By Charles H. Coe

Charles Coe was among the few white people who troubled to take up and write about the tragic treatment of the Seminole Indians by the American government (and people). Coe makes it clear that his book, Red Patriots, published in 1898, was “written from the standpoint of the Indian and includes much new and interesting information, and the correction of many erroneous ideas.” The University Press of Florida reprinted the work in 1974 with an introduction, notes and index by Dr. Charlton Tebeau, who wrote, “The author’s purpose is first to show how wrong the Indians were treated in the steps leading to the conflict the Second Seminole War], how patriotically they resisted removal, and the unreasonable lengths to which the United States and Florida went to expel them.” With the permission of the University Press of Florida and the cooperation of Applewood Books, this current edition includes Dr. Tebeau’s work and other new prefatory material.