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ENERAL THOMAS JESUP ENDED the Second Seminole War with a promise: Black members of the tribe who emigrated to Indian Territory would remain free. With that understanding he recruited the two most respected Seminole warriors, John Horse and Wildcat, to help him end the conflict. The tribe would not have laid down their arms without Jesup’s promise. Seminole had been sheltering runaway slaves since they broke from the Muskogee Creek in the late eighteenth century. By the time the war ended on August 14, 1842, blacks were integrated into every level of society. John Horse, himself, was the son of a native Seminole father and a black mother. As soon as John and Wildcat arrived in Indian Territory, they understood the agreement they’d negotiated was doomed to fail. The U.S. government meant to locate the tribe on Creek land, subject to rules and regulations of the Creek tribal council. The U.S. Army had used Creek mercenaries in the Second Seminole War and promised them payment in black Seminole slaves. That bill was still outstanding. How long would blacks remain free surrounded by a pro-slavery tribe with a legal claim on them?
Rather than settle in a hostile jurisdiction, John Horse and Wildcat camped on Cherokee land near Fort Gibson. This was a delaying tactic at best, but it gave John time to meet with his old friend, Principal Chief Micanopy. He persuaded the chief to send a delegation to Washington to plead the Seminole’s case for tribal autonomy. Micanopy agreed, despite Creek disapproval, and appointed Wildcat to lead the group. The old chief eventually changed his mind and declared the delegation to be renegades. But by that time, Wildcat and John Horse were on their way to Washington.
JOHN HORSE, A BLACK SEMINOLE WARRIOR AND BROTHER-INLAW TO PRINCIPAL CHIEF MICANOPY
