The Second Seminole War and the limits of American aggression /

The Second Seminole War erupted in 1835 when a segment of Florida's Seminole population determined to violently oppose their removal to the newly established Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Their numbers were augmented by former slaves who also resided in the local environs. During the initial phases of the war, the Seminoles dealt a number of defeats to the US Army. Monaco (history, Univ. of Florida) observes that part of the Seminole success was attributable to the fact that Florida's swamps were incompatible with the Napoleonic military tactics taught at West Point. It was only after the US Army started employing irregular warfare, including dishonorably capturing Osceola while he was under a flag of truce, that it began experiencing success on the battlefield. Monaco pays a significant amount of attention to the numerous medical issues arising during the war, as more US soldiers perished from disease than enemy weaponry. The war culminated in 1842 in a stalemate, after the conflict had become extremely unpopular among the general US populace. This highly recommended title replaces John K. Mahon's History of the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842 (CH, Jul'68) as the definitive work on the conflict. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries. --John R. Burch, University of Tennessee at Martin