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In 1844, journalist Thomas W. Storrow wrote one of the more balanced and beautiful eulogies to Osceola, as a coda to his article on the warrior in Knickerbocker Magazine:

   "Sufficient may be gathered from these pages to prove that Osceola was not an ordinary man; neither perhaps will it be admitted that he was a hero. Yet it certainly will be seen that he had within him many of the elements that heroes are composed of, with perhaps more merit to the title than is possessed by many educated persons who figure in the temple of fame.
   "He evidently possessed strong good sense, with the capacity to apply it aptly; and it is equally clear that to this alone was he indebted for the commanding influence he acquired over his countrymen at a very early period of his life. He was an ardent lover of his country, and as a warrior skillful beyond his opportunities. He possessed, even in the savage state, abilities his race does not lay claim to or covet, and which in the civilized world go to humanize and adorn private life. He was not filled with the stoicism so much prized by the savage, which makes him alike indifferent to sorrow or joy, but alternately exhibited the emotions of anger or pity, as circumstances called forth the exercise of these passions. He seems to have been adapted to the quiet of retired life; yet when once the warlike spirit, dormant within him, was aroused, he laid aside peaceful habits, acted his part with intelligence and vigor, and at last, although a captive in a strange land, died a warrior in his paint. In his narrow sphere he displayed many heroic virtues; his life was engaged in a nobler cause than that which incites the actions of many whom the world calls great; and in his last moments he displayed the workings of a lofty spirit, which commands our admiration.
   "If those who have devastated the earth to gratify their selfish ambition or thirst for conquest, have historians to record their deeds, and poets to sing their praise, let us not withhold a token of applause to one who committed fewer wrongs, and during his life was a brave defender of his country."