History of the Third Seminole War: 1849-1858

The Seminole Wars of Florida are considered some of the bloodiest and most brutal fighting between the United States and Native Americans. While this holds true for the first two Seminole Wars, the Third Seminole War was not as bloody or as contentious; but it was just as devastating to the Native Americans. What makes this book highly enjoyable, in addition to being highly readable, is that it brings to life a conflict that is largely ignored (most of the scholarship is on the first two wars). The authors do an excellent job of setting up the basis of how citizens of the United States, the Seminoles of Florida, and each of their complicated socio-political structures continued to clash and interfere with each other until eventually hostilities broke out. While largely a guerilla effort, the US military was eventually successful in their goal of forcing the Seminoles out west.

The authors have done an excellent job bringing this last conflict–one that is often overlooked–to life. And not only that, they have put it into the broader picture of antebellum United States history.