The Seminole Wars: America's Longest Indian Conflict (The Florida History and Culture Series)

Rating:
Summary: Draws upon diaries, military reports, & archival newspapers
Review: There were actually three wars between armed forces of the United States government and the Seminole Indian tribes of Florida. The first was led by General Andrew Jackson in 1817 and was a facet of the attempt by Americans to acquire Florida from Spain by force of arms. The second of the Seminole Wars raged over seven years and resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 soldiers and the forced removal of more than 3,000 Seminole Indians from Florida -- along the deaths of hundreds (perhaps thousands - the true number is unknown) of others. The third and last of the Seminole Indian Wars took place in 1858 when the country was on the eve of the Civil War and was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to remove the final remnants of the Seminole Nations from their homes and hunting grounds within in the Florida Everglades. In The Seminole Wars: America's Longest Indian Conflict, historians John and May Lou (they serve on the board of directors of the Seminole Wars Historic Foundation) draw upon diaries, military reports, and archival newspapers to reveal new aspects and impacts of the Seminole Wars upon the relationships between the three conflicts, the pre-Civil War issues of slavery, as well as the then prevalent attitudes toward Native Americans, and the political/military attempts to establish national security. The Seminole Wars is an impressively informative contribution and a welcome addition to 19th Century American History Studies and Native American Studies reading lists and library reference collections.

Rating:
Summary: Draws upon diaries, military reports, & archival newspapers
Review: There were actually three wars between armed forces of the United States government and the Seminole Indian tribes of Florida. The first was led by General Andrew Jackson in 1817 and was a facet of the attempt by Americans to acquire Florida from Spain by force of arms. The second of the Seminole Wars raged over seven years and resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 soldiers and the forced removal of more than 3,000 Seminole Indians from Florida -- along the deaths of hundreds (perhaps thousands - the true number is unknown) of others. The third and last of the Seminole Indian Wars took place in 1858 when the country was on the eve of the Civil War and was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to remove the final remnants of the Seminole Nations from their homes and hunting grounds within in the Florida Everglades. In The Seminole Wars: America's Longest Indian Conflict, historians John and May Lou (they serve on the board of directors of the Seminole Wars Historic Foundation) draw upon diaries, military reports, and archival newspapers to reveal new aspects and impacts of the Seminole Wars upon the relationships between the three conflicts, the pre-Civil War issues of slavery, as well as the then prevalent attitudes toward Native Americans, and the political/military attempts to establish national security. The Seminole Wars is an impressively informative contribution and a welcome addition to 19th Century American History Studies and Native American Studies reading lists and library reference collections.