Duncan Lamont Clinch, brevetted to the rank…

Duncan Lamont Clinch, brevetted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1829 and now called to quell the Seminole uprising once again, had also warned Washington that the Seminoles do not intend to move and that more troops would be needed to force them to move.

Clinch's stand against the Seminoles during the First Seminole War had endeared him to slave owners in Georgia, who had been afraid that the fortified position knoen as the Negro Fort might attract runaway slaves.

Hearing that slaves and Indians were fortifying positions along West Florida rivers, Clinch had secured a forward position with his men, provisioned the site, then waited as a naval force moved up the Appalachacola River to find the slaves and Indians.

When the stronghold was discovered, the gunboats had opened fire and quickly hit the magazine.

The resulting explosion had destroyed the fort and killed most of the inhabitants.