The Death of Florida's Princess, 1867

The Princess Murat

Madame Catherine Daingerfield Willis Murat, the French Princess who was also a great-grandniece of President George Washington, lived for much of her life near Tallahassee.

Her passing during the summer of 1867 was covered with great sadness in the state's leading newspapers

The following appeared in the Tallahassee Sentinel of August 8, 1867:

A SAD ANNOUNCEMENT. – Madame C.D. MURAT, relict of Prince Achille Murat, died at her Jefferson county plantation, on Tuesday morning last, after an illness of several months’ duration. Sad as this announcement is, it is not altogether unexpected to our readers. Few indulged the hope, latterly, that a vigorous constitution would survive the ravages of the terrible typhoid fever that has so long threatened to remove from the scene of her usefulness, in this community, the noble victim of the destroying angel. At an advanced age of sixty years, and over, one of the rarest gems that ever ornamented the society of the South – one of the purest minded and most unselfish of her sex – a blessing and an honor to the age in which she lived – has gone to reap the reward of her fervent piety and her wide-spread benevolence.

Belleview, Home of a Princess

The poor will sadly miss the charitable assistance of one of their “ministering angels” – the rich will search in vain for another such exemplar – whilst all classes will sincerely lament a death which, at her ripe age, seems untimely.


We leave to some abler pen the mournfully pleasant task of paying proper tribute to the memory of one whose whole life has been a blessing, and whose death is now mourned as a public calamity.

Princess Murat's home, Belleview, still stands. A beautifully restored part of the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, it provides a unique look into the life of a real princess. The home is open daily for self-guided tours daily. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/belleview.

Letchworth-Love Mounds - North Florida

A park just off U.S. 90 between Tallahassee and Monticello may be the home of the largest surviving Indian mound in Florida.

Letchworth-Love Mounds Archaeological State Park is a relatively new state park that preserves the site of a major Native American chiefdom thought to date from the Weeden Island Period. Artifacts discovered in the park have been dated to the years 300 - 900 A.D.

The mounds marked the capital of an important chiefdom that thrived in the swamps and wetlands around beautiful Lake Miccosukee, a noteworthy body of water just west of Monticello. Researchers believe that the site once included as many as 15 mounds, but only four remain today. Of these, one is the magnificent mound once known as the Miccosukee Indian Mound. It rises 46 feet into the air and is 300 feet across the base. At the time of its use, it was probably even much taller.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/letchworth.

Florida Panthers in Tallahassee

One of the best places to actually see rare Florida Panthers is at the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science.

These magnificent cats once ranged across much of Florida, but the advance of man brought about a decline in the panther population and their range is now limited to remote areas of South Florida, although unconfirmed reports of big cat sightings remain common in other areas of the state.

The beautiful Florida Panther has long attracted the attention of man. Prehistoric Native American art found in the state includes representations of panthers and early settlers were very aware of and often waged war on the cats, which went after easily accessible farm animals for food. Many early writings about the state mention panthers and they also figure into the writings of early Florida writers including Marjorie Rawlings.

Many older residents of the state still recall seeing panthers or at least their carcasses during their younger years. Panther stories are a major part of Florida's folklore.

Today there are very few places where panthers can be seen easily, but perhaps the best is the unique Tallahassee Museum. Visitors there can take a self-guided tour past numerous native Florida animals, ranging from bears and alligators to beautiful Florida panthers.

The museum also features a wide variety of other points of interest, including a restored 19th century farm, the home of Princess Murat, restored schools and churches and much more. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/tallahasseemuseum.

Old Fort Park - Tallahassee, Florida

In the months following the Battle of Marianna, authorities in Tallahassee moved to better protect Florida's capital city from a similar attack by Union forces.

A chain of fortifications were constructed around the south side of the city, with redoubts or rectangular forts constructed on high points to allow soldiers and cannon to better defend against any attack on the capital. One of these can still be seen just a few blocks from the Capitol Complex at historic Old Fort Park.

Although tradition holds that the well-preserved earthworks at Old Fort Park were built as an emergency measure during the Battle of Natural Bridge (March 6, 1865), they actually date to the previous fall and winter. Under authority from Brigadier General William Miller, Confederate engineer Theodore Moreno designed a series of fortifications to protect the main approaches to the city. Using African American laborers conscripted from area plantations, Miller and Moreno constructed forts and lines of breastworks that could be occupied quickly in the event Union forces approached Tallahassee.

Fortunately for the people of the city, the defenses were never tested. The main Union expedition to capture Tallahassee was turned back at Natural Bridge and the earthworks never came under fire, although they were manned by Southern militia during the emergency.

The surviving redoubt at Old Fort Park was originally known as Fort Houstoun, because it stood on what was then the Houstoun Plantation. Artillery positioned there could command the approaches to the capitol building itself.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/oldfortpark.

Wakulla Springs State Park - Wakulla Springs, Florida

One of the most popular places in the Tallahassee area this time of year is Wakulla Springs State Park.

Located just south of the capital city, the park encompasses thousands of acres of fragile wilderness and protects one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world. Divers using special equipment have explored the caves that open in the spring for miles and have descended to depths of over 300 feet.

The Wakulla Springs basin is rich in history. Evidence of prehistoric Native American hunters has been found here and divers have retrieved the bones of prehistoric animals, including mastodons, from the bottom of the spring. Other bones, in fact, can still be seen lying on the bottom 80-feet down from the glass-bottomed boats operated by the park service.

The Creek Prophet, Josiah Francis, established a village on the Wakulla River downstream from the springs after he fled Alabama at the end of the Creek War of 1813-1814. It was here that his daughter, Milly Francis, rescued a captured Georgia militiaman and became known as the Creek Pocahontas.

The land around the spring was purchased in 1934 by Florida industrialist Edward Ball, who saved it from development for decades. Ball built the historic Wakulla Springs Lodge in 1937 and zealously protected the property from unauthorized intrusion. Wakulla Springs is now a state park and is open to the public daily. The historic lodge offers dining and overnight stays and the park features glass-bottomed boats, river cruises, swimming, nature trails, picnic areas and much more.

To learn more about historic Wakulla Springs, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/wakullasprings.

Battle of Miccosukee - Leon County, Florida

One of the few significant confrontations of Andrew Jackson's final invasion of Spanish Florida took place on April 1, 1818, when Jackson attacked the massive Miccosukee towns along the west shore of Lake Miccosukee.

The center of what was then the western branch of the Seminole nation, the Miccosukee towns stretched for 10 miles along the lake and were a primary target for U.S. troops. Although the Miccosukee chief Kenhajo and his warriors had generally avoided conflict with the United States until after soldiers from Fort Scott attacked the Lower Creek town of Fowltown near what is now Bainbridge, Georgia, they quickly emerged as one of the primary fighting forces of what is now remembered as the First Seminole War.

After warriors blocked boat traffic and wiped out a military detachment on the Apalachicola River then attacked both Fort Scott and Fort Hughes in Southwest Georgia, officials in Washington ordered Major General Andrew Jackson to the frontier from his home in Nashville. Marching to Fort Scott, Jackson invaded Florida in March of 1818 with an army that would grow to over 3,000 men.

After establishing Fort Gadsden on the lower Apalachicola to serve as a base of operations, he turned northeast across today's Apalachicola National Forest and arrived in the vicinity of modern Tallahassee on March 31st. There he found the Seminole town of Tallahassee Talofa abandoned and burned it to the ground. The next morning, he resumed his march for Miccosukee.

As Kenhajo's warriors detected the approach of the thousands of soldiers, militiamen and Creek volunteers, they took up a position on a point of land in a pond to fight a delaying action until the women, children and elderly could be evacuated from the Indian towns. A severe firefight erupted and the Miccosukee warriors held their ground until part of Jackson's army moved into position to flank them. They then fell back in a fighting retreat.

Jackson and his men burned more than 300 homes in the Miccosukee towns and captured large quantities of provisions. No trace remains of the towns today and the battlefield is not marked.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/miccosukee.

DeSoto Winter Encampment - Tallahassee, Florida

Hernando de Soto and his army spent years exploring the South, yet despite the number of places they went and battles they found, only one location positively associated with the Spanish expedition has been found.

The DeSoto Winter Encampment Historic State Park is located near the heart of Tallahassee. In fact, were it not for the trees and buildings, today's state capital building would be easily visible from the site.

Archaeologists working here have found a variety of artifacts dating from DeSoto's presence, including crossbow points, coins and even pig bones (DeSoto and his men brought the first known pigs to Florida).

Located on the grounds of the former home of Governor John Martin, the site was discovered by the late B. Calvin Jones, a state archaeologist, when he inspected the grounds looking for signs of a later Spanish mission as a construction project was about to get underway.

Jones found Spanish artifacts, but they turned out to be much older than he expected. Subsequent research revealed he had found the site of Anhaica Apalache, the 16th century Indian village where DeSoto and his men camped during the winter of 1539-1540. State authorites were able to reach a deal with developers to save part of the site and it has been designated the DeSoto Winter Encampment Historic State Park.

The park is in the early stages of its development and right now consists of only a couple of historic markers and an interpretive panel. Some special events are held there, however, and there are hopes of better developing it in future years.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fldesoto1.

Home of a Princess in Tallahassee

In a recent post on the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, I mentioned that the complex preserves a number of historic structures including the home of a Florida princess.

Belleview, the home of Princess Catherine Daingerfield Willis Murat, has been beautifully restored and is one of my favorite exhibits at the museum.

A grandniece of President George Washington, the princess received her title when she married Prince Achille Murat at Tallahassee in 1826. A nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, Murat came to the United States after the fall of the Napoleonic Empire.

The couple traveled the world but were closely associated with Florida. One of their homes near Tallahassee was burned in an Indian raid during the Second Seminole War. After spending time in Europe, they relocated to a plantation in Jefferson County, where Prince Murat died in 1847.

In 1852, when Napoleon III declared an empire in France, Catherine Murat became a recognized Princess of the French Court. She traveled to France and also received financial support from the Empire.

Two years after the recognition of her title, Princess Murat purchased Belleview. Then the center of a 520 acre cotton plantation, the home was originally located on Jackson Bluff Road in Leon County. She lived there until her death in 1867. The house has been relocated from its original site to the museum where it is now beautifully restored and open to the public daily.

To learn more about the Princess Murat home, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/belleview.

Nice Online Article on the Battle of Natural Bridge

There is a very nice article on the Battle of Natural Bridge, fought south of Tallahassee on March 6, 1865, in the new issue of Sweet Tea Journal.

The Journal is an online magazine published each quarter that explores points of interest and life in Norhtwest Florida.

Written by Jim Noles, the article includes a nice overview of the Battle of Natural Bridge and also discusses the importance of the battlefield as it exists today. Here is the link to the article: http://www.joe.com/Yankees_are_Landing-Article.

Be sure to take time to browse around some of the other pages and look at previous issues. It is an outstanding online magazine.

If you are interested in learning more about the Battle of Natural Bridge, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex or consider my book, The Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida: The Confederate Defense of Tallahassee. You can check it out on Amazon by clicking here.

Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science

One of the most interesting museum complexes in Florida borders Lake Bradford in Tallahassee.

The Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, formerly known as the Tallahassee Junior Museum, covers more than 50 acres and features a wide variety of exhibits including a fascinating collection of historic structures.

One of the most interesting is Belleview, the home of the Princess Murat. Few people today realize that Tallahassee was once the home of a famed French prince and princess. Prince Achille Murat was a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Catherine, was a great-grandniece of President George Washington. Although he died during the 1830s, she lived until 1867. The last 13 years of her life were spent at Belleview, a charming little plantation house that originally stood on Jackson Bluff Road in Leon County. During that time she visited the court of Emperor Napoleon III in France and received support from the French Empire.

The museum also features an array of other preserved structures, including a turpentine commissary, church, school and a complete Florida farm dating from the 19th century. Visitors can also explore nature trails and other exhibits and also see a large collection of native Florida animals including extremely rare Florida Panthers.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/tallahasseemuseum.

Maclay Gardens State Park - Tallahassee, Florida

The beautiful and historic gardens at Maclay Gardens State Park in Tallahassee are now moving into full bloom. If you want to visit, now is the time!

The park entrance is located one-half mile north of Interstate 10 on U.S. Highway 319 and features more than 1,000 acres of beautiful North Florida woods, hills and lakes, which surround the famed 28-acre ornamental garden that is one of the most beautiful in the United States.

Used for farming during the 19th century, the state park area had become a hunting plantation by 1900. The historic Maclay House and several other structures on the grounds were built between 1906 and 1909.

The gardens themselves got their start in 1923 when Alfred B. Maclay purchased the property for use as a winter home. He and Mrs. Maclay soon began planting flowers in what they came to call "Killearn Gardens" and by the time of Mr. Maclay's death in 1944, the gardens had attained note as one of the most beautiful locations in the country.

In 1953, Mrs. Maclay and her children gave 307 acres containing the gardens to the people of Florida as a lasting memorial to Mr. Maclay. Renamed Maclay Gardens State Park, the property has grown to become a major state park incorporating 1,176 acres. In addition to the gardens, which are open during the spring blooming season, the park features swimming, hiking, picnicking, biking, fishing and more. Admission to the park is $4 and there is another $4 fee to enter the gardens themselves.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/maclaygardens1.

Anniversary of the Battle of Natural Bridge

Today marks the 144th anniversary of the Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida. Fought on March 6, 1865, along the banks of the St. Marks River south of Tallahassee, this battle preserved Tallahassee's status as the only Southern capital east of the Mississippi not conquered by Union forces during the Civil War.

One of the last significant Confederate victories of the war, the battle took place when a Union force commanded by General John Newton marched up the east bank of the St. Marks River after landing at the St. Marks Lighthouse. Prevented from crossing the river downstream at Newport, the Federals moved on the Natural Bridge hoping to seize the crossing before Confederate defenders could arrive. They failed.

For almost the entire day, the two forces battled for control of the bridge. The Confederate forces, commanded by Generals Samuel Jones and William Miller, entrenched on high ground overlooking the Natural Bridge, forcing the Federals to charge them eight times in a futile effort to break their lines. Both sides fought heroically, but in the end the Union soldiers were forced to withdraw back to the Gulf of Mexico.

The site is preserved today at the Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park. Located near Woodville, a town south of Tallahassee, the park features monuments and interpretive signs, preserved earthworks from the battle, a picnic area and beautiful views of the St. Marks River. The annual battle reenactments take place at the park this weekend, with the main events set for Sunday when there will be a memorial service at 1 p.m. (Eastern) followed immediately by the main reenactment.

For more information on the battle, visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex.

Lake Jackson Mounds - Tallahassee, Florida

Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park preserves the site of an ancient city that thrived on the present site of Tallahassee more than 500 years ago.

The capital of a Mississippian chiefdom that thrived across much of the Leon County area between 900-1500 A.D., the Lake Jackson Mounds remain one of the most impressive Native American ceremonial sites in Florida.

The state park preserves two large platform mounds that were once the center of a mound complex where ancient Native Americans gathered for political and religious purposes. Archaeologists working at the site have found remarkable artifacts, including elaborately engraved copper breastplates made by the early inhabitants of the site.

The park also preserves a beautiful section of woodlands where a nature trail leads past a mill dam and the dikes of rice fields that were cultivated during the 1820s.

To learn more about Lake Jackson Mounds and to see additional photos, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/lakejackson1.

Maclay Gardens State Park - Tallahassee

As we move into late February, it will not be long before azeleas and dogwoods begin to bloom in Florida. By mid-March, flowers will begin to cover much of the state.

One of the most extraordinary places to visit in late March and early April is Maclay Gardens State Park in Tallahassee. Covering hundreds of acres just off Interstate 10, the park offers one of the nation's most spectacular gardens.

Conceived and planted by Alfred and Louise Maclay, who had purchased the property as a winter home, the first plantings in the gardens date back to 1923. Considered a "masterpiece of floral architecture," the grounds feature a walled garden, hundreds of blooming shrubs and trees, a reflecting pool, and paths leading through acres and acres of beautiful plantings.

The gardens usually reach their peak in late March, so if you are interesting in taking a trip to Tallahassee this year, consider making plans to see the blooms.

For more information, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/maclaygardens1.

Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail - Tallahassee, Florida

This popular "rails to trails" park was once the historic Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad. The second railroad ever built in Florida, the line connected the state capital of Tallahassee with the port of St. Marks on the Gulf of Mexico.

The railroad covered a distance of just over 20 miles, but was vital to the economic growth of Tallahassee because the city was one of the only territorial or state capitals of its day not located on a navigable waterway. The trains moved passengers and commerce to and from the lower St. Marks River, where small schooners provided connections to other ports on the Gulf Coast and Atlantic seaboard.

When the railroad first began operating, the locomotives had not yet arrived so teams of mules were used to pull the cars. Before long, however, steam-powered locomotives pulled the trains back and forth.

The railroad played a critical role in the Civil War when it was used to move Confederate troops ahead of the Battle of Natural Bridge. It continued to operate until 1983, but is now a state park that features a paved trail connecting Tallahassee and St. Marks.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/tallahasseerr.

Mission San Luis in Tallahassee

One of the most fascinating historic sites in Florida's capital city is Mission San Luis, a 17th century Franciscan mission, Spanish fort and Apalachee Indian village.

Located on a hilltop west of today's downtown area, the mission site is now a park managed by the State of Florida. It includes reconstructions of Spanish houses, the mission chapel, a massive Native American council house and the Spanish fort that defended the complex.

Mission San Luis was the western capital of Spanish Florida during the latter half of the 17th century. Unlike St. Augustine, which was constructed using a European plan, San Luis was built in a unique combination of European and Native American styles.

The site was occupied from the mid-1600s until 1704, when it was evacuated in the face of British-led raids on the missions of North Florida. Unlike many such sites, however, the location of Mission San Luis remained known through the years. Early settlers reported finding old Spanish cannon at the site and 20th century archaeologists were able to identify many key areas of the mission.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/sanluis.