Seminole War 200th is now underway!

The 200th anniversary of the Seminole Wars is now underway.

This series of conflicts took place in Florida, Georgia and Alabama from 1817-1858. The combat phase of the Seminole War began with the Battle of Fowltown in Decatur County, Georgia, on November 21-23, 1817 and continued until the conflict was “declared” over by Col. Gustavus Loomis on May 8, 1858. No peace treaty was reached at the time, however, and the Native Americans did not reestablish formal relations with the United States until the Seminole Tribe of Florida did so in 1957 and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida followed in 1962.

Most historians regard the long war as three separate conflicts: The First Seminole War (1817-1818), The Second Seminole War (1835-1842) and the Third Seminole War (1856-1858). Many Native Americans, however, consider it to have been a single conflict with occasional breaks in the fighting.

To commemorate this brutal time in American history and to remember those who suffered and died on both sides, we are publishing a continuing series of articles about the Seminole War and the events leading to it. You can access these stories on this blog!