Editing Key Biscayne (section)

===War with the Seminoles===
{{see also|Cape Florida Light#Attack on the lighthouse}}
In 1836, during the [[Second Seminole War]], [[Seminole]]s attacked and burned the Cape Florida lighthouse, severely wounding the assistant lighthouse keeper in charge; his black assistant died of wounds.{{sfn|Blank|1996|p=49}} The lighthouse was not repaired and put back into commission until 1847.{{sfn|Blank|1996|p=60}}

A military post was established on Key Biscayne in March 1838. Its first commander was [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lt. Col.]] James Bankhead. The fort was initially known as Fort Dallas{{sfn|Gaby|1993|p=33}}{{efn|Fort Dallas was established across Biscayne Bay on the Miami River in 1837.}} or Fort Bankhead, but it was eventually renamed Fort Russell for Captain Samuel L. Russell. He was killed when the Seminoles ambushed two boats on the [[Miami River (Florida)|Miami River]] in February 1839. In the summer of 1839, a total of 143 soldiers and sailors were stationed at Fort Russell.{{sfn|Blank|1996|p=46}} Some of the Seminoles captured during the war were held at Fort Russell until they could be placed on ships to be [[Indian removal|removed]] to [[Indian Territory]].

A hospital was established at Fort Russell for [[United States Army]], [[United States Navy]], and [[United States Marine Corps]] personnel. In August 1840, the Army surgeon at the hospital treated 103 patients, including 23 for fever and 26 for [[dysentery]]. Dysentery was the leading cause of death at the fort, followed by [[malaria]], [[tuberculosis]], gunshot wounds and [[alcoholism]].{{sfn|Blank|1996|p=47}}

Colonel Bankhead was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel [[William S. Harney]] in 1839. Colonel Harney had two earlier encounters with Seminoles, the first a battle in which Chief [[Ar-pi-uck-i (Sam Jones)|Arpeika]] eluded capture, and a second in which Harney escaped in only his shirt and drawers from an early morning attack (the [[Second Seminole War#Macomb's peace and the Harney Massacre|Harney Massacre]]) on his camp led by Chief [[Chakaika]]. In light of these experiences, Harney instituted an intensive training program in swamp and jungle warfare for his men. After Chakaika led the raid on [[Indian Key State Historic Site|Indian Key]] in August 1840, Harney set out into the [[Everglades]] after Chakaika, and killed him in his own camp. The war quieted down after that, with active pursuit of the Seminoles ending in 1842, although some of the Seminoles remained hidden in the Everglades.{{sfn|Blank|1996|pp=44–49}}

While the war against the Seminoles continued, Mary and William Davis made plans to develop a town on Key Biscayne. They had a town plan printed in [[Philadelphia]]. The island was touted as an ideal destination "for the recovery of the health". When Indian Key had been named the [[county seat|seat]] for the newly created [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Dade County]] in 1836, the county provided that the county court would meet annually on Key Biscayne. In late 1839 the [[United States Postmaster General]] approved a [[post office]] for Key Biscayne. The first two lots of the new town were sold to Lt. Col. Harney for a total of US$1,000. There is no evidence that the post office ever opened; in 1842 the Postmaster General noted that the appointed postmaster had not completed any of the requirements for opening the post office.{{sfn|Blank|1996|p=49}} No further sales of town lots were made after Harney's purchase.

A complication arose when Venancio Sanchez of St. Augustine purchased for US$400 a half share in the old Fornells grant from another surviving heir, who lived in [[Havana]]. A feud quickly developed between Sanchez and the Davises, with Sanchez demanding a division of the property, and the Davises refusing to acknowledge that Sanchez had any claim to the island. The Davises had hoped that a restored lighthouse would be the centerpiece of their town, but all attempts to repair the lighthouse failed while the war was on. Shortly after the end of the war, the Davises gave up on Key Biscayne and moved to [[Texas]]. Their older son [[Edmund J. Davis]] eventually was elected as governor there.{{sfn|Blank|1996|pp=52–58}}