Drawing of Osceola
aka:
Black Water Carrier
William Powell
and
As-se-he-ho-lar
Osceola-born in in Georgia near the Chattahoochie River in what was known as the time as Creek Country, he was not born a chief nor ever elected as one. But he was the true Leader of the Seminole Tribe. His name meant Black drink carrier, and was of mixed blood. His parental grandfather was a Scotsman and it is said that his appearance was more of a white man than of an Indian.
When Osceola's father died, his mother remarried a white man (William Powell), which often led to the erroneous belief that he was a half-breed. He was said to be elegant in dress, handsome of face, passionate in nature and giant of ego. Osceola was not a chief with the heritage of great Chiefs Jumper, but his skill as an orator and his bravado in conflict earned him great influence over Seminole war actions.
He was consider to be a great stagiest. He managed to mastermind successful battles against five baffled US Generals, kill a United States Indian agent, took punitive action against any who cooperated with the white man and stood as a national manifestation of the Seminoles' strong reputation for non-surrender.
Osceola's capture, under a controversial flag of truce offered by Gen. Thomas Jessup, remains today one of the blackest marks in American military history. A larger-than-life character, Osceola is the subject of numerous myths; his 1838 death in a Charleston, S.C. prison was noted on front pages around the world. At the time of his death, Osceola was the most famous American Indian.
Abiaka--An inspirational Medicine man of the Seminole tribe was important to internal Seminole war, maybe even more so than Osceola. Abiaka was a powerful spiritual leader who used his "medicine" to stir Seminole warriors into a frenzy. His genius directed Seminole gains in several battles, including the 1837 ambush now known as the Battle of Okeechobee.
Many years older than most of the Seminole leadership of that era, wise old Sam Jones was a staunch resistor of removal. He kept the resistance fueled before and after Osceola's period of prominence and, when the fighting had concluded, was the only major Seminole leader to remain in Florida. Starved, surrounded, sought with a vengeance, Sam Jones would answer no flag of truce, no offer of compromise, no demand of surrender. His final camp was in the Big Cypress Swamp, not far from the Seminole Tribe's Big Cypress community of today.
Drawing of Osceola
aka:
Black Water Carrier
William Powell
and
As-se-he-ho-lar
The Free People || Seminole History || Osceola and Abiaka