Jamie Holmes The Free and the Dead review and information book with the Untold Story of the Black Seminole Chief, the Indigenous Rebel, and America’s Forgotten War. Atria/One Signal Publishers will publish the new history book by Jamie Homes February 7, 2026. Here you can read information about the content of the book, the author and the publication.
Jamie Holmes The Free and the Dead reviews
Whenever a book review of The Free and the Dead: the Untold Story of the Black Seminole Chief, the Indigenous Rebel, and America’s Forgotten War, written by Jamie Holmes, appears in the media, we will highlight it on this page.
- “Finally, we have the Seminoles’ story of their resistance to removal. The Free and the Dead should serve as a model for studies of the removals of other tribes.” (Daniel F. Littlefield, director of the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
- “Read this book before it’s banned. It is just the sort of history that Donald Trumo wants to expunge from the Smithsonian. With extraordinary research and rich storytelling, Holmes brings to light the lost world of America’s longest Indian conflict. Buy it before they won’t let you.” (Sidney Blumenthal, author)
- “Through extensive archival research and vivid writing, Jamie Holmes thrusts his reader into the violent and complex era of the Seminole Wars and the multicultural and multiracial dynasties that once occupied the exotic landscapes of northern Florida. A striking portrait of Antebellum America.” (Jane Landers, professor at Vanderbilt University and author)
The Free and the Dead
The Untold Story of the Black Seminole Chief, the Indigenous Rebel, and America’s Forgotten War
- Author: Jamie Holmes (United States)
- Book type: American history
- Publisher: Atria/One Signal Publishers
- To be released: February 3, 2026
- Length: 128 pages
- Format: paperback / ebook / audiobook
- Prize: $ 30.00 / $ 14.99 / $ 19.99
- Ordering options >
Blurb of the book by Jamie Holmes
The page-turning and revelatory true story of America’s disastrous 1835 attack on the Seminoles in pre-statehood Florida, and the two men—a Black American and a renowned Indigenous warrior—who fought back for their homes and freedom.
From 1817 to 1858, a series of conflicts known as the Seminole Wars took place between the United States and the tribes of Florida as they battled for the land.
Within this unconquered territory, formerly enslaved mothers and fathers and Seminole families had lived side by side for generations, building communities in the interior, beyond the reach of the growing United States. But in 1835, the young country took up arms against them, seeking to forcibly remove all Indigenous people and return their allies to slavery. In the face of this terror, tribes and bands came together across racial lines to preserve their freedom from federal interference. As the fight waged on, two men—Abraham, a free Black American, and the esteemed Creek warrior Osceola—worked together to save their lands and their people, against overwhelming odds, from America’s formidable Army of the South.
A powerful and vivid exploration of an overlooked revolt and historical alliances between Afro-descendant families and Indigenous tribes.
Jamie Holmes was born on April 8, 1980 in Boston. He is a writer and the author of the books Nonsense and 12 Seconds of Silence. His work has appeared in print or online in The New York Times, The New Yorker, USA TODAY, and The Daily Beast. He holds an MIA from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs and previously worked at New America as a Fellow and Policy Analyst in international development. Prior to that he was a Research Coordinator at Harvard’s Department of Economics, where he focused on behavioral economics. He lives in Washington, DC.