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	Record Group Number:	000172
	Series/Collection Number:	.S 1281
	Creator:	Florida. Office of the Adjutant General.
	Title, Dates:	Seminole War muster rolls of Florida militia, 1836-1841, 1856-1858.
	Amount:	10.00 v.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	Arranged by military unit, then alphabetical by commander's name.
	Restrictions:
	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	The Seminole Wars were three military conflicts between the Seminole nation and the United States Army in Florida, occurring between 1817 and 1858. When Florida was under British rule, the British often incited Seminoles against American settlers who migrated south into Seminole territory. These old conflicts, combined with the refuge Seminoles provided to Black fugitives from slavery, caused the U.S. Army to attack the tribe in the First Seminole War (1817-1818). The Second Seminole War (1835-1842) was the fiercest and costliest war waged by the U.S. government against American Indians. It began when U.S. forces from other southern states arrived in Florida to enforce the terms of the 1832 Treaty of Payne's Landing, which required Seminoles to give up their Florida lands within three years and move west. The United States spent more than $20 million fighting the Seminoles and forcibly removed 3,824 of them from their lands. The war left more than 1,500 soldiers and uncounted Seminoles and American civilians dead. By the end of the Seminole Wars, it is likely that less than 200 Seminoles remained in Florida. A Third Seminole War broke out in 1855, when conflicts-largely over land-arose between whites and some Seminoles who remained in Florida. Fewer regular army units participated in the struggle, and by the latter stages Florida volunteers carried the burden of the war. Constant military patrols and rewards for the capture of Native Americans reduced the Seminole population to about 200 when the Third Seminole War ended in 1858.
	Summary:	The series contains volumes with photostatic copies of muster rolls for Florida militia volunteer units for the Second and Third Seminole Wars. The rolls list the name, age, and rank of the soldier, the date and place of enlistment, information regarding pay, and general remarks. Most of these units were independent companies that may have served in more than one period of any or all three wars. The date listed in the index is the date of the latest muster roll for the unit concerned. Most volunteer and militia companies were known by the commander's name, e.g. Smith's Company of Mounted Volunteers. The alphabetical arrangement of the names is not in strict order throughout the volumes.
	Finding Aids:	Folder listing available. 0
	Additional Physical Form:
	Reproduction Note:	Photocopies.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	National Archives, Washington, D.C.
	Associated Materials:
	Language Notes:
	Ownership/Custodial History:	The Dept. of Military Affairs photocopied for their own use the original records held by the National Archives.
	Publication Note:
	General Note:
	Electronic Records Access:
	Subject Access Fields:	Florida. State Militia. Seminole Indians Wars Seminole War, 2nd, 1835-1842. Seminole War, 3rd, 1855-1858. Military records. aat Territorial records. aat Muster rolls. aat
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