedom Seekers in Florida” from the USF Africana Heritage Project: Read about Florida’s early African Ancestored settlers.
“Black Seminoles, Maroons and Freedom Seekers in Florida, Part 2: The Beginning of Troubled Times” from the USF Africana Heritage Project: This, Part 2 of the 3 part series, chronicles the establishment and destruction of the Negro Fort and the beginnings of the Angola community.
“Black Seminoles, Maroons and Freedom Seekers in Florida, Part 3: The Destruction of Angola” from the USF Africana Heritage Project: This, the third article of a 3 part series, describes the raid on Angola, the community’s destruction, and the aftermath.
“Events at Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River, 1808-1818” by Mark F. Boyd: from the PALMM Collection at USF (This article describes the destruction of the “Negro Fort.”)
“Finding Freedom in Florida: Native Peoples, African Americans, and Colonists, 1670-1816” by Patrick Riordan: from the PALMM Collection at USF
“Slavery and White Servitude in East Florida, 1726-1776” by Wilbur H. Siebert: from the PALMM Collection at USF
“The Return of Runaway Slaves 1790-1794” by Richard K. Murdoch: from the PALMM Collection at USF
“Spanish Sanctuary: Fugitives in Florida, 1687-1790” by Jane Landers: from the PALMM Collection at USF
“Trade Relations Between Southwestern Florida And Cuba – 1600-1840” by James W. Covington: from the PALMM Collection at USF
“Spanish Fisheries of Charlotte Harbor” by E. A. Hammond: from the PALMM Collection at USF
“The Seminole Negroes of Andros Island, Bahamas” by John M. Goggin: from the PALMM Collection at USF
“Notes on Seminole Negroes in the Bahamas” by Kenneth W. Porter: from the PALMM Collection at USF
Website Links:
Negroes in the Creek & Seminole Nations: An extraordinary collection of primary documents transcribed from records in the National Archives. An absolutely essential resource!
Rebellion: John Horse and the Black Seminoles, First Black Rebels to Defeat American Slavery: explores the story of John Horse and the Black Seminoles, the first black rebels to beat American slavery and leaders of the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history.
Black Seminoles in Texas and Mexico: from The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) at San Antonio, this website focuses on the history of the black Seminoles. Their They Came from Florida page contains much useful information on the struggles of freedom-seekers in Colonial Florida.
AFRICAN/NATIVE AMERICAN GENEALOGY RESOURCES:
Africana Heritage Project: from the Africana Studies Department at the University of South Florida.
Afrigeneas: The absolute Mother Ship of African American genealogy
The African-Native American History & Genealogy Web Page: an essential starting place for researching African/Native American ancestry!
Creek Indian Researcher: A collection of records and links for those researching their Creek – Muskogee Indian ancestors.
Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, Black Indians: Resources for the Freedmen Descendants of the Five Civilized tribes, a means to locate information particular to the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole Freedmen of Indian Territory /Oklahoma.
We will continue to add resources to the Reading Room as we discover them, so please be sure to check back often to see what’s new with the search for Angola!