History of the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842

by John K. Mahon

By the third decade of the 19th century the growing American nation had expanded so far into the Florida peninsula that in 1832 a group of Seminole tribal chiefs accepted the terms of a treaty which provided for the removal of their tribes to the West. Wiley Thompson was appointed to supervise the migration.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction

391 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1967

About the author

John K. Mahon was professor of history emeritus at the University of Florida. A 1934 graduate of Swarthmore College, after service in the Second World War he graduated with a Ph.D. from UCLA in 1950. He taught at the University of Florida from 1954 until his retirement in 1982.

Reviews

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long considered the standard account of America's disastrous war with the Seminole Indians, Mahon's book is both compelling and limited as a work of history. Mahon does a nice job showing the build-up to the war, as an escalating series of insults and aggression by the American military (Andrew Jackson, in particular, comes off particularly odious in this volume) and government, who coveted Florida from its time as a Spanish colony to a semi-settled, marginally developed territory in the early 19th Century. This tension, exacerbated by Seminoles harboring escaped slaves, spilled into a bloody guerrilla war that lasted nearly a decade, with a succession of American generals (Douglas Clinch, Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor and the especially odious Thomas Jesup) who tried, with limited success, to bring Osceola and his rebels to heel. Mahon wrote the book during the Vietnam War and his description of Florida as a nightmare assignment soldiers tried desperately to avoid certainly rings a bell, as does the frustration of regulars fighting asymmetrical war and the use of "strategic hamlets" to corral Native civilians. That said, the book is primarily a military history, focusing on the battles and decision-making involved in the conflict. This approach has its benefits but also drawbacks; namely, there's little attempt to explore or analyze the perspective of the American public, white Floridians or, especially, the Seminole themselves. When Mahon tries the latter, his writing is condescending at best and dismissive or racist at worst. Nonetheless, no reader can come away from this book thinking the United States acted honorably in its dealing with the Seminoles; whether in the initial invasion, the "detention camps," selling black Seminoles into slavery or the treacherous capture of Osceola during a parley, it's a shameful chapter in our history.

[Josh Liller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was apparently only the second complete history of the Second Seminole War when it was originally published in 1967. (The Origin, Progress, and Conclusion of the Florida War being the first.) I read the 1985 "revised edition" but the Preface explains the original contained "no errors of fact" so only minor changes have been made as, plus the addition of an Appendix with relevant sources that became available since the first edition. The Preface admits this means some typographical errors remained unchanged (thus "Levin Powell" is still mistakenly called "Levi Powell").

The main text is 327 pages long. Roughly the first 100 pages cover the origins of the Seminoles through the First Seminole War and the various events of the 1820s and early 1830s that led to the Second Seminole War. The war chapters are generally divided up based on who was overall command of US forces. That position changed repeatedly and each commander pursued different strategies. There are extensive endnotes. More than a dozen illustrations of key figures are scattered throughout the book, but there are only two maps and neither of them are very good. There is also no Glossary of the many place names mentioned throughout the state (especially forts) nor the many, sometimes very similarly named, Seminole leaders. This will make things challenging for some readers.

This is a fairly comprehensive history of the war. There are some omissions. For example, Egmont Key (an island in Tampa Bay where Seminoles were held awaiting shipment west) isn't mentioned. However, the war was such a vast conflict dominated by small raids and skirmishes that this is inevitable. The book does read like a 1960s university press publication, but it's still a decent read (I have read much drier history from UF Press). African-Americans are presented as important in the war: fighters, interpreters, advisors, guides, and a major source of white-Seminole friction because of slavery. Mahon keeps pretty neutral - a rarity for a subject that has spawned a great many agenda-driven works. The narrative does occasionally abruptly shift gears, and would have been well-served by some section breaks.

Mahon's History of the Second Seminole War has aged remarkably well. Those brand new to the subject should probably start with Florida's Seminole Wars 1817-1858, but for those interested in the Seminole Wars this book remains a must-read.

[Jerry Landry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll go ahead and say that this is not a book for the casual reader. For what it does, it is very well done, and as my research relates to the Second Seminole War, it was very informative. As I'm not a military historian, I did have to do some rereading and additional research to get a good visual image in my mind when it came to some of the battle descriptions. However, I think Mahon gives the reader a good idea of the overall national and international developments touching on the conflict as well as some insight into what was happening on the ground in Florida as the conflict developed and progressed. Mahon is very open in informing the reader when information isn't available for him to address certain topics. In particular, there are points when he is describing the culture of the Native Americans in Florida where he admits that there are no sources to make accurate determinations or to effectively understand certain parts of their diverse cultures that came together through necessity under the umbrella of what we now call the Seminoles. It took me a while to read this one, but I feel that it has greatly enhanced my understanding of the period and was well worth my time.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great over view of the 2nd Seminole War and it's causes and a bit about it's effects. There are some very good looks at a variety of military folks scattered throughout the book, too. Being very familiar with our great state of Florida, I knew where a lot of the action happened. Though, folks without the geographic knowledge would have an easier time with the narrative if more than one map was provided.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

One-sided but very detailed and well-researched. In addition to learning about the war, it was also interesting to learn about the history of Florida.