The Seminole Wars And The American Conflicts With The Florida Indian Tribe

Zane Lienhart

Professor Hawn

AMH2010

10/17/17

The Seminole Wars and the American Conflicts with the Florida Indian Tribes

Some of the darkest and most shameful times in American History revolved around dealings with the Native Americans. The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, are important events in American History that are almost always ignored or overlooked. They consisted of three individual series of conflicts revolving around the Seminole Indians of Florida and the United States.

Whether viewed through rose colored glasses or not, the three Seminole wars each played a key role in the development and integration of one of Americas 50 States: Florida.

The original population of Natives in Florida declined soon after the arrival

And Along with many escaped slaves from America, these Native groups eventually formed into what historians refer to as the Seminole Indians.

Before the Seminole Wars were the American Revolution in 1765 and the Patriot War in 1810. During both of these conflicts, The Seminole Indians played the same role: to harass and attack the Americans for the Spanish. Obviously, this served to cause tension between the Seminole Indians and the new United States, a contributing factor to the following Seminole wars.

Following the creek war in 1814, and Colonel Andrew Jackson’s “Treaty of Fort Jackson”, many Creek Indians fled Alabama and Georgia. They then subsequently joined with the Seminoles in Florida making the majority of the Seminole population of Creek

Word spread throughout the American South regarding this fort, and it became known as the “Negro Fort”. The Americans began to worry that it would inspire their slaves to escape to Florida or revolt. In response, and after informing the Spanish Authorities, Andrew Jackson assigned Brigadier General Edmund Pendleton Gaines to capture the fort. In order to capture the “Negro Fort”, Gaines then built an opposing fort on the Flint River called “Fort Scott”. After a Native raid on American Supply ships, Andrew Jackson gave permission to attack “Fort Negro”. Due to a misplaced powder magazine, the fort was leveled and many of its occupants killed. This event marked the beginning of the Seminole Wars and Jackson’s Florida Invasion.

The First Seminole war took place simultaneously with Andrew Jackson’s invasion of Florida, but exactly which year¬-- historians are undecided. The Florida DOS records indicate that it took place between 1817 and 1818, while other sources say it took place a few years earlier or lasted a few years longer. This First War was really a series of loose conflicts between the United States and the Seminole Indians, as no official battles took place. And at the time, the Seminole Indians did not official consider themselves a United Sovereign