General’s Diary from Second Seminole War Added to Florida Memory Website

Diary follows day-to-day activities of General Jesup from October 1836 to May 1837

Tallahassee, Florida –

Secretary of State Ken Detzner today announced the addition of General Thomas Sidney Jesup's diary, from the Second Seminole War, to the Florida Memory website. The diary follows the day-to-day activities of General Jesup from October 1836, when he first arrived in Florida, to May 1837. General Jesup discusses troop movements, the challenges of supply, battles and negotiations to remove the Seminoles from Florida.

"General Jesup's diary is an invaluable resource for historians of Native American History, as well as our state and country's history," said Secretary Detzner. "His thoughts and observations offer a unique insight into one of the most dramatic and controversial conflicts in U.S. history."

General Jesup was one of the longest serving officers in U.S. military history and the longest serving Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army. General Jesup's fate and that of the Seminoles became entwined in October 1836, when he arrived in Florida to take command of U.S. forces in the territory. Beginning in December, when he formally assumed command, General Jesup spent a year and a half trying to defeat the Seminoles, who resisted the U.S. campaign to take their land and remove them to the West.

Some of the most important events of the Second Seminole War, which lasted from 1835 to 1842, occurred during the time General Jesup was in command, including the capture of Osceola, the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, the pursuit of Black Seminoles (escaped slaves who fought alongside the Seminoles), and a dramatic increase in the number of U.S. troops deployed in Florida. General Jesup ended his role in the controversial conflict in May 1838, when he returned to Washington, D.C. and resumed his position as Quartermaster General.

Visit the Florida Memory website www.FloridaMemory.com to learn more about General Thomas Sidney Jesup and the Second Seminole War. General Jesup's diary can be found at http://www.floridamemory.com/collections/jesup/.

About the Florida Memory Website

The Florida Memory websiteprovides online access to more than 550,000 photographs, textual records, sound recordings and moving images. The Florida Memory program is funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services. Users can access the same web address used by the program since its creation in 1998, www.FloridaMemory.com.

About the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services

The Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services is the designated information resource provider for the Florida Legislature and all state agencies. It also coordinates and helps fund activities for public libraries, provides a framework for statewide library initiatives, provides archival and records management services, and preserves, collects, and makes available the published and unpublished documentary history of the state.