Bolek

Bolek (died 1819), also known as Boleck or Bowlegs, was a Seminole chieftain and brother to King Payne who later commanded Seminole forces during the First Seminole War. A Seminole chieftain based near the Suwanee River of western Florida, Bolek (as would his successor Micanopy) first began opposing American influence in Spanish Florida during the early 1800s. Opposing Georgian slaveholders from pursuing runaway slaves into Seminole territory (so... more

Bolek (died 1819), also known as Boleck or Bowlegs, was a Seminole chieftain and brother to King Payne who later commanded Seminole forces during the First Seminole War. A Seminole chieftain based near the Suwanee River of western Florida, Bolek (as would his successor Micanopy) first began opposing American influence in Spanish Florida during the early 1800s. Opposing Georgian slaveholders from pursuing runaway slaves into Seminole territory (some of whom had married into the tribe), in 1812, both he and his brother King Payne began raiding frontier settlements along the Florida-Georgia border. Continuing well after the War of 1812, Seminole bands would fight several engagements with militia forces eventually resulting in the death of King Payne (as well as Bolek suffering serious wounds) during a skirmish with Georgia militia forces under Daniel Newman, later encouraging an expedition by Colonel John Williams the following year destroying hundreds of Seminole villages and capturing... less