Florida
Florida had become a burden to Spain, which could not afford to send settlers or garrisons. Madrid therefore decided to cede the territory to the United States through the Adams–Onís Treaty, which took effect in 1821. President James Monroe was authorized on March 3, 1821 to take possession of East Florida and West Florida for the United States and provide for initial governance. Andrew Jackson, on behalf of the U.S. federal government, served as a military commissioner with the powers of governor of the newly acquired territory for a brief period. On March 30, 1822, the U.S. Congress merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory.
By the early 1800s, Indian removal was a significant issue throughout the southeastern U.S. and also in Florida. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act and as settlement increased, pressure grew on the U.S. government to remove the Indians from Florida. Seminoles offered sanctuary to blacks, and these became known as the Black Seminoles, and clashes between whites and Indians grew with the influx of new settlers. In 1832, the Treaty of Payne's Landing promised to the Seminoles lands west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave Florida. Many Seminole left at this time.
Fort Kissimmee Cemetery
Florida became a state in 1845 and cattle farmers began migrating to Florida from Georgia and South Carolina to the Manatee Florida area including the Kissimmee River Valley. By 1855 cattle had become a number one industry in Florida. These areas were some of the better conditions for grazing cattle in Florida. The Kissimmee River Valley was nothing like Texas with wide open ranges but was rugged sandy and swampy terrain mixed with prairies, piney woods, marshes, sloughs, scrub oaks and palmetto patches along with large live oak hammocks.