Slave Uprising

By February, full-fledged war had broken out. The early victories encouraged the Seminoles. But how, realistically, could they expect to defeat the Americans? From a combined population of 4800 Indians and blacks, the allies could muster only a thousand able warriors. Yet they were opposing 34,000 Floridians receiving national support, with more help on the way.

Fortunately for the Seminoles, Florida had a problem: of its 34,000 residents, 16,000 were slaves.