The American Indian and Their role in the WBTS
It is no secret to anyone who really knows me, or in the slightest of degree, that I have a passion for my heritage and my ancestors red and white alike. I have struggled all my life to fit somewhere in between both worlds. I would say that my ancestors did much the same. Schooled on one side by Indian grandparents in the "old ways" and schooled by grandparents on the other side in "Southron ways". The common denominator of both sides of my lineage, is their service to the CSA.
Most Southrons are aware that American Indians like their white brothers, fought for both sides, and like their white brothers at times it was brother against brother, father against son, etc. That was the real tragedy of that war in my opinion, and it was the senseless thirst for power by Lincoln and his followers that brought it on.
The contributions by the American Indian in that war would fill volume after volume of printed material. It is most obvious I haven't the time , the space, or the knowledge to cover anywhere near all of the material. However, I would like to make it most clear to the naysayer who contend that Indians played little or non important roles in that war, that nothing could be further from the truth. So let us begin with some basic facts.
Indian tribes who signed treaties with and served the CSA beginning in the summer of 1861, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Quapaws, Senecas, Caddos, Whitchitas, Osage, and Shawnees. In late fall 1861 Chief John Ross of the Cherokees abandoned his original stance of neutrality and also signed the treaty with the Confederacy. In these treaties the Confederate government promised to assume federal obligations, protect tribes from invasion, and invited Indian representation in the Confederate Congress. In turn these tribes were to provide troops for their own defense.
In compliance with these treaties there were originally three (3) Indian regiments (1 Choctaw/Chickasaw regiment, (2) Creek/Seminole regiment, (3) a Cherokee regiment. The latter regiment was under the command of Col. John Drew and was composed mainly of John Ross supporters. A second anti-Ross regiment organized by at that time Col. Stand Watie (later to become the only Indian to reach the rank of Brig. General, also he never officially surrendered) totaling four (4) regiments comprised of five thousand (5,000) Indians. The smaller tribes were not at this time asked to provide troops. However, by wars end men from all the tribes would be involved with over ten thousand (10,000) CSA Indian troops. The WBTS in Indian Territory ended July 14 1865, with the surrender of the Chickasawa and Caddos. The war had been fought at an incredible cost to the Indian population. It is estimated that over 25 % of the entire populations of the Creeks, Seminoles, and Cherokees were lost in the war and or to war related causes. Other figures show that just among the 5 civilized tribes (not counting the other tribes that served) that on the low end 6,000 Indians died in the Cause, on the high end the estimates is 10,000 died. Nearly every Indian home, farm and public building had been burned to the ground. The Indian economy was to never recover, and the Indian population as a whole were reduced to impoverished, homeless refugees. Despite the that an equal number of Indians from the 5 civilized tribes had served the Union army as those who served the Confederacy the federal government declared its treaties to be null and void forcing all the tribes to once again negotiate new treaties that ceded the western part of Indian Territory to the United States.
Research Source for the above material. Encyclopedia of North American Indians Houghton Mifflin college division Online Study Center.
Confederate Indian Units in the Western Theatre
First Battalion, Cherokee Cavalry (Bryans' Battalion)
[First Regiment : Cherokee Mounted Rifles.]
First Colonel: Stand Watie ( Later Brig. General
James M Bell Lt. Col..(later Col.
Robert C Parks Lt. Col.
Thomas R Taylor Lt. Col
Joseph F Thompson Major (later Lt. Col.
Clem N Van Lt/ Col.
[Second Regiment: Cherokee Mounted Rifles]
First Col, William P Adair
O H P Breewer Lt. Col.
Porter Hammock Maj.
J R Harden Maj.
John Vann Maj.
Elias Corneleilus Boudinot Maj.
[Drews' Regiment Cherokee Mounted Rifles]
First Col John Drew
Willaim P Ross Lt Col.
Thomas Pegg Maj.
[Frys' Battalion, Cherokee Cavalry]
First Commander Maj. Moses C Frye
Aide Maj. Joseph A Scales
[First Battalion, Cherokee Cavalry]
First Col. Lt. Joseph D Haris
Aide Maj. Lemuel M Reynolds
[First Regiment Chickasaw Cavalry
First Col. William L Hunter
Samuel H Martin Lt Col
Abram B Hayes Maj.
[First Regiment Choctaw Cavalry Battices' Battalion]
First Col. Simpson Folsom
F Battice Lt. Col
[First Regiment Choctaw Cavalry (from first Choctaw Battalion)ol. Sampson Folsom
David R Hawkins Lt. Col
[Third Regiment Choctaw Cavalry]
first Col. Jackson McCurtain
Tom Lewis Lt. Col.
John Page Maj.
[First regiment Choctaw/Chickasaw Mounted rifles]
First Col Douglas H Cooper
James Riley Lt Col.
Willis J Jones Maj.
Mitchel LeFlore Maj.
Sampson Loering Maj.
Tandy walker Lt Col. (transferred to 2nd regiment)
[Second regiment Choctaw/Chickasaw Mounted rifles]
First Col. Tandy Walker
[First regiment Creek Cavalry]
First Col. Daniel McIntosh
William R McIntosh Lt Col
Samuel Chekote Lt. Col
Jacob Derrsaw Maj.
James McHenry Maj.
[Second regiment Choctaw/Chickasaw Mounted rifles]
First Col. Chilly McIntosh
Pink Hawkins Lt. Col.
Timothy Barnett Maj. (later Col.)
[First Battalion Seminole Cavalry]
First Commander Lt. Col. John Jumper
George Cloud Maj.
[Osage Cavalry Battalion].................side note [My People]
First Commander Maj. Broken Arm
total Regiments eleven (11) battalions eight (8)
Ok, there is the list of Units and their Officers, of course this doesn't pay tribute to the ten thousand Indian soldiers who served under them. However, it should make , most clear to the Yankee naysayer who continue to this day to deny that minorities of color served willingly by themselves and along side their white brothers.
I wish I had the time, space and opportunity to go into all the battles in which they fought. I would also like to go into depth to some of the most famous of the Indian commanders. Stand Watie is a legendary character before, during and after the war but, there are those less known and reported about, in particular Osages' Like Black Dog, Hard rope, Big Chief and Graymore. Names you never hear unless you happen to be a in depth historian, or someone like myself who is anything but a historian, but ,has been blessed with having the stories and names passed down generation after generation. It is just such behavior that will be the salvation of the Indian people (eventually) and I certainly pray that my Southron brothers follow in that tradition; for I fear to not to do so the truth in history shall be totally erased and re written to suit the PC crowd.
I would like to leave ya'll with the following excerpt from "The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War" Author : Annie Heloise Abel. "Remain true, I earnestly advise you, to the Confederate States and yourselves. Do not listen to any men who tell you that the Southern States will abandon you. They will not do it. If the enemy has been able to come into the Cherokee country it has not been the fault of the President; and it is but the fortune of war, and what has happened in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and even Arkansas. We have not been able to keep the enemy from our frontier anywhere; but in the interior of our country we can defeat them always."-Confederate General Albert Pike.
This book is available in online format free of charge and though quite lengthy, and at times the author leans a tad bit to far the federal side for my liking, it is however chalked full of original letters, orders, and official records of the Confederacy in regards to the Indian Units. It can be found at:
I believe one of the most memorable entries in the book, is where a Union Commander (his name escapes me at this time) is complaining to his superiors that the CSA Indian troops will not face him upon the open field and the fire of cannons. and muskets but rather, they (the Indians) prefer to hide in the woods, or behind the rocks and attack in surprise! Duh, let's see we can walk out into the open, stand or ride shoulder to shoulder and be blown to pieces, or we can bide our time and attack under our terms......Don't anyone tell me that the Indian didn't have the right Idea about warfare.
It has been a pleasure and an honor to put this page together. I would like to thank PoP Tommy for that honor.
Blessins' to all.
Still stuck behind enemy lines in illannoy
T wah tou late' (pro nounced T wa (short a sound) to lay My given name meaning "bird who fasts".
T warren Proud Kaw/OsageMixblood Border Ruffian
Heritage Officer Capt. James Knox Camp 2022 Ga. Div SCV
