De Soto National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

De Soto National Memorial • Florida

Reenactor Bill Boston on his horse Dixie in front of the De Soto Monument.

De Soto Tim Burke greets on of the parks Junior Rangers

In May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto’s army of soldiers, hired mercenaries, craftsmen, and clergy made landfall in Tampa Bay. They were met with fierce resistance of indigenous people protecting their homelands. De Soto’s quest for glory and gold would be a four year, four thousand mile odyssey of intrigue, warfare, disease, and discovery that would form the history of the United States.