Hunted Like a Wolf

Book excerpt: A landmark work on one of the most important but least-written-about Indian wars, Hunted Like a Wolf chronicles the Second Seminole War. From 1835 to 1842, Washington, D.C. waged a violent war upon the Seminoles and their allies in Florida, using any measure, including treachery and fraud, to drive them from their lands. Respected historian Milton Meltzer explores the choices facing the Seminoles as whites gradually encroached on their land, as well as the sacrifices they made in order to resist. The Second Seminole War was a war over slavery as well as territory, for living among the Seminoles were black men and women—some runaway slaves, some free people—willing to fight alongside their Indian brothers for the territory they considered their own. A ragged, starving handful of guerrillas, the Seminoles and blacks managed to resist an invading American army ten times their number, defying the skill of six eminent generals. The war was not only the longest of the Indians wars but also the costliest in resources and human life. In the story of the Seminole War, we can see at work all the forces of America's terrible racist history, the consequences of which we are only beginning to understand.