Star of the Nation

While Jesup waited for a decision from the Secretary of War, Seminoles passed freely in and out of his camp. The Indians wanted peace. They were exhausted and starving. The women trailed after the American horses gathering corn kernels that fell from the horses' mouths. Surgeon Motte described a peace council where "an ancient squaw, the eldest in her tribe" rose to address General Jesup:

"She said, pointing to the warriors, 'They were all her children; that she was tired of the war; that her warriors were slain; her villages burnt; her little ones perishing by the road side; that the great spirit frowned on his red children; that the star of her nation had set in blood. She desired that the hatchet should be buried forever, between her children, and her white brethren.'"