Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three wars or conflicts in Florida between the Seminole Native American tribe and the United States. The First Seminole War was from 1817 to 1818; the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842; and the Third Seminole War from 1855 to 1858. The second clash is often referred to as the Seminole War.

Second Seminole War

The U.S. gained formal control of Florida in 1821 through the Adams-Onis Treaty, which had taken weeks for Luis de Onís (Spain's representative in Washington) and Adams to work out. The American government immediately started efforts to displace the Seminoles, encouraging them to join other tribes in the Indian Territories (around modern Oklahoma). Following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, some of the tribespeople signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing in May 1832 and began the move, but others retreated into the Everglades. The treaty required all Seminole to move out of Florida by May of 1835, and the U.S. Army arrived in the territory in early 1835 to enforce the treaty.

Related Topics:
Florida - 1821 - Adams-Onis Treaty - Luis de Onís - Indian Territories - Oklahoma - Indian Removal Act - Treaty of Payne's Landing - 1832 - Everglades - 1835

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The Second Seminole War was fought by the Seminole as guerrillas. Drawing from a population of about 4,000 Seminole Indians and 800 Black Seminole allies, there were at most 1,400 allied Seminole warriors commanded by head chief Micanopy, but led and inspired by Osceola. A major battle fought between the Seminole and U.S. was the Battle of Lake Okeechobee in which Colonel Zachary Taylor won a Pyrrhic victory over the Seminole allies, claiming success even though U.S. forces suffered greater casualties. Eventually over 10,000 regulars and 30,000 militia served in Florida during the conflict. The U.S. government became increasingly frustrated and correspondingly treacherous — Osceola was captured at peace negotiations during a truce, and died in prison at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina in 1838. The American forces began to successfully combat the Seminole tactics under William J. Worth from 1841. Seminole villages were destroyed and their crops burned. Threatened with starvation, the conflict came to an untidy end on August 14, 1842, although no peace treaty was ever signed. Around 1,500 U.S. soldiers had died during the conflict, mostly from disease.

Related Topics:
Guerrilla - Black Seminole - Micanopy - Osceola - Seminole - Battle of Lake Okeechobee - Zachary Taylor - Pyrrhic victory - Fort Moultrie - South Carolina - 1838 - William J. Worth - 1841 - August 14 - 1842

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The U.S. government is estimated to have spent at least $20,000,000 on the war, at the time an astronomical sum. Many Indians were forcibly exiled to Creek lands west of the Mississippi; others retreated into the Everglades where they became known as the Miccosukee. About 500 Black Seminoles emigrated west with the Seminole Indians, with 250 of the blacks receiving promises of freedom in exchange for their surrender. In the end, the U.S. government gave up trying to subjugate the Seminole in their Everglades redoubts and left the remaining Seminoles in peace.

Related Topics:
Mississippi - Everglades - Miccosukee - Black Seminoles

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