Fort King was to promote law and order in the wilderness by protecting the Seminoles from trespassing settlers. Fort King, and the nearby Indian Agency, were viewed positively by the Seminoles. As the recession of 1829 worsened, the Army abandoned Fort King due to severe budget cuts. Seminoles were left with no soldiers to protect them, and with reduced subsidies from the government. They could no longer buy corn and other staples. Fort King stood empty for three years (1829-1832), but the Seminoles did not disturb it. Instead, they waited for the return of soldiers to protect them. In May 1832, Andrew Jackson summoned Seminole leaders to Payne's Landing on the Ocklawaha River and forced them to sign a new treaty. One month later, in June 1832, the soldiers returned to Fort King. By this time, instead of protecting the Seminoles, the soldiers ordered their expulsion from Florida, according to the terms of the Treaty of Payne's Landing. Now, instead of a symbol of freedom, hope and justice, Fort King and its soldiers became a symbol of hate and oppression, and it was on this stage that a new Seminole stepped forward. His name was Osceola. Osceola made his first appearance to the world at Fort King in October 1834. The defiant young war chief rejected U.S. orders and threatened war unless the Seminoles were left alone. Tensions continued to rise. Two companies of U.S. regulars, under the command of Major Francis Dade, were dispatched from Fort Brooke in Tampa to reinforce the troops at Fort King. On the morning of December 28, 1835, they were ambushed and annihilated by a band of Seminoles under the leadership of Seminole warrior, Micanopy. That afternoon, Osceola shot and killed Indian agent Wiley Thompson as he stepped out of Fort King for an afternoon walk. The Second Seminole war had begun. During the seven-year war that followed, every major general and Regiment of the U.S. Army were either stationed at or passed through the gates of Fort King. Notable generals like Gaines, Scott, Clinch, Jessup, Taylor, and Armistead, along with junior officers like Worth, Johnson, Prince, Bragg, Mead, and Pemberton would all see duty there. Yet with all of that might, the U.S. Army could not win the guerrilla type warfare of the Seminoles. Finally U.S. forces began to withdraw, and in May 1836, Fort King was once again abandoned.