Editing Seminole Wars (section)

===District of Elotchaway===
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After the United States government disavowed support of the [[Territory of East Florida]] and withdrew American troops and ships from Spanish territory, most of the Patriots in East Florida either withdrew to Georgia or accepted the offer of amnesty from the Spanish government.<ref>Patrick. p. 268.</ref> Some of the Patriots still dreamed of claiming land in Florida. One of them, [[Buckner F. Harris|Buckner Harris]], had been involved in recruiting men for the Patriot Army<ref>Patrick. p. 113.</ref> and was the President of the Legislative Council of the Territory of East Florida.<ref>Patrick. p. 259.</ref> Harris became the leader of a small band of Patriots who roamed the countryside threatening residents who had accepted pardons from the Spanish government.<ref>Patrick. pp. 268–69.</ref>

Buckner Harris developed a plan to establish a settlement in the Alachua Country{{refn|group=Note|The Alachua Country was the interior of Florida west of the [[St. Johns River]], which the Spanish called ''Tierras de la Chua''.<ref>Monaco. pp. 2, 4.</ref>}} with financial support from the State of Georgia, the cession of land by treaty from the Seminoles, and a land grant from Spain. Harris petitioned the governor of Georgia for money, stating that a settlement of Americans in the Alachua Country would help keep the Seminoles away from the Georgia border, and would be able to intercept runaway slaves from Georgia before they could reach the Seminoles. Unfortunately for Harris, Georgia did not have funds available. Harris also hoped to acquire the land around the Alachua Prairie ([[Paynes Prairie]]) by treaty from the Seminoles but could not persuade the Seminoles to meet with him. The Spanish were also not interested in dealing with Harris.<ref>Patrick. pp. 269–71, 277.</ref>

In January 1814, 70 men led by Buckner Harris crossed from Georgia into East Florida, headed for the Alachua Country. More men joined them as they traveled through East Florida, with more than 90 in the group when they reached the site of Payne's Town, which had been burned in 1812. The men built a 25-foot square, two-story blockhouse, which they named [[Fort Mitchell, Florida|Fort Mitchell]], after [[David Brydie Mitchell|David Mitchell]], former governor of Georgia and a supporter of the Patriot invasion of East Florida.{{refn|group=Note|The location of the settlement at Fort Mitchell is disputed. Frederick Davis, based on its reported latitude, placed it east of present-day Ocala.<ref>Davis (January 1930). p. 145.</ref> Chris Monaco argues that the reported latitude was in error, and that other evidence supports a location on the south side of Paynes Prairie. The settlement was described as being next to a prairie "7 or 8 miles wide and 20 long," which corresponds to the size of Payne's Prairie. Buckner Harris reported that the block house was "on the Pirara, near Payne's former residence." Payne's Town, which had been the residence of King Payne until 1812, has been identified with an archaeological site about 1/2 mile from [[Micanopy, Florida|Micanopy]].<ref>Monaco. pp. 3–5.</ref>}} By the time the blockhouse was completed, there were reported to be more than 160 men present in Elotchaway. On 25 January 1814, the settlers established a government, titled "The District of Elotchaway of the Republic of East Florida", with Buckner Harris as Director. The Legislative Council then petitioned the United States Congress to accept the District of Elotchaway as a territory of the United States.<ref>Patrick, Pp. 279-80.</ref><ref>Monaco. pp. 11–12.</ref> The petition was signed by 106 "citizens of Elotchaway." The Elotchaway settlers laid out farm plots and started planting crops.<ref>Patrick. p. 279.</ref><ref>Davis (January 1930). p. 155.</ref> Some of the men apparently had brought families with them, as a child was born in Elotchaway on 15 March 1814.<ref>Monaco. p. 12.</ref>

Buckner Harris hoped to expand American settlement in the Alachua Country and rode out alone to explore the area. On 5 May 1814, he was ambushed and killed by Seminoles. Without Harris, the District of Elotchaway collapsed. Fort Mitchell was abandoned, with all the settlers gone within two weeks.<ref>Monaco. p. 17.</ref> Some of the men at Fort Mitchell who signed the petition to Congress settled again in the Alachua Country after Florida was transferred to the United States in 1821.<ref>Monaco. pp. 14, 18, 21–22.</ref>