Osceola ( -1838), the celebrated Seminole Chief, died in captivity at Fort Moultrie on January 30th, 1838. Osceola's death marked the end of a long and determined resistance by his people to the transporting of Native American tribes west of the Mississippi, a program begun and carried out by Andrew Jackson. Using the swamps of Florida as a hiding ground, the Seminoles outmaneuvered 7 successive United States generals, killing 1500 soldiers in the process. Osceola was captured when General Jessup called for peace talks and seized him in spite of having come in under a flag of truce. Despite popular protests, the chief was imprisoned in Fort Moultrie, where he died a martyr.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
