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.
Republic of West Florida
The United States did not recognize the independence of the Republic of West Florida, and on October 27, 1810, President James Madison of it, on the basis that it was part of the Louisiana Purchase. In his proclamation, Madison invoked the portion of the Louisiana Purchase agreement that directly quoted the 1800 St. Ildefonso treaty between France and Spain: Louisiana, Madison stated, had "the same extent that it had in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France originally possessed it." However, neither the 1800 treaty nor the 1803 purchase includes the word "originally"; instead, they state, "with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spain and that it had when France possessed it." Madison's tweak served his annexation rationale but had no basis in the treaty language.