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During the Civil War the Indian problem was largely ignored by
the U.S. Army as troops were removed to areas more strategic to the
fight against the Confederacy. The removal of forces from Fort
Gibson left Indian Territory at the mercy of whatever freebooters
and renegades wished to exploit it. The Cherokees guaranteed
protection from foreign invasion by the Treaty of 1846, suffered
greatly during this interim because their land bordered the bloody
Kansas frontier. Shortly after hostilities began, Albert Pike of
Arkansas met with the Five Civilized Tribes as personal
representative of Jefferson Davis. The Cherokees signed a treaty at
their capital, Tahlequah, offering their alliance to the South, but
many of the tribe were against this and capitulated to join the
Union forces.
Among the tribal leaders loyal to the Confederacy was Col. Stand
Watie, a half-blood Cherokee Chief who was 54 years old when the war
began. He proved an outstanding commander, fearless in the face of
overwhelming odds, and his fighting men-the Second Regiment of
Cherokee Mounted Rifles-played an important role in the war.
Although he was a small man, physically, Watie had been known for
his leadership since his youth. Watie and his troops got their first
taste of the war when they were assigned to join General James
McIntosh's Texas troops in driving about 2,000 loyalist Creeks from
the Cherokee Nation. The forces clashed at hominy Creek in a fierce
battle on Christmas Day, 1861. The Creeks, under Chief
Apoth-le-yo-hola, were routed and retreated to Kansas, leaving
behind many dead and wounded.
Watie's regiment figured prominently in the Battle of Pea Ridge,
which began near Bentonville, Arkansas, on March 6, 1862. Pinned
down by hidden artillery and a strong force of infantry and cavalry,
Watie and his redskin warriors eschewed the usual military tactics
and fought Indian style, skulking behind trees and boulders to close
in on a battery of artillery and on the next morning, capture it.
The Federals repeatedly tried to recapture the artillery, but
Watie's outnumbered men held fast. Before noon of the next day, all
of the Confederate troops except for Watie's regiment had been
forced by superior numbers to retreat. As the Union line advanced,
Watie commanded his men to charge. In the bloody fighting that
followed, two Confederate generals and at least 800 men were killed
and the North won its first victory west of the Mississippi. Few of
the Indians were among the dead, however, for their stealthy style
of fighting made them hard to shoot. The white officers of both
sides were horrified by the "unethical" tactics of the Cherokee
troopers and the tendency of some to take scalps.
In June, 1862, Colonel William Weer lead 5,000 Union
troops-including two regiments of Indians-from Kansas into the
Indian Territory. Opposed only by Watie's regiment, Weer probably
would have taken over the entire Territory but for the intervention
of his second in command, Col. Frederick Salomon, who declared Weer
to be insane, had him arrested and ordered a retreat to Kansas.
During the following months Watie and his men continued to harass
Union troops with raids and by stealing supplies and mounts,
sometimes against impossible odds. After the falloff Vicksburg and
Lee's retreat from Gettysburg, however, the Cherokees dissolved
their alliance with the South. Watie and some of his command
remained loyal to the Confederacy, however, and continued as
Guerilla fighters long after most of the Indian Territory was
occupied by the U.S. forces. Watie was commissioned a brigadier
general by the Confederate Congress in the Spring of 1864. In
September of that year he led 2,000 troops against Union supply
lines and captured some 220 wagons, 1800 horses and mules and much
strategic material. Watie's troops were the last Confederates to
surrender, laying down their arms on June 23, 1865-two and a half
months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
Watie passed his last years on his farm near Bernice, Oklahoma, and
died after a short illness on Sept. 9, 1871.
The books presented are for their historical value only and are
not the opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
Collection of books and papers, 1922-1925
Indian Warriors
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