Page 58 - John Anderson

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removing the Seminoles. During this time, opposition to the war
began to build in the nation and in Congress, and in the spring of
1839, the administration dispatched Commanding General Alexander
Macomb, the army’s highest ranking officer, to negotiate a peace with
the Seminoles. It was the only time in American history that an Indian
nation forced the United States to sue for peace. The agreement
broke down in July of that year, due primarily to Seminole mistrust of
white intentions. The Indians had been lied to too many times to
believe they had won the war.
The last two U.S. commanders of the war, Walter K. Armistead and
William Jenkins Worth, realized the war could never end as long as
the Seminoles were allowed to rest, recuperate, and re-supply during
the summer months, while the army retreated from the weather and
disease. Using canoes and small boats, soldiers, sailors, and
marines penetrated the Everglades year-round, guided by captured
black and Indian prisoners.

Hidden Seminole villages and fields were destroyed. Ragged, hungry,
and short of ammunition, small bands of Seminoles were captured or

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