Mary Lou Missall

"The authors have done an excellent job bringing this last conflict–one that is often overlooked–to life. And not only that, they have put it into the broader picture of antebellum United States history.” — San Francisco Book Review Spanning a period of over forty years (1817-1858), the three Seminole Wars were America’s longest, costliest, and deadliest Indian wars, surpassing the more famous ones fought in the West. After an uneasy peace following the conclusion of the second Seminole War in 1842, a series of hostile events followed by a string of murders in 1849 and 1850 made confrontation inevitable. The war was also known as Billy Bowlegs' War because Billy Bowlegs (Holata Micco) was the main Seminole leader in this the last Indian war to be fought east of the Mississippi River. Pushed by increasing encroachment into their territory he led a raid near Fort Myers. A series of violent skirmishes ensued. The vastness of the Floridian wilderness and the difficulties of the terrain and climate caused problems for the army, but they had learnt lessons from the second war and amongst other new tactics employed greater use of boats, eventually securing victory through cutting off food supplies. Although there are several books covering the entire Seminole Wars period and excellent works on the First and Second Seminole Wars, the Third Seminole War has long been neglected. This book seeks to fill that void at a time when interest in the Seminole Wars is growing. History of the Third Seminole War is a detailed narrative of the war and its causes, containing numerous firsthand accounts from participants in the war, derived from virtually all the available primary sources, collected over many years. Written in a clear, easy-to-follow style, the work is intended for both a general and scholarly audience and will be of value to those interested in Florida history, American history in general, military history, Native American studies, and nineteenth century subjects. The book will also appeal to Civil War enthusiasts, as many of the officers who served in Florida became leaders in that later conflict.

The Seminole Wars were the longest, bloodiest, and most costly of all the Indian wars fought by this nation. Written for a popular audience, this illustrated history is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of all three wars. John and Mary Lou Missall examine not only the wars that were fought between 1817 and 1858 but also the events leading up to them and their place in American history. In particular it sheds new light on the relationship between the wars, the issue of slavery, and the prevailing attitudes toward Native Americans. While fought in Florida, the Seminole Wars were a major concern to the nation as a whole. In addition to the issue of slavery, a culture of national arrogance and religious fervor fostered an attitude that allowed the conflicts to happen. The first war, led by General Andrew Jackson, was part of an attempt to wrest Florida from Spain and had international repercussions that led to a lengthy congressional investigation. The second, which lasted seven years, took the lives of more than 1,500 soldiers and resulted in the forced removal of more than 3,000 Seminole Indians from Florida and the deaths of countless others. During 1836 and 1837 it was the predominant story in national newspapers, and public support for the war was fueled in part by fear among slaveholders that black Seminoles might inspire a general slave uprising. The third war, fought on the eve of the Civil War, was an attempt to remove the final remnants of the Seminole Nation from their homes in the Everglades. The authors describe the wars as both a military and a moral embarrassment-a sad chapter in American history that has been overshadowed by the Civil War and by Indian wars fought west of the Mississippi. The conflicts were the nation's first guerrilla wars. They offered the country its first opportunity for aggressive territorial expansion and highlighted the dangers of an inflexible government policy. Analyzing events of the wars against larger issues, the authors observe: "It often seems as if the Seminole Nation was the nail being pounded by the hammer of American policy. What interested us most was why the hammer was swung in the first place." Based on original research that makes use of diaries, military reports, and archival newspapers, this work will be of interest to general readers as well as historians of Florida and Native American life and to those who study the antebellum South and the early American Republic.