chapter 10 Indian Territory at War

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OKLAHOMA chapter 10 Indian Territory at War Key Themes Conflict and Cooperation The Civil War in Indian Territory divides tribes along political, economic, and social lines. Democracy and Civil Rights Thinking of themselves as independent nations, the Five Tribes sign treaties with the Confederate States of America. Objectives Describe the Confederacy s efforts to recruit the Five Tribes to its side Assess the impact of Civil War battles on the Five Tribes Analyze the effects of the war on Indian Territory people Recount the sequence of events that led to the Confederates loss in Indian Territory Key TERMs Confederacy seceded abolitionist Indian Expedition Loyalists dissidents refugees guerilla 154

Overview The Five Southeastern Tribes and other American Indians in Oklahoma participate in the Civil War, with devastating social and economic consequences. Although leaders of all Five Tribes align with the Confederacy, tribal members are to be found in both Confederate and Union fighting units. The war makes refugees of many Indians. Although still weak from a long illness, U.S. Army second lieutenant William W. Averell returned to duty in Washington, D.C. Once there, the lieutenant received an assignment that nearly cost him his life: to deliver secret dispatches to Indian Territory. Dressed in civilian clothes, he quietly boarded a train bound for Rolla, Missouri, on April 17, 1861. He traveled by stagecoach from Rolla to Fort Smith, Arkansas. There he bought an untamed horse that he hoped to ride to his destination Fort Washita, about 260 miles away. Dodging mounted desperadoes who tried to ambush him, Averell worked his way west until, on May 2, he intercepted U.S. troops commanded by Major William H. Emory. With relief, Averell handed Emory the dispatches he had brought from Washington. Those orders directed the major to evacuate all of his troops and take them north to Kansas. Emory had expected the orders and was already in full retreat from Forts Arbuckle, Wichita, and Cobb. The orders merely confirmed that the Civil War in the East would soon disturb the peace and tranquility of Indian Territory. And it did, plunging the Five Tribes into a devastating war that renewed old hostilities and created new ones. Key People and Events 1861 Indian Territory tribes join the Confederacy 1861 Opothleyaholo escapes to Kansas 1862 Cherokee troops fight at Pea Ridge, Arkansas 1863 Battle of Honey Springs is fought 1864 Guerilla warfare prevails 1865 Stand Watie surrenders in June 155

chapter 10 unit 3 Becoming Confederate Allies The national debate that raged in the United States in the 1850s touched Indian Territory only slightly. The issues concerning states rights and the tariff had little meaning to the Five Tribes, but their citizens could and did relate to the argument over slavery. The Cherokees, for example, were deeply divided over the question. And all tribal leaders were disturbed by Republican proposals, during Abraham Lincoln s campaign for the presidency in 1860, that Indian lands should be used for white settlement. When Lincoln was elected, the Five Tribes expected the worst. Trusted advisers and friends confirmed the fears of the tribespeople. Their longtime agents who were all from Southern states, told them that the tribes could not trust the U.S. government. Delegations from Arkansas and Texas made the same point. Letters and visits from Southern relatives especially reminded mixed-blood families of their strong ties with the South. The Work of Albert Pike Many leaders of the Five Tribes welcomed the formation of the Confederate States of America in February 1861. The Confederacy, as it was known, consisted of Southern states that had seceded (withdrawn) from the United States. It moved quickly to take advantage of this sentiment. Confederate president Jefferson Davis appointed Albert Pike a prominent Arkansas attorney, editor, and Freemason to negotiate treaties with the tribes. Pike set out for Indian Territory in late May. With good reason, Pike expected a warm and friendly welcome. The U.S. Army had withdrawn from the region after receiving its orders to do so. The abandoned forts Arbuckle, Wichita, and Cobb were now occupied by Confederate troops from Texas. Pike also heard that Five Tribes leaders such as the Cherokee Stand Watie were volunteering to raise regiments to fight for the Confederacy. He may also have learned that pro-southern Indians had forced antislavery missionaries like John Edwards, who worked among the Choctaws, to flee for their lives. In early June, Pike stopped first at Park Hill in the Cherokee Nation. There he found that the tribe was divided in its support of the South, and Chief John Ross was intent on remaining neutral in the American Civil War. Although disappointed, Pike respected the chief s position and moved on to other negotiations at An Arkansas attorney and Freemason, Albert Pike (1809 91) negotiated the Confederate treaty of alliances with the Five Tribes. Early in the war in Indian Territory, he commanded Confederate Indian troops. North Fork Town in the Creek Nation, near present Eufaula. On July 10, 1861, he signed a treaty with the Creeks, despite opposition among the traditionalists. Unanimous in support of the South, the Choctaws and the Chickasaws signed another treaty two days later. A very divided Seminole Nation signed a treaty with Pike on August 1. From North Fork Town, Pike went west to negotiate with the tribes of the Wichita Agency near present Anadarko. On August 12, he signed two treaties: one with the Wichitas, the Caddos, and affiliated tribes; and another with the Plains Comanches who did not live on a reservation. While Pike was in the West, he received word that the Cherokees were now anxious to negotiate with the Confederacy. Wanting to preserve the unity of his people, Chief Ross had given up all hope of neutrality. 156 the story of oklahoma

A Painful Story: A Missionary Flees for His Life A native of New York, John Edwards graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1851. Shortly after that, the Presbyterian Church appointed him as a missionary teacher at Spencer Academy in the Choctaw Nation. In 1853, Edwards became superintendent of the Wheelock Seminary for Choctaw girls. Edwards helped translate part of the Bible into the Choctaw language. Although he did not consider slavery a sin, he believed that it was greatly abused. Because of that belief, his neighbors thought that he was an abolitionist (a supporter of ending slavery). In May 1861, as the Choctaws were deciding whether to join the Confederacy, a vigilante committee of Texans and Choctaws questioned Edwards and searched his house for weapons. Believing his life was in danger, Edwards made a dramatic escape from the Choctaw Nation the next month. Forty years later, he recalled his experience: Finally, the question was put to me whether I would pledge myself, in case the War came into that region of the country, to take up arms for the South. Gentlemen, said I, You might as well ask me to strike my Mother. I was born in the North; my friends and kindred are still living there; I do not believe the Southern states have a right to secede, nor that the Government has given them any cause to rebel. What I wish to do is to stay here quietly and go on with my work for the Choctaws, not taking part in the War on either side. I am willing to give you my pledge to do nothing against you, and to abide by that to the death. Beyond that my conscience will not let me do. The crisis was reached. They went out and consulted. Returning, [they] asked me how long a time I wanted to get ready to leave. I replied that in the feeble state of my wife s health, I thought I ought to have at least a month. He [Captain J. H. Caudle of Texas] answered, It would be a cruelty to compel a feeble lady to travel in this hot weather; but get ready and leave as soon as you can.... [Three weeks later after a public meeting had been held at Doaksville,] I was in my study... when Mrs. E[dwards] came in and said, Mrs. [Joseph] Dukes is here and says the committee are to be here today to hang you, and you must get out of the way as soon as possible. I took my keys out of my pocket, handed them to Mr. Libby who was sitting there, and said, Mr. Libby will you saddle Jerry for me? Then I went into the house, put on a warmer suit of clothes which had come from my mother a few days before, put some clothes and some snack in my saddle bags, had a prayer with Mrs. E[dwards], took all the money there was in the house, and mounted and started, probably within 15 minutes of the time the word came. Mrs. E[dwards] wished to know my plans. I told her I would go to Lenox, Dr. Hobbs station, and wait there for her and the children, if I could. If not I would make the best of my way northward. What shall I do? said she. Get a team and follow me as soon as you can, said I.... So I bade her farewell and started. Source: John Edwards, An Account of My Escape from the South in 1861, Chronicles of Oklahoma 43 (1965): 58 89. indian territory at war 157

chapter 10 Five Tribes were also given the right to send representatives to the Confederate congress. In return, the Indians agreed to support the Southern states in their military campaigns and to provide troops at the request of President Jefferson Davis. unit 3 War Comes to Indian Territory Before the ink was dry on the treaties, the Indians who supported the Confederacy established fighting units under officers of their own choosing. The first unit was the Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles, commanded by former Indian agent Douglas H. Cooper. The Creeks and then the Seminoles formed units led by Daniel N. McIntosh and John Jumper, respectively. The Cherokees organized two units, one led by John Drew and the other by Stand Watie. All of the units looked forward to winning glory on the battlefield. A noted Creek planter, merchant, and Freemason, George W. Stidham (1817 94) represented the Creeks in the Confederate Congress in Richmond during the Civil War. He lived in a large twostory mansion in Eufaula. Pike hurried back to Tahlequah and negotiated a treaty with the Cherokees in early October. He took the opportunity also to conclude three other treaties with their neighbors the Quapaws, the Osages, and the Senecas and Shawnees. It had taken nearly five months, but Pike had completed his work successfully. Indian Territory belonged to the Confederacy. The treaties proved a disaster for the Indian nations, but in October 1861 few would have predicted it. For the moment, the treaties seemed quite generous. The Confederate government assumed all the financial obligations of the old treaties with the United States, promised to protect the tribes from invasion, and guaranteed their right of self-government. It also agreed to permit slavery and to grant access to the Confederate court system. The Opothleyaholo and the Loyalists Not all Indian Territory people supported a Confederate alliance. Some Loyalists continued to support the United States. Among them was the Creek statesman and slaveholder Opothleyaholo. He and about 7,000 Creeks and Seminoles gathered along the Little River south and west of Holdenville and declared their loyalty to the old treaties with the United States. To quiet these dissidents (people who disagreed), 1,400 Indian and Texas troops, commanded by Douglas Cooper, marched toward their camp. Opothleyaholo heard of the coming attack and retreated north toward Kansas. At Round Mountain, just east of Stillwater in Payne County, the Confederates caught up with the Loyalists and engaged them in Oklahoma s first Civil War battle, on November 19, 1861. After withstanding two more bloody encounters in December at Caving Banks (north of Tulsa) and Chustenahlah (west of Skiatook) Opothleyaholo s people were able to escape into Kansas, only to suffer extreme deprivations there. Battle of Pea Ridge By early 1862, Confederate Indian troops had control of Indian Territory. But that position of strength soon deteriorated, especially after the defeat of the Southern army on March 6 8 at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Led by General Albert Pike, Indian troops fought bravely and well, but Cherokee units at the battle were accused of scalping dead Union soldiers. Although the evidence was entirely circumstantial, the Confederate high command 158 the story of oklahoma

chapter 10 unit 3 Also known as Chief Yoholo, Opothleyaholo (1798 1862) was an elder statesman of the Creeks. He opposed the Five Tribes alliance with the Confederacy and led about 7,000 neutral Creeks and Seminoles, among others, into Kansas. Ironically, he was a slaveholder. He is shown here as a member of a Creek delegation that visited Washington, D.C., in 1826. Born in Mississippi, Douglas Cooper (1815 79) was a longtime U.S. government agent among the Choctaws. Under his command, Confederate troops forced Opothleyaholo s neutral group to seek refuge in Kansas in 1861. Cooper was subsequently defeated by Union troops at the Battle of Honey Springs in 1863. tended to accept the charges. Demoralized by that lack of confidence, Pike retreated deep into the Choctaw Nation, taking much of his Indian Territory army with him. Near Nail s Crossing on Blue River, in northwest Bryan County, he used slave labor to build Fort McCulloch. When it was complete, he dared the Yankees to attack it. Weer Expedition Pike did not intimidate the Union Army. Feeling bold after its victory at Pea Ridge, the army planned to invade Indian Territory from Kansas. It would use regular white units as well as units consisting of Opothleyaholo s followers. The families of the Loyalist Indians would follow behind, returning to their old homes when it became safe. Colonel William Weer commanded the Indian Expedition, as it was called. With little opposition, it traveled 100 miles south to Fort Gibson. At Tahlequah, Cherokee chief John Ross welcomed the Union troops as liberators. Despite this reception, a failure of leadership and rumors of a counter-attack caused the Union troops to withdraw back to Kansas. They took Chief Ross and as many as 2,000 Cherokee refugees with them. (Refugees flee their homeland to escape dangers posed by war.) Ross spent the remainder of the war in Philadelphia. Confederate forces were unable to profit from the collapse of the Indian Expedition. The Cherokees had split into two rival groups. One group supported the Union. It recognized John Ross as chief and, in his absence, Thomas Pegg. The other group elected Stand Watie as chief and continued to support the South. General Albert Pike believed that the Confederate Army was discriminating against his troops. He resigned his commission, only to be arrested by his subordinate and successor, General indian territory at war 159

chapter 10 unit 3 NO MAN S LAND N Beaver Creek 0 50 100 miles 0 80 160 kilometers SEMINOLE North Fork of Red River Cimarron River Washita River CHEROKEE OUTLET North Fork of Canadian River LEASED DISTRICT Red River Arkansas River Canadian River Round Mountain (1861) CHICKASAW Cabin Creek, 1st (1863) CREEK CHEROKEE Backbone Mountain (1863) Tonkawa Massacre (1862) Perryville (1863) Muddy Boggy (1864) Boggy Depot (1865) Cowskin Prairie (1862) Cabin Creek, 2nd Chustenahlah (1864) (1861) Caving Banks (1861) Flat Rock Creek (1864) Fort Davis (1862) Honey Springs (1863) Fort Wayne (1862) Locust Grove (1862) Grand River Webbers Falls (1863) Kiamichi River CHOCTAW Civil War battle sites Cooper. The resulting chaos reduced Confederate military activity in Indian Territory to guerilla-like raids mainly led by Stand Watie. (A guerilla fights in an independent unit whose aim is to harass the enemy.) These scouts inspired terror and resulted in property damage but had little military value. Battle of Honey Springs Southern forces were in no position to seriously challenge the second Union invasion, which began in April 1863. Colonel William A. Phillips led the Union s Indian Brigade. His troops were almost unopposed as they marched from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to occupy Fort Gibson. When efforts to cut the federal supply line failed, General Cooper planned a full-scale attack on the fort and gathered 5,000 Confederate troops at Honey Springs on the Texas Road (north of Checotah). But Union major general James G. Blunt, who had just arrived from Kansas, spoiled Cooper s plans. With 3,000 men, he marched out of the fort, crossed the Arkansas River, and confronted the Confederates at their camp on July 17. The Battle of Honey Springs was the most important battle of the Civil War in Indian Territory. The Confederate forces were in trouble from the beginning. Their artillery was quickly silenced by Union cannons, and their gunpowder, imported from Mexico, proved useless when early morning rains turned it into paste. A sharp-shooting Union regiment of African Americans quickly turned back a charge by Texas troops. In less than two hours the battle was over, and the Confederate Army was fleeing from the field toward the Red River. Too late, 3,000 Confederate reinforcements arrived that afternoon. General Blunt followed that victory with others at Perryville on August 26 and Fort Smith on September 1. His successes meant that the Union controlled the northern two-thirds of Oklahoma. Many of the several thousand supporters of Opothleyaholo and John Ross, who had lived as refugees in Kansas for two years, returned to Indian Territory. Most of the Loyalist Indians did not feel safe in their own homes and gathered around Forts Smith and Gibson for protection. For the Confederate Indians, the defeat at Honey Springs brought great suffering. The army ultimately found safety in camps along the Red River. There and in Texas, the troops were soon joined by some 15,000 family members. These civilians had abandoned their homes in the northern two-thirds of Indian Territory rather than suffer the wrath of Union columns. They had 160 the story of oklahoma

An Uncommon Story: The General s Wife Urges Mercy Cherokee general Stand Watie (1807 71) commanded Confederate troops in Indian Territory during the later years of the war. He was the last Confederate of his rank to surrender at the war s end. His fourth wife, Sarah Bell Watie, spent most of the war years as a refugee in northern Texas. Sarah Watie had a husband and a son serving in the Confederate Army. Her husband was General Stand Watie, and her son Saladin (one of her five children) served on her husband s staff. Sarah spent most of the war as a refugee in northern Texas. While she was there, she sent letters of encouragement and concern to her husband. One of them, written on June 8, 1863, addresses the fears she had for her son and for her nephew Charles Webber: My dear half: I have not had a chance to write you a long letter since you left. Grady tells me that Charles and Saladin have killed a prisoner write and tell me who it was and how it was, tell my boys to always show mercy as they expect to find God merciful to them. I do hate to hear such things it almost runs me crazy to hear such things I find myself almost dead sometimes thinking about it. I am afraid that Saladin never will value human life as he ought. If you should ever catch William Ross dont have him killed I know how bad his mother would feel but keep him till the war is over. I know that they all deserve death but I do feel for his old mother and then I want them to know that you do not want to kill them just to get them out of your way. I want them to know you are not afraid of there influence. Always do as near right as you can.... Source: Edward E. Dale, ed., Some Letters of General Stand Watie, Chronicles of Oklahoma 1 (1921 23): 41. indian territory at war 161

unit 3 chapter 10 This romanticized sketch of the Battle of Honey Springs, July 17, 1863, appeared in Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaper on August 29, 1863. also felt threatened by roving bands of thieves and killers like the notorious William Quantrill and his followers. Life for the civilian refugees was hard, just as it had been for their northern brethren in Kansas. Food and medical supplies were in very short supply. Guerilla Warfare Military operations in Indian Territory after September 1863 were primarily guerilla operations designed by the Confederates to interrupt Union supply lines to Fort Gibson. General Stand Watie and his First Indian Brigade were especially effective on such scouts. On June 15, 1864, they captured the steamer J. R. Williams near present Tamaha in Haskell County. On September 19, with the help of some Texas troops, they took a supply train of 300 wagons at Cabin Creek, just south of Vinita in Craig County. Colonel Tandy Walker s Second Indian Brigade also contributed to the Confederate victory at Poison Springs, Arkansas, on April 18, 1864. Confederate Surrender Successful Confederate operations in Indian Territory could not change the outcome of the Civil War. That was determined back east in Virginia. On April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Further resistance by Confederate troops in Indian Territory was futile. On May 26, 1865, Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the white Confederate command. The three tribes who were most persistent in their commitment to the South the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, and the Cherokees surrendered through their chiefs in June and July. Stand Watie, who acted on behalf of the Cherokees, was the last Confederate general to surrender. 162 the story of oklahoma

chapter 10 unit 3 A physician by training and an anti-slave champion in Kansas, Major General James G. Blunt (1826 84) commanded the Union forces that defeated Confederate troops at the Battle of Honey Springs in 1863. He returned to Kansas after the war, but he spent most of his time in Washington, D.C., as an attorney and a lobbyist. Above: A journalist, attorney, and Kansas resident, William A. Phillips (1824 93) commanded both the First and the Third Indian Home Guards, as well as the First Indian Brigade. In 1863, he boldly led his Union troops, many of whom had previously fought with Opothleyaholo, out of Kansas to occupy Fort Gibson. This action was the beginning of the end of the Confederate hold on Indian Territory. After the war, Phillips served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Right: The youngest son of Creek chief William McIntosh, Colonel Daniel N. McIntosh (1822 96) commanded the First Creek Regiment of Confederate troops through the course of the Civil War in Indian Territory. He saw action at Chustenahlah, Pea Ridge, Honey Springs, and Cabin Creek. After the war, he represented the Creeks as a delegate to Washington, D.C. He was also an ordained Baptist minister and a Freemason. indian territory at war 163

unit 3 chapter 10 On one of his guerilla raids in October 1863, Confederate general Stand Watie burned Rose Cottage, near Tahlequah. It had been the stately home of his old adversary, Cherokee chief John Ross. Why Is This Part of the Story Important? It is hard for historians to know exactly how many members of the Indian Territory tribes fought in the Civil War. About 3,530 Indian men enlisted in the Union Army during the war; 3,260 men were in the Confederate Army late in 1864. Surely as many as 8,000 tribal members saw some duty in one of these armies. Whatever their numbers or their side, the troops in Indian Territory had little impact on the war as a whole. The Confederate high command never allocated sufficient resources to the units operating in the territory. In December 1863, for example, at least 1,000 of the Five Tribes enlistees had no guns of any kind, and most of the men who had guns were on leave. Union Indian troops were better armed, but some units had a reputation for going buffalo hunting just as campaigns began. The civilian population of Indian Territory, especially women and children, paid a heavy price for participating in the Civil War. Most Northern sympathizers spent two to four cruel years as refugees in Kansas or huddled around Fort Gibson or Fort Smith. Southern sympathizers spent at least two years on the banks of the Red River. Refugee camps were scenes of deprivation, despair, and death. Most of the estimated 10,000 deaths among the Five Tribes that were due to the war occurred in the camps. Homes abandoned by the refugees were burned, grain was seized, livestock was driven off 300,000 head of cattle alone. Schools and churches closed. In sum, the Civil War devastated almost all that the Five Southeastern Tribes had built and developed in Indian Territory during their golden years. Even though tribal leaders could truthfully say that they had joined the Confederacy because the Union had abandoned them, the war left the Five Tribes in the position of a conquered foe, and that made the negotiation of a permanent peace much more difficult. Lieutenant Pleasant Porter (1840 1907) served with the First Creek Regiment of Confederate forces at the Second Battle of Cabin Creek in September 1864. He was wounded three times during the Civil War. After the war, he made a fortune in ranching and real estate, but he also served the Creeks as superintendent of public schools, head of the militia, tribal delegate to Washington, D.C., and, finally, chief. Colonel Lewis Downing (1823 72), an ordained Baptist minister, commanded the Third Indian Home Guard Regiment for the Union. After the Civil War, he became principal chief of the Cherokees in a unity government that included both Loyalists and former Confederates. 164 the story of oklahoma

A Massacre at Flat Rock Creek G. W. Grayson was one of hundreds of young Creek Indian men who volunteered for service in the Confederate Army. His autobiography, written 40 years after the Civil War, remains one of the best eyewitness descriptions of the conflict in Indian Territory. Below is his account of action that took place at Flat Rock Creek, just north of Wagoner, on September 16, 1864: After several days of preparation, some two thousand men, as I believe, consisting of Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees and Texans with a battery of four pieces of artillery were gotten in readiness for the expedition. I joined this expedition, it having become my rule and purpose to take part in all proposed raids against the enemy when I had a horse in condition to withstand the hardships incident to such expeditions.... We crossed the Canadian, the Arkansas and the Verdigris rivers after two days march and reached an encampment of negro hay makers about two miles beyond the present town of Wagoner, who were cutting and putting up hay for the use of the army at Fort Gibson. There appeared to have been a small escort of negro soldiers, as nearly all the dead and prisoners were negroes, who for a few minutes after our attack returned our fire. One or two cannon shots of grape from our guns, however, caused a stampede, when we charged the encampment. The defenders disappeared among the thickets and very high weeds that covered the banks of the creek and for a few minutes after reaching the deserted camps it did not appear that there was anything for us to do more than burning the camps and the great ricks [stacks] of hay that stood about the field. Presently, however, some of our men discovered a negro hiding in the high weeds near the creek and shot and killed him. At another point another one was found and shot, and it now appearing that these were to be found hid in the weeds, the men proceeded to hunt them out much as sportsmen do quails. Some of the negroes finding they were about to be discovered, would spring up from the brush and cry out, O! master spare me. But the men were in no spirit to spare the wretched unfortunates and shot them down without mercy.... Some of them were found lying in hiding in the creek with barely their noses out of the water and were shot and dragged and thrown out on the bank. I confess this was sickening to me, but the men were like wild beasts and I was powerless to stop them from this unnecessary butchery. Source: G. W. Grayson, A Creek Warrior for the Confederacy: The Autobiography of Chief G. W. Grayson (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988), 94 96. indian territory at war 165