The Florida Wars began in 1816 when General Andrew Jackson ordered and attacked Spanish held Florida.  His decision was, in part, a response to the killing of a party of four Sailors on 17 July 1816.  The Sailors were collecting fresh water near a fort that was harboring fugitive slaves known as Negro Fort.  The Spanish would not or could not assist in the return of the fugitives nor shut down the fort.  The inaction of the Spanish, who owned Florida, was also a contention for Gen. Jackson.  It wasn't until  later 1816 that Gen. Edmund Gaines crossed the Georgia-Florida border to attack the British supported Negro Fort.  The fort was  subsequently destroyed by bombardment from US Navy gunboats when a hotshot exploded the forts powder magazine, killing most of the defenders. 

Soon afterward, Jackson invaded West Florida and captured  St. Marks and Pensacola.  This proved to the Spanish that they could not defend their own territory and set precedence for the eventual transfer of Florida to the US.  Soon after, Jackson declare all peaceful.   But that peacefulness wasn't necessarily true.

A Bill for the exchange of lands and the removal of Indians to West of the Mississippi River was introduced on 22 February 1830.  The Indian Removal Act was debated and approved by the Senate and the Congress in 1830. 

In an letter from President Andrew Jackson to John Pitchlynn, August 5, 1830,

"I beg of you to say to them, that their interest happiness peace & prosperity depends upon their removal beyond the jurisdiction of the laws of the State of Mississippi. These things have been [often times] explained to them fully and I forbear to repeat them; but request that you make known to them that Congress to enable them to remove & comfortably to arrange themselves at their new homes has made liberal appropriations. It was a measure I had much at heart & sought to effect because I was satisfied that the Indians could not possibly live under the laws of the States. If now they shall refuse to accept the liberal terms offered, they only must be liable for whatever evils & dificulties may arise. I feel conscious of having done my duty to my red children and if any failure of my good intention arises, it will be attributable to their want of duty to themselves, not to me."

President Andrew Jackson outlined his plan for Indian Removal in a Speech to Congress dated 6 December 1830.

The War in Florida 1836: Being an Exposition of its Causes and an Accurate History of the Campaigns of Generals Clinch, Gaines and Scott..

The Second Seminole War began on December 28th, 1835 when Major Francis Dade and 107 men were killed and the attack on Fort King  by the Seminole leader Osceola.

In early January 1837, US Navy Lieutenant Thomas J. Leib and about 50 Sailors from the USS Concord along with 20 artillerymen were ordered to garrison Fort Foster at the Hillsborough River crossing. 

The Sailors and soldiers were successful in repelling the hostile Seminoles when they attempted to burn the bridge.  In February, from the cover of the forest treeline, the hostiles had been firing their muskets and rifles at the men in the fort for quite sometime.  It came to a head when the Seminole became brave enough to make an attempt to set fire to the bridge.  This attempt was met with canister shot from the cannons within the blockhouses and some highly aggressive musket fire from the Sailors.  It was soon after this attack, about 180 Marines arrived from Fort Brooke.  It was then the hostile Seminoles decided it would be best to depart the vicinity of the well defended fort, the naval infantry and  Marines

During this war, US Navy Sailors and Marines patrolled the Florida coast and its islands for signs of Seminole or Spanish activity.  Although there wasn't any proof, it was thought that the Spanish may have been supplying the Hostile Seminoles with supplies for the war against the Americans.

Previously, in US history, there had been naval campaigns using Naval landing parties, but those lasted only two or three days for the most part.  On most occasions, those landing party Sailors attacked their objective then returned to their ships.  Alternatively, during the War of 1812, the Navy sent small vessels into shallow rivers, lakes and bayous to defend against the British, but during that war the Sailors were on the offensive.

Besides the actions of patrolling lakes, bays and shallow rivers, the Second Seminole War was the first time in the 19th century the US Navy made extended coastal patrols away from their ships and squadrons to campaign offensively inland for extended periods and within a Riverine Warfare environment.  Before then and during similar conditions, the US had taken a mostly defensive posture against her enemies.

Navy Lt. Levin M. Powell was the pioneer of Riverine Warfare and Swamp Sailors.

During the Second Seminole War there were 8 Sailors and 3 Marines killed in action.  The wounded in action were 12 Sailors and 5 Marines.

The Third and last Seminole War began in 1855 and ended in 1858 when the US government stopped searching for and let the remaining Seminole live in relative peace.

LS.

THE FLORIDA WARS

Within these pages you will find some valuable information and links pertaining to US Navy Sailors, Marines and others  who fought during the Florida Seminole Wars.

The link below is an interesting  National Park Service Article from "Pickled Fish and Salted Provisions" about disease and illness that 19th century Sailors had to overcome.

Medicine Chest by John Frayler

Go Here For Medical Care.

Florida Wars