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The Billy Bowlegs War, 1855-1858: The Final Stand of the Seminoles Against the Whites

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This is the only book available that concentrates totally on the subject of the Third Seminole War (1855-1858). The U.S. Government's last military action against Native American Indians east of the Mississippi, and an attempt at removing the surviving Seminole and Miccosukee Indians. Covington is has researched many sources and is very knowledgeable on the subject. He uses quotes from letters and diaries of the times as well as sources from government archives. If you are into Florida and Seminole history, this book is very a valuable resource.

After the close of the 2nd Seminole War (1835-1842), there were several hundred remaining Seminole and Miccosukee Indians in the Florida Everglades that the United States was not able to remove. The 2nd Seminole War had been the most costly war the United States had fought against its own Native Americans. After seven years, thousands of lives, and tens of millions of dollars, the government decided to let the Florida Indians who remained in the Everglades stay there. During the past ten years 90 percent of the Indians had been either killed or removed from Florida, and it would prove too difficult to remove the last ones.

For 13 years after the end of the 2nd Seminole War, the Indians and the white settlers remained at an uneasy truce. The State of Florida had outlawed all Indians from its borders, but was unable to remove them. Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs went to extreme measures to keep the peace. When troubles flared up and the threat of another war happened in 1849, Bowlegs went so far as to surrender the offenders among his own people over to the government. But in 1855, the pressure was on again as land surveyors and settlers were closing in on Bowlegs and his people. It was only a matter of time before an incident happened that would set both sides at war again.