Osceola (ŏsēō`lə, ō–), c.1800–1838, leader of the Seminole Seminole, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They separated (their name means "separatist") from the Creek in the early 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. . He was also called Powell, the surname of his supposed white father. In the early 1830s, Osceola was living close to Fort King, near the site of Ocala, Fla. Although not a chief, he rose to a position of prominence among the Seminole and led the young warriors who denounced the treaties of 1832 and 1833, which provided for the removal of the Native Americans to the West. In Dec., 1835, Osceola's warriors killed Wiley Thompson, the Indian agent in charge of the removal. U.S. troops under General Jesup drove his band southward into the Everglades, but Osceola, skillfully using guerrilla tactics, resisted capture. Fighting ceased early in 1837, only to break out again in June. Overtures for peace were sent to Osceola, and he agreed to meet with Jesup in St. Augustine under a flag of truce. Jesup, never intending to discuss peace, had Osceola seized and imprisoned at Fort Moultrie, S.C., where he died shortly afterward.
(born c. 1804, Georgia, U.S.—died Jan. 30, 1838, Charleston, S.C.) Seminole Indian leader during the Second Seminole War. The war began in 1835 when the U.S. government attempted to force the Seminole off their traditional lands in Florida and into the Indian territory west of the Mississippi River. Osceola and his followers employed guerrilla tactics and forced a truce. During negotiations he was arrested and removed to a military fort at Charleston, S.C., where he died.
..... Click the link for more information. . He was also called Powell, the surname of his supposed white father. In the early 1830s, Osceola was living close to Fort King, near the site of Ocala, Fla. Although not a chief, he rose to a position of prominence among the Seminole and led the young warriors who denounced the treaties of 1832 and 1833, which provided for the removal of the Native Americans to the West. In Dec., 1835, Osceola's warriors killed Wiley Thompson, the Indian agent in charge of the removal. U.S. troops under General Jesup drove his band southward into the Everglades, but Osceola, skillfully using guerrilla tactics, resisted capture. Fighting ceased early in 1837, only to break out again in June. Overtures for peace were sent to Osceola, and he agreed to meet with Jesup in St. Augustine under a flag of truce. Jesup, never intending to discuss peace, had Osceola seized and imprisoned at Fort Moultrie, S.C., where he died shortly afterward.
Bibliography
See study by W. and E. Hartley (1973).
Osceola
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Osceola, detail of a lithograph by George Catlin, 1838
(credit: Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)
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