The East Pensacola Heights site (8Es1) on Pensacola Bay was reported as a Native village with two burial mounds by the Smithsonian Institution in 1882 and revisited in1947. The University of West Florida (UWF) stated that the 1559 Spanish Colony led by Tristan de Luna was located at the same site. UWF began excavations there in 2015.
Among the ranks in an army, many crimes are to be expected as soldiers are but human. Certain indiscretions or crimes would afford different punishments; but the one crime—that of desertion—was considered one of the most heinous crimes a soldier could commit, especially on an important expedition for the Crown. The punishment for desertion was death and was generally carried out very quickly. It kept discipline within an army.
The famous battle site of 1540 between the armies of Hernando de Soto and Native Mabilians was fought in present-day southern Alabama. The archeological site of the battle is not known. The story of the battle is well known through writings of Spaniards who participated in the day-long conflict and is pivotal to our understanding of both the cultures of the Spanish and Natives of the 1500s. Thousands of men and women died in the battle. Their story should be told.