In the early 1800s, the Seminole were friends of other runaways—escaped African-American slaves. They hid the slaves and welcomed them into their families.
General Andrew Jackson used the runaway slaves as an excuse to lead an army out of Georgia against the Seminole, starting the First Seminole War of 1817—18. Sharp Knife, as he was known to various tribes, had his troops loot and burn Seminole villages before returning north to Georgia. His invasion started a war with Spain, which at the time claimed Florida as its own. Afterward, Florida became part of the United States.
When Jackson became president, he wanted to send the Seminole to a defined Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. About 3,000 Seminole were forced to relocate in the 1830s, along with Indians from other
A Seminole man in a dugout
Seminole chickee
Southeast tribes, namely the CHEROKEE, CHICKASAW, CHOCTAW, and Creek.
The Indian families were herded westward like cattle by U. S. soldiers without enough food or blankets; many died of starvation, exposure, and disease. Others were killed by bandits. Survivors were not even permitted to stop and bury their dead. The Trail of Tears, a phrase originally applied to the Cherokee experience, is sometimes used to refer to the forced journey of all the “Five Civilized Tribes” as they came to be called after relocation.
Some Seminole refused to leave Florida and waged a guerrilla war from their native swamps, successfully using hit-and-run tactics. Their resistance is known as the Second Seminole War of 1835-42. Osceola was the most important Seminole leader in this struggle. He was not a hereditary chief, but rose to prominence because of his skill in warfare and his oratory. When officials tried to make him sign a treaty agreeing to leave Florida, he slashed it with a knife. Then he led his men into the wilderness to resist the forced removal. He and his warriors won a great victory at the Withlacoochee River against a much larger force of soldiers under General Duncan Clinch.
Osceola was captured through deceit. General Thomas Jesup tricked him into coming to a peace council, then had his men seize the leader. Osceola lasted only three months in captivity, wasting away from malaria and a throat disease. The frontier painter George Catlin painted a famous portrait of the Seminole leader just before his death. Catlin reported that Osceola was ready to die, bitter at the whites for their treachery.
The Second Seminole War had not ended, however. Other Seminole continued to fight and never surrendered. The war wound down after the federal government had lost 1,500 men and spent at least $30 million, making it the most costly Indian war ever. For every two Seminole relocated, one soldier died.
The Third Seminole War took place in 1855-58. Billy Bowlegs’s band attacked settlers, surveyors, trappers, and traders from their headquarters in the Florida Everglades. Once again, the army could not contain the Seminole. Some tribal members agreed to move to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) when relatives from the Indian Territory were brought in to meet with them. Yet the tribe never signed a legally binding treaty, and many Seminole stayed in Florida.
World History
