Battle of Lake Okeechobee

Battle of Lake Okeechobee
Part of Second Seminole War
Date December 25, 1837 Location Lake Okeechobee, Florida 27°12′45.44″N 80°47′6.43″W / 27.2126222°N 80.7851194°W / 27.2126222; -80.7851194 Result See aftermath
Belligerents
United States	Seminole
Commanders and leaders
Zachary Taylor Richard Gentry † William Stanhope Foster Alexander R. Thompson †	Halpatter Tustenuggee (Alligator) Billy Bowlegs (Holata Micco) Abiaca
Strength
1,100	400
Casualties and losses
26 killed 112 wounded	11 killed 14 wounded

The Battle of Lake Okeechobee was one of the major battles of the Second Seminole War. It was fought between 800 troops of the 1st, 4th, and 6th Infantry Regiments and 132 Missouri Volunteers (under the command of Colonel Zachary Taylor), and between 380 and 480 Seminoles led by Billy Bowlegs, Abiaca, and Halpatter Tustenuggee (Alligator) on 25 December 1837. Halpatter Tustenuggee had played a major role in the Dade Battle two years earlier. The Seminole warriors were resisting forced relocation to a reservation in Oklahoma. Though both the Seminoles and Taylor's troops emerged from the battle claiming victory, Taylor was promoted to the rank of brigadier general as a result, and his nickname of "Old Rough and Ready" came mostly due to this battle.