John Westcott (June 16, 1807 – December 31, 1888) was an American surveyor and politician from the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Westcott served as the surveyor general of Florida and the first president of the

Florida Coast Line Canal and Transportation Company The Florida Coast Line Canal and Transportation Company (FCLCTC) was chartered in 1881 to construct a series of canals connecting existing lakes and rivers between St. Augustine and Lake Worth, Florida. The company begun through the urging of St. ...

Early life and education

Westcott was born in

Bridgeton, New Jersey Bridgeton is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Cumberland County Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

before moving to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to enter local politics. Westcott's grandfather was a captain in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. In 1823, Westcott's father, through his association with the

Delaware and Raritan Canal Company The Delaware and Raritan Canal (D&R Canal) is a canal in central New Jersey, built in the 1830s, that served to connect the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadelp ...

, became friends with

Samuel L. Southard Samuel Lewis Southard (June 9, 1787June 26, 1842) was a prominent American statesman of the early 19th century, serving as a U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Navy, and the tenth governor of New Jersey. He also served as President pro tempore of the ...

, one of New Jersey's

United States senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

. Southard sponsored Westcott for admission into

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, and Westcott enlisted in the academy on July 1, 1823. However, Westcott, who was not very athletic, left the academy on November 15, 1823, citing the physical challenges. Westcott instead began studying medicine at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, primarily focusing on the treatment of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

and

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

Early career

Seminole Wars

Second Seminole War

In 1838, Westcott's brother, James Westcott Jr., who was a prominent local politician in the

Florida Territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish te ...

, requested that his brother move to the territory in order to aid the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...

. Yellow fever was prevalent in Florida's swamps, and there weren't many trained doctors who knew how to treat the disease in the territory. Westcott moved to Florida in 1838, settling in

Madison County, Florida Madison County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida, and borders the state of Georgia to the north. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,968. Its county seat is also called Madison. History Located ...

. Westcott enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1840, serving as a surgeon in the Florida Mounted Volunteers under the command of Colonel William Bailey. Due to his training at West Point, Westcott was well regarded among the officers during the war, and was frequently consulted on matters of strategy. Westcott saved his regiment from disaster multiple times, most notably preventing them from marching into a

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

ambush in the San Pedro Swamp. After the end of the Second Seminole War, Westcott settled into a simple life as one of Madison County's prominent citizens, founding the county's Masonic Lodge and becoming the county postmaster, as well as continuing to practice medicine. When Florida was admitted to the Union in 1845, Westcott was elected to the first

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, and was one of the pioneers of Florida's educational system. He only served one term. In 1847, Westcott via his newly acquired friendship with Samuel J. Perry, another prominent citizen in Madison County and a deputy surveyor with the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

, was himself granted a commission as a deputy surveyor. Westcott meticulously mapped Florida's Green Swamp, a task previously deemed impossible. Westcott also began working closely with the army after coming to the conclusion that the swamps, though inhospitable for human settlement, were the perfect hiding spots for Seminole war camps.

Third Seminole War

In 1853, President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

, under pressure from many politicians to deal with the Seminoles, appointed Westcott as the surveyor general of Florida. In this position, Westcott would have full control over the mapping of Florida, discovering the locations of possible Seminole camps and figuring out key positions to build army forts. Despite popular opinion calling for the complete and forcible extermination of the Seminoles, Westcott believed a more peaceful solution was possible. With the help of the army, Westcott began destroying Seminole food sources and forward camps, forcing the tribe into a limited area of operation around the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

. In 1854,

James E. Broome James Emilius Broome (December 15, 1808 – November 23, 1883) was an American politician who was the List of Governors of Florida, third Governor of Florida. Early life and career Broome was born in Hamburg, Aiken County, South Carolina, Ham ...

, the

governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, shared Westcott's belief that a peaceful resolution was possible, and enlisted the aid of the Oklahoma Seminoles to try to persuade their kinsman to surrender. However, the Florida Seminoles, led by Chief

Billy Bowlegs Holata Micco (alternate spellings: Halpatter-Micco, Halbutta Micco, and Halpuda Mikko, meaning Alligator Chief; known by whites as Chief Billy Bowlegs or Billy Bolek) (c. 1810 – 1859) was an important leader of the Seminoles in Florida during ...

, refused to surrender. As a result of pressure from many politicians, the

U.S. Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

, outranking Westcott and Broome, commanded the army to begin aggressive reconnaissance of the Everglades in an attempt to provoke a Seminole response. Sure enough, on December 20, 1855, an army patrol led by Lieutenant

George Lucas Hartsuff George Lucas Hartsuff (May 28, 1830 – May 16, 1874) was an American soldier, born at Tyre, New York. He graduated at West Point in 1852, graduating 19th out of 43 in his class. He served on the frontier and in Florida, where, during a fight ...

was attacked by a Seminole war band led by Bowlegs himself near

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, giving the United States the justification to declare the

Third Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

. Neither Westcott nor any of his surveyors played an active role in the war. With the exception of a small band that remained in hiding deep in the

Big Cypress Swamp Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in South Florida, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Miami on the Atlantic coastal plain. The Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, becam ...

, the Seminoles were entirely defeated by 1858. Westcott left his position as surveyor general the same year.

Political aspirations

Westcott was not particularly interested in politics, despite the prominent positions of his family and his friends. Westcott was a member of the Whig Party until it collapsed in 1856, and then became a

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

. After the Know Nothings collapsed in 1858, Westcott became an

Independent Democrat In U.S. politics, an independent Democrat is an individual who loosely identifies with the ideals of the Democratic Party but chooses not to be a formal member of the party (chooses to be an independent) or is denied the Democratic nomination i ...

. It was under this party that Westcott would challenge the incumbent

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

George Sydney Hawkins George Sydney Hawkins (1808March 15, 1878) was a US Representative from Florida. Born in Kingston, Ulster County, New York; attended the common schools and was graduated from Columbia University, New York City; studied law; was admitted to the ...

. Westcott believed that the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former mayor of Miami Manny Diaz Sr. is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governor o ...

was corrupt, and wanted to abolish the state's convention system for selecting party nominees, as well as support frontier settlers with offers of cheap land. Despite his extreme popularity in Florida's frontierlands of

East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...

and

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, as well as the support of Florida's Democratic governor,

Madison S. Perry Madison Starke Perry (1814 – March 1865) was the fourth Governor of Florida. Early life Madison Starke Perry was born in Lancaster County, South Carolina, the youngest child of Benjamin Perry and his wife Mary Starke. He attended South Car ...

, due to a lack of party support, Westcott's campaign was unable to make inroads into

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

, and was crushed in the general election, only receiving 37% of the vote in a two-person race.

Later career and death

At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, both Westcott and his nephew

James Westcott III James Diament Westcott, III (May 1, 1838 or June 18, 1838 – April 29, 1887), also known as James Diament Westcott, Jr., was an American politician from the state of Florida who served as the 19th Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Early lif ...

enlisted as officers in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. While his nephew enlisted in the

1st Florida Infantry The 1st Florida Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised by the Confederate state of Florida during the American Civil War. Raised for 12 months of service its remaining veterans served in the 1st (McDonell's) Battalion, Florida Infantry f ...

, which actively saw combat in some of the war's bloodiest battles, Westcott, due to his advanced age, instead enlisted into the

2nd Florida Infantry The 2nd Florida Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that fought in service of the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War. History The 2nd Florida was organized near Jacksonville, Florida on July 13, 1861, and mustered into Confe ...

, and was placed in command of the defense of

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, defending the city during the

Battle of Fort Brooke The Battle of Fort Brooke was a minor engagement fought October 16–18, 1863 in and around Tampa, Florida during the American Civil War. The most important outcome of the action was the destruction of two Confederate blockade runners whic ...

in 1863. After the end of the war, Westcott settled in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...

, serving as a private surveyor for the area. Westcott served as one of Florida's delegates to the

1876 Democratic National Convention The 1876 Democratic National Convention assembled in St. Louis just nine days after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention in Cincinnati. This was the first political convention held west of the Mississippi River. St. Louis was noti ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, serving on the Committee on Resolutions. Westcott supported Governor

Samuel J. Tilden Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 – August 4, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of New York and was the Democratic candidate for president in the disputed 1876 United States presidential election. Tilden was ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

for president and Governor

Thomas A. Hendricks Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

for vice president, both becoming the eventual nominees. In 1878, Westcott was once again elected to the Florida House of Representative, this time representing St. Johns County. Like his previous stint, Westcott only served one term. In 1881, at the behest of St. Augustine residents, the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

created the

, responsible for dredging and developing the area around the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

, and placed Westcott as its first president due to his knowledge of surveying. Westcott served in this position until his death on December 31, 1888.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westcott, John 1807 births 1888 deaths Florida Democrats Florida Whigs Members of the Florida House of Representatives University of Pennsylvania alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Confederate States Army officers Confederate States Army soldiers 19th-century American politicians People of Florida in the American Civil War People from Bridgeton, New Jersey People from St. Augustine, Florida People from Madison County, Florida American surveyors American people of the Seminole Wars American transportation businesspeople United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni 19th-century American businesspeople Military personnel from New Jersey