Army Response

Scott tried to combine European infantry tactics with the traditional U.S. approach to Indian-fighting. His method was based on careful preparation, logistics, and a massing of overwhelming force. The plan had worked in the past, but it failed utterly in Florida. The general had "drawn it upon the carpet before his comfortable fire," wrote one participant. But the Seminoles refused to follow Scott's directions. When confronted, they simply vanished into the vast, unmapped wilderness.