The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War

he Southern Confederacy and so laboriously buil

e or Elkhorn, as it is better known in the South, the battle that stands out in the history of the War of Secession as being the most decisive victory to d

e week-he completely reversed the policy of vigorous offensive that had obtained under men, subordinate to his predecessor.1 In southwest Missouri, he abandoned the advanced position o

e Century Company's War

l. iii, 553-554. Hereafter, except where otherwise de

(return) -

less, rather serious. They were such, in fact, as to increase very greatly the confusion on the border and to give the Conf

ly organized,5 in January, 1862, some faint idea of what it might, peradventure, accomplish did seem to penetrate,6 although ever so vaguely, the minds of those then in authority. It was organized under pressure from the West as was natural, and unde

loch's obstinacy. To understand this it is well to

rds, vol. liii, supplement, 781-78

eturn) -Ibid.,

urpose of effecting "a diversion in behalf of General Johnston" [Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, vol. ii, 51]. Moreover, Van Dorn had scarcely been assigned to the command of th

an Indian as Slaveholder and Sece

willing. But, if the Cherokees can be taken to have voiced the opinion of all, they were not willing, notwithstanding that a sensationally reported8 Federal activity under Colonel James Montgomery,9 in the

himself on its northeast border, in Arkansas, and there awaited a more favorable opportunity for accomplishing his main purpose. He seems to have desired the Confederate government to add the contiguous portion of Arkansas to his command, but in that he was disappointed.11 Never

fficial Records, vol.

ery was the most notorious of bushwhackers. For an account of some of his earlier adventures, see Sprin

Official Records, vol.

n) Snead, Fight for

ending a second general officer there, who

accomplishment of his original task, may be found in that fact. On the twenty-second of May, the Arkansas State Convention instructed Brigadier-general N. Bart Pearce, then in command of the state troops, to co?perate with the Confederate commander "to the full extent of his ability"13 and, on the twenty-eighth of the same month, the Arkansas Military Board invited that sam

le or no tolerance for the rough-and-ready methods of men like Claiborne Jackson and Sterling Price. He re

fficial Records, vol. l

: (return)

: (return)

o infest his ranks, demoralizing them.15 It was not to be expected, therefore, that there could ever be much in common between him and Sterling Price. For a brief period, it is true, the two men did apparently act in fullest harmony; but it was when the safety of Price's own state, Missouri, was the thing directly in hand. That was in early August of 1861. Price put himself an

uri leaders never so much as contemplated showing in return. It seems never to have occurred to either Jackson or Price that co?peration might, perchance, inv

Official Records, vol.

: (return)

: (return)

without extenuation. His position was not identical with McCulloch's. His force was a state force, McCulloch's a Confederate, or a national. Besides, Missouri had yet to be gained, officially, for the Confederacy. She expected secessi

y it. They were interested in their own locality exclusively and seemed quite incapable of taking any broad survey of events that did not immediately affect themselves or their own limited concerns. In the issue between McCulloch and Price, this was all too apparent. The politicians complained unceasingly of McCulloch's neglect of

had personally n

to say that Davis gauged the western situation pretty accurately and knew where the source of trouble lay. That he did gauge the situation and that accurately is indicated by a suggestion of his, made in early December, for sending out Colonel Henry Heth of Virgini

he third of January, 1862, the Confederate Congress called24 for information on the subject, doubtless under pressure of political importunity. The upshot of it all was, the organization of the Trans-Mississippi

fficial Records, vol. l

: (return)

eturn) -Ibid.,

: (return)

ht, General Officers of th

rn) Official Recor

l of the Congress of the Con

rn) Formby, Americ

the value of the lead mines26 at Granby and Van Dorn was instructed especially to protect them.27 His appointment, moreover, anticipated an early encounter with the Fede

y west of Arkansas, and the States of Arkansas and Missouri, excepting therefrom the tract of country east of the Saint Francis, bordering on the Mississippi River, from the mouth of the Saint Francis to Scott County, Missouri...."28 Van Dorn, in assu

epartment of Indian Territory had been created and Brigadier-general

ficial Records, vol. lii

given to little purpose; for the mines were soon abandoned

rn) Official Recor

: (return)

: (return)

Territory remained to breed confusion, disorder, and serious discontent at a slightly subsequent time. Of course, since the ratification of the treaties of alliance with the tribes, there was no question to be raised concerning t

ere was much to be attended to before he could proceed west. His appointment had come and had been accepted in November. Christmas was now near at hand and he had yet to render an account of his mission of treaty-making. In late December, he sent in his official report32 to President Davis and, that done, held himsel

dson, Messages and Papers of

ke, in manuscript, and bearing his signature, is to be found

N.B. Pearce33 was made chief commissary of subsistence for Indian Territory and Western Arkansas and Major G.W. Cla

ds of a million dollars."36 In view of the ostensible object of the very formation of the department and of Pike's appointment to its command, the defence of Indian Territory, and, in view of the existing location of enemy troops, challenging that defence, the selection of the site was a reasonably wise one; but, as subsequent pages will reveal, the commander did

it would be no exaggeration to sa

Official Records, vol.

: (return)

: (return)

itton, Memoirs of the Re

rn) Official Recor

r at any time or under any circumstances advocated their use generally as soldiers outside of Indian Territory in regular campaign work and offensively.38 As guerrillas he would have used them.39 He would have sent them on predatory expeditions into Kansas or any other near-by state where pillaging would have been profitable or retaliatory; but never as

rued so broadly as to militate against this fact: for to its truth Pike, when in distress later on and accused of leading a horde of tomahawking villains, repeatedly bore witness. The keeping back of a foe, bent upon regaining In

s of his interest in the subject of securing Indian Territory. No other interpretation can possibly be given to his suggestion that a battalion be raised from Indians that more strictly belonged t

rell, Confederate Militar

hance it should happen that, in performing their function as a home guard, they should have to cross their own boundary in order to expel or to punish an intruder, well and good; but their intrinsic character as something resembling a police patrol could not be deemed thereby affected. Moreover, Pike did not believe t

oughly placed at four full regiments and some miscellaneous troops.43 The dispersion44 of Colonel John Drew's Cherokees, when about to attack Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la, forced a slight r

tion of this, take the statement

ppointment as brigadier-general, Pike's insistence upon the need for the same can be vouched for by refe

to Benjamin, November 27,

) Official Records,

e First Creek Regiment under Colonel D.N. McIntosh, the First Regiment Cherokee Mounted Rifles under Colonel John Drew, and the Second Regiment Cherokee Mounted Rifles unde

zvous. His call for troops had already gone forth and was being promptly answered,46 requisition having been made upon all the state units within the district, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, also Texas. Indian Territory, through Pike47 and his subordinates,48 was yet to be communicated with; but Van Dorn had,

n) Official Records

, vol. liii, supplement, 776

rn) -Ibid., vol. v

(return) -I

an Dorn to Price, Febru

be but feebly protected. R.W. Johnson deprecated the

he himself put it, and to drive the Federals out; his ulterior motive may have been and, in the light of subsequent events, probably was

plished, that it would be possible to carry the war into the enemy's country beyond the Ohio; but, alas, it was his misfort

d schemes o'

aft a

hich safe place, it will be remembered, they had been drawn back by order of General Hunter. They were now advancing by forc

muel R. Curtis. Towards the end of the previous December, on Christmas Day in fact, C

vol. liii, supplement, 781-782]. There were, in fact, only two Arkansas regiments absent and they were guarding the Mississippi River [ibid., 786]. By the middle of

bsequently Hunter, but for only a brief period, had been reorganized and divided into two distinct departments, the Department of Missouri with Halleck in comm

ss of a puppet command, he was not yet aware of it and, oblivious of all scorn felt for Indian soldiers, kept his eye single on the assistance he was to render in the accomplishment of Van Dorn's object. It was anything but easy, however, for him to move with dispatch. He had difficulty in getting such of his brigade as was Indian and as had collected at Cantonment Davis, a Choctaw and Chickasaw battalion and the Firs

cial Records, vol. liii, s

rtaken by additional Choctaws and Chickasaws who had been left behind at Fort Gibson. When they did not appear, he went forward towards Evansville and upward to Cincin

m John Ross to Pike, which is number nine in the John Ross Papers in the Indian Office, is elucidative. It is a copy used in t

MENT, PARK HILL,

. PIKE, Com'dy I

many conflicting reports as to your whereabouts and consequently much interest is felt by the People to know where the Head Qrs. of your military operations will be established during the present emergencies-I had intended going up to see the Troops of our Regiment; also to visit the Head Qrs of the Army at Cane Hill in view of affording every aid in any manner within the reach of my power to repel the Enemy. But I am sorry to say I have been dissuaded from going at present in consequence of some unwarrantable conduct on the part of many base, reckless and unprincipled persons belonging to Wa

s had proceeded only so far, the Creeks not at all, and the main body of the Choctaws and Chickasaws, into whose minds some unscrupulous merchants had instilled mercenary motives and the elements of discord generally, were lingering far in the background. Pike's white force was, moreover, ridiculously small, some Texas cavalry, dignified by him as coll

counting the skirmish at Bentonville on the sixth between General Franz Sigel's detachment and General S

iment for the support of the Treaty of Alliance with the Confederate State

in'l Chief, C

eport, March 14, 1862, Officia

er, January 4, 1862, ibid., 732; D.H. Cooper to

: (return)

eturn) -Ibid.,

eturn) -Ibid.,

understood, and "armed very indifferently with common rifles and ordinary shot-guns."60 The ponies, in the end, proved fleet of foot, as was to have been expected, and, at one stage of the game, had to be tethered in the rear while their masters fought from the vantage-ground of trees.61 The Indian's most effective wo

ing the Fourth Division of Curtis's army, described the tavern itself as "situated on the west side of the Springfield and Fayetteville road, at the head of a gorge known as Cross Timber Hollow (the head of Sugar Creek)

and whites together [Official Records, vol. viii, 288; xiii, 820] notwithstanding that he had led Van Dorn to expect that he would have a force of "about 8,000 or 9,000 men and three batteries of artillery" [ibid., vol. viii, 749]. General Curtis surmised that Pike contrib

rn) Official Recor

eturn) -Ibid.,

62: (retu

arrow and with tomahawk.64 This, as was only meet it should, called down upon him and them the opprobrium of

to be deemed worthy of comment by Van Dorn.66 At Leetown, with the aid of a few Texans, they managed to get possession of a battery and to hold it against repe

rn) Official Recor

: (return)

New York Tribune was particularly virulent against Pike. In its is

cus law, and emigrated to the West, where the violence of his nature has been admirably enhanced. As his name indicates, he is a ferocious fish, and has fought duels enough to qualify himself to be a leader of savages. We suppose that upon the recent occasion, he got himself up i

s of being as silent as he dared be concerning Indian participation, since he, in virtue of his being chief in command, was the person mainly responsible for it. In October of the preceding year, McCulloch had favored using the In

, the last in the field. Subsequently, finding themselves deserted, they drew back towards Camp Stephens, where they were soon joined by "General Cooper, with his regiment and battalion of Choctaws and Chickasaws, and" by "Colonel McIntosh with 200 men of his regiment of Creeks."67 The delinquent wayfarers were both fortunate and unfortunate in thus tardily arriving upon the scene. They had missed the fight

ns; but he later confessed that, in his treaty negotiations with the tribes, they had generally stipulated that they should, if they fought at all, be allowed to f

rn) Official Recor

eturn) -Ibid.,

in putting itself on record as standing opp

should be conducted on the most humane principles which govern the usages of war among civilized nations, and that it be and is earnestly recommended to the

int committee of Congress on the Conduct of the Present War;70 but at least one piece of evidence was not, at that time, forthcoming, a piece that, in a certain sense, might be taken to exonerate the whites. It came to the knowledge of General Blunt during the summer and was the Indians' own confession. It bore only indirectly upon the actual atrocities but showed t

rn) Official Recor

s had been instructed to furnish information on the subject o

lies, they could be found despicable enough and cruel enough to mutilate the dead,72 were the chance

in such a way as to elicit the consummation of the wish. The Federals were in occupation of the northern part of Arkansas; but Van Dorn was very confident they would not be able to subsist there long or "do much harm in the west." In his opinion, therefore, it was incumbent upon the Confederates, instead

st-loved and ablest commanders, McCulloch, McIntosh, Hébert, and the nature of the country through which th

rn) Official Recor

gainst the Indians who fought at Wilson's Creek

Military Operations of Gene

rn) Official Recor

edily. Colonel Watie and his regiment made their way to Camp Stephens,76 near which place the baggage train had been left77 and where Cooper and Drew with their men had found refuge already. Some two hundred of Watie's Indians were detailed to help take ammunition back to the main army.78 The baggage train moved on to Elm Springs, the remainder of the Indians,

d while he was still arranging for an Army of the West, his orders for the Indians were, that they should make their way back as best they could to their own

rn) Official Recor

: (return)

: (return)

: (return)

id.; Britton, Civil War o

rn) Official Recor

an Dorn's summons east, more minute particulars of

you will be able materially to harass his army and protect this region of country. You must endeavor by every means to maintain yourself in the Territory independent of this army. In case only of absolute necessity you may move southward. If the enemy threatens to march through the Indian Territory or descend the Arkansas River you may call on troops from Southwestern Arkansas and Texas to rally to your aid. You may reward your Indian troops by giving them s

white men. Their methods of warfare were regarded as distinctly inferior. Pea Ridge was, in fact, the first and last time that they were allowed to partic

l Records, vol. viii, 282, 79

turn) -Ibid., vo