Florida's Seminole Wars 1817-1858

The Making Of America Series

by Joe Knetsch

Among the most well known of Florida's native peoples, the Seminole Indians frustrated troops of militia and volunteer soldiers for decades during the first half of the nineteenth century in the ongoing struggle to keep hold of their ancestral lands. While careers and reputations of American military and political leaders were made and destroyed in the mosquito-infested swamps of Florida's interior, the Seminoles and their allies, including the Miccosukee tribe and many escaped slaves, managed to wage war on their own terms. The study of guerrilla warfare tactics employed by the Seminoles may have aided modern American forces fighting in Viet Nam, Cambodia, and other regions. Years before the first shots of the Civil War were fired, Florida witnessed a clash of wills and ways that prompted three wars unlike any others in America's history, although many of the same policies and mistakes were made in the Indian wars west of the Mississippi.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2003

Reviews

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what motivated Knetsch to add this to his lengthening library of books, but he should've not done this. This appears to have been an effort to write a concise book of the Seminole Indian Wars. What results is a klunkily written volume that skips this and that and then doesn't make sense. A surprising number of names pop up with no reference. Sometimes there are just last names. A couple times of writing of instances in the wrong location. There are also most of the images that are scattered throughout out of order and sometimes not tied in with the narrative.
Obviously, an editor was absent reviewing this before publication.

That's not the real problem I have with this book. I have just finished an excellent book of history, 'The Environmental History of the Indian River Lagoon'. Writer Osborn of that book wrote in an objective and honest look at the past of the Lagoon and the area around it. It follows something I state, "The hardest thing an historian must be able to state is 'I Don't Know'". Knetsch presumes waaaay too much with little evidence to support. This is a common problem with history writers. Knetsch needed to write allowing new discoveries and there are instances of history that are not backed by empirical evidence. To Knetsch history is a closed book and he's writing the definitive narrative. He is not and it's frustrating his arrogant statements of facts he can not know. For instance are the number of times Knetsch uses the word "totally". If this was fiction, that would be fine. For history, the future must be considered and what is speculated must be pointed out or left out.

There are so very many books written of the Seminole Indian Wars. Most, especially those 30 years or older, are more objective and better organized and laid out.

Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 3 out of ten points.

[Ryan Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent book that outlined Florida's warring landscape in the period over the 1810s-1850s. This was a very easy read and even included a decent number of pictures that aided in not only providing further sources, but also adding context.

[Jason Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads precisely like a dry high school textbook

[Elliot G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but dry. Reads like your standard "history book". Many of the pictures and portraits included have no relevance to the text they accompany.

[Mark Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good short history, really just an introduction, to the wars in Florida over the removal of the native Indians and escaped slaves. All of this occurred between the 1820s and through the 1850s, and is counted as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Seminole Wars. In the end, the Civil War stopped further pursuits and a few hundred Seminoles hung on and their descendants are in South Florida today.

It’s a sad story of murder, misunderstandings and just plain greed.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great history lesson. Enjoyed the ride.