Osceola | |
|---|---|
Vsse Yvholv | |
 Osceola by George Catlin, 1838 | |
| Seminole leader | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1804 Talisi, Mississippi Territory, US |
| Died | January 30, 1838 (aged 33–34) Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, US |
| Resting place | Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, US |
| Children | at least five |
| Parent(s) | Polly Coppinger and William Powell |
| Nickname | Billy Powell |
Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a Scotsman, James McQueen. He was reared by his mother in the Creek (Muscogee) tradition. When he was a child, they migrated to Florida with other Red Stick refugees, led by a relative, Peter McQueen,[1] after their group's defeat in 1814 in the Creek Wars. There they became part of what was known as the Seminole people.
In 1836, Osceola led a small group of warriors in the Seminole resistance during the Second Seminole War, when the United States tried to remove the tribe from their lands in Florida to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. He became an adviser to Micanopy, the principal chief of the Seminole from 1825 to 1849.[2] Osceola led the Seminole resistance to removal until he was captured on October 21, 1837, by deception, under a flag of truce,[3] when he went to a site near Fort Peyton for peace talks.[4]: 135 The United States first imprisoned him at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, then transported him to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina. He died there a few months later of causes reported as an internal infection or malaria. Because of his renown, Osceola attracted visitors in prison, including renowned artist George Catlin, who painted perhaps the most well-known portrait of the Seminole leader.[1]: 217–218 [4]: 115–116
- ^ a b John K. Mahon (1991). History of the Second Seminole War, 1835–1842. University Presses of Florida. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-8130-1097-7.
At the time of the Creek War, after the Battle of Tohopeka, his mother took him with her when she migrated to Florida, accompanying a Red Stick band led by a half-breed relative, Peter McQueen.
- ^ "Osceola, the Man and the Myths", retrieved January 11, 2007 Archived December 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mahon, John K. (1985) History of the Second Seminole War, 1835–1842, 2nd ed. Gainesville: University of Florida. ISBN 0813010977. p. 214: "General Jessup now reached the decision which was to make him more infamous than famous in the eyes of many generations. He decided to persist in his new policy of ignoring flags of truce."
- ^ a b Wickman, Patricia Riles (2006). Osceola's Legacy. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-5332-2.