A statue of de Soto in downtown Bradenton
De Soto National Memorial
  
If you can convince your teacher or parent to take you to the De Soto National Memorial, you have accomplished something. You see, this historic attraction isn't in Tennessee. The De Soto National Memorial is in Bradenton, Florida, which is near where we believe explorer Hernando de Soto first stepped foot on the North American continent. From here, he and his army headed north, passing through the present-day states of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. De Soto then died, in 1542, and the remainder of his men built rafts and floated downstream, through present-day Louisiana, to the Gulf of Mexico.

Hernando de Soto is an important part of early Tennessee history, and the De Soto National Memorial is one of the best places to learn about him and his colleagues. Let's check it out!

Where is the place? Bradenton, Florida, is near Tampa. As you can see on this map, Tampa is on the west coast of Florida, facing the Gulf of Mexico. There is a very large bay here (Tampa Bay), and the De Soto National Memorial is on the south side of the entrance to the bay.
Is the memorial located at the exact place de Soto landed? Probably not. Because de Soto landed so long ago, no one is certain exactly where he came ashore. But we know it was near here based on what some of the people with him wrote at the time.
On this tour we are going to make SIX points about de Soto. If you remember those SIX points then you will have learned a lot. If you want more detail or want to do a report on de Soto, getting more information won't be hard. Ask your teacher or librarian where you can find more information about de Soto. They'll know.
POINT NUMBER ONE: De Soto was from Spain. When he arrived in this part of the world in 1539, people were still reeling over Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. European countries such as Spain, England and France were only beginning to explore the New World and claim parts of it as theirs. Not only was it unclear which nations would colonize which parts of America, no one knew how big America was or what it consisted of.
This film, shown at the memorial, shows what de Soto's landing might have looked like.
POINT NUMERO DOS (In honor of Spain): De Soto was not alone. Not hardly. De Soto was the organizer and leader of what is probably best described as an army of 600. They included professional soldiers, mercenaries (which are soldiers for hire), tradesmen, slaves, adventurers, farmers, priests and people from other walks of life. This army was well armed, with muskets and crossbows, and brought horses, cattle and pigs with it (the first domestic animals ever on the American continent).
The terrain at the De Soto National Monument is completely different than Tennessee. Click on this photo to see how swampy the land is.
POINT NUMERO TRES: De Soto and his army weren't looking to start a colony, and they weren't necessarily that interested in mapping the New World. They were looking for GOLD. And they looked and looked and didn't find any. (We now know, by the way, that de Soto's army went right through a part of Northern Georgia where gold was discovered much later, in the 1830s.)
The interior of the visitor's center
POINT NUMERO CUATRO: De Soto and his army believed that the Native Americans that they found were subhuman and treated them that way. During their journey across the American continent there were many battles between de Soto's army and Native Americans. The better equipped Spaniards generally won these battles and took Native Americans as slaves, using them as guides or as laborers.

(A film shown by the National Park Service at the De Soto National Memorial does a great job talking about this. You can obtain a DVD of this film by calling the memorial's bookstore at 941-792-0458. Ask for the DVD of the NEW MOVIE, not the VHS of the OLD MOVIE. And be advised that this film is not appropriate for small children. Eighth graders? Yes. Fourth graders? No.)
De Soto's Point, which is at the memorial
POINT NUMERO CINCO: De Soto's army wandered the continent for four years, and in general they had a miserable time. Along the way they encountered oppressive heat, disease, hostile natives, physical barriers, but no gold. About half of them died along the way. De Soto never gave up, even though his men often wanted to turn back. And de Soto himself died three years into the expedition. 

The route many historians believe de Soto took
POINT NUMERO SEIS: De Soto and his army appear to have penetrated Tennessee soil twice. They traveled through what is now southeast Tennessee and rested near the present-day location of Chattanooga for three weeks. From what we can tell this was a pleasant and peaceful time. Then, several months later, after a horrible and bloody battle with Native Americans in present-day Alabama, de Soto found the river we now call the Mississippi. (Some people believe he did this in the present-day city of Memphis, but others think he was south of there, in Mississippi.) After de Soto died, his men tied rocks to his body and sank it in the river. We believe that they did this because they were trying to conceal his death from the Native Americans -- some of whom had been told that de Soto was a god.

So those are the six most important things for Tennesseans to know and remember about de Soto. But having pointed out just how much misery de Soto's army brought with them and how much suffering they endured, we should tell you (ironically) that a visit to the De Soto National Memorial is a very pleasant experience. The place is downright beautiful. Here are some pictures:
Check out these trees in front of the visitor's center. They are known as gumbo limbo trees. On behalf of the National Park Service: Don't climb on the gumbo limbo trees, OK?
After you've taken a tour of the visitor's center and seen the movie, take a walk along the Memorial Trail. As you can see, it's quite pretty.
Along the trail you will see wooden cutouts of re-enactors that show us what people might have looked like the day de Soto and his army landed. Here is Hernando de Soto himself.
Here's a little blue heron we saw along the walk. (Thanks to Mary Ball at the Carson-Newman biology department for helping us identify it.)

This really is a neat trail. The water is hidden from view much of the way.
What a beautiful spot this is! The cross, and another monument nearby, remind us that the Spanish who landed here were Catholic. Even though gold was their main reason for coming, they also brought the Catholic faith with them when they landed on these shores.
Click here to be taken the official web site of the De Soto National Memorial.

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