Osceola and the Great Seminole War: A Struggle for Justice and Freedom by Thom Hatch

Author:Thom Hatch [Hatch, Thom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Americas, Native American, United States, Military, 19th Century
ISBN: 0312355912
Amazon: B0071NOJ0Q
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2012-07-17T05:00:00+00:00

Nine

Jesup’s New Strategy

After the battle, Osceola and his warriors rode triumphantly into their camp in the Wahoo Swamp. They were welcomed there by their loved ones, who had reassembled from the various hiding places where they had fled to escape General Call’s advance. The final battle of this campaign had created many anxious moments for the women and children, who had heard that Osceola was determined to make a final stand and fight to the last man. The soldiers had never penetrated that far into the swamp before this battle, and the noncombatants had not known if they would see the warriors alive again after the firing had ended. Now was a time for relief, thankfulness, and celebration.

The families who had fled from the destructive march of the army up the Withlacoochee also returned to their camps or homes to discover what, if anything, remained of their lives. General Call had burned to the ground several large towns, and nothing could be found there but charred debris and ashes. Those blacks and Seminoles who no longer had a town to call home took up residence with relatives or friends at another town or sought safety in a swamp camp. It was too early to start rebuilding. The army would not give up this territory easily. They assuredly would return and burn down any structure that stood.

A victory dance took place that night at Wahoo Swamp to celebrate yet another remarkable defeat of the U.S. Army. Osceola, however, might not have participated in the festivities to the fullest. He had been suffering from the prolonged illness he had contracted at Fort Drane, which had left him physically weak. In addition, the warriors under his command had sustained more casualties than ever before in this campaign—at least forty-five had been killed. He would have privately experienced great sadness at seeing the sorrow of the wives and mothers. But Osceola knew he must dismiss from his mind the thought of those warriors who had gone to be with the spirits. He had opposed this conflict, but the loss of life in war was inevitable. Those Seminoles had sacrificed lives for their cause, and the tribe had not been vanquished. In fact, they had chased away another general officer who had underestimated their determination and fighting abilities. Perhaps now the United States would seriously consider accepting the notion that the Seminole deserved to be left alone in their Florida homeland.

Osceola was also dismayed that the army had captured some Seminole women and children, which he regarded as a cowardly act. He had always preached to his warriors that they were forbidden to wage war on the women and children settlers. There was an occasional violation of this order, but for the most part the Seminoles obeyed the wishes of their leader. The tribe held no white prisoners with which to trade or barter, which was the way Osceola wanted it.

Osceola found it judicious at this time to delegate more authority to his top lieutenants and trusted leaders.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.