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 Pensacola, Florida
On March 3, 1845, Florida was admitted to the Union as the 27th state. Its admission had been slowed as the United States struggled to remove the Seminole Indians. After three Seminole Wars, it defeated some, forcing their removal to Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. The remaining Seminole had retreated to the Everglades and were never defeated. Due to rising tensions over slavery, Congress had decided not to alter the balance between slave and free states. Florida's admission was delayed until a free territory was ready for admission as a state. It was admitted the same year as Iowa. North Florida, including the Panhandle, remained the most populated part of the state.