Kinache (c. 1750 – c. 1819) was a Seminole chieftain who commanded Seminole forces against the United States during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and later during the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

. He is also known as ''Kinhega'', ''Kinheja'', ''Kinhija'', ''Opie Mico'', ''Kapitca Mico'', ''Capichee Mico'', ''Tom Perryman'' and ''Lye Drop Mico'' (the latter meaning ''"Far Off Warrior"''). Kinache was a prominent chieftain among the Seminoles along the mouth of the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...

during the late eighteenth century when he allied with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

during the American Revolution. Following Great Britain's defeat, Kinache moved to a Miccosukee village on the west side of

Lake Miccosukee Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County. The small town of Miccosukee, F ...

, where he lived among the Seminole of western Florida. He was regarded as "king of the

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians ( /ˌmɪkəˈsuki/, MIH-kə-SOO-kee) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, it is one of ...

s". During 1800 until 1802, the area was used by

Bolek Bolek (died 1819), also spelled as Boleck or Bolechs, and known as Bowlegs by European Americans, was a Seminole principal chief, of the Alachua ( Oconee) chiefly line. He was the younger brother of King Payne, who succeeded their father Cowke ...

as a base of operations in staging raids into Georgia. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Kinache reportedly fought with British forces against General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

. Rear Admiral Codrington, in a letter to his wife dated 14 December 1814, describes meeting him. In 1815, Kinache was part of the Seminole/Negro stronghold of

Negro Fort Negro Fort was a short-lived fortification built by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812, in a remote part of what was at the time Spanish Florida. It was intended to support a never-realized British attack on the U.S. via its southwest b ...

, and helped defend it against an attack by Colonel Duncan L. Clinch, when US troops attempted to capture escaped slaves hiding among the Seminole. (See

Battle of Negro Fort Negro Fort was a short-lived fortification built by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812, in a remote part of what was at the time Spanish Florida. It was intended to support a never-realized British attack on the U.S. via its southwest b ...

.) During the First Seminole War, Kinache commanded Miccosukee forces against the combined forces of American and Creeks under the command of Gen.

William McIntosh William McIntosh (c. 1775 – April 30, 1825),Hoxie, Frederick (1996)pp. 367-369/ref> also known as Tustunnuggee Hutke (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Muscogee Creek Nation between the turn of the 19th-century and hi ...

. Although reportedly killed in battle while leading the Miccosukee in defense of their village, Kinache apparently survived the campaign, later escaping to the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

before returning to Florida in 1819, where he died soon after.

References

* *Johansen, Bruce C. and David A. Grinde, Jr. ''The Encyclopedia of Native American Biography'', New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997. * {{Citation , last=Reilly , first=Robin , year=1974 , title=The British at the gates – the New Orleans campaign in the War of 1812 , location=New York , publisher=Putnam , oclc=839952 Chiefs of the Seminole 18th-century Seminole people 18th-century Native American leaders 19th-century Seminole people Pre-statehood history of Florida 1750s births 1819 deaths Native Americans of the Seminole Wars Miccosukee people