War: 1832 - 1838

By the eve of the Second Seminole War, John Horse had begun to establish himself. He had livestock, property, and fields under cultivation. He was a father and tribal interpreter. Well known to white officers, he would have faced a promising future, except for one bleak reality: the advance of American slavery. By 1834, Florida residents were seeking ownership of more than 500 Black Seminoles, on dubious claims. Slaving parties were raiding the reservation, threatening to kidnap individual blacks and their families. President Jackson, meanwhile, had ordered that the Seminoles be moved west and incorporated with the Creeks, knowing full well that this would subject the maroons to southern-style slavery.

War seemed inevitable. When it came, John Horse would prove a daring and skilled warrior. But in the dark times ahead, his people would need more than a warrior.