Battle of Miccosukee during the First Seminole War

Background. Tensions between Seminoles and American settlers escalated due to enslaved people fleeing from Georgia into Spanish Florida. This prompted slave raids across the border. In December 1817, the U.S. War Department ordered General Andrew Jackson to take command and bring the Seminoles under control, precipitating the First Seminole War. Jackson gathered forces at Fort Scott in March 1818.

Campaign. Jackson's forces destroyed several Seminole, Mikasuki, and Black Seminole towns, including Miccosukee, as they pursued Seminoles and allied Maroons across northern Florida in 1818. The campaign also involved the capture of San Marcos de Apalache and the brief occupation of Pensacola. Resistance was effectively ended by May 1818.

Aftermath. The expedition culminated in the Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident in April 1818, where Ambrister was executed. Congress later condemned Jackson's actions, but a February 1819 investigation exonerated him. The war's victory helped convince Seminoles to sign the Treaty of Moultrie Creek in 1823.