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The Seminole Wars The First Seminole War (1817-1819) Forces under General Andrew Jackson attack Seminole and Mikasuki towns in the Apalachicola and Suwannee River regions of Florida destroying crops, stealing livestock, and destroying Negro forts. After the United States takes possession of Florida, Fort Brooke is established in Tampa as one of the forts charged with watching over "problems" between Seminoles and white settlers. By 1830, the United States government decides that removal of all Indians in Florida to the Indian Territory in the West (present day Oklahoma) is the best solution to continued conflict between the Seminoles and white settlers. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 creates the Trail of Tears for the "Five Civilized Tribes" (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickawa, Creek, and Seminole). By 1834, 3,824 Indians are removed to the west. The Second Seminole War (1835-1842) The Treaty of Payne's Landing, signed by a small number of Seminoles in May 1832, required Indians to give up their Florida lands within three years and move west. Micanopy, Coa Hadjo, Jumper, and Osceola along with Abraham and John Caesar (two Black Seminole leaders) resisted relocation. When the U.S. Army arrived in 1835 to enforce the treaty, the Indians were ready for war. As Major Francis Dade marched from Fort Brooke toward Fort King, 180 Seminole warriors led by Micanopy, Alligator and Jumper attacked. Only one man of that army detachment survived the ambush. The Second Seminole War was the fiercest war waged by the U.S. government against American Indians. The United States spent more than $20 million fighting the Seminoles, with four U.S. generals and more than 30,000 troops arrayed against the guerilla tactics of less than 3,000 warriors. The war left more than 1,500 soldiers and uncounted American civilians dead. In 1837, Osceola was captured under a false flag of truce. Although Osceola died in prison in 1838, other Seminole leaders kept the battle going until 1842. Hostilities ceased, though no peace treaty was ever signed. By this time most Seminoles (over 4400) had been deported from Florida, relocated to Indian Territory - today's Oklahoma. The Third Seminole War A Third Seminole War, also known as the Billy Bowlegs' War, broke out in 1855, when conflicts -- largely over land -- arose between whites and some Seminoles who remained in Florida. Along the Manatee River, Indians attacked the Braden plantation and burnt several homesteads in the Sarasota area. Some settlers took shelter in the stockaded compound belonging to Dr. Franklin and Matilda Branch; others felt safer further up the river by Fort Hamer. Some, such as the William Shaw family, decided to leave the Manatee frontier permanently. Constant military patrols and rewards for the capture of Indians reduced the Seminole population to about 200 when the Third Seminole War ended in 1858.
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