LIVING HISTORY
13
battle of the war, was fought to something of a standstill,
with the Indians moving further south, as Taylor took his
dead and wounded north. While searching for the Seminoles,
a large scouting party from Fort 3ierce suͿered heavy casualties
in a skirmish. Survivors brought back news that the
enemy was amassing in large numbers 30 miles south of the
new fort. Jesup would go after them right away, via the vast
Al-pa-ti-o-kee Swamp.
RELUCTANT LEADER
But the general was leading a war he never wanted to
Àght. When he Àrst took over the Mob, he had tried so hard to
make it end without more bloodshed. So, how did it all come
about?
For more than a century before Florida became a U.S. territory,
Native Americans from the Creek Confederacy and other
tribes fled to Florida in an eͿort to retain their way of life.
They were Moined by runaway slaves. Together they banded
in a loose association that became known as the Seminole
Nation. While Florida changed hands back and forth between
Spain and England, the Seminoles were allowed great
freedom. But a few years after America wrested Florida from
6pain, 3resident -ackson, a notorious ,ndian Àghter, signed
the Indian Removal Act of 1830. That law decreed that the
Seminoles were no longer welcome east of the Mississippi.
When they were told to move out West, most Seminoles
pretended relocation would be OK. But under Osceola’s
guidance, they began storing up gunpowder and other
supplies. Gen. Wiley Thompson, the federal agent in charge
of Indian removal, made note of the hoarding, which he
thought looked suspicious. It wasn’t long before Thompson >>
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Col. Zachary Taylor, the future president, led American
troops in the Battle of Okeechobee on Dec. 25, 1837.
RICK CRARY
4LTILrs Vf 6RLLJhVILL )HlLfiLlK -riLUKs 0UJ. rLLUHJ hL )HlL Vf 6RLLJhVILL hH ^Hs fV\Nh IL^LLU hL :LTiUVlLs HUK fLKLrHl rVVWs.