Moultrie Creek

The first official push to return runaways took place under the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek. The treaty's primary goal was to move the Seminoles onto a reservation. During negotiations coordinated by Captain Gadsden, the U.S. used bribes and promises of rations to convince six leading chiefs to exchange their fertile homelands along the Alachua savannah for an unseen reservation far to the South. Unfortunately, the allotment of reservation land fueled resentment on all sides.