Indians in the Confederacy?

Native Americans participated more fully in all aspects of the Confederacy than many people realize. Representatives from the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations were seated in the Confederate Congress, and plans were underway for the eventual admission of the Indian Nations as Confederate states. Evidence for Native American support for the Confederacy is also found in the numerous army units formed within the Indian Nations.

Drew's Cherokee Mounted Rifles, under Lt. Col. John Drew, was formed in June of 1861 and by the next May totaled about 1,000 men and officers. They participated in the March 1862; Pea Ridge campaign but disbanded that August due to political differences among the men.

July of 1861 saw the organization of the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles at Old Fort Wayne in the Delaware District of the Cherokee Nation. Col. Stand Watie, Principal chief of the Cherokees, led the unit with assistance from LT. Col. James M. Bell.

They first served in Indian Territory, protecting the territory from invasion by Kansas jayhawkers. Late in 1861 they joined forces with Gen. Ben McCulloch's Texas Cavalry. They were active in engagements at Elkhorn Tavern during the Pea Ridge Campaign; at Old Fort Wayne, Oklahoma; in the Prairie Grove Campaign; at Elk Creek-Honey Springs; and at Mazzard prairie, Arkansas.

Colonel Watie eventually commanded a large force of Native American units from several Nations. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1864, and was the last confederate general to surrender his men.

The First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles also organized in July of 1861. They formed at Scullyville in the Choctaw Nation and had six companies of Choctaws, three companies of Chickasaws, and one of half-breeds, Col. Douglas Hancock Cooper, former U.S. agent to the Choctaw Nation, commanded this brigade, which saw action at Newtonia, Missouri, in September of 1862 and also provided protection from Federal incursions into Indian Territory.

Like Colonel Watie, Colonel Cooper was eventually promoted to brigadier general. He shared command of the large Indian force with Watie.

In August of 1861, the 1st Creek Infantry Regiment, which served as mounted infantry, was formed at Eufaula, Oklahoma, in the Creek Nation. Its colonel was Daniel N. McIntosh, with the Cherokee Mounted Rifles at Elkhorn Tavern and Old Fort Wayne and finally at Cabin Creek, Oklahoma.

Several Native American units were organized in September of 1861. The 1st Seminole Cavalry Battalion, under Col. Chief John Jumper and Maj. George Cloud, which was assigned to Cooper's and Watie's Brigade of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, served as scouts along the border of Indian Territory and participated in the July, 1863, Battle of Cabin Creek.

The 2nd Cherokee Mounted Rifles, under Col. William P. Adair, organized at Fort Gibson in the Cherokee Nation and was assigned to the Department of Indian Territory. It later became part of Cooper's and Watie's Brigade and fought at Cabin creek.

Col. Chilly McIntosh organized the 2nd Creek Infantry Regiment near Eufaula. It, too, was eventually placed in Cooper's and Watie's Brigade.

The spring of 1862 saw the formation of the 1st Choctaw cavalry near Atoka in the Choctaw Nation. It had several men injured at Newtonia and later saw action at Old Fort Wayne. Eventually it was assigned to Tandy Walker's Brigade and surrendered with Watie's troops in June of 1865 at Doaksville, the former capital of the Choctaw Nation. Col. Sampson Folsom let it.

The 1st Cherokee Cavalry Battalion, under Maj. J.M. Bryan, was organized in the summer of 1862 and saw fighting at Newtonia and Old Fort Wayne. It was included in the surrender at Doaksville.

That same summer, the 1st Choctaw Cavalry War Regiment (also known as the 2nd Choctaw Regiment), under command of Col. Simpson N. Folsom, was created from Battice's 1st Choctaw Cavalry Battalion. It had several casualties at Poison Springs, Arkansas, in April of 1864 and was included in the 1865 surrender of Watie's troops.

On April 9, 1862, William H. Thomas and his company of Eastern Cherokees were mustered into Confederate service at Qualla Town, North Carolina. This unit grew quickly and was rapidly subdivided into several companies designated the North Carolina Cherokee Battalion. By September there were 1,100 men enrolled in ten companies, of which two were Cherokee, and the whole was designated as the First Regiment, Thomas Legion.

During most of the War, the legion averaged 1,500 to 2,000 men. Their service was in the Tennessee-North Carolina borderland, providing protection for the residents and guarding the railroads, as well as skirmishing with Federal troops.

Another unit of Tandy Walker's Brigade, the 1st Chickasaw Cavalry Battalion, had five companies when organized in the fall of 1862. Lt. Col. Joseph D. Harris and Maj. Lemuel Reynolds commanded this unit, which skirmished along the Indian Territory border. It was included in the Doaksville surrender.

The Osage Battalion, commanded by Maj. Broke Arm, was formed in the spring of 1863 with four companies. It was assigned to General Watie's Brigade and participated in the various conflicts in Indian Territory. It, too, surrendered in June of 1865 at Doaksville. At about the same time, the 1st Chickasaw Cavalry Regiment was formed under Col. S. H. Martin and was attached to General Cooper's Brigade. Unfortunately, this unit was never at full strength and was disbanded in late 1864.

Colonel McIntosh organized the 3rd Choctaw Cavalry Regiment around Col. Jackson McCurtain's men from the 1st Choctaw Cavalry Battalion in the fall of 1863. It was assigned to Walker's Brigade and skirmished in the Indian Territory, surrendering at Doaksville.

Major Moses C. Faye and Joseph A. Scales formed a battalion of Cherokee cavalry during the summer of 1864. It saw action in Indian Territory and surrendered with the other Indian forces.

These sixteen separate units of Native Americans within the Confederate States Army all performed valuable service for the Confederate cause. The strategic location of the Indian Territory prevented a Union invasion of Texas and protected much of Arkansas. The Thomas Legion, likewise, protected western North Carolina. The valiant efforts of Native American Confederates are worthy of remembrance and respect.