The Second Seminole War (1835–1842) is the result of the United States government attempting to force the Seminoles to leave Florida altogether and move to Indian Territory per the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Fighting begins with the Dade Massacre in December 1835, and raids, skirmishes, and a handful of larger battles rage throughout the Florida peninsula over the next few years.

At first, the outgunned and outnumbered Seminoles effectively use guerrilla warfare to frustrate the ever more numerous American military forces.

In October 1836, General Thomas Sidney Jesup is sent to Florida to take command of the campaign.

After futilely chasing bands of Seminole warriors through the wilderness, Jesup changes tactics and begins seeking out and destroying Seminole farms and villages, a strategy that eventually changes the course of the war.

Jesup also authorizes the controversial captures of Seminole leaders Osceola and Micanopy under signs of truce.

By the early 1840s, most of the Seminole population in Florida has been killed in battle, ravaged by starvation and disease, or relocated to Indian Territory.

Several hundred Seminoles are allowed to remain in an unofficial reservation in southwest Florida.