2012 Patrick D. Smith Award

The year is 1835 and the Florida Territory is on the verge of a major war. President Andrew Jackson has ordered the Seminole Indians to abandon their homes and move to a reservation west of the Mississippi. Called into action is Col. William Wooster, a career officer who understands that removing the Seminoles will be a long and arduous task. Standing against the colonel is Kachi-Hadjo, a determined Seminole leader who wages a desperate seven-year conflict to remain on his native soil and protect his people’s way of life. Both men fight the merciless climate, growing frustrations, and each other, both hoping the next battle will yield something more than a hollow victory.
Written by Seminole War historians with a deep understanding of this little known conflict, Hollow Victory takes the reader through one of the darkest chapters in American history, through a long and brutal war that left a lasting mark on Florida and has surprising similarities to the conflicts we wage today.