Born to a Seminole father and African American mother, John Cavallo emerged as one of the fiercest and most successful of Black Seminole warriors. He fought in many of the major battles of the Second Seminole War, served as advisor and interpreter to Seminole Chief Alligator, worked as an Indian scout for the U.S. Army, and later led numerous blacks out of the Indian territory in the west to Mexico in order to secure a free homeland.

Gopher John, Seminole Interpreter.
Artist N. Orr.
Published in The Exiles of Florida by Joshua R. Giddings. Columbus, Ohio: Follet, Foster and Company, 1858.
Historical Museum of Southern Florida,
1976-096-2.