William Lauderdale

Lauderdale first served as a lieutenant under Andrew Jackson when the Tennessee Volunteers were dispatched to New Orleans in 1812. Although the troops were relieved before they encountered any combat, the experience promoted Lauderdale as member of Jackson's inner circle. Lauderdale left his Goose Creek plantation in Hartsville to battle in the Creek War. He became Jackson's chief quartermaster and ultimately led him to the battle of New Orleans in 1815.[2]

Lauderdale served again as a captain during the Second Seminole War. In 1837, Lauderdale led a battalion of Tennessee volunteers to South Florida to search for Seminoles who had survived the Battle of Loxahatchee. He established a post on the New River, which subsequently named Fort Lauderdale.[3]

Lauderdale died of a pulmonary embolism on May 11, 1837 near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[4] At his funeral, one witness reported, "In the presence of a riderless horse, the band played, colors were presented, and a barrage of artillery and muskets fired a salute."[5]

Lauderdale was the third son of James and Sarah Lauderdale.[6] He married twice, raised five children, and lived most of his adult life at his Goose Creek plantation west of Hartsville, TN. There were no known paintings or photographs ever taken of Lauderdale.[7]

The accomplishments of Major Lauderdale and the Tennessee Volunteers are memorialized by two historical markers placed near Jupiter, Florida.[8] A statue of the military officer,[9] sculpted and bronzed by a West Palm Beach artist was unveiled in William Lauderdale Park in 1988 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Pine Island, and a military outpost called "Fort Lauderdale" in Broward County.[10]