Florida Territory
Beginning in late 1835, Osceola and the Seminole allies began a guerrilla war against the U.S. forces. Numerous generals fought and failed, succumbing to the heat and disease as well as lack of knowledge of the land. It was not until General Thomas Jesup captured many of the key Seminole chiefs, including Osceola who died in captivity of illness, that the battles began to die down. The Seminoles were eventually forced to migrate. Florida joined the Union as the 27th state on March 3, 1845. By this time, almost all of the Seminoles were gone, except for a small group living in the Everglades.
History of Florida
When the Colonies declared independence, many Floridians condemned it. They had been almost unaffected (because East and West Florida were backwoods areas) by the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765, which led the 13 colonies to perceive a common interest threatened by Britain. Florida declined to send delegates to the Continental Congress. The majority of Floridians were Loyalists, grateful to the Crown, that remained loyal to Britain. Many actually helped lead raids on the American South. One disastrous attempt on the part of the American Forces to invade East Florida occurred at the Battle of Thomas Creek in today's Nassau County. It was led on May 17, 1777. American Colonel John Baker surrendered to the British. Another attempt, the Battle of Alligator Bridge took place on June 30, 1778.