Chief Billy Bowlegs or Billy Bolek (Holata Micco, Halpatter-Micco, Halbutta Micco, and Halpuda Mikko in Seminole, meaning "Alligator Chief") (ca. 1810–1859) was a leader of the Seminole

Seminole

The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...

s in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 during the Second and Third Seminole Wars

Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...

 against the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. One of the last Seminole leaders to resist, he eventually moved to Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

 (present-day Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

).

Early life and Seminole Wars

Bowlegs was born into a family of hereditary chiefs descended from Cowkeeper

Cowkeeper

Cowkeeper, also known as Ahaya in Mikasuki , was the first recorded chief of the Alachua band of the Seminole tribe. This was the name which the English used, as he held a very large herd of cattle.-Early life and education:...

 of the Oconee tribe of the Seminole in the village of Cuscowilla on the Alachua

Alachua County, Florida

Alachua County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 227,120. Its county seat is Gainesville, Florida. Alachua County is the home of the University of Florida and is also known for its diverse culture, local music, and artisans...

 savannah (present-day Micanopy, Florida

Micanopy, Florida

Micanopy is a town in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is south of Gainesville. The population in the 2000 census was 653. As of 2004, the population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 652...

). His father's name was Secoffee, while it is thought that the chief Micanopy

Micanopy

Micanopy , also known as Micco-Nuppe, Michenopah, Miccanopa, Mico-an-opa and Sint-chakkee , was the leading chief of the Seminoles who led the tribe during the Second Seminole War...

was his uncle. The surname "Bowlegs" may be an alternate spelling of Bolek

Bolek

Bolek , also spelled as Boleck, and known as Bowlegs by European Americans, was a Seminole chief. He was the younger brother of King Payne, who succeeded their father Cowkeeper as leading chief in Florida...

, a preceding Seminole chief. (A story that he had bowlegs from riding horses is unsubstantiated.)

Although Bowlegs signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing

Treaty of Payne's Landing

The Treaty of Payne's Landing was an agreement signed on 9 May 1832 between the government of the United States and several chiefs of the Seminole Indians in the present-day state of Florida.- Background :...

 of 1832, he refused to leave Florida. He was not well-noted at the beginning of the Second Seminole Wars (roughly, 1835 to 1842). After the surrender of Osceola

Osceola

Osceola, also known as Billy Powell , became an influential leader with the Seminole in Florida. He was of Creek, Scots-Irish and English parentage, and had migrated to Florida with his mother after the defeat of the Creek in 1814.Osceola led a small band of warriors in the Seminole resistance...

 and the death of Micanopy, amidst the loss of other prominent Seminole chiefs, Bowlegs and his band of 200 warriors became some of the most prominent fighters surviving at the time hostilities ended on 14 August 1842. To impress and awe the Seminole chiefs, the US government brought Bowlegs to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 to underline the power of the United States.

Bowlegs and his band lived in relative peace until 1855. A group of army engineers and surveyors invaded his territory in southwestern Florida

Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...

, where they cut down banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

 trees and destroyed other property in the course of building forts. Some historians have viewed these actions as intentional provocation to make Bowlegs react, so the settlers would have a reason to force the Seminole out. If so, the provocation worked: Bowlegs led his warriors in sporadic attacks against settlers for the next few years, in what is known as the Third Seminole War. The Army was unable to subdue his guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...

.

Relocation

In early 1858, Chief Wild Cat

Wild Cat (Seminole)

Wild Cat, born Coacoochee or Cowacoochee , was a leading Seminole chieftain during the later stages of the Second Seminole War as well as the nephew of Micanopy....

 of the Western Seminole was brought back from Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

 to convince Bowlegs to relocate voluntarily. The US government offered Bowlegs $10,000 and each of his chiefs $1000 if they did so. Warriors and non-warriors were offered less. They initially refused, but later that year, the band of 123 agreed to relocation. Billy's Creek in downtown Fort Myers

Fort Myers, Florida

Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 is named after Bowlegs as this was the spot where he was forced to surrender at in 1858.

In May, Bowlegs and his followers arrived in New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

, en route to Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 and their new home in the Indian Territory. A journalist described the chief as having "two wives, one son, five daughters, fifty slaves, and a hundred thousand dollars in hard cash." After reaching Indian Territory, Bowlegs became a leading chief there. He and his daughters became prominent land holders and slaveowners. His slaveholding put him in the category of major Southern planters

Plantations in the American South

Plantations were an important aspect of the history of the American South, particularly the antebellum .-Planter :The owner of a plantation was called a planter...

, those with more than 20 slaves.

Shortly after arriving in Indian Territory, Bowlegs died. Later, other Seminoles adopted his name as a way of honoring him.

Sonuk Mikko

Sonuk Mikko

Sonuk Mikko , commonly known as Billy Bowlegs and also known as So-Nuk-Mek-Ko, was a Seminole who gained recognition as a captain in the American Civil War...

, aka Billy Bowlegs, gained fame as a captain in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Some historical sources erred in conflating Holato Micco and the later Sonuk Mikko, who both were called Billy Bowlegs.

Billy Bowlegs III

Billy Bowlegs III

Billy Bowlegs III, Billy Fewell, aka Cofehapkee , was a Seminole elder, also of African-American descent. He was a tribal historian in Florida.-Early life and education:...

, born Billy Fewell, was a Black Seminole in Florida who adopted the chief's name as an adult. He became a tribal elder and historian, and lived on the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation

Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation

Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, located in northeast Glades County near the northwest shore of Lake Okeechobee. It is one of several Seminole reservations in Florida...

.

The town of Bowlegs, Oklahoma

Bowlegs, Oklahoma

Bowlegs is a town in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 371 at the 2000 census.Bowlegs was named after an early resident, Lula Bowlegs, a descendant of the Florida Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs. It has been a popular misconception that the town was named after the...

is named in honor of one of his descendents. It is mistakenly thought to be named for Chief Bowlegs.

External links

• "Billy Bowlegs", infoplease.com