The Seminole Wars By:Ryan Jamison The story of how the Seminoles inspired many more tribes to stand up to the United States, who were deporting them to land west of the Mississippi. Paper length 1,657 words
In 1817, the first of three Seminole Wars began between the U.S. and the Native American Florida Seminoles. Tension had been building between the U.S. citizens and the Seminoles for some time, and the Seminoles were once again being asked to sign treaties to give up their land and move to a reservation far from their home. The U.S. had men and weapons, but the Seminoles knew the land, and therefore made warfare very difficult for the United States. Despite huge odds, the Seminole Indians chose to take a stand to protect the land they loved. The First Seminole War The First Seminole War began in 1817, but conflicts began long before that. The Seminoles had already agreed to a treaty that moved them to inland Florida, where the land was marshy and not good for growing crops. They were unhappy with the new reservation but did their best to survive and agreed to move in exchange for peace, livestock, money and supplies. Many escaped slaves from the southern states ran away from their owners and escaped to the Seminole tribe in Florida. The Seminole tribes accepted runaway slaves into their tribe. The slaves would have to fend for themselves, but still had some freedom and had the protection of the Seminoles. In turn, they agreed to join the fight against the United States. The United States government believed that the Seminoles were sheltering the slaves and that they should be returned to their owners in the South. This led to the United States invading Florida and trying to recapture their slaves. Led by General Andrew Jackson, the United States marched through Florida burning Indian villages, scattering villagers, and recapturing their slaves. Not only did General Jackson battle the Seminoles, but he battled the Spanish at the time. In 1817, Florida was a Spanish territory and the United States wanted to push the Spaniards completely out of America. There were not many major battles in this one year war, but there were many little skirmishes between the natives and the villagers. There were not many casualties, but enough for the United States Army and Navy to get involved in the war.
The Second Seminole War In 1828, the US elected Andrew Jackson as President. President Jackson already had a bad experience with the Seminoles as a general, and therefore wanted the Seminoles to move to a new territory in Oklahoma. The Seminoles didn t want to move because the new territory was cold, and was very close to their enemies, the Creek. One very important Seminole leader was named Osceola. Osceola refused to sign many treaties agreeing to the move west of the Mississippi. One time, Osceola stabbed his knife through the treaty paper and yelled, 1 This is my mark! I will make no other. He was ready to fight. Osceola rallied the other Seminoles and began attacking plantations and raiding villages. Some US soldiers, including Indian agent Wiley Thompson, were at Fort King. Thompson left the fort on a walk and Osceola shot him with a silver plated rifle that Thompson had gifted to him earlier. It was the beginning of the 2nd Seminole War. Soon after, Osceola ambushed troops going to check on Fort King. This was known as the Dade Massacre and over 100 US soldiers died. President Jackson was upset with the Seminole victories and put General Winfield Scott and 1 This is my mark, I will make no other credit given to Osceola Seminole Rebel
General Richard Call in charge of defeating the Indians. With over 550 men in his battalion, General Call was crossing the Withlacoochee River when he was ambushed by a group of Seminoles led by Osceola that were camping out in the bushes. The Seminoles attacked from the thick brush and killed many of Call s troops. Another General, named Edmund Gaines tried to resupply at Fort King and crossed the Seminole reservation on his way there. He too, was also ambushed by Osceola and the Seminoles. By this time, President Jackson was very upset. He fired General Call and replaced him with General Thomas Jesup, who used the Army and the Navy to fight the Seminoles. The Seminoles were hugely outnumbered, but fought fiercely to protect their lands. The public in Florida began to see Osceola and the Seminoles as honorable warriors. Osceola didn t raid villages for money, weapons, livestock, or to kill women or children. He was feared, but respected, by the settlers in Florida. General Jesup understood that the Seminoles were good warriors. They were very smart in their battles. If the white forces were small, the Seminoles attacked directly. If they were large, the Seminoles would hide and attack a few men at a time. The hammock trees and palmetto scrub brush were great hiding places for the Seminoles and they knew the land well. While hiding they could defend their land from armies much larger than themselves. General Jesup realized the Seminoles didn t want to surrender and they would fight until they died. Jesup used the Army to push the Seminoles toward the coastline and then trapped them between the Army and the Navy. The Seminoles realized they were running out of food, ammunition, and money. Jesup offered a treaty to the Seminoles that said that they would agree to move west of the Mississippi and their negroes could come with them. Osceola never wanted to give up his land, but he knew his people were starving and outnumbered. He agreed to the treaty. He wanted to live in peace. Osceola planned one last attack. On June 2, 1837, Osceola and 200 warriors attacked prison guards and freed 700 Seminoles that were kept prisoner. This made General Jesup look foolish. In October of 1837, Osceola asked to meet with General Hernandez to discuss a peaceful move to the new territory. General Jesup commanded General Hernandez to ignore the white flag that was
supposed to mean that he couldn t be captured. Osceola was arrested and was not surprised. He said, There remains nothing worth words. Jesup again ignored the white flag months later and captured Micanopy, another Seminole Chief that was important in the wars. A few months later, Osceola died of a disease called malaria. His last request was to be with his family, and in his war dress. His war dress was made of peacock feathers and he wore a fancy fur coat. He shook hands with everybody silently and then, with his last breath, put his war knife on his chest and let a smile show. His burial was less than perfect, or even decent. He was buried with military honors in South Carolina, disregarding his request to be buried in Florida. He was later transported to Florida, but a rumor was spread that he did not make it back to Florida in one piece. With Osceola gone, most of the Seminoles decided it would be best if they moved to Oklahoma in exchange for food and protected transportation. Most Seminoles were starving and out of ammunition. They knew they would be living next to their enemy, the Creek Tribe, but the thought of decent meals and safety persuaded them to relocate. Only a few hundred Seminoles decided to stay in their native lands and live deep in the Everglades, with little to no food. Some starved trying to stay in their homeland, and they thought it was worth it if they died in the land they had grown up in and loved. The Third Seminole War This war was again full of battles that were little skirmishes that went on for three years. Seminoles that did not get caught and deported in the Second Seminole War were still living outside of the reservation and in hiding. They would try to push the United States Army further and further away. They ended up failing badly and got pushed to the heart of the Everglades. Most of the Seminoles were hungry and tired, so they willingly went to Oklahoma in exchange for safe transportation and food. The few hundred that remained in Florida had to live off of the land and were extremely poor and could not buy ammunition to fight the American Army. There are still Seminole Native Americans still living in the Everglades today.
Why the Seminoles Took a Stand The Seminoles took a stand against the US government because they didn t want to move from their home land. They had many motives to fight for their land and stay in the land of their ancestors. The Seminoles were happy farming and living in Florida and did not want to move next to their enemies, the Creek Tribe in Oklahoma. The Seminoles understood that they were outnumbered and outgunned by the US Army. They refused to give up, though, and fought wisely and fiercely using guerrilla warfare by hiding in bushes and knowing the land. The Seminole Wars were expensive to the US. It cost the US Army approximately 40 million dollars and 1,500 US soldiers lives to try to remove the Seminoles from their land. Even though the Seminoles were a very small group of people, they fought hard against a large army that had better weapons and more money. Osceola had promised to fight till the last drop of Seminole blood has moistened the dust of my hunting ground. In the end, no peace treaty between the United States and the Seminoles was ever signed. Some Seminoles moved to the new reservation, but some stayed in Florida, hiding in the swamps. Today, most Seminoles live in Oklahoma, except for the few who descended from those who stayed and hid in Florida in years past. The Seminoles proved that even when people are up against big odds, they can do amazing things because they re fighting for something they love. Works Cited
Bland, Celia, and W. David. Baird. Osceola: Seminole Rebel. New York: Chelsea House, 1994. Print. This is the main source I used in creating the Second Seminole War paragraph. Osceola was a key point in the Second Seminole War so it went into great detail of the Second Seminole War. Britannica, Editors of Encyclopedia. "First Seminole War." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1988. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://www.britannica.com/event/first-seminole-war>. ` This is a source that gave me a brief outline of the First Seminole War, why it was fought, and how it was fought. Britannica, Editors Of Encyclopedia. "Osceola." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Nov. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017. Catlin, George. "Osceola in Florida." Osceola in Florida. Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017. Church, Oklevueha Native American. "Osceola in Florida." Osceola in Florida. Oklevueha Native American Church, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017. Florida, University South. "The Seminole Wars." The Seminole Wars. Florida Center for Industrial Technology, 23 Nov. 2002. Web. 31 Jan. 2017. Granger. Florida Seminole War 1837. Digital image. Fine Art America. Fine Art
America, 7 July 2016. Web. 13 Feb. 2017. <http://fineartamerica.com/featured/floridaseminole-war-1837-granger.html>. This image is a primary source, it helped me see the vision of the Second Seminole War, this battle was fought at Fort King, this is where the Indian Agent Wiley Thompson was killed by Osceola. This was painted by Granger. Osceola, Chief of the Seminoles. Digital image. Florida Memory. State Archives of Florida, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017. This is one of my primary sources, this image shows Osceola in the Second Seminole War in his war dress.