Osceola and the Seminole wars

by Clifford Lindsey Alderman

A biography of the Seminole chief both feared and admired by the white man for his efforts of help preserve his people's Florida homeland.

189 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Steven Yoder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a teen biography of the great Seminole warrior, Osceola. He was originally known as Billy Powell before he went through the ceremony to become a warrior which involved drinking a "Black Drink" that apparently induced a lot of retching. The Seminoles appeared to be an offshoot of the Creek tribe that moved to Florida. The U.S. wanted the tribe to move west to Indian territory (what is now Oklahoma) so the Americans could take over the land. They violated a treaty that was supposed to last 20 years and still had 5 more years to run. Osceola led the Seminole War against the Americans and managed to outsmart 4 American generals. This included the massacre of Major Dade's force that marched out of Fort Broke and the Battle of Withlacoochee. Eventually, Major General Thomas Jesup managed to capture Osceola and some other Indian leaders by violating a flag of truce. Osceola was suffering from Malaria when captured and the Americans allowed his family to visit and let him be treated by Indian witch doctors. Osceola died in custody but the war went on. Americans sent hundreds of Seminoles west but a few hundred outlasted the Americans and were allowed to stay in Florida. This is a pretty good teen book to learn about an important Indian warrior of the 1800s.