Many great Native American leaders have been described with courage unequaled by Native Americans before and after and Osceola is one that gets this notion many times. Personally I Think Tecumseh is the greatest of all time but Oscela initiated and fought the longest Native American war with the United States and author Thom Hatch has written a splendid book on this leader. 
The role of Temecuseh in getting the Creeks to move to Florida after the war of 1812 is interesting as undoubted Oselea must of seen him in his youth and been inspired. The Creeks lost bad in 1812 and migrated to Florida merging wi earlier wave of Creeks in Florida. These Indians were soon called Seminole and the orgin of the name is still in dispute. This book follows Osceola in his youth as his family fled Andrew Jackson's Tenesee militia into their new homes and the eventual take over of Florida from Spanish control once again bringing The United States into conflict with the Creeks.
The presence of Negro fort also was of grave concern as it became a refuge for runaway slaves and many Seminoles would be part black. The destruction of this fort and annexation of all of Florida pretty much ensured a Seminole War which would bring about Oscelola as the main leader of the Florida rebellion. This oak takes a dark look at Oscelea role in starting the war with his murder of Charley Emathla, a Seminole who pushed for a move West and out of Florida to Oscelola's killing of American Wiley Thompson who headed the Indian agency. This brutal first Seminole Indian war coincided with the Texas revolution and the battle of the Alamo in a time period that saw major transitions and built up military operations as Americans swarmed looking for new lands to exploit. By December of 1835 war was set and a hundred man outfit lead by Major Francis Dade would be killed to the last man by the Seminoles who showed they were serious about resisting deportation tomIndian territory. The author goes through countless ambushes and raids by the Seminoles and how the US army had to adapt and bring in Marine tactics to fight in remote swamps to dislodge the Indians from their hidden camps. Treachery was the only way they were able to reign in Osceola who soon died shortly afterwards but the fight would continue for decades after his capture in 1836. many other Seminole leaders would continue the resistance and many were never corralled in despite the millions funded in this wasteful war as some Seminole never left for Oklahoma. A great book that describes a Indian war as far from the traditional battlefields and prairies that Western movies often envisioned.
The role of Temecuseh in getting the Creeks to move to Florida after the war of 1812 is interesting as undoubted Oselea must of seen him in his youth and been inspired. The Creeks lost bad in 1812 and migrated to Florida merging wi earlier wave of Creeks in Florida. These Indians were soon called Seminole and the orgin of the name is still in dispute. This book follows Osceola in his youth as his family fled Andrew Jackson's Tenesee militia into their new homes and the eventual take over of Florida from Spanish control once again bringing The United States into conflict with the Creeks. The presence of Negro fort also was of grave concern as it became a refuge for runaway slaves and many Seminoles would be part black. The destruction of this fort and annexation of all of Florida pretty much ensured a Seminole War which would bring about Oscelola as the main leader of the Florida rebellion. This oak takes a dark look at Oscelea role in starting the war with his murder of Charley Emathla, a Seminole who pushed for a move West and out of Florida to Oscelola's killing of American Wiley Thompson who headed the Indian agency. This brutal first Seminole Indian war coincided with the Texas revolution and the battle of the Alamo in a time period that saw major transitions and built up military operations as Americans swarmed looking for new lands to exploit. By December of 1835 war was set and a hundred man outfit lead by Major Francis Dade would be killed to the last man by the Seminoles who showed they were serious about resisting deportation tomIndian territory. The author goes through countless ambushes and raids by the Seminoles and how the US army had to adapt and bring in Marine tactics to fight in remote swamps to dislodge the Indians from their hidden camps. Treachery was the only way they were able to reign in Osceola who soon died shortly afterwards but the fight would continue for decades after his capture in 1836. many other Seminole leaders would continue the resistance and many were never corralled in despite the millions funded in this wasteful war as some Seminole never left for Oklahoma. A great book that describes a Indian war as far from the traditional battlefields and prairies that Western movies often envisioned.
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