The Second Seminole War was a war between the United States government and the Seminole tribe of Florida, fought from 1834 to 1842. The Seminole under Osceola resisted the Indian Removal Act under President Andrew Jackson, leading to the longest and costliest of the United States' wars against the Native American tribes. After eight years of spirited Seminole resistance, the United States government decided to allow for the tribe to occupy an informal reservation in southwestern Florida, but they encouraged most of the Seminole to migrate west to the Indian Territory in exchange for a rifle, money, and a year's worth of rations.
Aftermath[]
The United States had acquired Florida from Spain in the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, and, as white settlers began to arrive, they pressured the government to remove the Seminole Native Americans in order to occupy their lands. The Seminoles gave up their lands in the Panhandle and settled in southwestern Florida, and, by 1827, Florida was peaceful. However, as white planters opened plantations in Florida, the Seminole continued their practice of taking in runaway African-American slaves, and the US government grew concerned about the possibility of an Indian uprising or an armed slave rebellion. As the Seminole hunting grounds became devoid of game, the Seminoles began to wander off the reservation to find more food, encroaching on white lands. In 1828, Andrew Jackson - the victor of the First Seminole War - became President of the United States, and he passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, aiming at forcing the Seminole to resettle in the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. In 1834, the US government and the Seminole agreed to the Treaty of Payne's Landing, giving the Seminole three years to move west of the Mississippi. However, many Seminole chiefs claimed to have been coerced into signing the treaty, while others claimed that the treaty did not represent them. Agent Wiley Thompson deposed Seminole chiefs who rejected the treaty, and Thompson also forbade the sale of guns and ammunition to the Seminole. The young chief Osceola was angered by this move, seeing the US government as treating the Seminole like rebellious slaves. Agent Thompson gifted a rifle to Osceola as a sign of trust, but Osceola continued to cause trouble, forcing Thompson to reluctantly have Osceola locked up in prison for two nights. Osceola, feeling betrayed by his former friend, used the gifted rifle to shoot Thompson dead on 28 December 1835, and he and his followers killed six more Americans outside of Fort King. That same day, Osceola ambushed a company of 110 US Army troops under Major Francis L. Dade, killing all but three of them in the Dade massacre, the first action of the war.
War[]
The Seminole waged guerrilla warfare against isolated US Army outposts and settlers in Florida, leading to the US Congress appopriating $620,000 for the war and placing Winfield Scott in charge of defeating the natives. General Edmund P. Gaines led an expedition of 1,100 troops from New Orleans to Fort Brooke, and they then marched on to Fort King to refill their supplies; along the way, they discovered the Dade massacre and buried the bodies. Gaines and his men soon found themselves in a predicament, as they could neither cross the Withlacoochee River nor return to the fort, as they would run out of supplies before they could. They were forced to eat their horses and mules until General Scott and his army of 5,000 troops marched to join Gaines' force at the Cove of the Withlacoochee. Brigadier-General Abraham Eustis burned "Abraham's Town" on the way to join Scott's force at Volusa, but the expedition failed to engage the Seminoles and was considered a defeat. Throughout 1836, the Seminoles avoided pitched battles with the US Army and instead relied on hit-and-run skirmishes. In January 1837, Thomas Jesup led the Americans to several victories over the Seminoles, forcing them to sign a truce. By the end of May, most chiefs, including Micanopy, had surrendered, although Osceola and Ar-pi-uck-i refused to give up the fight. The Americans succeeded in capturing Osceola and other Seminole leaders under the false flag of surrender, but Ar-pi-uck-i and Halpatter Tustenuggee continued resistance, even as the Cherokee attempted to convince the Seminole to move west. On 25 December 1837, the Seminole were defeated by Zachary Taylor at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, and Taylor was hailed for his victory, promoted to Brigadier-General, and nicknamed "Old Rough and Ready"; however, the US Army suffered 26 dead and 112 wounded to the Seminoles' 11 dead and 14 wounded. The Americans followed this up with a victory at Jupiter Inlet in January 1838, and Taylor assumed command from Jesup that same year. Many Seminole agreed to a truce if they could remain in southern Florida, but resistance continued, forcing the US Army to controversially increase its size in 1839. President Martin Van Buren sent General Alexander Macomb to make peace with the Seminole, and, on 19 May 1839, Ar-pi-uck-i agreed to cease fire in exchange for being allowed to remain in southern Florida with his tribe. On 23 July 1839, however, 150 Seminoles attacked the Calooshatchee trading post, and the violence resumed. In 1840, the Army hired Cuban bloodhound handlers to help track down the natives, but, as the dogs could not track through water, the Seminole easily evaded the dogs. In May 1840, Taylor gave his command to Walker Keith Armistead, and he oversaw the destruction of 500 acres of Seminole crops. The US Navy's "Mosquito Fleet" intercepted Cuban and Bahamian traders as they brought arms to the Seminole, although many sailors fell ill and died from mosquito-born illnesses. Armistead was given $55,000 (now $1,265,250) to bribe the Seminole chiefs into surrender, and Seminole resistance began to collapse in 1841. Seminole chief Coacoochee, paid $8,000 by the US government, sent out messages asking the Seminoles to move west, and hundreds of them agreed. However, several Seminoles were still scattered throughout southern Florida, and they were able to live in the southwest of the state to the west of Lake Okeechobee. From 1842 to 1843, the US government gave away 210,720 acres of land to white settlers, encouraging them to move into Florida and defend themselves from the natives, and, by November 1843, only 300 Seminole remained in Florida.