The story of a beautiful Native American girl saving a captured white man from a death sentence might sound familiar.

For years American history books included the legend of Pocahontas and John Smith as if it were fact. Many modern historians now theorize John Smith exaggerated his exploits and invented the claim that Pocahontas saved him. Smith did not include the story in his first writings about his travels. It was only after Pocahontas was honored by the royal family in London that Smith published the revised version of his life story, this time adding the exciting tale of his rescue by the famous Indian princess.

Florida has it’s own tale of a young woman risking her life to save a stranger.

According to ExploreSouthernHistory.com, Malee “Milly” Francis (1803-1848) was the daughter of Creek leader Josiah Francis, also known as the Prophet Francis, the religious leader of the Red Stick movement in the Creek Nation. She was born in what is now Alabama. After being forced off their land, her family was among the Creeks who migrated to Florida where they became part of the Seminole Tribe.

In 1818, while living with her father on the Wakulla River, Milly saved the life of a U.S. soldier. According to accounts from the time, Duncan McCrimmon had gotten lost while out fishing. He was captured by two Creek warriors who had tied him to a tree and were preparing to execute him when Milly convinced them to spare his life. McCrimmon shared the story with a newspaper reporter. Other papers across the country picked up the thrilling tale and Milly became famous.

McCrimmon later took Milly a gift of money donated by admirers who read about her in the newspapers. He also offered to marry her. She accepted the gift but turned down the proposal.

Milly married a Creek warrior. She was later among the Native Americans who were forced to travel the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma.

In 1842, Lt. Col. Ethan Hitchcock was sent to Oklahoma to investigate reports of fraud committed on those forced onto the reservation lands. He found Milly living in poverty and learning of her story, petitioned the U.S. government to give her a pension. In 1844, Congress passed a bill providing Milly with a pension of $96 a year. They also voted to award her a “medal of honor” for saving McCrimmon’s life. Some believe Milly Francis was first woman to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor, although she is not included on the master list of recipients. Sadly, Milly died of tuberculosis in 1848. She never received the medal or any funds from the pension.

The Daughters of the American Revolution placed a monument about Milly Francis on the grounds of San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park. A historical marker at Fort Gadsden Historic Site also tells her story.

A book about her life was published in 2013. “Milly Francis: the Life and times of the Creek Pocahontas,” was written by Dale Cox.

While legend maintains the Milly Francis is the woman on the seal, there is no official documenation to prove this. The Florida state seal was adopted by the 1865 Florida legislature, which mandated that the sea display a scene in the center “of the sun’s rays over a high land in the distance, a cocoa tree, a steamboat on water, and an Indian female scattering flowers in the foreground, encircled by the words, Great Seal of the State of Florida: In God We Trust."

A Seminole woman is depicted on the Florida State Seal.

The original artist depicted the Native American in the dress of a Plains Indian and included a feather headdress worn only by males. In 1970, the seal was updated to replace the cocoa tree with a sabal palm and change the woman’s attire to that worn by Seminoles.