October 1837 through January 1838 would be the final days in the life of Osceola, a Seminole warrior who grew into legend in a brief 6-year period, to be buried with full American military honors with a marker inscribed, "OCEOLA Patriot and Warrior."

For half a decade the warrior described by U.S. officers as a force to reckon with, and by the Indian agent Wiley Thompson as "bold and dashing," had led resistance to the American war of removal to the west.

Now, October 21, 1837, an exhausted Osceola and Coa Hadjo, another principal leader of the Seminoles, camped at Fort Peyton on the St. Johns southwest of St. Augustine under a flag of truce to meet with the U.S. commander, Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup.

They were unaware that General Jesup was no longer recognizing flags of truce.

Osceola sent Coa Hadjo to talk with the U.S. delegation. After a brief exchange, the U.S. troops quietly and without incident put the Indian band under arrest. It was as if the Indians had expected it, or the spirit of Osceola had been broken. He appeared, nonetheless, resplendent in blue calico shirt, red leggings and bright print shawls around his head and across his shoulders.

The band was paraded to St. Augustine, where it seemed the whole town had been alerted and turned out to watch.

In the damp interior of Fort Marion, the territorial name for the Castillo de San Marcos, Osceola's condition worsened. A month after his capture he showed no interest in the escape plans of a younger, fiery associate, Coacoochee. Perhaps as a result of this warrior's miraculous escape with 18 other braves and two women November 29, 1837, Osceola was transferred to Fort Moultrie at Charleston, South Carolina.

There he was accorded the respect of his position; officers frequently visited him and his cadre, and he even sat for a portrait by the now famous artist George Catlin.

Army doctors speculated he was suffering from quinsy - a form of strep throat - with intermittent bouts of malaria, but their efforts to treat him were interfered with by a medicine man.

On January 31, 1838, sensing the inevitable, Osceola directed his followers to dress him in his best finery, and he quietly expired. He was 34 years old. 

His fame was spread nationwide, particularly by reports of his capture under flag of truce and ultimate death within months. His image was one of the noble savage, defending his homeland, and he was buried with full military honors, albeit outside the walls of Fort Moultrie.

Image: Osceola grave at Fort Moultrie. 

 

Excerpts from Osceola, in St. Augustine Bedtime Stories.  Click for further information on this fascinating historic series. Give the gift of history this year.