Editing Seminole Wars (section)

==Second Seminole War==<!-- This section is linked from [[Miami, Florida]] -->
{{Main|Second Seminole War}}
[[File:Seminolesmassacreingwhites.jpg|thumb|Woodcut from ''A true and authentic account of the Indian war in Florida ... '' (1836)]]

As Florida officials realized the Seminole would resist relocation, preparations for war began. Settlers fled to safety as Seminole attacked plantations and a militia wagon train. Two companies totaling 110 men under the command of Major [[Francis L. Dade]] were sent from Fort Brooke to reinforce Fort King in mid-December 1835. On the morning of 28 December, the train of troops was ambushed by a group of Seminole warriors under the command of Alligator near modern-day [[Bushnell, Florida]]. The entire command and their small cannon were destroyed, with only two badly wounded soldiers surviving to return to Fort Brooke. Over the next few months Generals [[Duncan Lamont Clinch|Clinch]], [[Edmund P. Gaines|Gaines]] and [[Winfield Scott]], as well as territorial governor [[Richard Keith Call]], led large numbers of troops in futile pursuits of the Seminoles. In the meantime, the Seminoles struck throughout the state, attacking isolated farms, settlements, plantations and Army forts, even burning the [[Cape Florida Light|Cape Florida lighthouse]]. Supply problems and a high rate of illness during the summer caused the Army to abandon several forts.<ref>Missall. Pp. 94-121.</ref>

On 28 December 1835, Major Benjamine A. Putnam with a force of soldiers occupied the [[Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park|Bulow Plantation]] and fortified it with cotton bales and a stockade. Local planters took refuge with their slaves. The Major abandoned the site on 23 January 1836, and the [[Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park|Bulow Plantation]] was later burned by the Seminoles. Now a State Park, the site remains a window into the destruction of the conflict; the massive stone ruins of the huge Bulow sugar mill stand little changed from the 1830s. By February 1836 the Seminole and black allies had attacked 21 plantations along the river.

Major [[Ethan A. Hitchcock (general)|Ethan Allen Hitchcock]] was among those who found the remains of the Dade party in February. In his journal he wrote of the discovery and expressed his discontent:

<blockquote>The government is in the wrong, and this is the chief cause of the persevering opposition of the Indians, who have nobly defended their country against our attempt to enforce a fraudulent treaty. The natives used every means to avoid a war, but were forced into it by the tyranny of our government.<ref>Hitchcock. pp.120–131.</ref></blockquote>

On 21 November 1836, at the [[Battle of Wahoo Swamp]], the Seminole fought against American allied forces numbering 2500, successfully driving them back.; among the American dead was [[Major (rank)|Major]] [[David Moniac]], the first Native American graduate of [[West Point]].<ref>Mahon p. 185</ref> The skirmish restored Seminole confidence, showing their ability to hold their ground against their old enemies the Creek and white settlers.
[[File:Thomas Sidney Jesup.jpg|thumb|197x197px|Thomas Sidney Jesup who led the war from 1836 - 1838]]
[[File:Abraham-black-sem.jpg|thumb|210x210px|Abraham, a black Seminole leader ]]
Late in 1836, Major General [[Thomas Jesup]], US Quartermaster, was placed in command of the war. Jesup brought a new approach to the war. He concentrated on wearing the Seminoles down rather than sending out large groups who were more easily ambushed. He needed a large military presence in the state to control it, and he eventually brought a force of more than 9,000 men into the state under his command. "Letters went off to the [[governors]] of the adjacent states calling for regiments of twelve-months [[volunteers]]. Jesup also feared that the presence of black Seminoles in the conflict would encourage slave uprisings in the south stating that if the war was “not speedily put down, the south will feel the effects of it on their slave population before the end of the next season.”<ref>Porter p. 427</ref> In stressing his great need, Jesup did not hesitate to mention a fact harrowing to his correspondents. ''"This is a negro not an Indian war."''<ref>Mahon p. 196</ref> Resulting in about half of the force volunteering as volunteers and militia. It also included a brigade of Marines, and Navy and [[United States Revenue Cutter Service|Revenue-Marine]] personnel patrolling the coast and inland rivers and streams.<ref>Missall. pp. 122–125.</ref>

Jesup sought to eliminate resistance from black Seminoles and runaway slaves<ref>Porter p. 435</ref> who were found to be the fiercest of the Seminole forces as one officer commented: <blockquote>“The Negroes, from the commencement of the Florida war, have, for their numbers, been the most formidable foe, more   bloodthirsty, active, and revengeful, than the Indians.... The negro, returned to his original owner, might have remained a few days, when he again would have fled to the swamps, more vindictive than ever.”<ref>Porter p. 445</ref> </blockquote>Jesup targeted raids on black Seminole villages<ref>Porter p. 436</ref> and enlisting the help of the Creeks offering to buy any captured black Seminoles as slaves for up to 8,000$ turning them over to the U.S as contraband to work for the army.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oertel |first=Kristen T. |date=2023 |title=The “First” Emancipation Proclamation: Black Rebellion, Removal, and Freedom during the Seminole Wars |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/912507 |journal=Civil War History |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=11–35 |doi=10.1353/cwh.2023.a912507 |issn=1533-6271}}</ref><ref>Oertel p. 23-24</ref> 

Another method Jesup used was to promise black Seminoles their freedom from both their Seminole masters and from further enslavement by whites if they surrendered and agreed to move to Indian territory out west<ref name=":3">Oretel p. 12</ref> stating “That all Negroes the property of the Seminole… who… delivered themselves up to the Commanding Officer of the troops should be free.”<ref name=":3" /> Jesup believed that by promising black Seminoles their freedom they would willingly surrender and go west eliminating black resistance from the war. Jesup stated the importance of going through with this promise to keep them out of the war in a message to congress in which he wrote:
[[File:Okterritory.png|thumb|264x264px|Indian territory of what is modern day Oklahoma ]]
<blockquote> "The Negroes rule the Indians, and it is important that they should feel themselves secure; if they should become alarmed and hold out, the war will be renewed.”<ref>Oretel p. 25</ref></blockquote>Of the 500<ref>Porter pp. 444–447</ref> black Seminoles who willingly surrendered most of them were sent west to Indian Territory as promised by Jesup.<ref>Porter p. 446</ref> Slaves that ran away from plantations during the war and later surrendered were likely returned to their original owners even if they surrendered willingly but those who refused to return to the plantation could have a Seminole native claim them and get sent west as an “Indian slave”.<ref>Porter p. 447</ref>Many captured black Seminoles and runaway slaves were returned to their owners and or sold but some were employed as interpreters and counselors who helped convince Seminole native leaders to negotiate surrender.<ref>Porter p. 448</ref>

[[Image:Osceolaseized.jpg|thumb|300px|Osceola was seized at the orders of Gen. [[Thomas Jesup]] when he appeared for a meeting under a white peace or "parley" flag.]]
In January 1837, the Army began to achieve more tangible successes, capturing or killing numerous Indians and blacks. At the end of January, some Seminole chiefs sent messengers to Jesup, and arranged a truce. In March a "Capitulation" was signed by several chiefs, including Micanopy, stipulating that the Seminole could be accompanied by their allies and "their negroes, their ''bona fide'' property", in their removal to the West. By the end of May, many chiefs, including Micanopy, had surrendered. Two important leaders, Osceola and [[Abiaka]] (Sam Jones), had not surrendered, however, and were known to be vehemently opposed to relocation. On 2 June these two leaders with about 200 followers entered the poorly guarded holding camp at Fort Brooke and led away the 700 Seminoles who had surrendered. The war was on again, and Jesup decided against trusting the word of an Indian again. On Jesup's orders, Brigadier General [[Joseph Marion Hernández]] commanded an expedition that captured several Indian leaders, including [[Wild Cat (Seminole)|Coacoochee]] (Wild Cat), [[John Horse]], Osceola and Micanopy when they appeared for conferences under a [[white flag]] of truce. Coacoochee and other captives, including John Horse, escaped from their cell at [[Fort Marion]] in St. Augustine,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tucker |first=Phillip Thomas |title=John Horse: Forgotten African-American Leader of the Second Seminole War |journal=The Journal of Negro History |year=1992 |volume=77 |issue=2 (Spring) |pages=74–83 |doi=10.2307/3031484 |jstor=3031484 |s2cid=140431933 }}</ref> but Osceola did not go with them. He died in prison, probably of [[malaria]].<ref>Missall. pp. 126–134, 140–141.</ref>

Jesup organized a sweep down the peninsula with multiple columns, pushing the Seminoles further south. On Christmas Day 1837, Colonel [[Zachary Taylor]]'s column of 800 men encountered a body of about 400 warriors on the north shore of [[Lake Okeechobee]]. The Seminole were led by Sam Jones, Alligator and the recently escaped Coacoochee; they were well positioned in a [[Hammock (ecology)|hammock]] surrounded by [[Cladium|sawgrass]] with half a mile of swamp in front of it. On the far side of the hammock was Lake Okeechobee. Here the saw grass stood five feet high. The mud and water were three feet deep. Horses would be of no use. The Seminole had chosen their battleground. They had sliced the grass to provide an open field of fire and had notched the trees to steady their rifles. Their scouts were perched in the treetops to follow every movement of the troops coming up. As Taylor's army came up to this position, he decided to attack.

At about half past noon, with the sun shining directly overhead and the air still and quiet, Taylor moved his troops squarely into the center of the swamp. His plan was to attack directly rather than try to encircle the Indians. All his men were on foot. In the first line were the Missouri volunteers. As soon as they came within range, the Seminoles opened fire. The volunteers broke, and their commander Colonel Gentry, fatally wounded, was unable to rally them. They fled back across the swamp. The fighting in the saw grass was deadliest for five companies of the Sixth Infantry; every officer but one, and most of their noncoms, were killed or wounded. When those units retired a short distance to re-form, they found only four men of these companies unharmed. The US eventually drove the Seminoles from the hammock, but they escaped across the lake. Taylor lost 26 killed and 112 wounded, while the Seminoles casualties were eleven dead and fourteen wounded. The US claimed the [[Battle of Lake Okeechobee]] as a great victory.<ref>Mahon. P. 228.</ref><ref>Missall. pp. 138–139, 142–143.</ref>

At the end of January, Jesup's troops caught up with a large body of Seminoles to the east of Lake Okeechobee. Originally positioned in a hammock, the Seminoles were driven across a wide stream by cannon and rocket fire and made another stand. They faded away, having inflicted more casualties than they suffered, and the [[Battle of Loxahatchee]] was over. In February 1838, the Seminole chiefs Tuskegee and Halleck Hadjo approached Jesup with the proposal to stop fighting if they could stay in the area south of Lake Okeechobee, rather than relocating west. Jesup favored the idea but had to gain approval from officials in Washington for approval. The chiefs and their followers camped near the Army while awaiting the reply. When the secretary of war rejected the idea, Jesup seized the 500 Indians in the camp, and had them transported to the Indian Territory.<ref>Missall. pp. 144–147, 151.</ref>

In May, Jesup's request to be relieved of command was granted, and [[Zachary Taylor]] assumed command of the Army in Florida. With reduced forces, Taylor concentrated on keeping the Seminole out of northern Florida by building many small posts at twenty-mile (30&nbsp;km) intervals across the peninsula, connected by a grid of roads. The winter season was fairly quiet, without major actions. In Washington and around the country, support for the war was eroding. Many people began to think the Seminoles had earned the right to stay in Florida. Far from being over, the war had become very costly. President [[Martin Van Buren]] sent the Commanding General of the Army, [[Alexander Macomb (general)|Alexander Macomb]], to negotiate a new treaty with the Seminoles. On 19 May 1839, Macomb announced an agreement. In exchange for a reservation in southern Florida, the Seminoles would stop fighting.<ref>Missall. pp. 152, 157–164.</ref>

[[File:Seminole War in Everglades.jpg|thumb|250px|[[U.S. Marine]]s searching for the Indians during the Seminole War]]

As the summer passed, the agreement seemed to be holding. However, on 23 July, some 150 Indians attacked a trading post on the [[Caloosahatchee River]]; it was guarded by a detachment of 23 soldiers under the command of Colonel [[William S. Harney]]. He and some soldiers escaped by the river, but the Seminoles killed most of the garrison, as well as several civilians at the post. Many blamed the "Spanish" Indians, led by Chakaika, for the attack, but others suspected Sam Jones, whose band of Mikasuki had agreed to the treaty with Macomb. Jones, when questioned, promised to turn the men responsible for the attack over to Harney in 33 days. Before that time was up, two soldiers visiting Jones' camp were killed.<ref>Missall. pp. 165–168.</ref>

The Army turned to [[bloodhound]]s to track the Indians, with poor results. Taylor's blockhouse and patrol system in northern Florida kept the Seminoles on the move but could not clear them out. In May 1839, Taylor, having served longer than any preceding commander in the Florida war, was granted his request for a transfer and replaced by Brig. Gen. [[Walker Keith Armistead]]. Armistead immediately went on the offensive, actively campaigning during the summer. Seeking hidden camps, the Army also burned fields and drove off livestock: horses, cattle and pigs. By the middle of the summer, the Army had destroyed {{convert|500|acre|km2}} of Seminole crops.<ref>Missall. pp. 169–181, 182–4.</ref><ref>Covington. pp. 98–99.</ref>

The Navy sent its sailors and Marines up rivers and streams, and into the [[Everglades]]. In late 1839 Navy Lt. John T. McLaughlin was given command of a joint Army-Navy amphibious force to operate in Florida. McLaughlin established his base at [[Tea Table Key]] in the upper [[Florida Keys]]. Traveling from December 1840 to the middle of January 1841, McLaughlin's force crossed the Everglades from east to west in dugout canoes, the first group of whites to complete a crossing.<ref>Buker. pp. 99–101.</ref><ref>Mahon. p. 289.</ref> The Seminoles kept out of their way.

===Indian Key===
[[Indian Key State Historic Site|Indian Key]] is a small island in the upper [[Florida Keys]]. In 1840, it was the [[county seat]] of the newly created [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Dade County]], and a [[Wrecking (shipwreck)|wrecking]] port. Early in the morning of 7 August 1840, a large party of "Spanish" Indians snuck onto Indian Key. By chance, one man was up and raised the alarm after spotting the Indians. Of about fifty people living on the island, forty were able to escape. The dead included Dr. [[Henry Perrine]], former United States [[Consul (representative)|Consul]] in [[Campeche, Campeche|Campeche]], [[Mexico]], who was waiting at Indian Key until it was safe to take up a 36-square mile (93&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) grant on the mainland that Congress had awarded to him.

The naval base on the Key was manned by a doctor, his patients, and five sailors under a midshipman. They mounted a couple of cannons on barges to attack the Indians. The Indians fired back at the sailors with musket balls loaded in cannon on the shore. The recoil of the cannon broke them loose from the barges, sending them into the water, and the sailors had to retreat. The Indians looted and burned the buildings on Indian Key. In December 1840, Col. Harney at the head of ninety men found Chakaika's camp deep in the Everglades. His force killed the chief and hanged some of the men in his band.<ref>Buker. pp. 106–107.</ref><ref>Viele. pp. 33–35.</ref><ref>Mahon. pp. 283–4.</ref>

===War winds down===
Armistead received US$55,000 to use for bribing chiefs to surrender. Echo Emathla, a Tallahassee chief, surrendered, but most of the Tallahassee, under Tiger Tail, did not. Coosa Tustenuggee finally accepted US$5,000 for bringing in his 60 people. Lesser chiefs received US$200, and every warrior got US$30 and a rifle. By the spring of 1841, Armistead had sent 450 Seminoles west. Another 236 were at Fort Brooke awaiting transportation. Armistead estimated that 120 warriors had been shipped west during his tenure and that no more than 300 warriors remained in Florida.<ref>Mahon. pp. 282, 285–7.</ref>

[[File:1842seminolereservation.png|thumb|250px|The remaining Seminoles in Florida were allowed to stay on an informal reservation in southwest Florida at the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842.]]

In May 1841, Armistead was replaced by Col. [[William Jenkins Worth]] as commander of Army forces in Florida. Worth had to cut back on the unpopular war: he released nearly 1,000 civilian employees and consolidated commands. Worth ordered his men out on "search and destroy" missions during the summer and drove the Seminoles out of much of northern Florida.<ref>Knetsch. Pp. 128-131.<br />Mahon. P. 298.</ref>

The Army's actions became a war of attrition; some Seminole surrendered to avoid starvation. Others were seized when they came in to negotiate surrender, including, for the second time, Coacoochee. A large bribe secured Coacoochee's cooperation in persuading others to surrender.<ref>Mahon. pp. 298–300.</ref><ref>Covington. pp. 103–6.</ref>

In the last action of the war, General William Bailey and prominent planter Jack Bellamy led a posse of 52 men on a three-day pursuit of a small band of Tiger Tail's braves who had been attacking settlers, surprising their swampy encampment and killing all 24. William Wesley Hankins, at sixteen the youngest of the posse, accounted for the last of the kills and was acknowledged as having fired the last shot of the Second Seminole War.<ref>D.B. McKay's "Pioneer Florida", "Buckshot from 26 Shotguns Swept Band of Ferocious, Marauding Seminoles Off Face of The Earth", The Tampa Tribune, 27 June 1954, p. 16-C</ref>

After Colonel Worth recommended early in 1842 that the remaining Seminoles be left in peace, he received authorization to leave the remaining Seminoles on an informal reservation in southwestern Florida and to declare an end to the war.,<ref>Covington. Pp. 107-7.</ref> He announced it on 14 August 1842. In the same month, Congress passed the Armed Occupation Act, which provided free land to settlers who improved the land and were prepared to defend themselves from Indians. At the end of 1842, the remaining Indians in Florida living outside the reservation in southwest Florida were rounded up and shipped west. By April 1843, the Army presence in Florida had been reduced to one regiment. By November 1843, Worth reported that only about 95 Seminole men and some 200 women and children living on the reservation were left, and that they were no longer a threat.<ref>Mahon. pp. 313–4, 316–8.</ref>

===Aftermath===
The Second Seminole War may have cost as much as $40,000,000. More than 40,000 regular U.S. military, militiamen and volunteers served in the war. This Indian war cost the lives of 1,500 soldiers, mostly from disease. It is estimated that more than 300 regular U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps personnel were killed in action, along with 55 volunteers.<ref>Kohn, George Childs: ''Dictionary of Wars: Third Edition'' (p. 486)</ref> There is no record of the number of Seminole killed in action, but many homes and Indian lives were lost. A great many Seminole died of disease or starvation in Florida, on the journey west, and after they reached [[Indian Territory]]. An unknown but apparently substantial number of white civilians were killed by Seminole during the war.<ref>Mahon. pp. 321, 323, 325.<br />Missall. pp. 177, 204–205.<br />Florida Board of State Institutions. P. 9.</ref>Seminole skulls gathered during the war were studied by phrenologists and used to make the false claim that the Seminole people were inherently violent which created an ideological justification for the conflict and removal of  Seminole people across Florida.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Strang |first=Cameron B. |date=2018 |title=Perpetual War and Natural Knowledge in the United States, 1775–1860 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90024942?seq=20 |journal=Journal of the Early Republic |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=387–413 |issn=0275-1275}}</ref>