Editing Seminole Wars (section)

=== East Florida (east side of Apalachicola River) ===
Jackson gathered his forces at [[Fort Scott (Flint River, Georgia)|Fort Scott]] in March 1818, including 800 U.S. Army [[Regular Army (United States)|regulars]], 1,000 [[Tennessee]] volunteers, 1,000 Georgia [[militia]],<ref>{{cite book |title=American Military History: The United States Army and the forging of a nation, 1775-1917 |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRzoM9Sd1YgC&pg=PA162 |publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-087327-0 |page=162 }}</ref> and about 1,400 friendly Lower Creek warriors (under command of Brigadier General [[William McIntosh]], a Creek chief). On 15 March, Jackson's army entered Florida, marching down the banks of the [[Apalachicola River]]. When they reached the site of the Negro Fort, Jackson had his men construct a new fort, [[Fort Gadsden]]. The army then set out for the Mikasuki villages around Lake Miccosukee. The Indian town of [[Anhaica]] (today's [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]]) was burned on 31 March, and the town of [[Miccosukee, Florida|Miccosukee]] was taken the next day. More than 300 Indian homes were destroyed. Jackson then turned south, reaching [[San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park|Fort St. Marks]] (''San Marcos'') on 6 April.<ref>Missall. pp. 39–40.</ref>

[[File:"Capture of Indian Chiefs" - 1818 Florida.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the arrest of [[Hillis Hadjo]] and [[Homathlemico]] at St. Mark's]]
Upon reaching St. Marks, Jackson wrote to the commandant of the fort, Don Francisco Caso y Luengo, to tell him that he had invaded Florida at the President's instruction.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Remini |first=Robert V. |title=Andrew Jackson & His Indian Wars |publisher=[[Viking Penguin]] |year=2001 |isbn=0-670-91025-2 |edition=1st |location=New York, New York |pages=148–149 |language=en }}</ref> He wrote that after capturing the wife of Chief Chennabee, she had testified to the Seminoles retrieving ammunition from the fort.<ref name=":0" /> He explained that, because of this, the fort had already been taken over by the people living in the Mekasukian towns he had just destroyed and to prevent that from happening again, the fort would have to be guarded by American troops.<ref name=":0" /> He justified this on the "principal of self defense."<ref name=":0" /> By claiming that through this action he was a "Friend of Spain", Jackson was attempting to take possession of St. Marks by convincing the Spanish that they were allies with the American army against the Seminoles.<ref name=":0" /> Luengo responded, agreeing that he and Jackson were allies but denying the story that Chief Chennabee's wife had told, claiming that the Seminoles had not taken ammunition from or possession of the fort.<ref name=":0" /> He expressed to Jackson that he was worried about the challenges he would face if he allowed American troops to occupy the fort without first getting authorization from Spain.<ref name=":0" /> Despite Leungo asking him not to occupy the fort, Jackson seized St. Marks on 7 April.<ref name=":0" /> There he found [[Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident|Alexander George Arbuthnot]], a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] trader based out of the [[Bahamas]]. He traded with the Indians in Florida and had written letters to British and American officials on behalf of the Indians. He was rumored to be selling guns to the Indians and to be preparing them for war. He probably was selling guns, since the main trade item of the Indians was deer skins, and they needed guns to hunt the deer.<ref name="Missall. pp. 33, 40-41">Missall. pp. 33, 40–41.</ref> Two Indian leaders, [[Josiah Francis (Hillis Hadjo)]], a [[Red Sticks|Red Stick Creek]] also known as the "Prophet" (not to be confused with [[Tenskwatawa]]), and [[Homathlemico]], had been captured when they had gone out to an American ship flying the [[Union Jack|Union Flag]] that had anchored off of St. Marks. As soon as Jackson arrived at St. Marks, the two Indians were brought ashore and hanged without trial.<ref name="Missall. pp. 33, 40-41"/>

Jackson left Fort St. Marks to attack the Native American [[Bolek|Bolek's]] (aka "Bowlegs") old town and maroon villages (Nero's town) along the [[Suwannee River]] near the current [[Old Town, Florida|Old Town, FL]]. On 12 April, en route to the Suwannee the U.S. army and allied Native Americans led by [[William McIntosh]], found and attacked a Red Stick village led by [[Peter McQueen]] on the [[Econfina River]]. Close to 40 [[Red Sticks]] were killed, and about 100 women and children were captured.<sup>[citation needed]</sup> In the village, they found Elizabeth Stewart, the woman who had been captured in the attack (the [[Scott massacre|Scott Massacre]]) on the supply boat on the [[Apalachicola River]] the previous November near modern [[Chattahoochee, Florida|Chattahochee]], Florida. Having destroyed the major Seminole and black villages, Jackson declared victory and sent the Georgia militiamen and the Lower Creeks home. The remaining army then returned to Fort St. Marks.<ref>Missall. pp. 33–34, 41–42.</ref>

[[Image:Ambristertrial.jpg|thumb|The trial of [[Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident|Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot]] during the First Seminole War]]

About this time, [[Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident|Robert Ambrister]], a former officer in the [[Corps of Colonial Marines]], was captured by Jackson's troops. At St. Marks a [[military tribunal]] was convened, and Ambrister and Arbuthnot were charged with aiding the Seminoles and the Spanish, inciting them to war and leading them against the United States. Ambrister threw himself on the mercy of the court, while Arbuthnot maintained his innocence, saying that he had only been engaged in legal trade. The tribunal sentenced both men to death but then relented and changed Ambrister's sentence to fifty lashes and a year at hard labor. Jackson, however, reinstated Ambrister's death penalty. Ambrister was [[Execution by firing squad|executed by a firing squad]] of American troops on 29 April 1818. Arbuthnot was hanged from the [[Yard (sailing)|yardarm]] of his own ship.<ref>Missall. p. 42.</ref>

Jackson left a garrison at Fort St. Marks and returned to [[Fort Gadsden]]. Jackson had first reported that all was peaceful and that he would be returning to [[Nashville, Tennessee]].