United States History Student Edition

BIOGRAPHY OSCEOLA (c. 1804–1838) Osceola was a Creek born in the Mississippi Territory. As a teen, Osceola fought against the United States in the First Seminole War (1817–1818). He then worked from time to time for the local

west of the Mississippi. The U.S. Army was called upon once again to try to forcibly remove the Seminole. At first this effort did not go well. A group of Seminole attacked troops led by Major Francis Dade as they marched across central Florida. Only a few soldiers survived. The attack prompted a call for additional troops to fight the Seminole. Between 1835 and 1842, about 3,000 Seminole and African Americans known as Black Seminoles fought some 30,000 U.S. soldiers. The Black Seminoles had escaped from enslavement in Georgia and South Carolina. Some lived among the Seminole people. Others had built their own settlements. Like the Seminole, none of them wanted to move. One reason is that they feared the American soldiers would force them back into slavery. Together, the Seminole and Black Seminoles attacked white settlements along the Florida coast. They made surprise attacks and then retreated back into the forests and swamps. The Second Seminole War cost the U.S. government over $20 million and the lives of more than 1,500 soldiers. Many Seminole also died. Others were captured and forced to move west. In 1842, with most of the surviving Seminole now in the Indian Territory, the fighting paused. The Third Seminole War broke out in 1855 over what little land in Florida the Seminole had left. The war was also known as Billy Bowlegs’ War since Bowlegs was the main Seminole leader during this conflict. By the war’s end in 1858, Bowlegs finally agreed to move to Indian Territory, taking most of those remaining with him. However, a small band of Seminoles escaped to and stayed hidden in the Everglades. Approximately 3,500 Seminoles who live in Florida today are descendants of these Seminoles. Life in the West By 1842, only a few scattered groups of Native Americans remained east of the Mississippi River Most of them now lived in the West. They had given up more than 100 million acres of land. In

Indian agent as a peacemaker and for U.S. Army surveyors scouting the Florida border. After Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, the Seminole were again pressured to sign a relocation treaty. Osceola refused, and the Second Seminole War broke out. Osceola served as a military leader during the war, repeatedly directing successful ambushes and then leading his followers to safety. His many victories against the U.S. Army made him famous across the country. In October 1837, Osceola was lured to a meeting by a white flag of truce, but instead he was taken prisoner. He died after less than three months in prison. His grave marker reads “Patriot and warrior.”

Describing Why might people have considered Osceola a patriot?

return, they received about $68 million and 32 million acres of land west of the Mississippi. There they resided on reservations , or areas of land set apart for a tribe. Eventually, white settlement would extend into these areas, as well. Many groups relocated in the eastern half of the Indian Territory on lands already claimed by several Plains peoples, including the Osage, Comanche, and Kiowa.

reside to live, make one’s residence reservation area of land set apart for a tribe or tribes

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Political and Geographic Changes 315