GENERAL
STAND WATIE
Bºº


A
- -
- -
copyright 1915
BY MABEL w ANDERson.
chairman gen. stand ware wo-Lºw---Nºr co-ºw-ºº-ºº:
PRYOR, or LAHOMA
-
-




- WARD
opºRTY OF T. J.HO 2.
PR ºppock, GA., FEB., 1919.
Life of
General Stand Watie
The only Indian
Brigadier General
of the
Confederate Army
and
Printer's Transpositions:
Page 25, Foot Note, from 1st line drop to 4th.
Page 56, from 10th line drop to 15th.
-
copyRIGHT is is
EY MABEL wº. ANDERSON.
cºalifºrnian Gen. starte ware nonuraenºr connºree
PRYOR, or LAHOMA


propºRTY OF T.J. HOWARD !
HADDOCK, GA., FRE- 1919.
Life of
General Stand Watie
The only Indian
Brigadier General
of the
Confederate Army
- and
The Last General to Surrender.
ºt. 222-z

CoNTENTs
CHAPTER I.
Early Life and Contemporary Cherokee History.
CHAPTER II.
Military Career.
CHAPTER III.
Post Military Career and Closing Years.
CHAPTER IV.
Addenda.


- C. S. A. -
Do we weep for the heroes who died for us,
Who living were true and tried for us,
And dying sleep side by side for us;
The Martyr-band
That hallowed our land
With the blood they shed in a tide for us?
Oh! fearless on many a day for us
They stood in the front of the fray for us,
And held the foeman at bay for us;
And tears should fall
For e'er o'er all
Who fell while wearing the gray for us.
How many a glorious name for us,
How many a story of fame for us
They left; would it not be a blame for us
If their memories part
From our land and heart,
And a wrong to them and a shame to us?
But their memories e'er shall remain for us,
And their names, bright names, without stain for us:
The glory they won shall not wane for us,
In legend and lay
Our heroes in gray
Shall forever live over again for us.-Father Ryan.

To the Memory
of
Major and John Ridge and other signers
of the treaty of 1835, and to the brave
veterans, both living and dead, who
fought under Stand Watie, this bio-
graphy is affectionately
dedicated

6
INTRODUCTION
It is impossible to write a biography, however brief,
of Gen. Watie, who was so intimately associated with the
Cherokees, during a most turbulent and interesting
period of their history, without touching upon contem-
porary events and contemporary men that helped to in-
fluence and to mould his destiny.
All the world admires a brave man, but the world
both admires and loves a brave, good man. Here is one
whose honor and integrity were above reproach, who
performed during the war of 1861 to '65 many acts of
bravery, patriotism and self sacrifice, any one of which
would have made his name immortal. But for lack of
a herald to proclaim it to the world the name and his-
tory of Gen. Stand Watie remain practically unknown out-
side his native country and his own immediate people.
It is a matter of regret that some one of the many
who were familiarly associated with the life of Gen. Watie,
did not write his biography shortly after his death, for
there is very little printed matter to aid one in a work of
this kind and that little is not easily obtained.
Ever actuated by the desire to have this “Life
Sketch” as authentic as possible, the author has spent
months gathering material from living lips. Only those
were consulted who were in position to verify all informa-
tion given. In almost every instance living participants
have been consulted who took part in every battle and
skirmish mentioned. This has been a long slow work,
fraught with many delays and difficulties. Any corrections
or interesting additions will be gratefully received.
Especial thanks and appreciation are given to Judge
J. M. Keys of Pryor, Col. James Bell of Bernice, Hoolie
Bell of Vinita, and other Oklahoma veterans who so kindly
helped with material for this work.
This little booklet was written with a three-fold
purpose. -
To pay a long neglected tribute to this great Indian
character of Oklahoma.
To awaken a public interest in the noble work the
Oklahoma Division of the Daughters of the Confederacy
has undertaken, that of erecting a lasting monument to
his memory.
To stimulate in the minds of the student body of
Oklahoma a greater desire for a more careful study of the
early history of the Cherokees and other Indians of Okla-
homa and the men who made that history possible.
If it will in a measure fulfill any one of these missions
the author will feel amply repaid
7
CHAPTER I. -
EARLY LIFE AND CONTEMPORARY CHEROKEE HISTORY.
- =5×10NG years ago in the Old Cherokee Nation in
Georgia, there were born two full-blood Cherokee
brothers, known to their tribe as, “Gah-na-tah-
tle-gi" and “OO-wa-tee”. * The older brother
early gave promise, which he fulfilled, of becom-
- | ing a great warrior and Council Chief of his peo-
ple. The white people called his name “Ridge”, as the nearest
interpretation of the Cherokee word which meant “Walking
the Mountain Tops”. He distinguished himself in the Creek
War under General Jackson and was appointed Major Com-
mander of the U. S. Army and was ever afterwards known as
“Major Ridge”. He was Speaker of the Cherokee National
Council for years and prominent in politics among his
people. His brother, Oowatie, meaning “Reverend” or “Old”
was called by the Missionaries “David”, and was known as
David Oo-wa-tee. He was the father of three daughters and
five sons, **three of whom rose to places of distinction. The
elder of these sons, “Gah-li-gi-nah” (meaning the Male Deer)
was called by the missionaries “Buck” Oowatie and was later
and ever afterward known as Elias Boudinot, having taken the
name of his benefactor, the celebrated Philadelphia philanthro-
pist, Dr. Elias Boudinot*** who adopted him and sent him to
Cornwall, Connecticut, and had him educated at his own ex-
pense. This Cherokee, Elias Boudinot was Clerk of the Na-
tional Council when Echota was founded as the seat of the
Cherokee Government in 1825; and he afterwards became the
first Editor of the Cherokee Phoenix in 1827, which paper
later became the Cherokee Advocate, published in both Eng-
lish and Cherokee for so many years at Tahlequah. This Bou-
dinot was the father of the well known and gifted Elias Cor-
neliºs Boudinot, who represented the Cherokees at Richmond,
Virginia, as Delegate to the Congress of the Confederate States,
and who afterwards took an active part in the restoration of
the rights of the Southern Cherokees, which were threatened
with forfeiture at the close of the War between the States.
The second son of David OO-wa-tee is the illustrious subject of
this sketch.
General Watie was born in the Old Cherokee Nation at
the old Watie home, on the Coo-sa-wee-tee Stream in Georgia,
near the present site of the City of Rome, December 12th, 1806.
At his birth General Watie was named only in Cherokee
though it was customary, in those days, to give a Cherokee
child both an Indian and an English name. It is an interesting
stºdy to trace the origin of these given, or personal, names
among the early Cherokees and other Indian Tribes. They
usually gave a child a name with some special significance and
a similarity of meaning or interpretation was followed by
members of the same * Clan, of which there were seven among
the Cherokees. These Clan names were the nearest approach
to anything like a “Surname” among the Cherokees as late as
*Among the full-blood Cherokees in early days, brothers rare-
ly ever had the same name; hence the origin, from two own
brothers of two separate family names—“Ridge” and “Watie”.
Mºjor Ridge was also known among his own people as “Ka-nut-
tah-cla-gee", meaning “Big Speaker”.
**The sons of David Watie were: Elias, Stand, John, Thomas,
and Charles. His daughters, Nancy, who married Judge John F.
Wheeler: Mary, who married Jack Candy; and Elizabeth, who mar-
ried Walter Webber.
***The descendants of Buck Watie retained the adopted name
ºf “Böudinot”; members of this branch of the “Watie” family are
living in Oklahoma today.
*First cousins belonging to the same Clan were counted, in
the line of relationship among the ancient Cherokees, as brother
*...*** The Clan name was always inherited through the


8
1700. Personal names were sometimes changed, but Clan
names were never changed in ancient times among the Chero-
kees. This Indian Hero of Oklahoma was given in infancy the
name of “Ta-ker-taw-ker”, which meant in English, “To Stand
Firm”, “Immovable”. How significant a title, in after-life, for
this man so steadfast in character, so immovable in purpose
when he believed his convictions were right! At the time of
Gen. Watie's birth the only missionary station among the
Cherokees was at Springdale, established by the Moravians of
North Carolina in 1800, and conducted by Rev. John Gambol
and his wife, both remarkable people. Though the Cherokees,
for generations before this date, had manifested a belief in the
Great Hereafter, and followed a form of worship of the Great
Spirit or Almighty, yet it was at this place that the first Cher-
okees were baptized as members of a Christian Church. It is
probable that Gen. Watie's mother was among the first con-
verts, as she was a member of the Moravian Church. Her bap-
tismal name was “Susannah” and she had her son “Ta-ker-
taw-ker” baptized with the English baptismal name of “Isaac’’;
but Watie ever retained the one Cherokee name given him at
his birth. At this mission also John Ridge, “Buck” Watie,
and other promient Cherokee boys attended school. Later
John Ridge and Jack Bell were sent East to be educated, at-
tending the same school with Buck Watie.
Until he was almost twelve years old Watie spoke only
the Cherokee language. When he was sent at this age to the
little Moravian Mission School, at Brainard, on the line be-
tween Georgia and Tennessee, he simplified the spelling of his
name, dropping the “Oo”, and ever afterwards writing it sim-
ply, “Stand Watie.” The family name from that date was
spelled “Watie”. Watie's mother, though she spoke the Chero-
kee language altogether, was a half-blood Cherokee. Her mother
was a sister of Charles Reese, whose valor under General Jack-
son, at Horse Shoe Bend, has been worthy of rememberance.
The “Reeses” were a prominent family of North Carolina and
Georgia. Though Gen. Watie's father was a full-blood Chero-
kee, and spoke no word of English, yet he was a man of great
common sense and intellectual conception. Sering the ad-
vantage of an education by his association with the mission-
aries, he determined to give his children every advantage and
opportunity within his power. In his youth Gen. Watie spoke
the English language slowly and deliberately. He was never
an orator, even in his native tongue; but he wrote with ease
as is typical of the Indian. His letters, many of which have
been preserved and treasured by his relatives and friends, are
representative of the man: clear, concise and to the point,
well expressed and written in that regular legible hand so fa-
miliar at that period.
Stand Watie was a man of thought and action and few
words. No man ever rose to such distinction, among his peo-
ple, who had less to say. His characteristic attitude at all
times, when alone, was one of deep and thoughtful study. His
features were strong and lion-like, but reflected a most genial
expression. Though an enemy might call his face stern and
homely, he was a man whom little children loved and helpless
women were glad to call him friend.
Like many other military men, Gen. Watie was small in
stature but exceedingly strong and active, even exceptionally
so, though the Indian youth of his day were well drilled in
physical courage, endurance and self-control. When a mere
boy, less than twenty years of age, he was chosen with twenty-
three of the best ball players in the Cherokee Nation to play a
challenge game, one half of the Nation against the other half.

9
At that time, Indian ball playing required all of the strength,
activity and endurance that a man possessed. But if Watie
was a good player, he was also a good worker, for he early
manifested habits of industry and economy, which were not
so common, among the Indian youth of that period as ball
playing and foot racing. He was also a splendid rider and no
man looked better on horse back than he. He was exception-
ally fond of horses and his own received his most careful at-
tention. His personal friendships were slowly made, but loy-
ally retained. In his early manhood, his most intimate friend
was Charles Hicks, who had been elected Sheriff of one of the
Districts in which the Nation in Georgia had recently divided
itself. A notorious desperado of that portion of the country
killed Hicks when the lattor was trying to arrest him, and he
came near killing Watie, whom Hicks had made his deputy.
Stand Watie, as deputy sheriff, afterwards hunted the desper-
ado down and killed him in single combat. This action was
highly commended by the grateful citizens of Georgia and Ten-
nessee, for the rogue he had slain had long been a terror to
both States.
At this time the Chorokee Nation, in Georgia, was the
home of a rapidly advancing tribe of Indians. They had writ-
ten constitutions and laws, established courts and juries and
were the owners of prosperous farms. The general Inass of
them, it is true, were ignorant, but happy, under the adminis-
tration of a few simple and wholesome laws. Remnants of
some of these substantial homes, of the more influential Cher-
okees, are to be seen in Georgia today, and the Indian
name and romance still cling to many of the clear streams of
this old Southern State, though the Indian form haunts them
no more. A number of Mission Schools provided educational
advantages and some of the “well-to-do”, had Missionaries *
at their own expense for the instruction of their children.
Among this class were Maior Ridge and Jack Bełł. But a sor-
rowful change came over the Cherokee Nation. The white iman
became covetous of the soil and the minerals it contained. The
Georgia Charter took in a large portion of their country and
the Cherokees had no patent to protect them from oppression.
This Tribe of Indians, with their independent form of Govern-
ment, was an undesirable element to the people of the State of
Georgia. Convicted on suspicion, the Cherokees were tried
and sentenced hy laws, whose authority they could not ac-
knowledge. This Nation, as a people, had always given the
white man and his civilization a ready welcome in the days
when the red men were numerous and the white men few. But
how did the United States Government regard these venerated
ties and traditions of the Cherokees or their right to this land,
where for unknown ages their forefathers had hunted and
fished and gathered around their council fires, and where the
sacred ashes of their dead were buried? When they found
they had either to sacrifice the Cherokees or to use military
force against the Georgians, they decided to compel the Chero-
kees to move farther West. And With them went the other
tribes from Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama.
*One of the missionaries thus employed was Miss Sophia Saw-
yer of New Hampshire, who made her home with Major Ridge's
family coming with them to the Western Cherokee Nation. She
later established a “Seminary for Young Ladies” at Fayetteville,
Arkansaw, and many of the prominent women of Arkansaw and
Indian Territory in the early days attended this school. Among
them the mother of our honored Senator R. L. Owen.

10
It is not advisable, in this sketch, to go into the causes
and full details of the removal of the Cherokees and other In-
dian tribes from their homes in Georgia and Tennessee. Suf-
ficient to touch briefly upon the more familiar facts of the
treaties about this time. Frequent reports of the details of
this particular period of Cherokee History, have from time to
time been written, many of these have been erroneous as to
the real facts, and it is doubtful whether any perfectly authen-
tic account has ever been given to the public. When it became
positive, that the United States Government was determined
to force the Indians from these States, a Commissioner, J. T.
Schermerhorn, was appointed to make a treaty or an agreement
with them, whereby they were to receive a certain sum for their
lands and move West, where a patent would be granted them
by the United States Government. This land was to be theirs
“as long as grass grew and water ran”. On February 28th,
1835, a delegation of Cherokees headed by John Ross, Prin-
cipal Chief of the Eastern Cherokees, concluded a treaty with
this Commissioner, by the terms of which the lands of the
Cherokees were to be ceded to the Government for a price that
was to be fixed by the United States Senate. The sum thus ap-
portioned was deemed insufficient by Ross and his associates
and he refused to abide by the terms of the treaty. The amount
offered was indeed unsatisfactory to every Cherokee, but a few
months later oppression became intolerable and while the price
offered for their land, compared to the number and value of
its acres, seemed far too small, yet the determination on the
part of the Government to remove them and to refuse them
any greater price seemed unchangeable. Many of the Chero-
kees were advised by John Ross that if they persisted in refus-
ing negotiations with the United States Government they might
hope yet to receive recognition in the Courts of Georgia and
remain in their own homes, or get a better price for their
lands if they did remove. In response to this advice many of
the Cherokees remained away from the second council, which
was called about a year after the first.
But there were other men in the Nation, who held a dif-
ferent view of the situation, prominent leaders of the Chero-
kees, possibly men of foresight, who judging the future by the
past, saw the inevitable result and no hope for better terms,
nor greater remuneration for their estates. They believed
delay would bring only a greater oppression upon them as a
Nation, and thought that the wisest and most expedient thing
to do, was to lead the people to a treaty or conclusion with the
United States, in which they would have some representation,
rather than be driven out under more grievous circumstances
in the future. The leaders and advocates of this movement
were Major Ridge, his son, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot.
Though they were afterward maligned and suffered mar-
tyrdom for their convictions, these men, together with Jack
Bell, headed a delegation of Cherokees who met the United
States Commissioner J. T. Schermerhorn and signed a new
treaty in December, 1835, which was ratified in the spring of
1836. Among the signers of this treaty, beside Major and John
Ridge and Elias Boudinot, were Jack Bell, Stand Watie, Wash-
ington Adair, James Starr, William Laslie and John Gunter.
No class of men in the Cherokee Nation had more to lose, or a
greater sacrifice to make, from the sad change that was to fol-
low this removal, than the signers of this famous treaty. Most
of them were well-to-do financially and prominent in the coun-
cils of their people. To the fair-minded student of Cherokee
chronicles, history but repeats itself in the lives of these men,
and their wisdom and patriotism have been acknowledged, just

11
as the light of after history has cleared the name and motives
of many a misjudged soldier, statesman and man of letters.
Under the existing circumstances it is small wonder that
there was confusion and bewilderment among the masses of
the Cherokees. It takes more cool-headed courage to lead an
unwilling, uncomprehending people into an unknown country,
than to lead an inflamed populace to battle. The refusal and
repudiation of the treaty, by those who had become bewildered
and confused, through the advice of those who opposed the
treaty party, caused added hardships for many unfortunate
Cherokees, who still refused to leave their native hills and
streams. Consequently many of them were driven by soldiers,
like so many cattle, from the peaceful pastures of a land they
had believed to be theirs forever. These Southern Indians were
not nomads, and no one can picture the story of the exodus of
the Cherokees and other tribes through this “Trail of Tears”
into an untried country. The story of Arcadia repeated. Sep-
aration, hardship and death marked the way. This is a dark
page in the history of Georgia as well as a sorrowful one in the
life of the Cherokee people. When this emigration was over,
which included the followers of Ross, and they found them-
selves strangers in a strange land, Ross assumed the Chief-
tancy of the two Nations, as many of the Cherokees had volun-
tarily emigrated to the upper waters of the Arkansaw years
before, for we find them making treaties with the Osages as
early as 1818. They had their own government, chiefs, and
leaders. And their council grounds, which served as a capital,
were near the Illinois River, not far from the Old “Mackey
Salt Works”. They called the place “To-lon-tees—key”, and it
was ever after a “Voting Precinct” in the Cherokee Nation.
After 1837 the first emigrants were called “Old Settlers”. The
emigrants of 1837 named their capital “Tahlequah”. It was
located some distance from the old “Precinct”, and was after-
wards known as the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
A demon spell now enveloped the Cherokee country as is
ever the case when feuds and factions arise within a Nation.
The members of the former “Treaty Party” headed by Ridge
and Boudinot, were called traitors by the “Ross Party", and
this continued accusation became the platform of strife and
bloodshed, turbulence and suffering for a newly divided peo-
ple in a new land. Had bitterness and disagreement been for-
gotten and a united effort made toward rebuilding the broken
fortunes of a broken people, the cruel history from 1838 to
1846 might never have been written. If history had preserved
for us a record of the “Secret Council” of the Anti-Treaty
Party, said to have been held at Double Springs, near Tahle-
quah, in the spring of 1839, much that will forever be a ques-
tion to the searcher for truth would be revealed. Passing has-
tily over this black page of Cherokee History, so closely allied
with the life of Gen. Watie, it must be mentioned that Secret
Police forces of one hundred men each were, soon after this
Council, organized by the Ross Party, with a Commander for
each Company, whose purpose was to extinguish the leading
men of the Ridge Party. And the pages of Cherokee History
will forever be shadowed by the atrocious tragedy that took
place in the assassination in one night of Major Ridge, then
an aged man of seventy-five; his son John Ridge, and Elias
Boudinot, “three of the most powerful and influential men of
the Treaty Party. This opened an international wound of sor-
*The murder of these men, which took place within a few
hours of each, other was most systematically carried out though
they were widely separated at the time. John Ridge was slain
on Honey Creek, Cherokee Nation, near the Missouri line; Major
Ridge, in the Cherokee Nation near Cincinnati, Arkansaw, and
Elias Boudinot near Park Hill, Cherokee Nation.

12
row and bloodshed, for the Cherokee people, extending over a
terrible, dark period of eight or ten years and whose influence
lasted for decades upon this Nation. Stand Watie, Jack Bell
and Walter Adair were “slated” to die at this same time but
were absent from home the night that these foul murders were
committed. Thereafter they were continually on scout and
guard against some hidden plot to take their lives. A short
time after this horrible event Stand Watie organized a Military
Force, stationed at Beatties Prairie to oppose the Ross Police
Force.
Despite opposition and oppression Watie became, after the
assassination of his kinsmen, the most influential man and the
conceded leader of the Ridge Party. Among the personal in-
cidents, current among his people today, of the bravery of
Stand Watie, is one connected with this terrible tragedy. When
his brother, Elias Boudinot, lay dead in the midst of his foes,
Watie silently rode up unarmed. The great crowd of his ene-
mies suddenly drew back, making way for this grim horseman.
Removing the sheet that covered the face of his murdered
brother, he looked down long and earnestly upon the still
features. Then turning to the dark visaged crowd he said, in
a voice that each could hear, “I will give ten thousand dollars
to know the name of the man who struck that blow”. All who
knew Stand Watie were aware of his ability to pay this reward,
but not one in that guilty crowd answered him and he rode
away as fearlessly as he had come, though there were fully one
hundred men in that same company who had sworn to take his
life only the night before. * Thomas Watie and James Starr
were killed by the Ross Party in 1845, but the old tradition
among the full-blood Indians, “That no weapon was ever made
to kill Stand Watie,” seemed verily to fulfill itself, and he suc-
cessfully passed through the dangerous and trying years from
1838 to 1846.
All during this dark period, oppression of the Treaty
Party and their sympathizers grew so great that there was a
growing sentiment among them to importune the Government
for a separation of the Cherokees into two Governments as the
only alternative open to the Ridge or Treaty Party and the
Old Settlers, as there seemed no promise of a United Nation,
such as Stand Watie hoped for, in which ability and worth
would be recognized above envy and party faction. For that
dark mysteriors nower was over ready to threaten or lºv low
any member of the Treaty Party that rose to too great political
distinction. But the United States Government was interested
in a difficulty with Mexico about this time and a more careful
investigation of Indian affairs was deferred. A partial reconcil-
iation was arranged terminating in the Treaty of 1846 of which
Watie was also a signer. The United States Government bound
themselves to keep down internal strife and foreign invasion.
The Cherokees began to enjoy a greater season of peace than
they had known since their removal West of the great river.
Watie was growing to be a great political power and the op-
posing faction was beginning to fear again the increasing
strength of the Ridge Party. Then a new organ of strife was
inaugurated among the Cherokees by the Ross Party, known as
the “Ka-too-was’’. The badge of this organization was two
pins crossed in the lapel of the coat or hunting shirt. A large
majority of this same society, later in 1861 joined the Union
or Federal faction and were called “Pin Indians”. Many of
them were a terror to the defenseless families of the Confed-
erate Cherokees. It is but just, in passing, to say that the
*This incident was related by Col. Richard Keys, formerly of
Coo-wee-scoo-wee District, Cherokee Nation, whose father lived
within a mile of where it took place.

13
more recent society of “Katoo was’’ or “Night-hawks” was not
fashioned after this anti-treaty association. -
But neither feuds, factions, nor secret forces could with-
stand the power of this magnetic man. For Watie was among
the most prominent men in the re-organization of the Chero-
kee Nation. He was Speaker of the Council from 1857 to 1859,
and a member of the Council from 1845 to 1861. By close ap-
plication and industry, Watie was rapidly rebuilding his broken
fortunes when another shadow of suffering and division en-
veloped the entire Indian Territory. -
At the out-break of the War between the States, no sec-
tion of country suffered more than the Indian Territory, espe-
cially the Cherokee Nation, which directly bordered the State
of Kansas. Though the terms of the Treaty of 1846 called for
protection for the Cherokee Nation from all foreign invasion,
yet the United States troons were withdrawn from Ft. Gibson
and the Indian Territory left open and unprotected. The Five
Civilized Tribes, with the ception of the Seminoles, had been
at peace with the United States Government for half a century,
and though this was not directly their “Quarrel”, yet there was
manifestlv great interºst nº excitement when the news of the
firing of Ft. Sumpter's gºns reached them. At that time
neither railroad nor telegraph extended as far as the Indian
Territory. Walker, Confederate Secretary of War, appointed
Hubbard of Alabama to open negotiations, at once with the
Five Civilized Tribes. He in turn appointed Albert Pike,” a
prominent citizen of Arkansaw as Special Commissioner to
treat with the various tribes. These meetings with the Indian
Territory Commissioner were held at various places. The
Cherokees met at Tahlequah, their Capital. John Ross, as
Chief of the Cherokees, together with Stand Watie and others,
signed the Treaty of Alliance with the Confederate States. Ross
afterwards repudiated this action and renewed his policy of
friendship with the Federal Government. Later he went to
Washington with the Union General, James G. Blunt, and re-
mained until the close of the war. -
Thus the Cherokee Nation at this critical period was left
practicallv without a head. Political divisions arose among the
Five Civilized Tribes; the Choctaws going almost man for man
to the Confederate car se. The Creeks as well as the Seminoles
divided and the Cherokees again were separated as a Nation.
Many of them through the influence of Ross, himself a Northern
sympathizer, joined the Union army. These tribes were all
ºnresented at the Confederate Congress at Richmond; the
Cherokees by Col. E. C. Boudinot; the Choctaws and Chicka-
saws by Peter Pitchlin; the Seminoles and Creeks by S. B. Cal-
a han. It was but natural that the maiority of these Tribes
should espouse the cause of the South. They were born under
Southern skies. Many of the Cherokees and Choctaws had
inter-married with Southern people, they were all imbued with
the sºme idea of local government that other Southerners pos-
sessed.
*In November, 1861, Pike was made a Brigadier General of
the Confederate Army and commander of the Indian forces, but
his military career was brief. In less than six months he retired
from active service. General Dike seems to have been more of a
literary than a military man.
14
CHAPTER II.
MILITARY CAREER.
F MONG all the Cherokees there was no man more
widely known or better qualified for leadership
- than Stand Watie. And though he never knew the
º N definition of ...” Lee ". hated * thought
º of war, and eaded to see his people again in
º strife, from which they had just emerged. But
he was a firm believer in “State Rights”, a Southerner by birth
and breeding. There was no hesitation in his choice, when he
cast his lot with the Confederacy. Long before the treaty
made in August and signed October 7th, 1861, with Albert
Pike, Indian Commissioner of the Confederate States, large
numbers of prominent Cherokees had offered their services and
their lives to the Southern Cause and pledged to follow where
Watie would lead. It was early in the spring of 1861 that
Stand Watie organized and was made Captain of an independ-
ent auxiliary force of Cherokees and whites for the purpose of
guarding and protecting the northern boundaries of the Cher-
okee Nation from raids and depredations of the Union troops
stationed at Humboldt, Kansas. Between this point and the
Indian Territory were the Osages, most of whom were Union-
ists. Stand Watie and his men were the only protection this
boundary of the Cherokee Country had at this time. Living
members of this “Protective Troop” of Watie's describe some
interesting and exciting “Scraps and Brushes” that took place
between them and the Kansas invaders and marauders about
this time, conflicts in which Stand Watie and his men were
victorious.
In May, 1861, Benjamin McCulloch of Texas, a Brigadier
General in the Confederate army, was assigned command of
the military district of Indian Territory. His force consisted
of one regiment each from Arkansaw, Louisiana and Texas. It
was also proposed to raise three regiments among the Five
Civilized Tribes, to be attached to his command. At the be-
ginning of the War, Camp Walker was established in Benton
County, Arkansaw, as a recruiting station for northern Arkan-
saw and Indian Territory State and Confederate troops. Short-
ly after his independent organization, Captain Watie went to
Camp Walker and waited on Gen. McCulloch, and offered his
services to the Confederate cause. His offer was gladly and
promptly accepted and he was given a Colonel's commission
and authorized to raise a regiment. A letter from General
McCulloch, Sept. 2, 1861, says, “Watie's Regiment is composed
of half-breeds, men highly educated and good soldiers in or
out of the Nation. I hope that the Government will continue
this gallant man and true friend of our country in service and
attach him to our command. It might be well to give him a
separate command.”
About this time Stand Watie called a convention at Beat-
tie's Prairie School House for the purpose of ascertaining just
how many Cherokees and whites were ready to enlist in the
Confederate army, and to increase this number as much as pos-
sible. Many well known and leading men were present and
many a Cherokee name familiar today was represented at that
memorable meeting.
At Ft. Wayne, an ancient abandoned U. S. Fort in Dela-
ware District, Cherokee Nation, on Spavinaw near his old
home, on July 29th, 1861, Colonel Watie organized the first
Cherokee Regiment later known as the “Cherokee Mounted
Rifles”. The field officers were as follows: Stand Watie, Col-
onel Commanding; Thomas Fox Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel;
Elias Cornelius Boudinot, Major; Charles E. Watie (brother
of Stand Watie), Adjutant; George W. Adair, Quarter Master;


15
Joseph M. Starr, Senior Commissary; W. T. Adair, Surgeon;
W. D. Polson, Assistant Surgeon; Rev. J. N. Slover, Chaplaiu;
G. W. West, Sergeant Major. Its Captains were, Company A,
Buzzard; Company B, R. C. Parkes; Company C, Daniel H.
Coody; Company D, James M. Bell; Company E, Joseph F.
Thompson; Company F, Joseph F. Smallwood; Company G,
George H. Starr; Company H, John Thompson Mayes; Com-
pany I, Blueford W. Alberty; Company J, J. Porum Davis;
Company K, Jack Spears; Company L, James Thompson. This
famous regiment participated in the following battles and skir-
mishes, from 1861 to 1865: Wilson Creek, Missouri; Bird
Creek, Oklahoma; Short Creek and Neosho, Missouri; Pea
Ridge, Arkansaw; Newtonia, Missouri; Ft. Wayne, Ft. Gibson,
Bayou Manard, Barren Fork, Camp Creek, Honey Springs,
Webbers Falls, Oklahoma; Prairie Grove, Poison Spring, Maz-
zard Prairie, Arkansaw; Grove, Oklahoma; Cabin Creek, Ok-
lahoma (twice), and many other sharp skirmishes—minor
flurries—raids and captures.
BRIEF SKETCHES, of some of these BATTLES, RAIDS
and SKIRMISHES. -
BATTLE OF WILSON CREEK.
In the latter part of June, or early in July, 1861, the
Union Generals Lyon and Seigle, had driven the Missouri State
Troops, under General Sterling Price, back to Carthage and
Newtonia, Missouri. General Ben McCulloch with all the avail-
able Confederate troops went to his aid. After a skirmish
with the cavalry the Federals retreated, falling back to Spring-
field, Missouri. A little later the combined forces of Price and
McCulloch advanced reaching Crane Creek, Missouri. The
Federals came out to meet them but retreated again to Spring-
field without making an attack. The Confederates then ad-
vanced to Wilson Creek, about twelve miles southwest of
Springfield, and went into camp along the banks of this little
stream. Here they were attacked by the Federals early in the
morning of August 10th, 1861. Colonel Watie with a portion
of his regiment were in the bloody battle that followed and did
heroic service. The Federals were defeated with the loss of
many men and much artillery which was captured by the Con-
federates. John Benge, who was killed at this time, is said to
have been the first Cherokee to fall in battle after the begin-
ning of the war. General Lyon was slain and it is said his
parting words to Seigle were, “You better be moving,” which
advice was immediately followed.
BATTLE OF BIRD CREER.
- December 25th, 1861.
The noted Seminole or Creek warrior Yo-ho-la, who led
the northern Creek Indians, was a shrewd and cunning soldier.
In December, 1861, he came into the northwestern portion of
the Cherokee Nation on Bird Creek with his affiliated bands of
Union Indians. He hoped to indºce the Federal Cherokees to
join him. Colonel D. N. McIntosh and his regiment of South-
ern Creeks, Choctaws and Texans, under Colonel Cooper had
attacked him but failed to dislodge him from his position.
Later General James McIntosh of Texas, who was killed at Pea
Ridge in 1862, was directed to drive him and his force out of
the Cherokee Nation. General McIntosh was joined, at old
Ft. Gibson, by Colonel Watie and his regiment. They pursued
Yohola and found him in a strong position on Hominy Creek,
a tributary of Bird Creek. On this battle march Captain Jim
Bell, John Schrimsher and Clem Rooers, because of their fa-
miliarity with the country, acted as pilots or guides for Watie's
regiment and other troops. On Christmas Day, 1861, near the
present site of the City of Tulsa this important battle took
place with the resºlt that Yahola’s forces were completely

16
routed, many of his men killed, many horses and mules cap-
tured. The next day Watie and his men alone, continued to
pursue Yohola. The section of the country was extremely
rough and rugged and the cedar brakes along the Arkansaw
River where Yohola and his men had taken refuge, were so
dense as to be almost impassable and had it not been for this
barrier it is probable that his entire force would have been an-
nihilated. With the small remnant of his band Yohola made
his way to Leroy, Kansas.
BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE, ARKANSAW.
On March 6th, 1862, Colonel Watie and his regiment took
a prominent part in the decisive and bloody battle of Pea Ridge
or Elk Horn. The Confederate forces, under the direction of
General Albert Pike's were marched across the Indian Territory
to take part in the campaigns of Generals Price and Van Dorn.
Colonel Watie led his men from old Ft. Gibson to the battle
ground at Pea Ridge. On the way his troops were inspected
by General Van Dorn, who with the famous Sterling Price com-
manded the Confederate forces in this battle. General Price
had charge of the Missouri troops, and General McCulloch com-
manded the Texas and Indian Territory troops. When Colonel
Watie reached the battle field he reported at once to General
McCulloch, who directed him to uncover the enemies' position
in the front. But scarcely had he been given the command
and ere he could mentally outline any definite plan of action,
the enemy opened fire upon his regiment from a masked bat-
tery, backed by a strong force of cavalry and infantry. Watie
immediately gave the order to narºo the battery, which the
did aided by a few other troops, and captured four pieces of
artillery. There are living, today, men, who fought under
Watie in that daring charge. “Uncle Webb Vann” of Pryor,
Oklahoma, a survivor of that notable “charge”, recently said,
“I can’t see now how we did it; but Watie ordered the charge,
which he always led and his men would follow him into the
very jaws of death, the Indian Rebel yell was given and we
fought them like tigers three to one. It must have been that
mysterious power of Stand Watie that led us on to make the
capture against such odds”. The old veterans claim that the
wizardry of Watie's influence could make a weak man brave
and a brave man braver, that Fear never found the road to his
soul and the word “Retreat” was not in his vocabulary, and
that during this daring charge and marvelous capture, when
he and his men were almost in touch with the guns of the
enemy, he never ordered a retreat; but when the odds were
hopelessly against them for further action, and the shot and
shell were covering their position like hail stones he exclaimed
instead, “Charge back boys' Charge back!” In this battle
engagements took place on both sides of the mountain. Gen-
eral Price had charge of the East side and General McCulloch
the West side. Generals McCulloch and McIntosh of Texas
were killed early in the battle and the Federals were victor-
ious. In the evening Colonel Watie and his men joined General
Price's division on the East side. The death of the two brave
Generals McCulloch and McIntosh was a disastrous loss to the
South and the victory of the Federals had a depressing effect
upon some of the Indian Territory Confedern to troons. * Judge
*After this battle a large portion of the Indian Confederate
troops, under command of Colonel John Drew, went over to the
Union side. This regiment had been organized shortly after the
signing by John Ross, of the Treaty of Alliance with the Confed-
erate States and was composed largely of full-blood members of
the former Ross Party. Colonel Drew and some of his men re-
mained loyal to the Confederate cause. The duplicity of some of
the members of this regiment had no effect upon Stand Watie nor
his men.

17
James M. Keys, of Pryor, Oklahoma, one of General Watie's
veteran soldiers, speaking of this famous charge, in which he
took part, said, “I regaru General Stand Watie as one of the
bravest and most capable of men and the loremost soldier
ever produced by the North American Indians. He was wise
in council and courageous in action. His charge alone, within
itself, at the battle of Pea Ridge with his famous “First Chero-
kee Regiment of Cavalry,’ that resulted in the capture of a
Federal battery should, forever, stamp him as one of the real
heroes of that sanguinary affair, as infantry was usually em-
ployed to capture batteries of artillery, and Watie was only a
Colonel then, and fighting outside his own domain.” Judge
Keys further said that he believed that had it not been for the
unfortunate loss of Generals McCulloch and McIntosh the Con-
federates would have been victorious.
After the Battie of Pea Ridge.
General Van Dorn returned East of the Mississippi River,
and confined his action there until his death in 1863. Many of
the Confederate troops at this time, were also trans-
ferred East of the Great River. Colonel Watie and his men
returned to the Cherokee Nation and continued to defend and
protect it against the depredations of the enemy. In June, of
this same year, Colonel Wm. Weir with five thousand Union
troops marched southward from Humboldt, Kansas, and en-
tered the border of the Cherokee Country. The only opposi-
tion to their advance, at this time, was Watie and his regi-
ment. General Pike, ** who was still in command, maintained
his headquarters and most of his forces at Ft. McCulloch on
Blue River, Choctaw Nation. But Stand Watie was a mighty
power in resisting Weir's advance. Like Morgan of Tennessee
he constantly worried, baffled, and harassed, his antagonists.
He had his men under perfect control, and knowing the coun-
try and its people as he did, he was able to strike when and
where they least expected it, and continually kept them de-
luded and on the move. When in camp Watie was always on
the outskirts of his regiment on the lookout for the enemy and
at night he is said to have slept with one eye open, ever on the
alert for the Kansas Jayhawker and the Pin Indian. There
was nothing going on in military lines in his section of the
country that he did not find out, and report to his superior of
ficers. His services, in this capacity, to the Confederate Cause
and to his own people, as a Nation, can never be estimated. He
was a trained scout, having learned the art well in the early
days when he was hounded by his political enemies for seven
long years. After the resignation of General Pike and the ap-
pointment of Colonel Cooper, who advanced northward to the
aid of Colonel Watie, the majority of the Union forces moved
again into Kansas.
SIRIRMISH AT SPAVINAW AND CAPTURE AT
LOCUST GROVE.
Late in June or early in July, 1862, Colonel Watie, with
his regiment and commissary wagons, was encamped at Grand
Saline and Locust Grove, now a portion of Mayes County, Ok-
lahoma. This was about the time of the invasion of Union
forces from Kansas, under Colonel Weir, which included two
regiments of Union Indians and was the first Federal force to
**Shortly after this battle. General Albert Pike resigned his
Command of the Confederate Military District of Indian Territory.
He was temporarily succeeded by Colonel Douglas H. Cooper. In
January, 1863, General wºm. Steel was appointed to the position
and he was succeeded by General Maxey in December, 1863.
18
penetrate the Cherokee border. Upon ascertaining that there
was a large body of this same force advancing from the north-
east, Colonel Watie, with a part of his regiment, set out to
meet them and drive them back or prevent their further ad-
vance. After they had been on scout, in the Spavinaw Hills
near his home, for a short while without discovering the Fed-
erals, Colonel Watie, fearing an unexpected attack upon his
camp, was preparing to return to Locust Grove, when his
picket reported to him the advance of the Federals, in the di-
rection of Watie's own home. He at once fell back with his
regiment across Spavinaw in order to secure a better position
from which to give battle. While on march to this position he
learned that the advance guard of the enemy was pressing his
rear guard. He directed his Lieutenant, Colonel Thomas Fox
Taylor, to take two companies from the regiment and check the
advance guard of the Federals. To fulfill his chieftain's orders
Taylor chose Captain Brewer’s “Company C'' and Starr’s “Com-
Scene near Gen. Watie's old home on the classic
Spavinaw, the most transparent stream in Okla-
homa. -
pany H'', as his assistants. Nearly all those men were his own
blood kin. Colonel Taylor with his men, surprised the Federal
guard at the ford of Spavinaw and a brief but heated skir-
mish took place in which Taylor and his company were vic-
torious, driving the Federals back on the main body that was
marching toward Colonel Watie's farm. Colonel Watie then
rode up and directed Taylor to fall back with his men to the
regiment. He then chose five young men” to accompany him
and hastily crossed the stream and ascended a high point of
the hill where he could overlook his home. There was anxiety
written in every line of his face, for his family were at home
at this time. For a short time he paused and with his field
glass” + watched the maneuvers of the Federal cavalry, but
they seemed to be continuing a retreat without pause and with-
out molestation. Despatching a courier to Taylor with instruc-
tions to advance with the regiment with all pºssible speed to-
wards the camp, Colonel Watie, after assuring himself that the
"One of whom, gave the author the description of the skir-
*"...This same field glass was willed, by the late colonel Jim
Bell, to the author.

19
Federals were continuing their retreat, descended the hill with
his escort and followed his command. A few miles from Grand
Saline he came to a place where his regiment had turned to
the left and veered to the southeast. His fears and suspicions
became more fully aroused as to the safety of his commissary
department and camp equipage, and as he and his companions
followed the course taken by the preceeding regiment they no-
ticed little white flags floating from the tops of houses whose
inhabitants seemed to be absent. This further confirmed
watie's fears. Finally overtaking the regiment he learned
that a large force of Federals had advanced in the night and
had captured his entire commissary and camp supplies. This
attack came as a surprise to the Confederates at daybreak.
Some of them were slain as they lay sleeping in camp. The
small command of Watie's Cherokee troops fought with great
bravery, assisted by a battalion of Missourians under Clarkson
and Major Brokearm and his bold Confederate Osages, but the
Kansas force outnumbered them three to one and they were
compelled to yield. Colonel W. P. Adair, Clem N. Vann, B. W.
House built by Mr. Washbourne on the site of
Gen. Watie's home near the spot where the
Spavinaw Skirmish” took place.
Carter, Richard Martin, Sr., and John Lowery Davis were made
prisoners of war. These five prominent Cherokees, with the
exception of one, were taken to Ft. Chase, Illinois, and held as
prisoners of war until exchanged. When they reached Ft.
Scott with these prisoners Clem Vann was stolen away by night
by some of his Cherokee friends, and he made his escape. It
is said that the little white “flags” on the house tops, seen by
Watie and his men, were signals or signs, that the inmates of
those houses were friendly to the Union cause. This was just
about the time the so-called Union Cherokees espoused the
cause of the Federals. General Watie, before the war, had
“improved” two places on Spavinaw, within three miles of each
other. This skirmish took place near one of these homes,
whore he had built, at the outbreak of the war, a substantial
new frame house. This was later burned and the property
passed into the hands of Dr. W. D. Polson, second Surgeon in
Watie's 1st Cherokee Regiment. Dr. Polson had a saw mill
here for a number of years. Later this old “Watie Place” be-


20
came the property of Claude Washbourne, a great nephew of
General Watie. The same chimneys built by General Watie
were again used in the house erected by Mr. Washbourne.
After the capture at Locust Grove the Federals were rein-
forced in such numbers that the Confederates were compelled
to fall back to Ft. Gibson by way of Tahlequah, and on south
of the Arkansaw. Watie, always alert and watchful, never
quite forgot his surprise at Locust Grove and perhaps the
memory of it stimulated him, to some extent, afterward, in
making so many daring raids and captures.
BATTLE OF NEWTONIA, MISSOURI, OCTOBER, 1862.
A portion of Watie's Regiment was in this battle, though
he himself was not there. His Lieutenant Colonel R. C. Parks
was commanding and after the manner of this courageous reg-
iment they were in the thickest of the fray. In this battle the
Choctaws and Chickasaws distinguished themselves as soldiers
and fighters. The Union forces greatly outnumbered the Con-
federates and the first day of the battle they were gaining
ground and were about to drive the left wing of the Confeder-
ates from the field when the valiant Colonel Douglas Cooper
came up with these troops and drove the Federal right wing
back, recovering the lost ground and re-establishing the orig-
inal line of battle. He did not accomplish this, however, with-
out the loss of many brave men. The next day the Union
forces were increased and the battle continued. Colonel Cooper
not thinking best to longer continue the contest against such
odds retreated south with his troops.
- BATTLE OF FT. WAYNE.
The Kansas Division of the Frontier, under command of
General Blunt, attacked the Confederate forces under Colonel
Douglas H. Cooper at old Ft. Wayne, Delaware District, Cher-
okee Nation, October 22nd, 1862; the result was a victory for
the Union forces. Watie and his men bore the principal part
of the defense in this battle but were overpowered by superior
numbers. With his regiment he covered the retreat, as the
Confederates retired by way of Ft. Gibson across the Arkan-
saw to Ft. Davis. This fort was general headquarters for the
Indian Territory Confederate Division and was established
very early in the war. It stood a little east of the present site
of Bacone College near Muskogee. Late in the fall of 1862
the Federals were able to occupy and fortify Ft. Gibson, and it
remained in their possession until the close of the war. The
Winter of 1862 Colonel Watie and his men made their head-
quarters at Camp Steel, Choctaw Nation, not far from Ft.
Smith.
WATIE'S FAMOUS RAID AT FT. GIBSON.
Jn the spring of '63, Watie and his command returned from
the Choctaw Country to the Cherokee Nation, occupying, with
other troops, the south side of the Arkansaw River opposite
old Ft. Gibson. He frequently made raids and excursions on
the north side of the river capturing trains, mules, horses and
commissary supplies and burning hay camps. One of these
“raids”, which resulted in a battle, is especially worthy of re-
cording and has been frequently overlooked or erroneously
given. The plain true facts, in the case, are strong enough, as
it is almost without parallel of its kind. About the middle of
May, his “picket” on outlook at Brushy Mountain, near the
present site of Muskogee, reported to Colonel Watie that the
Federals had a vast herd of horses and mules that they were
in the habit of turning out of the fort corrals to graze before
daylight every morning, with chosen guards acting as herds-
men. Watie at once took his regiment at nightfall and quietly
dropped down the Arkansaw River a few miles, crossing over

21
to the other side, near the present town of Braggs. He then
turned north marching his men to a point about four miles
south of Ft. Gibson on top of Bayou Manard Mountain. Here
he rested his men and horses until about four o’clock in the
morning. Then he despatched one hundred and fifty picked
men, under command of Captain O. H. P. Brewer, with in-
structions to proceed and round up the great herd of horses
and mules, telling him that he would follow closely and cover
his retreat with the herd. The order was obeyed to the letter.
Brewer and his men made the seizure, killed some of the
guards and took the others prisoners, and marched by his com-
mander with the great herd of horses and mules. Colonel
Watie formed his line of battle along the edge of the timber of
Bayou Manard Creek, and awaited an attack that he felt sure
would follow when the capture of the herds had been discov-
ered. He did not have to wait long before he saw a squadron
of cavalry which had been retained at the fort proper and a
large folce of infantry set out in hot pursuit of Captain Brewer
and the missing herds. Watie with the remainder of his men
advanced and charged this force in the open prairie driving
them back on their infantry and artillery. He then fell back
to his original battle line determined to stand his ground and
stop their advance until he knew his men, with the horses and
mules, were too far away to be overtaken. The Federals, rein-
forced, again advanced in overwhelming numbers and began
to shell his position with artillery, but despite the increasing
peril Watie stood his ground until he was assured in his own
mind that his guard was beyond the reach of the enemy. Not
wishing to subject his men longer to the storm of shot and
shell he ordered them to fall in, by twos and retreat in good
order. He had accomplished what he had set out to do, and
had only one regret, the loss of a number of his brave men,
among them Major George W. West, a noble officer in the
First Cherokee Regiment, and the brave Captain Buzzard, who
is said to have fallen in this battle. This was a signal victory
for Watie, taking place right under the Federal Guns at Ft.
Gibson, which was so strongly fortified at this time that it was
said to be impregnable against any force of less than twenty
thousand men. This raid was of inestimable value to the In-
dian Territory, as it delayed the march of the Federal forces
for six months or a year. There are a number of men living
today who took part in this capture and battle. One of the
men who helped to make the capture recently said, “I dis-
tinctly remember the sound of the cannonading coming to us.
after we had crossed the river with the herds, and wondering
in my mind, if some shot might not mean a death wound to
our beloved leader or to one of our comrades.”
BATTLE OF HONEY SPRINGS.
In January of 1863, General D. H. Cooper was encamped
at Honey Springs, Elk Creek, in the Creek Nation near the
present site of Muskogee. He was in command of a few Texas
troops and the Indian troops, which included the ever ready
Watie and his regiment. Here he was attacked by General
Blunt with a Federal force of three thousand troops and two
batteries of artillery, outnumbering General Cooper's force
two to one. The battle raged fiercely for several hours, Coop-
er's troops putting up a brave fight against superior numbers.
After a most stubborn resistance and the loss of several hun-
dred men, a number of wagons and some commissary stores,
Cooper yielded the field, going south of the Canadian River
With the remainder of his large train.

22
CAPTURE OF TRAIN AT WEBBERS FALLS-SPRING
OF 1863.
After the battle of Honey Springs General Cooper went
into winter quarters at Camp Brookin, Choctaw Nation. Col-
onel Watie and his regiment camped that winter not far away
at a place called “Camp Starvation.” Here they endured great
hardships. In consequence of the fall rains, which were un-
usually heavy that year, the roads became almost impassable.
The Commissary Department could not furnish them with any
necessities. The men were reduced to such dire necessity that
they subsisted on parched corn, small rations of poor dried
beef without bread or salt. And they felled the trees to feed
their horses on the bark and branches. This fearful condi-
tion continued for six weeks when the roads were passable
once more and relief came. In the early Spring of '63 Colonel
Watie, forever on the lookout for the enemy, heard that the
Federals, who usually favored the north side for security, were
sending trains on the south side of the Arkansas River. These
trains were on their way from Ft. Gibson to Ft. Smith by way
of Webbers Falls. Despite the recent experience of hunger
and hardships at “Camp Starvation,” Colonel Watie set out
with his men alone to capture these wagons, and marched
towards Webbers Falls. On Dirdene Creek, a mile or more
south of town, he halted and went into camp for the night,
sending forward a few chosen men to find out the true situa-
tion. The scouts advanced until they came to the former home
of Colonel John Drew. Here they found two Union soldiers
whom they commanded to surrender. Instead, they refused
and opened fire upon them wounding Richard Mayes,” one of
the brave men in the guard. One of the Federals was killed.
The other escaped. Richard Mayes died the next morning and
was buried by his comrades on Dirdene Creek. Returning to
camp the scout reported a train approaching. Watie quietly
formed his men in line along a ravine and awaited its arrival.
The cavalry were in advance, when they came opposite the
position of the Confederates, Watie and his men opened fire
upon them and they retreated. Then Watie's bugler, “Dutch
Billy,” was ordered to sound a charge and they opened battle
with their customary force and vehemence. The Federals fell
back to the top of the mountain where their train and infantry
were, and formed a line of battle with every advantage in their
position above, over the Confederates below. However, noth-
ing daunted Watie when there was any possible chance of win-
ning and he led his men up the hill, his soldiers using the bat-
tle slogan, “Remember Dick Mayes.” Despite the advantage
of their position the Federals were soon dispersed and their
entire train of wagons and supplies was captured. In this en-
gagement the forces on both sides were about equal in num-
bers. Here again was another victory for Watie and his men.
That Stand Watie and his regiment were surprised and
defeated, with great loss of men, at Webbers Falls and a
“Cherokee Legislative session” interrupted here, by Union
forces, in the Spring of 1863 is denied by living veterans, who
fought under Watie throughout the war and who should be in
a position to know. If they be correct this error has, like
others doubtless crept into Oklahoma History because the
author was misinformed and the story may have originated
from the fact that during the late Fall of '62 or very early in
the winter of '63, while Colonel Watie and the larger part of
his regiment were at Camp Steel, in the Choctaw Nation, Cap-
tain O. H. P. Brewer and a small company of men were sta-
*Brother of Joel B., S. H., and Tip Mayes, all members of
Watie's regiment.

23
tioned at Webbers Falls. This little band of men were sur-
prised and defeated with a minor loss, by a large force of
Federal troops from Ft. Gibson under Colonel Phillips. It
should be borne in mind that the unbiased Historian is handi-
capped in his work as to details, in Oklahoma History, from
the fact that unfortunately the Cherokees and other tribes
have left no written record of their own. This is as strange as
it is unfortunate, in view of the fact that they produced minds
gifted in statecraft, literature, oratory and military leader-
ship. But like their legends and traditions many of their most
valuable details of history have been handed down from one
generation to another and the author, who is unable to gain
this knowledge from reliable testimony must depend too much
upon remote sources, such as Ethnological and Congressional
Reports, which are bulky but not always dependable for real
facts nor for data.
BATTLE OF POISON SPRINGS, ARKANSAW-APRIL, 1864.
In March, 1864, General Gano's Texas Brigade and Col-
onel Tandy Walker's Choctaw and Chickasaw Brigade were
transferred to Arkansaw. The principal action of the Indian
troops was at the battle of Poison Springs in which the Con-
federates were victorious. Members of Watie's brigade took
an active part in this battle and the Chickasaws and Choctaws
added to their reputation as fighters. Their action in this
battle was highly commended by the commanding officers.
During this engagement the Choctaw Brigade captured a
wagon train and battery of artillery. Douglas H. Cooper, who
was agent for the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation at the out-
break of the war, became Colonel of the Choctaw and Chicka-
saw regiment and Tandy Walker was Lieutenant-Colonel.
After Cooper was made a Brigadier General, Tandy Walk-
er, who was a Choctaw by blood, became Colonel of the Choc-
taw and Chickasaw Regiment. He distinguished himself by
his bravery and military ability. His regiment was engaged
in many battles and skirmishes. Among the prominent Choc-
taws who served in the Confederate army were: Sampson and
Simpson Fulsome, Jack McCurtain, Major Durant and others.
Among the Chickasaws were: Lem Reynolds, J. D. Harris, Frank
Colvert, Jonathan Nail and Winchester Colvert, who was
prominent in politics and Governor of the Chickasaw Nation at
the close of the war. The Seminoles did valiant service, under
the leadership of John Jumper, their principal chief. Other
prominent leaders among them were: James Factor and John
Brown, afterwards their Governor. They won special mention
at Little River, where they camped on the battle field ready to
renew the battle in the morning, but the Federals, for reasons
best known to themselves, retreated during the night. The
Southern Creeks combined their forces with the Seminoles and
did commendable service for the South. Conspicuous among
their leaders were: D. N. McIntosh, Samuel Checotee, Ward
Coachman, James McHenry and Pleasant Porter. The Creeks
won special merit at Bird Creek and Honey Springs.
“WATIE A BRIGADIER GENERAL.”
- Stand Watie was a born “Leader of Men.” At the begin-
ning of the war he had had no military training whatever, yet
he acquired such efficiency as a leader and commander that
on. May 10th, 1864, he received from President Davis the ap-
pointment of Brigadier General in the Confederate army and
later was Brevetted. He is said to have been the only North
American Indian who ever had this honor conferred upon him.
After the promotion of Colonel Watie to the position of Briga-
dier General, Captain James Bell was elected Colonel of the
First Cherokee Regiment. This was a fitting promotion, Col-

24
onel Bell, a brother-in-law of Watie and brother of Jack Bell,
was a man of culture and education, a brave and faithful sol-
dier, a courteous and considerate officer. He was with Watie
during the entire war, enlisting at the beginning and serving
to the close. Wherever you saw General Watie you saw Col-
onel Bell. Clement N. Vann, a Cherokee lawyer of ability, was
elected Lieutenant-Colonel under Colonel Jim Bell. He was
an efficient and fearless officer. The second Cherokee regiment
was composed of Five Companies of Cherokees, and Five Com-
panies from Arkansaw. William Penn Adair, known among
his people, the Cherokees, both as a soldier and a statesman,
was elected Colonel, and Captain O. H. P. Brewer, another
Cherokee, was chosen as Lieutenant Colonel. Captain Brewer,
as before mentioned, was a good tactician, a fearless officer
and like many of his race was cool and determined under the
most trying circumstances.
BATTLE AND CAPTURE AT MASSARD PRAIRIE,
ARKANSAW.
Sometime in the summer of 1864 General Watie and other
Confederate troops were maeuvering in the neighborhood of
Ft. Smith, Arkansaw, which was strongly garrisoned with
Federal troops, but it was reported that a portion of these
troops were to be withdrawn to aid a large Federal force, then
advancing, on Camden, Arkansaw. With the hope that this
was true Watie lingered in the neighborhood determined, with
the combined aid of the other Confederate troops, to make a
bold attack on Ft. Smith. In the meantime he learned for a
certainty that there was a Federal force encamped not far
away on Massard Prairie. He immediately determined to cut
this force off from Ft. Smith and capture it if possible. A hot
battle ensued in which the Federals were defeated. A portion
of them, escaping the deadly fire of Watie's troops, fled to the
Fort. He pursued them until checked by the Artillery guns
from Ft. Smith. He then fell back across the Poteau River
with the captured horses, mules and camp equipage.
CAPTURE OF A STEAMBOAT ON THE ARIKANSAW.
In June, 1864, General Watie fired upon and captured a
steamboat which was ascending the Arkansaw River from Ft.
Smith to Ft. Gibson. This capture, which was made without
artillery, took place at Pheasant Bluff, near the mouth of the
Canadian. The boat was laden with Federal Uniforms and
other supplies. The following incident is told in this connec-
tion, by one of the participants in this capture: “That night
after we had all gone into camp General Watie, who was small
of stature, had wrapped himself in a large Union military
coat, for the night was chilly. He was sitting near the edge
of the tent in his customary attitude of deep meditation. The
interior was in semi-darkness, and ome of the soldiers passing
by and peering in, saw the outline of the coat but not the occu-
pant. He hastily gripped the corner of the garment, thinking
to make use of the same, when General Watie astonished him
by saying, “Hold on There is a man in this coat.” This soon
became the “catch-word” among the men of the camp.
“CAPTURE OF TRAIN AT CABIN CREEK.”
LAST GREAT RAID OF GENERAL WATIE.”
In September, 1864, General Stand Watie hearing there
was an unusually large train of commissary supplies together
with herds of horses and mules coming from Ft. Scott to Ft.
Gibson determined to capture this prize, if possible. Accord-
ingly he combined his Cherokee Brigade with that of General
Gano's, the two forces amounting to two thousand men. Be-
cause of General Watie's greater familiarity with the country
he took the lead, the two brigades crossing the Arkansaw

25
River at different points, Watie and his brigade crossing near
the Creek Agency. After crossing the Verdigris they moved
northeastward where they reached the old Military Road.*
After reaching this public road they had to contend with
Union forces both in the front and in the rear. North of Ft.
Gibson on Negro Creek, about three miles east of Wagoner,
they came upon a detachment of Negro and white Federals
guarding a hay camp under command of . Colonel J. M. Wil-
liams. A small battle took place. Williams and his “mixed
troops” were soon defeated and dispersed with heavy loss. The
three thousand tons of hay were destroyed by the Confed-
erates. Still following the Military Road they encountered
more Federals at Rock Creek where another skirmish took
place. At the old Military crossing, on Cabin Creek, south of
Vinita and not far from the “Hoolie Bell farm,” General
Watie and General Gano met and captured, after a brief but
heated battle, one of the largest trains ever taken by an op-
posing force west of the Mississippi. This large train enroute
from Ft. Scott to Ft. Gibson, consisted of about five hundred
wagons loaded with government supplies and post traders
goods, together with about eighteen hundred horses and
mules. It was accompanied by a large guard. With this
prize the Confederates started south, when in some way Gen-
eral Watie had intimation that the Federal troops from Ft.
Gibson had started north to recapture the train and were
mobolizing their forces at Pryor Creek. He immediately
changed the course of action, sending the train with a picked
guard of two hundred and fifty men due West. General Watie
with his command continued their course down the Military
Road and about six miles east of the present town of Pryor
with his fifteen hundred men he halted in temporary camp
to gain a better idea of the situation and to locate if possible,
the Federa's he had expected to meet. Selectinga detachment
from each company, amounting to about eight hundred men
and some artillery, General Watie concluded to move on South-
West down the Military road. It was decided that General
Gano would remain with the rest of the regiment and follow
the captured train. General Watie and his men continued
their march until they came near the Pryor Creek Crossing.
Here a large company of Federal Infantry with artillery was
in ambush. They never came out in the open and no
definite idea of their exact nºmber could be obtained. General
Watie maneuvered for several hours feigning an attack upon
their position until he knew the train with its guard were too
far away to be overtaken by infantry and artillery. The fight-
ing at this point was strictly a duel of artillery and without
the loss of life. Watie saw no occasion to longer remain when
his object had been accomplished. He had given his guard
"time” and “protection” against the enemy. He covered the
rear of his two companies and followed the captured train West.
When he overtook the train next day at the Verdigris River he
discovered his men had paitaken freely of the whiskey found
in the Federal wagons. To prevent future trouble from this
source, General Watie had the barrels of whiskey, with which
three Wagons had been loaded, collected and poured into the
Verdigris River. Ex-chief S. H. Mayes very vividly recalls
*The survey of this old Military road which was opened for
ºxtended from Ft. Scott, Kansas, to Ft. Gibson and º, the
Choctaw Nation. It was the pioneer thoroughfare for immigration
ºn spºtation between Military Forts took ºil, a bººt" ºr "
from Missouri and other states into Texas after its opening and
ºny helds of cattle and sheep were driven into that state, over
this old Trail. Traces of this historical land mark are yet to be
ºn here and there, which passed near Vinita, Pryor, Wagoner,
Muskogee, Ft. Gibson and oth. Indian Territory towns.

26
assisting in the unusual task of hauling these barrels to the
river, tapping the heads and watching the whiskey mingle its
fiery liquid with the clear waters of this stream. One of the
beneficial results of the seizeure of this great train was the
opportunity for General Watie and General Gano to bestow
new suits of clothes to many of the needy men in their
brigades. General Maxey states in his report, that this was a
perfect Godsend, as the troops were literally in rags. The Con-
federates traveled westward crossing the Arkansaw near the
present site of the city of Tulsa. The wagons that could not be
successfully carried away were destroyed by fire. They finally
made their way, after many miles of travel, through the Creek
Nation to Hilliby, on the Canadian, and feeling safe from
pursuit they made a division of the spoils. General Watie
was not willing to participate in the division, saying, “Give it
all to my men.” But his soldiers ever loyal to their leader,
made up a wagon load of sugar, coffee and flour and had a
teamster take it to General Watie's family. The brigade then
moved on down into the Choctaw Nation and disbanded for
the winter.
TROOPS REORGANIZED.
After Stand Watie's promotion the Indian Territory troops
were reorganized with General Watie as Commander in Chief.
This organization, known as “General Watie's Indian Brigade,”
included the 1st and 2nd Cherokee Regiments, the 1st and 2nd
Creek Regiments, John Jumper's Battallion of Seminole and
an Osage Battallion, headed by Brokearm. At the time of
Lee's surrender General Watie was preparing to raise an army
of ten thousand men- to invade the Western border of Kansas.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws were practically under
General Cooper throughout the war though they may have
been included in this contemplated raid. They often took part
in battles in conjunction with General Watie's Indian Brigade.
HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SEPARATE
BRIGADES.
The history of the origin of the 1st and 2nd Cherokee Reg-
iments has been given. The following is an outline of the be-
ginning of the other regiments. The 1st Choctaw Battallion
was organized near old Sculleyville, Choctaw Nation, with five
companies. It was consolidated with five companies of white
troops raised by Douglas H. Cooper. Tandy C. Walker, Sr.,
was Lieutenant Colonel. The 1st Choctaw Regiment was
organized in the Choctaw Nation near the present site of
Atoka and was composed of ten companies with Sampson
Fulsome as Colonel: David F. Harkins, Lieutenant Colonel,
Sylvester Durant, Major, Wm. L. Byrd, Adjutant and Thomas
Edward, Sergeant Major. This Regiment belonged to Douglas
H. Cooper’s Brigade. The 2nd Choctaw Regiment was or-
ganized in the Fall of 1861 and was composed of ten com-
panies. David Harkin was elected Colonel and Sampson Lor-
ing Lieuteant Colonel. This also belonged to Cooper's Brigade.
The 2nd Choctaw Battallion was organized in 1862 with five
companies. Jack McCurtain was Lieutenant Colonel. The
Seminoles began service also as a battallion organized in Sep-
tember, 1861, with John Jumper its Chief Officer and James
Factor its Major. Later it was reorganized in which organi-
zation were combined two or three companies of Creeks, with
John Jumper as Colonel and William Robinson, a Creek, Lieu-
tenant Colonel. It was attached later to the Indian Brigade
under General Stand Watie, and participated in all the battles
in which this brigade was engaged, except the battle of Wil-
son Creek, which took place before the organization of any
Indian troops except the 1st Cherokee.

27
The 1st Creek Regiment, consisting of ten companies, was
organized the latter part of August, 1861, with D. N. McIn-
tosh, Colonel, and was composed of the Creek Indians resid-
ing, for the most part, on the Arkansaw and Verdigris Rivers.
Wm. McIntosh was Lieutenant Colonel, but he died a year later
and was succeeded by Samuel Checotee, who later became prin-
cipal chief. The 2nd Creek Regiment was first organized as a
battallion in September, 1861, near Eufaula, and was always
composed of the Creeks residing on or about the North and
South Canadian and Deep Fork Rivers. Chillie McIntosh was
its chief officer, and “Nar-co-me,” alias “Par—has micco,” was
Major. In 1862 this was reorganized into a regiment of ten
companies with Chillie McIntosh, Colonel, “Pink” Hawkins, a
full-blood Creek, Lieutenant Colonel, Timothy Barnett, Major,
Fenton M. Sagar, Quartermaster and Ed Sangster, Commissary.
Captain George W. Grayson, a brave and loyal soldier, now
residing at Eufaula, commanded a company in this regiment.
“WATIE’s BENEVOLENCE TO DESTITUTE CONFEDERATE
FAMILIES.”
After the occupation of Ft. Gibson and Ft. Smith, by the
Federal forces, all the Indian Territory included in the val-
leys of the Arkansaw and the Canadian became untenable to
the Confederate Indians. And scattered here and there,
throughout the Indian Territory, during the entire war, were
many destitute Confederate families. General Watie always
tried to make it possible to give them the protection of his
troons and often took them before him on his marches until
they could find shelter and security. Throughout the Cherokee
Nation among his own people, from the very beginning of the
war were many families of women and children and aged men,
who had been robbed and plundered and left destitute with no
visible means of support or escape. All the time he was not
in battle General Watie, with a portion of his men, was busy
making excursions over the country gathering up these fam-
ilies and bringing them into his camp. As in the beginning of
the war, he took upon himself the gigantic responsibility of
protecting the border of his country, so now he took upon him-
self the rescue and relief of his suffering people. In the win-
ter of '64 he and a portion of his troops undertook to bring
these destitute families South. After they started the weather
grew intensely cold and pages could be written of the priva-
tion and sacrifice endured by General Watie and his men while
on this Christian mission. He was gone six weeks, but he suc-
ceeded in conducting these refugees safely across Red River
into Texas without the loss of a single life. Many incidents
are still related connected with this memorable journey that
are filled with pathos and sometimes with humor. Thus stand
Watie was not only a great leader, but he was a great deliverer
as well. The people of the North and Western borders of Texas,
during the war, owed a greater debt of gratitude to General
Watie than they, perhaps, knew. This debt they partially re-
paid by their many kindnesses to the Indian Territory refugees.
His brigade was like a “stone wall” between the Texans and
the foe. The Federals never penetrated further South in this
section than Little River and Perryville. Sherman's terrible
raid, on a smaller scale, might have been repeated through
Indian Territory and Texas had it not been for the timely raids,
capture of horses, mules and trains of wagons made by General
Watie and his men.
- The latter part of the winter of 1864 there was little ac-
tivity in the Indian Territory on the part of the troops on
either side. General Watie and his brigade went into late

28
winter quarters near the Boggie Streams in the Choctaw Na-
tion, still an active protection of the Indian Territory and
Texas borders.
“GENERAL WATIE MADE THE LAST SURRENDER OF
THE WAR.”
But the great conflict, though General Watie and his men
did not know it, was rapidly drawing to a close. In answer to
the call of his conscience, Stand Watie had given the best of
his magnificent powers to the cause of the South and he has
the distinction of making the very last surrender of the Con-
federate forces when he gave up his Indian troops to Lieuten-
ant Colonel A. C. Mathews at Doaksville, Choctaw Nation,
June 23rd, 1865, nearly three months after the surrender of
Lee’s incomparable army at Appomattox.
TRIBUTE TO GENERAL WATIE'S INDIAN BRIGADE.
General Watie's 1st Cherokee Regiment was composed of
Cherokees and whites, principally of the former, but there
were many brave men from Arkansaw and Missouri who
enlisted under him and whose devotion to him was equal to
that of his kindred race. This famous 1st Cherokee Regiment
was the nucleus from which was formed at the latter part of
the war, “Watie's Celebrated Indian Brigade”. General Stand
Watie and his Indian Brigade marched over more miles, took
part in more battles, had more independent conflicts and skir-
mishes, captured more trains of wagons and more horses and
mules than perhaps any one brigade west of the Mississippi.
With his forces he resisted almost step by step the advance of
the Federals into the Cherokee Nation. The bodies of these
men marked the way like human milestones. Many of them
sleep in unknown and forgotten graves, but the memory of
their valiant deeds, in defense of the South, is an heritage that
every patriotic Southerner should be proud to cherish. All
these Indians, though untrained in the tactics of war, were by
nature and habit well-fitted to become ideal soldiers. They
were good riders and splendid marksmen, most of them hav-
ing been athletes from their youth up, trained in self control
and endurance. Tireless in their march upon the enemy they
played well their part in the great struggle of the South from
'61 to '65. Their acts of valor and endurance would fill no
small volume. It is an historical fact that the Five Civilized
Tribes lost more men in action, in the Confederate Army in
proportion to the number enlisted, than any other Southern
State. These Tribes furnished fully six thousand men to the
Southern troops. At the close of the war how large a per cent
of them had given up their fives in battle! Of Watie's own
brigade there is less than one hundred men living today. While
there were no really great battles fought on Indian Territory
soil yet this country certainly has a “War History” for the
eternal vigilance required to protect the Cherokee border from
the invasion of the enemy and the skirmishes that took place
almost continually were really worse than open battles. Most
of the Oklahor a text-books, on which the public school chi!-
dren depend for their knowledge of Oklahoma. History, give
little or no insight into the lives and characters of the leading
men of the Five Civilized Tribes, who were the real makers of
Oklahoma History.
And less has been said and written, even upon generali-
ties, touching the Indian's part in the cause of the Confederacy
than upon any other phase of the War between the States.
These text-books make no mention of the Indians' part in the
battle of Pea Ridge, Newtonia, Wilson Creek and other engage-
ments in Arkansaw and Missouri in which they did such val-
orous service. Little has indeed been written, and that which

29
has sometimes been quoted as “hearsay” concerning the Con-
federate warfare in the Cherokee Nation, originated from those
who knew least about conditions in this country at that time,
for some have even dared to insinuate, that among the Chero-
kees, it was “Chiefly a Guerilla Warfare.” Nothing could be
more unjust or further from the truth. General Watie, before
his promotion, was ever under the direction of his superior
officers and was always in perfect harmony with them. Maxey,
Gano and Cooper were especially warm friends of his. Douglas
Cooper had the utmost confidence in him. He said of Watie
after the war, “He was not only a soldier, brave, efficient and
courageous, but he was a great man, whose honor and integrity
was above reproach”. The fact that the Five Civilized Tribes
were not required to engage in battle outside their own Terri-
tory, according to the Treaty with the Confederate States and
that they did take an active part in a number of battles in
Arkansaw and Missouri, is but another proof of their loyalty
and devotion to the Southern cause. At the time of the War
between the States the Indian Territory seemed so remote and
separated, and their numbers so few compared to the thousands
engaged in this great conflict, which may, in a measure, account
for the scant mention made of their service. It is not the In-
dians' nature to advertise their part in a victory and no one
seems to have thought sufficiently of them, as factors, to ex-
pend the time and means to go over the ground and gather up
the interesting and valuable additions to the pages of Okla-
homa’s History that might have been gotten from living lips.
With the stoic resolution characteristic of their race they
fought and they endured the perils and hardships of war in
silence and many of their deeds of valor will forever remain in
oblivion.
BRIEF QUOTATIONS FROM WAR RECORDS.
A careful search, through the Official War Records of the
Federal and Confederate Armies, reveals nothing but praise or
commendation for Stand Watie. Letters found in these records
from superior officers in the Confederate army, before and
after his promotion speak of him only in laudatory terms. It
is always, “The brave Stand Watie”, “That true Soldier”, “Our
gallant Officer”, “That tried friend of his Country”. In an-
other instance we find, in an account of a certain battle, “Col-
onel Watie was, as he always is, conspicuous for his bravery”.
A present ethnological scholar of Oklahoma has declared that
in his research work, no Indian character has appealed to him,
with such force, as that of Stand Watie. “Thoburn and Hol-
comb's History of Oklahoma”, records the fact that in 1862
while the Federal forces were invading and occupying the
Cherokee Country, Colonel Cooper sent a message, in the name
of the President of the Confederate States to John Ross, who
was in Washington, asking that all Cherokee men, of required
age, be enlisted in the Confederate army. Ross failed to re-
spond. When the Federal forces retired northward, a National
Convention was held, when John Ross was declared to be de-
posed from office of Principal Chief and Stand Watie selected
to succeed him. The members of the Cherokee Council who
were in the Federal Military Service said to have constituted a
quorum refused to recognize the election. But from this time
on until the close of the war the Cherokees were not only di-
vided, but practically had two tribal governments, the one
headed by Ross; the other by Stand Watie. In a letter found
in The War Records dated Sept. 15, 1862, we find: “In the
meantime the serious feud ever existing between the Cherokees
has terminated in the expulsion of Ross and the unsound fac-
30
tion and in the election of our tried friend Stand Watie as
their Chief.” It will also be gathered, from this source, that,
after this division of the Cherokees, Watie was considered by
the Government as Principal Chief during and at the close of
the war and that all official business with the Southern Chero-
kees was enacted through him as their head. In a letter from
Commissioner Scott, Jan. 1, 1863, to Seddon, War Secretary,
Scott says, “Of the Cherokees less than one half followed Ross
when he deserted his country, almost the whole of the worth
and talent of the Nation, however, was left behind and is now
clustered about Stand Watie, its present gallant and patriotic
Chief.” But though Watie gave the very best of his life to his
people and their interests, he made no effort himself to assert
his right or authority and no one ever heard him refer to any
desire for public office. He was ready, as his life shows, to
make any personal sacrifice compatible with honor, for the
good of his people. And like the man, the friends and ad-
mirers of Watie have had little to say about these historic
truths as to his leadership as Chief of the Southern Cherokees.
He does not need this honor; he has glory enough without it.

31
CHAPTER III. -
POST MILITARY CAREER AND CLOSING YEARS.
THE CHEROKEE NATION IN RECONSTRUCTION DAYS.
zººl FTER the close of the War between the States no-
where in the stricken South did any section of the
country suffer more, during the baneful period
of “Reconstruction”, than the Cherokee Nation,
which had been partially occupied by both armies.
4. During the years just preceeding the outbreak of
the war, the Cherokees had been enjoying a brief period of
progress and development under more peaceful conditions. In-
dependent of the missionary, for educational facilities, they
had a tribal system of public schools and male and female
seminaries. Their flocks and herds, it is said, were sufficient
to have fed both armies during the entire war, but at its close
they were in an impoverished condition. Farms had been
abandoned, flocks and herds scattered, confiscated or killed,
churches and schools had ceased to exist, all social, business
and industrial conditions were in a chaotic state. The losses
incurred by the Union Indians would be provided for by the
United States Government, but the Confederate Cherokees at
the close of the struggle found themselves a destitute people.
Many miles from home, their families in Texas, they were
strangers in a strange land. In addition to this they were par-
tially cut off from their former heritage by the Government
and the Union Party among their own people. This party,
still in power, attempted to disfranchise them. Their former
homes were confiscated and sold. Harrassed and bewildered at
the circumstances and conditions that greeted them, some of
them, in desperation, emigrated to Mexico. But the majority
of the Cherokees were ever a resourceful people under trying
ordeals, and upon having learned that the United States Gov-
ernment was going to send a Commissioner to Ft. Smith, Ark-
ansaw, to negotiate New Treaties with “Those Indians who had
been guilty of rebellion against the Government”, the Southern
Cherokees set about at once to select a delegation of able men
to represent them before this commission. They selected Gen-
eral Stand Watie, Colonel E. C. Boudinot, Colonel Wm. Penn
Adair, Clem N. Vann, Jack Spears, Joel B. Mayes and Blue F.
Alberty. These negotiations were begun at Ft. Smith, Arkan-
saw. Many representative Cherokees, from both parties, were
present. The Confederate Cherokee delegation made splendid
appeals for the rights of the Southern Cherokees. Cornelius
Boudinot and Colonel Adair made brilliant speeches in their
defense. Colonel Adair reminded the United States Commis-
sioners that the first violation of the Treaty of 1846, was made
by the Government itself. The Southern delegation, though
disappointed along certain lines, succeeded in obtaining, for
their people the right to return to Canadian and Coo-wee-
scoo-wee Districts, Cherokee Nation, with the privilege of ap-
pealing from the jurisdiction of the Cherokee Courts to the
Federal Courts of the United States, in the event of a contro-
versy between them and the Northern Cherokees. They also
obtained the abrogation of the Act of the National Council con-
fiscating their property. Under this agreement, that was sub-
sequently ratified at Washington, in the Treaty of 1866, the
Southern Cherokees with weary feet and anxious hearts wended
their way in the direction of their old homes. Alas! for the
sorrowful change that was to meet them. Many of those dear
and familiar surroundings were changed beyond recognition
by the destructive hand of the enemy, or under the rule of
confiscation, were owned and occupied by strangers. The first
departure from their old homes, the men to the army and the


32
women and children journeying, as refugees, into Texas, was a
sad spectacle, but their return to Canadian and Coo-wee-scoo-
wee Districts, in some respects, beggars description. Every
conceivable device for transportation known to the ingenuity
of man was brought into requisition. These were loaded with
the pitiful remnants of household goods that were left to them,
the greater portion of the family making the long journey on
foot. A veteran states that he and his comrade walked all
the way from Ozark, Arkansaw, to Baptist Mission in Going
Snake District, Cherokee Nation. Upon the return of the Con-
federate Cherokees they discovered that there was a division
of sentiment toward them, among the Northern Cherokees.
One faction, composed of the liberal element, with Lewis Down-
ingº as leader, favored the complete restoration of all the
rights and privileges that the Southern Cherokees had enjoyed
prior to the war. Associated with Lewis Downing, in this view,
was the Rev. John B. Jones, son of Missionary Evans Jones, an
adopted citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a celebrated inter-
preter of the Cherokee language. It was claimed that Wm. P.
Ross,” as leader of the Ross Party, or other faction, bitterly
opposed this policy. As to the absolute truth or falsity of this
accusation we cannot say. At all events Lewis Downing with-
drew and formed a political party of his own and the ultimate
result of this issue and disagreement was the organization of
two separate political parties, the “Downing or Peoples Party.”
and the “Ross or National Party”. These two parties, later
known as the “Downing” and “National’’ Parties continued to
exist and in turn to control the political affairs of the Cherokee
Nation up to the date of Statehood. The final result of all
those negotiations and controversies terminated, at Washing-
ton, D. C., in the Treaty of 1866 between the United States
Government and the Southern Indians, known among the Cher-
Okees as the “Dark Treaty” because it gave the Negroes of
slave-owning Cherokees the right to suffrage and to Cherokee
soil, before the Southern Cherokee could be reinstated into his
own heritage. The terms of this famous treaty are known to
all who are familiar with the history of Indian Territory. Many
of its conditions were objectionable to the Southern Indians,
but the most objectionable clause was the unjust one that de-
manded of the Southern Indian an equal division of their lands
with their former slaves and their posterity. This was most
bitterly fought by the Southern Cherokee delegates, Watie,
Adair, Boudinot, Vann, and J. A. Scales who were present in
Washington. Strong and memorable speeches were made by
these men. They reminded the United Commissioners that the
citizens of no other Southern State were forced to divide their
inheritance with their former slaves. Boudinot, like his kins-
man Major and John Ridge, possessed remarkable gifts as an
orator and made one of the most notable speeches of his life,
at this time, but there seemed, as in the case of their former
removal irom Georgia, a fixed purpose on the part of the
Government from which there was no alternative. The
Choctaws and Chickasaws succeeded in obtaining somewhat
better terms, “Forty acres to heads of families of former
*Lewis Downing was said to have been a full-blood Cherokee.
a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army, a Baptist preacher and a
man of ability and extraordinary determination. The town of
Vinita was originally called “Downingville” in his honor.
*Wm. P. Ross, a nephew of John Ross, possessed some degree
of Cherokee blood. He was born in Tennessee in 1820. He was a
man of culture and education having been a graduate of Prince-
ton. After the death of John Ross in 1866 he was elected, by the
National Council, before the return of the Southern Cherokees, to
fill this position and served as Principal Chief until November,
1867. He again served as Principal Chief for the unexpired term
after the death of Lewis Downing. He died at Ft. Gibson in 1891.

33
slaves”, but the “former slaves and their posterity”, of the
Cherokees, Seminoles and Creeks were given an equal division.
The evil consequences of this treaty are seen in Oklahoma to-
day. The Southern Cherokees after their restoration to citi-
zenship, at so great a sacrifice on their part, joined the Down-
ing Party. And in the first general election after the war, No-
vember, 1867, Lewis Downing and Wm. P. Ross were the op-
posing candidates for Principal Chief. Downing was elected
and succeeded himself at the next election for another term.
Lewis Downing died before the expiration of his second term
of office and by a joint ballot of the National Council, Wm. P.
Ross was chosen to fill Downing’s unexpired term. With this
exception and the fact that the Honorable D. W. Bushyhead
was elected for two terms as Principal Chief, by the Ross or
National Party, the Downing Party elected all the Chiefs from
1867 to the dissolution of the Tribal Government. A few
years after the war the Southern Cherokees had abrogated
themselves, by majority vote, from the clause in the Treaty
of 1866, giving them the right of appeal from the jurisdiction
of the Cherokee Courts and as time passed away they endeav-
ored to forget the strife and bitterness engendered by the dark
conspiracies in their own history and the effects of the war,
and were a prospero s and united people at the beginning of
Statehood. Those who understand the full significance of that
inborn sentiment, called “Patriotism” can appreciate the emo-
tion that dimmed the eyes of the aged and many a youthful
Cherokee and cthor Indiºn, when the peal of a bell marked the
advent of Statehood and the dissolution, forever, of the Old
Tribal Government. For, however progressive the idea or pur-
pose, there is something tragically pathetic in the passing of a
People as an Independent Nation.
THE LATTER YEARS OF GENERAL WATIE'S LIFE.
After the close of the war General Watie broken in for-
tune and in health began to follow the quiet pursuit of his early
manhood and to separate himself, as far as possible, from pub-
lic life, which fate had thrust upon his home-loving nature,
but for which he had never held any ulterior ambitions. He
settled in Webbers Falls, where for a time he engaged in the
mercantile business. Later he moved to his farm, on Grand
River, near the present site of the little town of Bernice. He
died very suddenly September 9th, 1871, while on a visit to
his old home on Honey Creek, where before the war he had
spent so many years. He lies buried not far from this home in
an unmarked grave in the old Ridge Cemetery, Delaware
Corntv. Oklahoma. This old family cemetery is not far from
Southwest City, Missouri, and very near the spot where once
stood the home of John Ridge, in which he was so foully mur-
dered. Wo tie rests beside his kinsmen near the scenes of his
early activities.
General Watie was married September 18th, 1843, to
Sarah C. Bell, a sister of Colonel Jim Bell and Jack Bell. In
those days all inter-marriage laws were very rigid among the
Cherokees and tho-gh the Wa tie family and the Bells were
ever the closest friends David Watie had objected to this mar-
riage solely on the ground that they both belonged to the same
Clan. But this small obstacle Watie overcame as he overcame
greater ones in after life.
34
Grave of Gen. Stand Watie, near Southwest City
Missouri, in Delaware county, Oklahoma, As it
appears today.

35
Stand Watie was the father of three sons and two daugh-
ters. His sons were Saladin, Solon or Wau-ti-ka as he
was familiarly called, because of his auburn hair, and Cum-
is’-ka, who died during the war, at the age of twelve, while
Mrs. Watie, with her younger children, were refugees in Texas.
The elder of these five children, Saladin, was said to have been
one of the handsomest and most promising young men among
the Cherokees at that time. He entered the service of the
Confederate army when a mere boy, less than fifteen years of
age and served under his father, during its entire period, and
was ever his close and confidential companion. When General
Watie went to Washington after the war, as delegate for the
Southern Cherokees, he took with him his son Saladin, who
Saladin Watie
made many friends among the men who were familiar With his
father's military career. He died in 1868 after an illness of
only a few hours, at his home in the Cherokee Nation at the
early age of twenty-one. Just one year later Stand Watie's
second son Wau-ti-kaº died after a very brief illness, while at-
tending school at Cane Hill, Arkansaw. The sudden loss of
these sons, so bright and full of promise, forms the saddest
page in the life of this great man, whose future was Con-Cell-
tered in them, and whose courageous spirit had borne with
such fortitude the trials of so many stormy years. His once
magnificent constitution had been weakened by the misfor-
tunes, privations and exposures of the War. And these Sorrows,
that followed so rapidly after, seemed to hasten the end that
came to this brave heart only two years later. His two young

36
daughters, Minnee and Jacqueline, survived him but four
years; the older daughter dying at the age of twenty-three
February 27th, 1875. The younger daughter, a beautiful girl
of eighteen, was a student at the Female Seminary at Tahle-
quah, at the time she was suddenly taken ill. She passed away
a fortnight after her sister, March 17th, 1875. Her uncle,
Colonel Jim Bell, said that she was passionately devoted to her
father and constantly affirmed that she did not care to live
after he had been taken from them. Minnee Watie was married
to a Mr. John Daniels and was the mother of one child, who
died in infancy. There is something particularly pathetic in
the passing of these children of General Watie, and it is a
matter of regret that no descendant of his, is left to bear his
honored name. Mrs. Watie, widowed and childless died in
1883. She was a woman of unusual strength of character,
wonderful energy and keen intellect. She passed through the
deep waters of sorrow and misfortune from which she ever
tried to learn the lesson of reconciliation and to find consola-
Mrs. Watie
tion in the hope of an eternal reunion. She is buried beside
her daughters on the old V, a tie farm near Bernice, a town on
the M. O. & G. Railroad, in Delaware County, Oklahoma. Sep-
arate stones mark the graves of the two young sisters and a
double monument is over the grave of Mrs. Watie with an in-
scription on one side to General Watie. She had requested
that this be done with the thought that some time his remains
might be removed to this spot. This stone has caused much
confusion as to the real grave of Stand Watie, whose remains
have never been removed. It was not thought a wise thing to
do, as this old homestead might pass into alien hands. Here,
on this old farm, lives the brother of Mrs. Watie, Colonel Jim
Bell, who fought so bravely under Stand Watie throughout the
war. He is one of the most interesting, of the living historical
characters, of the Cherokees, an edº cated and cultured gentle-
man of the “OId School”, possessing a most remarkable mem-
ory at the age of eighty-seven. Members of Colonel Bell's fam-
ily are discussing the advisability of some permanent protec-

37
tion for the graves of Mrs. Watie and her daughters, while yet
the farm is in their possession. It is earnestly hoped that this
may be done.
Some of the finest tributes that have been paid to General
Watie's integrity and remarkable bravery have come from men
who fought against him, for he was respected by his foes and
honored and beloved by his friends. Ever mindful in his con-
sideration of the welfare of his soldiers, never seeking ease
nor safety for himself, they gave him in return their most
loyal devotion, from the highest in rank to “Dutch Billy”, his
“Bugler” and “John” the Sweedish cook of the camp. The
“full-blood” soldiers firmly believed that Stand Watie pos-
sessed a charmed life and that no bullet was ever moulded that
could kill him. They had full foundation for this belief from
his many personal acts of courage and they never heard of
liſin ordering a charge that he did not lead. They also be-
lieved that he possessed the necromatic power of foretelling
the events of a battle, and it is handed down as tradition among
them that he never failed in a prophecy of this kind. Certain
it is he never received the slightest wound nor even lost a
horse in battle. His name stands for the very definition of
“Bravery” among his people today. He possessed in an un-
usual degree those elements of human character that demand
the respect of the aged and the admiration of the young, but
was withal a plain, modest, unassuming man, shunning rather
than seeking notoriety.
Naturally reserved in his confidences, General Watie's re-
ligious convictions were seldom referred to, but from his per-
sonal letters, which are still preserved and from his home life,
(which is universally conceded, by those who knew him, to
have been ideal, ) is reflected the unmistakable characteristics
of a spiritual nature. Though a member of no church he was
known to favor the Moravian faith by which his early youth
was influenced. He often interpreted for the ministers of the
old Moravian Mission, founded by Rev. Mr. Mack, between
Maysville, Arkansaw, and Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation. Gen-
eral Watie was a Mason of high degree and standing and was
buried with Masonic ceremonies. No flowery eulogy that might
be written of this man would seem appropriate, for in char-
acter he was quiet and unassuming, though he shouldered and
dignified any duty that appealed to his responsibility. He was
a man of powerful personality and magnetism, with a courage
and bravery that was as stalwart and changeless as the granite
rocks of his native hills. The symbol of his greatness and the
keynote of his life, was his utter simplicity and sinceritv. He
did not thirst for pomp nor glory, but gave his great heart and
life to duty as he saw it. Better than all the eulogies that can
be written or the deserved monº- ments of marble or stone that
may perpetuate his memory, he lives in the hearts of his People.
And the “Clºlahoma Division of the Daughters of the Confed-
eracy” can do no more worthy memorial service than to erect
a lasting monument to the honor of this great and good son
º her own soil, this brave hero of a dear and unforgotten
ause!

38 -


39
ADDENDA. º
GENERAL STAND WATIE'S ADDRESS* TO THE GRAND
COUNCIL OF DELEGATES FROM INDIAN TERRITORY,
WHICH MET AT ARMSTRONG ACADEMY, CHOCTAW
NATION, NOV. 1st, 1862.
Friends:
In my address to you last year, on the occasion of your
last meeting, I alluded to our gradual loss of territory; to the
unrealized expectations of the Indian troops, to the sudden
withdrawal of the white troops from our line of operations and
to the consequent feeling of mistrust, which some of our people
manifested, in regard to the intentions of the Confederate
States toward their Indian Allies. Then while avowing my un-
shaken confidence in the good faith of the Government at Rich-
mond, I called upon the Indian Soldiery to put forth all their
energies in united and continued action for the preservation
of their honor and their homes, and, if need be, to fight single-
handed to the last, against the opposing odds. Then I spoke
to you with feeling of disappointment and sorrow, because
the fortunes of war were turned against us, not only here, but
seemingly throughout the Confederate States.
Today, I speak to you with the highest feeling of pride
and hope. Beyond the Mississippi, during the present year,
the Confederate Arms have triumphed in many a signal battle.
On this side the Mississippi their successes have been as great.
And here, in our own District, I am proud to say, the Indian
Troops have acted well and bravely their part. It is true, that
the enemy still occupies Ft. Gibson and Ft. Smith, but it is an
occupation of these towns merely and not of the Indian Terri-
tory, nor of the Cherokee Nation, nor even of the country im-
mediately surrounding these posts. Pinched with hunger,
threatened with famine, they remain, cooped up within their
walls, while all around them our horsemen ride, holding un-
disputed possession of the country. North of them, the Con-
federate legions move. Missouri, which for three years has
been held by them, receives the veterans of the Confederate
States, sees their banners wave from her towns and cities and
sees her sons, rushing by thousands to join the Army of De-
liverance.
Such, my friends, is the condition of our country today,
as compared with what it was a year ago. Have we not reason
to be thankful to the Great Spirit, who sees all things, who
overrules all things and whose arm is stretched forth in de-
fense of a just cause?
In your Council, you will, as representatives of your re-
spective Nations, deliberate upon measures, with the view of
benefiting us all. What those measures may be, I know not,
but I am led to suppose, from the destitute condition of our
people, especially our women and children, that inquiry may
be made, in regard to the non-payment by the Confederate
States of monies due the Indian Nations, according to Treaty
stipulations. All inquiry upon this subject has been fully met
and satisfactorily answered in the late report of the Commis-
sioner of Indian Affairs. Indeed, it appears to me, that by
reason of the great and continued depreciation of the “Old
Currency,” the Confederate Government could not make pay-
ment, until the new Currency, known as the “New Issue,”
could be had. And I hold it as wise policy on the part of that
Government, to call in, as far as possible, all the old currency,
before the notes of the new be put in circulation. The failure
of the Confederate Government to pay promptly the monies due
us, as annuities, under Treaty Obligations, will also explain its
*The original copy of this address written by General Watie's
own hand is in the possession of the author.

40
seeming tardiness in the payment of the Troops. We might cer-
tainly, in a time of peace and tranquility, ascribe to that Gov-
ernment a want of good faith towards, us in not meeting Treaty
Stipulations, such as those of which I now speak, but in time of
war, such as the present, the case is palpably far different. In
a war like this, the rules, which ordinarily guide and govern
in times of peace, are set aside by the Force of circumstances
or rather they are swallowed up by the war itself. Particularly
is this the case at the present time. For my part, when I sur-
vey this fearful strife, when I see the Confederacy weak in
members, compared with the North, struggling for freedom and
its own existence; when I see every man capable of bearing
arms called into the service; when I see her coasts blockaded
and her cummunications with the world, in manner cut off, I
cannot ask why it is that she does not do more, but ask, how
it is, that she does so much. I believe, I may safely say, that
in no time, has any Government struggling for freedom exhib-
ited more astonishing powers in proportion to its resources.
Let us consider then, the condition of that Government and,
instead of complaining of what might be considered neglect to
meet Treaty stipulations, bear in mind, that she too has wants;
that her Soldiers, like ours, are poorly fed and poorly clothed,
that if our currency is all but worthless, theirs is the same;
that, if many of us brave the chilly winter without tents, they
fare no better; that if our women and children have been
driven from their homes, to seek hospitality elsewhere, theirs
also share the same fate. I would not be understood as be-
lieving, that our people needlessly complain; they are of that
stoical race, for which physical suffering has no terrors, but are
jealous of their rights and quick to demand them when with-
held; and I am sure, that if you ask anything from the Confed-
erate States, you will ask only for that, which is justly due,
and which they are able to pay.
Our late success in this Department seems a prelude to
still greater ones and to our complete and undisputed occupa-
tion of the Indian Territory. Our troops and their brothers in
arms from Texas, had, with one well directed blow, struck the
enemy so heavily and inflicted such serious injury upon them,
that they, perforce, must have been driven entirely from the
Territory, had circcmstances allowed us to follow up the great
advantage gained. But just at a time, when the routed enemy
panic-stricken sought shelter behind their fortifications at Ft.
Gibson and Ft. Smith, their trains taken and their supplies cut
off, the White Troops, who had so nobly shared with us the
trials of the expedition, were suddenly called to some other
field of operation. Their force exceeded ours; they had cannon,
were well armed and their gallant conduct had won the ad-
miration of us all. Thus was lost, for the present, the oppºr-
tunity of regaining complete possession of our country. It will
be borne in mind that last year, the White Troops were with-
drawn from our support, at a time when they were most needed
and when much was expected from combined action. It is my
opinion that a representation of these facts to the proper
authorities may cause the sending here of a force, to remain
in the Indian Territory and to act as part of the “Indian Divis-
ion,” not subject to be, at any time, removed from the Terri-
tory. Could this addition to our force be made, we might count
on speedily driving the enemy from the Territory; if not by tak-
ing the posts, at least by taking their trains, cutting off supplies
and thus weaken them so that they would be compelled to
abandon their posts and leave the Territory. Engaged as we

41
are, in a cause common to the Confederacy, and to us, we ought
not, surely, to refuse giving our aid in any quarter outside the
Territory, not too remote. You will remember the efficient
aid given last spring by the Choctaws in the State of Arkan-
sas. There, victorious, side by side with the white troops,
they received the honor due a brave and efficient Soldiery.
For a second time during the war, their courage was
conspicuous in winning a Battle outside the Territory. The
Battle of Newtonia, when they drove before them the enemy's
Infantry, will always be remembered with pride, not by the
Choctaws alone, but by all their Brother Nations. I would
therefore, in this connection, suggest, that we express our
willingness to move, whenever and wherever the common
cause requires, to any quarter outside the Territory, so that
we may give our aid in Battle to those, who, on more than
one occasion have, fought side by side with us, upon the
soil of the Indians. It is true, that according to treaty, we
may not leave the Indian Territory against our will, to meet
the enemy. But I feel sure, that the Indian Troops under-
stand too well their duty to their country, to refuse to leave
the Territory, whenever occasion may demand it. And it
should be borne in mind, that when the Confederate Govern-
ment promised to protect us, it was supposed to be under-
stood by all, that it would protect us as far as it was able.
And it was also supposed, that the word “protection” did
not imply, that while their forces were sent to fight in this
department, we were not to fight as strenuously as they or
that we would slacken our energics in dependence upon them.
I am proud to say, that the Indian Troops have never refused
to march whenever and wherever ordered; and I feel confident
that, should a call come for them to march, to meet the enemy,
outside the Territory, at any time the condition of affairs
requires it, they will cheerfully do so.
Permit me to urge upon you the necessity of bringing
into the Service, every person in the Territory, considered
capable of bearing arms. Our cause and justice to those now
in arms demand it; demand that we prosecute the war, with
that unity of action without which the noblest undertakings
fail; and I hold that our unity of action is not complete, so
long as some, who should be in the Army, remain out of it.
Let us not forget the magnitude of the contest, nor the im-
portant results at stake. If we lose, exile and sorrow, or
slavery and shame will be ours. If we win, we will dwell as
Free men upon our own soil by the graves of our departed peo-
ple, but we cannot lose, if we do our whole duty. And how
simple appears that duty. Let each man feel, that he is
worth something to freedom in this war, that he is a “gain"
when he esponses her cause with arms and that he is a “loss,”
when from selfishness and apathy he shuns the ranks of those
who fight for him. Obedience is the whole duty—obedience
to the earnest demands of our country. It is imperative alike
upon the highest officer and the poorest private, in the as-
sembly of Council, in the rank of Soldiers and in all Depart-
ments of the service. I have hitherto spoken to you of the great
results which arise from united and determined action. You
may, as I do, in mind, witness such results east of the Father
of Waters, in the splendid victories of the Confederate Arms.
And think you that they expect less from us, according to our
means, than we expect from them, according to theirs?
I believe that in the Indian Territory there is a sufficient
number of effective men, to form a force, which, if well
armed and equipped, would be equal to the task of success-

42
fully defending the Territoroy against a force of the enemy
no greater than that, which has occupied it during the present
year. Let the increase of our military force, its strength
and efficiency, be our first object, and to you, my Friends,
the subject now presents itself.
I cannot conclude, without again expressing my gratifi-
cation at the noble conduct of the Troops of this District. Let
them still show themselves worthy the distinction they have
won. Let them remember that discipline is obedience and that
obedience is the first duty of a Soldier, and that those, who
die in a cause like ours never die in vain.
*From Ft. Smith Herald, Sept. 30, 1871.
DEATH OF GEN. STAND WATIE.
A Brief History—His Early Life—His Connections—The
Boudinot and Ridge Families—Events of His Latter Days.
Dear Sparks:–The St. Louis Republic of the 18th brings
us the sad intelligence of the death of Gen Stand Watie, a
noble man in every sense of the word, possessing all those
qualities that command the respect of the aged, and the rev-
erence of the young. Knowing, sir, the high regard and re-
spect you entertained for him, I, therefore, take the liberty of
sending, for publication in the Herald, a brief history of our
departed friend, and I hope it may prove interesting to you
and to your readers. There, is, perhaps, no man, now living,
who is as well acquainted with Gen. Watie, as myself, having
been an intimate friend of his for over forty-three years. He
was born, about the year 1806, at Oo-yoo-ge-lo-gi, in the old
Cherokee Nation, now Georgia. His father was a full-blood
Indian, and his mother a half-blood, her father being a white
man named Reese—of the family of Reeses, of South Carolina
and Georgia. Neither of his parents could speak English. At
the time Watie was born there was but little known among
the Cherokees in regard to civilization or Christianity, as the
only missionary station then in existence, among the Chero-
kees, was at Spring place, which was established by the Mora-
vians of Salem, North Carolina. It was established in 1800,
by Rev. John Gambol, and his wife. Mr. Gambol preached
and his wife, who was an extraordinary woman, taught school.
It was at this station, that the first Cherokees were baptized as
believers in the Christian religion. It is probable that Watie's
mother was among the first converts, as she was a member of
that church when I first saw her. Her baptizmal name was
Susanna. At this school were gathered quite a number of
Indian boys, who were taught by these good people, among
them, John Ridge, Buck Watie—afterwards Elias Boudinot.—
and others, of which reference will be made hereafter. A few
years later another station was established by Father Gam-
bol, at Oo-yoo-gi-lo-gi, near the residence of the Waties and
Ridges. It was here that Stand Watie was baptized by the
name of “Isaac.” Ta-ker-taw-ker, or as interpreted, Stand, was
his Indian name, and as he had been called by that name for
years before his baptism, he retained the name of Stand Watie.
Gah-li-gi-nah, or Buck Watie, was the eldest son, perhaps
two years the senior of Stand. He was taken, with a number
of other Cherokee boys from the school of Father Gambol, by
*Through the courtesv of Joseph B. Thorburn, Ethnological
Instructor in charge of “Research and Collection, in Local and
Western History”, University of Oklahoma, Norman.

48
Elias Cornelius, an agent of the American Board of Foreign
Mission, Boston, about the year 1822 or 23, to Cornwall, Conn.,
to be educated. On their journey, before the age of railroads,
the party passed through Princeton, N. J., and here the boys
were introduced to the celebrated Dr. Elias Boudinot, of that
State. He was so much pleased with young Watie, that he
adopted him, and gave him his name—Elias Boudinot. Bou-
dinot and Watie were own brothers, and this will explain the
cause of difference of name.
As you are aware, Major, by your knowledge of Indian
names, that own brothers scarcely ever had the same name,
unless mixed with white blood, and with English names. Maj.
Ridge, Oo-wat-tie, or Watie, were own brothers, Gah-na-tah-
tle-gi, or one walking on a ridge, was the Indian name of Major
Ridge, but he was always called Ridge, and during the Creek
war, under Gen. Jackson, Ridge was made a major, and ever
after was called Major Ridge. He was the father of John
Ridge, who was the schoolmate of Elias Boudinot. Maj. Ridge,
John Ridge and Elias Boudinot were killed in 1839, on the
same day by assassins sent out by the Ross party. They were
all influential and leading men among the Cherokees.
Watie was naturally a silent man—never said much on
any subject—and in his habits was retiring, never thrusting
himself forward. His life, prior to 1835, was scarcely known
publicly, though he held the office of clerk of the National Su-
preme Court in 1829, yet he made no public character, until
after the assassination of the persons above named in 1839.
From that date his personal courage was of such a nature, as
to gain for him among the civilized world as well as among
the Indians, universal respect.
In 1839, immediately after the murder of the Ridges and
Boudinot, the Ross party overthrew the government of the
“Old Settlers,” John Rogers being then the Chief. By the
violence of the assassinations and the overrunning of the Na-
tion by companies of armed Indians, the old Chief Rogers,
with many of his party, and also a number of the treaty party,
were driven into the State of Arkansaw, and sought protection
under its laws. Watie and Bell headed the treaty party, and
had for several months to remain near the State line, or in
the State. During these tumultuous times, John Ross was
allowed a body guard, which watched his house day and night,
for fear of Stand Watie. The guard also attended him wher-
ever he went. The Ross party by their numbers and violence,
in 1839, completely overturned the government of the “Old
Settlers,” which had been in existence for 30 or 40 years, west
of the Mississippi river. This was a complete usurpation, by
power, of all the rights and privileges of the old-settler gov-
e; nument. It was during these days of usurpation, that Watie's
character shone so conspicuously. He never wavered for one
rºoment in his opposition to Ross and his party, and was al-
ways ready to lay down his life in maintaining his integrity.
From this time Watie became the acknowledged leader of the
treaty party. True, he was surrounded with stºch men, as
counteriors and advisers, as Jack Bell, Jos. Lynch, Washington
Adair and others of like chahracter. Appeals were made by
both the old settlers and treaty party to the U. S. Govern-
ment for protection, which was promised, and John Ross was
notified that he mast keep his party in certain bounds. Mat-
ters for awhile quieted down, and appeared to reign until 1845,
when at a general election, in which John Ross and Little Joe

44
Vann were opposing candidates for Principal Chief there was a
fight on or near Grand River, where one or two were killed.
This brought out swarms of Ross “Light Horse,” or “Knights
of Death,” as they were termed, and old man West, a white
man, was arrested, and after a few weeks, he was tried and
hung by the Ross party, in spite of the remonstrance of the
U. S. authorities. West belonged to the treaty party, and had
no hand in the murders, but was accused of conspiracy. This
action, on the party of the Ross party, opened the old sore
afresh, and great fear and consternation spread among the
anti-Ross men throughout the Nation, as the hanging of old
man West could be looked upon in no other light than that of
a cold-blooded murder. Old man West married a Starr, a
sister of James Starr, who was a prominent treaty man. It
was during this commotion, that Tom Starr, and a number of
his brothers and cousins, were forced to seek safety in the
State and during the fall depredations were committed
throughout the Nation, all of which were attributed to Tom
Starr. In the fall, the Ross Council met, and as it was alleged,
that Jas. Starr was or must be, cognizant of the alleged acts of
his sons, a party of armed men left the Council one night, and
went to Flint District, to the house of Jas. Starr, and in the
morning, as he came into the vard, he was shot down, to-
gether with one or two of his children. They killed a young
Rider, and others that morning. This filled the whole Chero-
kee country with fear and consternation, and men, some with
their families, and others alone, fled into the State for refuge,
as the general belief was that an indiscriminate slaughter of
the treaty party was to take place. Stand Watie was then liv-
ing on Honey Creek, in the Nation, near the southwest corner
of Missouri, and finding such a state of excitement and fear
existing among his followers, in November or December he
gathered a large party of men, took possession of Fort Wayne,
near Maysville, which had been abandoned by the U. S. troops.
Here was his first expereince as a soldier. He organized a
small army, and prepared to defend himself. The Ross party
was in council, and some feared an attack from Watie, and
armed “Light Horse” scoured all the districts in the lower
part of the Nation. Mr. Polk was then President of the United
States, and the “Old Settler” Chief John Rogers, with “Dutch,”
the celebrated warrior, and a few others, were in Washington,
importuning the government for redress. Things in the Na-
tion continº ed in a very excited condition, until about Christ-
mas, and the leaders of the treaty party became convinced
that it was impossible for the three parties to live longer in
peace together in the same country, and upon consultation,
the treaty party counselled the party to meet at Fort Wayne
some time in January, 1846. The concil was held and a
delegtaion was appointed, consisting of Stand Watie, Jack
Bell, Washington Adair, Ezekiel Starr, Jos. Lynch and Brice
Martin, with Judge Paschal, * as their attorney, with instruc-
tions to get the government to divide the country, and run a
line between the two parties, giving to each one land in pro-
portion to the number of each party. About February the
delegation started for Washington and arrived there in March.
The “Old Settler” delegation was already in Washington. Soon
after the arrival of the treaty party delegates, a formal visit
was made to the President, Secretary of War, and the Indian
Commissioner. President Polk expressed sympathy with the
sufferings of the treaty party, said that he world, by a special
message to Congress, recommend a division of the Cherokee
country. The Old Settlers agreed with the treaty party to
*Judge Paschal had married a sister of Major Ridge.
45
make common cause against John Ross and his adherents.
The Ross delegation arrived in a short time, and thus, were
three delegations from the Cherokee Nation present in Wash-
ington, each representing separate interests. The President,
according to promise, sent a special message on Cherokee af-
fairs, and recommended that, as disturbances were constantly
occurring there, that the country be divided, Col. Sevier, chair-
man of the committee on Indian affairs in the Senate, favored
the plan and the House committee made a report, and of-
fered a bill to carry out the President’s views. This alarmed
the Ross party, and they forth with dispatched a messenger for
Capt. Armstrong, Superintendent west, so as to prevent a divi-
sion of the country. In the meantime the Mexican war broke
out, which engaged the mind of the President and Congress to
such a degree that little attention was paid for a time to
Indian affairs. Capt. Armstrong, also arrived, who utterly
repudiated the idea of a division of the Cherokee country. The
bill for the division of the country, being submitted to the old
settler delegation, did not meet their wishes, and the treaty
party seemed to stand alone. Jack Bell, a man of a great
deal of sagacity and a bright intellect, called the delegates of
the treaty party together, a consultation was had, and after
some overtures and conferences, a basis for a reconciliation
was agreed upon by John Ross and his delegation, and a time
of meeting agreed upon, when both delegations should meet
and discuss the provision of a treaty. The preliminaries were
all arranged, and the meeting took place, and here for the
first time in over seven years did Stand Watie and John Ross
meet and shake hands. The President appointed Capt. Wm.
Armstrong, and Edward Burke commissioners, and after sev-
eral days of discussion, by the lawyers of the three parties,
the treaty of 1846 was signed—grantnig universal amnesty
to all, and providing for universal peace among the Chero-
kees. Watie was the prominent man in bringing about a re-
conciliation for the benefit of his people, which they had not
enjoyed for nearly eight years. It was a great sacrifice on
Watie's part, after suffering so much for years at the hands of
the Ross party, for him to agree to bury the tomahawk. He
conversed freely with me every day upon the step he had
taken, as being a sacrifice of his own feelings for the peace
and tranquiſity of his people. Provision was made in the
treaty for the payment of a large sum of money, to be dis-
tributed per capita to each member of the three parties. After
the ratification of the treaty, the delegates returned home, and
peace once more reigned in the Cherokee Nation.
Watie retired to his farm on Honey Creek, where in the
course of a few years he accumulata a large amount of prop-
erty. He was elected to the General Council for two or three
terms, and was universally loved and esteemed by his neigh-
bors.
Peace and prosperity were enjoyed by the people of the
Cherokee Nation for a number of years, and all seemed to pros-
per. About the year 1858 or '59, a secret organization was dis-
covered in the Cherokee Nation, principally among the full-
bloods, known as the “Pin Indians,” which created some appre-
hension among the half-bloods. The war between the States
broke out in 1861, which spread even among the Indians to a
considerable extent. In the summer of 1861, Watie raised a
regiment of Cherokees for the Confederate service, and E. C.
Boudinot was the Major of it. With it Watie performed
great service, on the frontier. His soldiers loved him, and
his word was law with them. He espoused the cause of the
South, and remained so until the surrender, and through-


46
out all of its vicissitudes, he never faltered. He was in
the battle of Pea Ridge, or Elk Horn, where he rought
with great bravery. He was in many a hard fought bat-
tle during the war, in which he always distinguished him-
self for his cool and unflinching courage. In many raids he
distinguished himself. In 1863 he was appointed Brigadier
General. Watie, though an Indian, was one of the most
humane of men, and no prisoner taken by him ever was mal-
treated. During the war he suffered great hardships and pri-
vations, by exposure, and a want of sufficient provisions for his
men, and no doubt his life was in a measure, shortened by the
hardships he had to endure during the war. His brigade was
kept for most of the war in the Indian Country, and as Ross,
and the Pin Indians, had deserted the Confederates in 1862-3,
the conflicts and battles mostly were fought between the two
parties of the Cherokees, their country was laid waste, and
almost became a “howling wilderness.” I cannot follow Watie
through all of his battles during the war, because of not being
near during that eventful period. Indeed, it is not necessary,
as his acts stand out in bold relief and are too well known
for me to speak of them, because he gained the respect of the
officers of the Federal Army, and this of itself gives to his
name a character and standing that my feeble pen cannot
add to. Suffice it to say, that, at the end of the war, it found
Gen. Watie, a very poor man, without a habitable home and
without money. -
When the Grand Council of the Indians and the U. S.
Commissioners was held at this place in September, 1865, Gen.
Watie attended. He was received by the Commissioners with
great respect, and treated as a worthy man, while John Ross,
by his duplicity during the war, though, in the latter part of it
he sided with the Union, was condemned. There was a marked
contrast, manifested by the U. S. Commissioners, towards thºse
two men, who had been at the head of two great parties of the
Cherokee Nation—a respect for honesty, and a hatred for du-
plicity. Gen Watie was one of the delegates to Washington,
on the part of the Southern Cherokees, in 1865–6. He took
with him his beloved son, Saladin, who was about 20 years of
age, and who had been with him during the whole war, and
was one of his aids, John C. Wheeler, his nephew, being the
senior aid. In the treaty of 1866, Watie secured great priv-
ileges to the Southern Cherokees. His family during his ab-
sence remained on Red River in the Choctaw country, and on
his return, he moved into the Cherokee country. Saladin, his
son, settled near the mouth of the Canadian, and seemed to
prosper in all of his business, being a very intelligent and
energetic yo-ing man, when, in the midst of his labors in the
winter of 1867, he was suddenly taken sick and died. This
was too severe a shock for the aged nerves of the old Gen-
eral, whose hopes centered in his son. Soon after this, he was
again called upon to bury his last and only son, who died while
at school at Cane Hill, 75 miles from home. Gen Watie was a
man endowed with uncommon fortitude; but undoubtedly the
loss of these, his only sons, bore heavily on his mind, and gave
him but little desire for a continuance of life. For the last
two years he exposed himself in purchasing cattle, and in
attempting to do more than his worn out frame would endure.
He was trying to fit up his old home on Honey Creek, where,
before the war, he spent so many happy hours, in the bosom
of his own family, where by the radiance of his ever smiling
countenance, like the sun, it made all around happy and cheer-
ful. He was never known to speak an unkind word to his wife
or his children. He was never morose under any circum-

47
stances, and was kind to a fault. His house was the home of
every Cherokee, and hospitality was a characteristicº-of his
nature. He was very reticent to those who did not know him,
but to those with whom he was acquainted, was free and
cheerful in conversation—but always spoke to the point—
with a clear head and sound judgment. His ideas were gen-
erally correct on all subjects, as he was a man that had read
a great deal, being well acquainted with history. There never
lived a better man than Stand Watie. He has gone to his rest,
for we learn that he died on the 2nd of this month, on Honey
Creek, in the Cherokee Nation. “He rests from his labors,
and his works do follow him.” -
1 am,
JOHN F. WHEELER.
NOTE.-Maj. Ridge and his son, John Ridge, were nat-
ural orators. Elias Boudinot was an able writer, and edited
the Cherokee Phoenix for a number of years. Boudinot mar-
ried Miss Harriet Gould, of Norwich, Conn., and John Ridge
married Miss Sarah Northup, of Massachusetts.
This transcript from the Herald, was written by Judge
John F. Wheeler. Judge Wheeler was one of the first men to
ever set Cherokee type, going to New Echota, Ga., when a young
man. He worked in the office of the Cherokee Phoenix when
Elias Boudinot was editor. He married Nancy Watie, a sister
of Gen. Watie, and removed West in 1836, after having suf-
fered many persecutions at the hands of the Georgia authori-
ties. Judge Wheeler was for many years a prominent citizen
of Ft. Smith, Arkansaw. -
TRIBUTES SENT BY VETERANS.
Mrs. Mabel W. Anderson,
Pryor, Okla.
Dear Friend:—Brother B. F. Rogers has shown me a let-
ter from you in which you ask me for a brief testimonial to
the excellent life and character of your distinguished kinsman,
General Stand Watie. -
The enclosed is a very brief and a very poor tribute to
that great and good man, but I am old and feeble, nearly
eighty years old, and my brain and pen have lost their cun-
ning. Please, if you regard this as unworthy to be printed in
your book, do not hesitate to consign it to the waste basket.
American History has done the Indian race, in America,
scant justice by inscribing upon its pages tributes of testimony
to so very few of the many Indian men and women who have
been distinguished for greatness of life and character.
There are scores and hundreds of others whose lives of
excellence and of usefulness to the White race, have deserved
to be recorded on the pages of American History, but preju-
dice and neglect have consigned them to oblivion.
I am very glad that Mrs. Mabel Anderson, a Cherokee
woman, has determined to rescue one of her nation's great
men, from the shades of forgetfulness. I have been a mission-
ary among the Indians of these Five Civilized Tribes, for over
fifty-seven years, and, hence, was in the old Indian Territory
all the years of the Civil war. I was well acquainted with
General Stand Watie, as a civilian and as a soldier, and it af-
fords me great pleasure to testify to his merits and excellence
of life and character in every relation of life. During the war
he was brave and fearless, a just and wise officer, a tactful
commander. He enjoyed the entire confidence of the Creeks,
Choctaws, Chickasaws and Seminoles, as well as his own Cher-
okees, all of whom were under his command. In private life

48
he was a friend to everybody. He was just and generous in
his dealings with all men. He was a kind and affectionate
husband and father, esteemed and loved by everybody. Gen-
eral Watie was indeed a great and good man.
Sincerely yours,
J. S. MURROW,
Missionary among Indians 57 years.
Under God's Direction, Founder of Murrow Indian Orphans'
Home.
Atoka, Oklahoma, Nov. 30, 1914.
Rev. Mr. Murrow was General Chaplain in the Confederate
Army, Indian Territory.
- Mrs. Mabel Anderson,
Pryor, Okla.
My Dear Mrs. Anderson: –It affords me real pleasure to
learn that you, a lineal descendant of the renowned General
Stand Watie, have arisen among us to give to our people and
future generations, a written “Life History” of the General,
who, in my humble estimation, was pre-eminently the noblest
of all the Indians, who served the Confederate cause in the
late war between the States.
In those tumultous days of strife and belligerency, his
indomitable energy and activities kept his name always con-
spicuously in the glare of the lime light of the operations of
our “Border Warfare.” Thus furnishing to the enemy the
one name most dreaded of all the Confederate forces of our
section of the country, during the war. He pursued the pol-
icy of striking the enemy whenever and wherever opportunity
offered; and his intimate knowledge of the country in which he
operated, enabled him with such consummate skill to deliver
blows with such surprising celerity in quick succession on the
enemy, at unexpected points, that the suspicion was aroused
among the superstitious Indians, operating on the side of the
enemy, that his movements were largely the result of the
occult powers of wizardry which they thought he must surely
possess. It became my duty, on at least four occasions as I
now recall, to participate with my men directly with him and
his immediate command on the field of action, and hence know
somewhat whereof I write. As to the general character of
General Watie, his patriotism, his devotion to duty, his dis-
regard of physical obstacles, to his military movements, his
ever-present courage and unperturbed calmness of demeanor
in the presence of tumult and dangers, require no eulogism
from me. These were attributes of his great character easily
conceded by all who knew the man, and it affords me pleasure
to emphasize this. Another instance of gratification to me, is,
to testify to the confident feeling of optimistic expenctancy,
which his presence, about an active firing line, always inspired
in the boys that fired the guns. “We would win out because
we had Watie with us.” Let me say here: that whatever else
the Indians, of old Indian Territory, may lose in the shock and
crash of time, be it property, land or name; let it be so pro-
vided now, in stone and story that the name of General Stand
Watie may never fade away. Let his memory and fame stand
forth proud monuments to the virtues of patriotism and devo-
tion to duty as exemplified in his life, as long as grass grows
and flowers bloom. -
As the beauitful springtime shall recur with its joyous
birds of song, and flowers of beauty and perfume, let all In-
dians, where it is possible, repair to the last resting place of

49
our dead hero, and strew thereon floral tributes, betokening
that although dead, he is still alive in the hearts of his coun-
trymen. -
Let our young people, in the generations to come, read
his life, emulate his virtues, and be proud to publish to the
world under any and all circumstances, that they too are North
American Indians of the Southland.
I have the honor to be, Sincerely,
Eufaula, Okla., Apr. 1, 1915. G. W. GRAYSON.
George W. Grayson was Captain in the Second Creek Reg-
iment. Capt. Grayson is writing an interesting history of the
Creeks.
TRIBUTE TO GENERAL STAND WATIE BY “BLACK FOX”.
One who knew him personally and followed him through
many places and under many circumstances that tried men's
souls. Marshal Ney was said to be “the bravest of the brave”
but I am here to say that he had no honor, in that line, above
Stand Watie. He was always in the thickest of the fight and
never to my knowledge did he ever receive a scratch or a
wound. It was believed by the “Pins” and superstitious full-
bloods that he bore a charmed life. That a little miniature
“monitor”, invisible to others, always went before him and led
him out of danger. A man of ordinary education but deeply
endowed with sound natural sense, and a great and discrim-
inate reader, pleasant and kind in conversation, unselfish and
liberal to a fault, never severe or over-bearing with his soldiers,
but always overlooked their short comings and seldom ever
had them punished, causing them all to love and honor him.
It was sometime in the spring of '64 that he received his
“Commission as a Brigadier General signed by Jefferson Davis”,
the only Indian who ever held such a commission. I well re-
member that day. We were encamped on Lime Stone Prairie,
Choctaw Nation, and that night both the 1st and 2nd Chero-
kee Regiments formed out with fife and drum and marched
round and round his tent whooping and cheering until our
throats were sore. No soldier, of the late war between the
North and South, is more deserving of a fit monument to per-
petuate his memory than our brave and beloved Stand Watie.
Webber Falls, Okla., Jan. 5th, 1915. R D BERT T. HANKS.
I served in General Stand Watie's command during the
Civil War. He was an exceptionally brave man and was en-
tirely devoted to the cause. He was always with his troops
sharing all the hardships with his soldiers and was not hunt-
ing for any easy places, but his main object was for the cause.
Chouteau, Okla., Dec. 3, 1914. RILEY W. LINDSEY,
Brigadier General Cherokee Brigade U. C. V.
Dear Mrs. Anderson: –I understand you are writing the
“Life of General Watie”. I have long wished some one would
give his noble record to the public. I followed “The Grand
Old Man” from the beginning of our terrible struggle to the
end. I cannot express, in so many words, the honor and ad-
miration I felt for him. I hope to live to see a grand monu-
ment to his memory. Respectfully,
Cleveland, Okla., Apr. 4, 1915. JOHN W. JORDAN.
As one of General Stand Watie's veteran soldiers I desire
to pay this brief tribute to his memory. I followed his flag
from the beginning of his military career to the end of the
same. Was in all of the battles and skirmishes with him ex-
cept Wilson Creek, Mo. He was a great soldier, a man of un-
tiring energy and endurance. Most of the time contending
against great odds in numbers. He was ever alert and quick
to perceive the weak places in the enemy's line and was ready
to take advantage of same and strike them a blow where they
least expected it. He was brave and courageous in action and

50
his men had unbounded confidence in his judgment and lead-
ership. -
TIP MAYES.
“Tip” Postoffice, Okla., May 5, 1915.
I regard General Stand Watie as a most remarkable man
both as a statesman and a soldier. He was a lawyer of great
ability, a leader in the Councils of the Cherokees, firm and un-
yielding in his convictions of right; he was a great leader of
men.
In my opinion he was the greatest Indian soldier pro-
duced by the War between the States, a man of unquestioned
bravery. He planned his raids, battles and skirmishes with
great precision and forethought and executed them without
fear or favor.
I would be glad to see the Oklahoma Division U. D. C.
honor this great and good hero with a monument worthy of
his name.
S. H. MAYES.
Pryor, Okla., May 6, 1915.
Hon. S. H. Mayes has been prominent in the politics of his
people for the most of his life, serving them as Principal Chief
and in many other public positions.
At the age of sixteen years I joined General Stand Watie's
Command and served under him until the close of the War
between the States. I was with him at Pea Ridge, Cabin Creek,
Honey Springs and other battles. He was a great man and a
brave soldier. On going into battle he always said “Come
boys”. He never said “Go boys”, but always “led” and we
were always glad and willing to follow.
D. W. VANN.
Pryor, Okla. May 9, 1915,

51
A Roster of the Surviving Officers and Soldiers
of Stand Watie's Brigade
Compiled 1908 by Judge J. M. Keys, of Pryor, Okla.
1st Cherokee Regiment.
Adair, Mont, company G. - - Stillwell, Okla. Dead
Adair, J. B. - - - - - -- - Sallisaw, --
Adair, Oscar F. “ “ - - -- --
Agnew, Walter ‘’ “ - - - Muskogee --
Alberty, Andy -- - - - - Stillwell --
Bell, J. M., Colonel - - - Vinita “ Dead
Bell, L. B., Capt. Aide de camp Gen Waite Vinita ** Dead
Baugh, J. H. - - - - Muskogee “ Dead
Burgess, J. B. - - - - Claremore “ Dead
Byers, Nick company G. - - Stillwell, “ Dead
Brown, J. L. “ C. - - - Muskogee --
Ballard, William, - - - Echo, --
Bean, John, company G. - - - Kilgore, Texas.
Beck, Dave, - - - - Chelsea, Okla. Dead
Burgess. J. W. - - - - Dallas, Texas. Dead
1st Cherokee Regiment–Second Organization
Covel, J. H. company G. - - Tahlequah, Okla, Dead
Countryman, John, company A. - Afton, -- Dead
Countryman, Geo ’’ -- -- -- -- --
Conners, Caleb, - - - Fairland -- Dead
Candy, Samuel company B. - Claremore “
Cunningham, Jeater 1st Lieut, company A. Tahlequah “ Dead
Carey, Edmond company C - Echo --
Coats, Henry company A - Gravette, Ark. Dead
Copeland, Alex - - - - Grove, Okla.
Crittenden, George company G. - Westville ‘‘ Dead
Chandler, Pink - - - - Flint. -- Dead
Chandler, Jim - - - Westville, “ Dead
Choate, G, W. - - - Marble, -- Dead
Corderay, Tom company G - - Muskogee, “ Dead
Chambers L. D. - - - McKee, -- Dead
Comeing, Wilson - - - -- -- Dead
Caywood, Tom company A. - - Mayesville, Ark. Dead
Corn Tassell, John - - Vinita, Okla.
Davis, W. H. L. company G. - - Stillwell, Okla,
Daniel, John - - Vinita, --
Daniel, Marma - - Vinita, --
Dannenberg, J. H. company G. Stillwell, “ Dead
Dannenberg, William company G. -- --
Downing, Dave - - - Texanna, ‘’ Dead
Davis, David company A. - - Hulbert, “
Eubanks, William - - Tahlequah “
Elders, George -- - Braggs -- Dead
Faulker, David company I - - Hanson “ Dead
Faulkner, John company I - Muldrow, “... Dead
Fields, Bud - - - Southwest City. Mo.
Fields, George - - - -- -- - -
Fargo, Charles company I - Muldrow, Okla.
Foreman, John A. - - Roswell, N. M.
Frye, William - - Claremore, Ökla.
Francis, Robert, ºpºny A. - Unknown
§§ company - Stillwell, Okla. Dead
Gott, William company G. - - -- Dead
Gunter, John company I. - - Muldrow, “
Hanks, Robt - - - - - Webbers Falls, Okla.

Hizer, Jacob -
Howell, William
Hastings, Yell, company A.
Hayden, Clem company A.
Grey, Tom
Jordon, J. W.
Johnson, John
Keys, Samuel
Lindsey, R. W. major 2nd Cherokee Regt
Regiment
Lewis, Gatts company G. -
Linder, John company C.
Latta, Diver
McClelland, Charles
Martin, Richard
Morgan, James
Morgan, Lone
Martin, Alex -
Morgan, Taileh
Mayes. W. H. 2nd Lieu
Mayes, S. H. Co. K. 1st Cherokee regt.
Miller, John
McPherson, John Co.
McDaniel, Tom
McGhee, Tom
McGhee, Dave
McLaughlin, Zeke -
Markham, C D
Mann, Robert Co G
McCorkle, J. B.
Overstreet, John
Pettit, Worcester
Paden, Taylor
Paden, Ben F.
Patrick, John
Preston, C. H.
Pettit, Frank
Pack, Shore
” I -
Rogers, C. V. 1st Lieut. Co. G
Rogers, Antwine
Rowe, James
Reece, Roddy
Sanders, Geo O.
Sandens, Sam
Sanders, Ike
Silk, Levi -
Suwakie, Stand
Smith, John
Tehee, Daniel
Tehee, John
Tittle, James
Tinnin James
Thomas Nick
Thompson Joe major
Trout George
Trott William
Tyner Reubin
Vann D. W.
Vann William
- First organization
Keys James M. company C. -
t co, G, 1st Cher.
Co. G 1st Cher.
Co. A. 1st Cher. regt
Afton,
Mayesville, Ark.
Choteau, Okla.
Texacanna, Ark.
Cleveland, Okla
Pawhuska, “
Pryor, --
Checotah, “
Choteau, Okla.
Westville, “
Hulbert, “
Warner, --
Blackwell, “
Greenbriar, “
Warner, --
Pawhuska, “
Eureka ->
Pryor
Afton --
Stillwell, --
Muskogee
Kinnison
Dead
Dead
dead
Southwest City, Mo
Ardmore, Okla.
Tahlequah ''
Kansas --
Webbers Falls
address unknown
Pawhuska, Okla
Stillwell --
--
--
Braggs
Fairland
Edna, Kans.
Muldrow, Okla.,
Claremore, "
Winona
Braggs
address unknown
Peggs, Okla
Wauhilleau
Wauhilleau. "
Marble --
Claremore
Coffeyville, Kans.
Owassa, Okla
Mark
Tahlequah
Vinita
Mayesville Ark.
Okl
Vinita a.
Tahlequah
Big Cabin
Vinita
Vera
Pryor. Okla.
Webbers Falls
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead
dead

53
Vann Joe -
Wheeler William
West John
Wright Caleb -
Waters George
Ware Webster
West John C
Yost James -
Yeargain James A
Leach
Sallisaw
Muskogee
Tahlequah
Vian
dead
Mayesville Ark.
54
PERSONAL SKETCHES.
Sººn RIEF mention of each soldier in General Stand
- Watie's Cherokee Regiment would gladly have
been made in this little volume had facts been
available for we find among them many a famil-
º iar Cherokee name of men in military rank, who
2sº were prominent in profession and affairs of state
and mafiy a private soldier did great service for his country
whose name and deeds of heroism will never be given to his-
tory. The following facts have been obtained, concerning
Cherokee soldiers, both living and dead, who fought under
Watie:
Thomas Fox Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Cher-
okee Regiment, was an efficient lawyer and a fluent inter-
preter of the Cherokee language. He was killed while leading
his men to battle at Bayou Manard, near old Ft. Gibson, in
1862. He was succeeded by R. C. Parks, a brave soldier who
lost his life in a private difficulty at Ft. Wichita in 1864.
Elias Cornelius Boudinot, before referred to, was Major
in General Watie's 1st Cherokee Regiment and served under
him during the entire war. He was born in the old Cherokee
Nation, in Georgia, and was the son of “Buck” Watie and
nephew of General Watie. He was among the first, after the
murder of his kinsmen, to advocate “allotment”. * For this
and other advanced ideas which caused continual threats
against his life he was absent for many years from the Chero-
kee Nation, during which time he made his home in Washing-
ton, D. C., where he was well and favorably known. He was
a man of broad education and versatile attainments. He died
in 1890.
Wm. Penn Adair was Colonel of the 2nd Cherokee Regi-
ment and was in active service during the four years of the
war. He was a handsome man of genial disposition and was a
warm personal friend of E. C. Boudinot. Both these men pos-
sessed unusually attractive personalities and made many
friends. Colonel Adair was a well known and able statesman
and represented his people frequently before Congress, doubt-
less for a longer term of years than any other delegate. -
Colonel James M. Bell, whose death occurred as this little
booklet was nearing completion, served, as we have said, side
*The Treaty, or Ridge Party, after their removal West had
ever stood for “Allotment of their lands in severalty” and º
prominent Cherokee citizen was exiled for years or traveled º
his own country under guard for fear of ambush, because º
stood for this principle. History has proven, that had this º
vanced idea of the few, been the consent of the masses the Chero-
kees would today be a richer, as well as, a wiser people.


55
by side with Stand Watie throughout the war. He was a
brother of Jack Bell, a prominent man among the early Chero-
kees. He was a soldier ever ready for duty, a man whose high
principles and Christian character won the respect of all who
knew him. Colonel Bell, though in the thick of every battle,
never received a wound. He always, jestingly, claimed that
he attributed his good fortune, in this respect, to the old Cher-
okee who gave him his own name, and claimed to have “con-
jured” him by dipping him seven times, at the age of seven
days, in the Coo-see-wa-tee stream, in the old Nation in
Georgia. Colonel Bell could tell many interesting stories of
the early days and despite his eighty-seven years his memory
was clear and he seldom made the slightest error as to data
or facts.
Joel B. Mayes, said to have been the best beloved Chief
of the Cherokees, who died in his second term of office, as
Principal Chief, served under Watie during the war. First as
a Battalion Quarter Master, then Regimental Quarter Master
and finally as Brigadier Quarter Master. He was among the
first graduates of the old Cherokee National Male Seminary
at Tahlequah.
Captain Benj. F. Carter of Company “K”, 2nd Cherokee
Regiment, a brave soldier under Watie, well known and well
beloved, was also a graduate of the Male Seminary and a class-
mate of Joel B. Mayes. He was the father of Charles F. Car-
ter, Congressman from Oklahoma.
Another graduate of the old National Male Seminary,
who served in Watie's regiment, was the brave young Cherokee,
Moses Frye. He was said to have been an ideal soldier, fear-
less and faithful, rising to the rank of major, for bravery on
the battlefield. He was an especially warm, personal friend of
General Watie.
Captain Charles Watie, Adjutant in Watie's 1st Cherokee
Regiment, was a brother of General Watie, a man of education
and of great common sense. Polish of manner and courtesy
were said to have been a part of his “religion”. He faithfully
served throughout the war and his courage and bravery, it is
said, were second only to that of General Watie himself. At
one time he was assistant editor of the Grass Valley (Cal.)
Journal when John Rollin Ridge, * the Cherokee poet, was
editor.
Captain William Watie Wheeler, who died, recently, at
his home in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, was a son of Judge John F.
Wheeler, and nephew of General Watie. He served bravely in
Watie's command during the war and was one of his body
guards.
The dauntless Captain Buzzard, the full-blood Cherokee
Captain of Company “A”, Watie's 1st Cherokee Regiment, was
a capable and loyal officer and soldier. Those who were his
comrades in battle, say he should have been called “Eagle” be-
cause of his fearlessness. He is said to have been slain at the
battle of Ft. Gibson.
Major John F. Vann, one of Watie's gallant soldiers, who
resided at Webbers Falls prior to the war, was made Captain
of a commany for bravery on the battle field and was afterward
Major of the 2nd Cherokee Cavalry. He was wounded in the
Cabin Creek battle.
Another gallant soldier who cast his destiny with that of
Watie was Major Joseph Scales. At the close of the war he
was one of the delegates to Washington representing the Cher-
okees. He was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
Chorokee Nation for a number of years.
*Son of John Ridge.

56
Captain O. H. P. Brewer, of whom mention has been made,
was with Watie all through the war. He was an ideal soldier
and was later made Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Cherokee
Regiment. Captain Brewer was the father of O. H. P. Brewer,
Jr., who for some time was a member of the Cherokee Board
of Education and is present postmaster at Muskogee.
Lucien B. Bell, familiarly known as “Hoolie” Bell, served
in the Confederate Army on Watie's staff and his record was
one of which to be proud. He was a son of Jack Bell, and was
born in the old Cherokee Nation in Georgia. He played a
Herman Ridge, son of John Ridge, was a member of Com-
pany “D’’, Watie's 1st Cherokee Regiment, and was among the
first, of this regiment, to give up his life. He was slain in a
skirmish at Honey Creek and sleeps in an unknown grave.
promient part in the history of the Cherokees being an influ-
ential man in their councils. A lawyer by profession he was
sent, by his Nation, many times to Washington in the interests
of his people.
He was generous and charitable in an unostentious way.
His counsel as a legal adviser was sought by many of the full-
bloods and no fee was ever demanded of them and none were
ever turned away. He died February, 1915.
Among the brave white men, who were members of Watie's
Brigade was Colonel Joel M. Bryan, who at the beginning of
the war raised a battalion of white men and Cherokees and
was commander of the same. He was a true and tried soldier
and an efficient officer. He represented the Western Cherokees
for years in Washington and finally succeeded in obtaining the
monies due the “Old Settlers.”
Other men from other States who did valiant service for
the South in Watie's Brigade were: Major Harland and
Hardin, Captains Tinnin, Ackridge, Steward and Shannon.
Henry Washbourne, from Arkansaw, son of Dr. Cephas
Washbourne, early Missionary to the Cherokees, was a member
of Watie's Indian Brigade. He was First Lieutenant Company
“B” Battalion Seminole Mounted Volunteers, and was killed
in the Seminole Nation and sleeps where he fell, like many an-
other soldier of the South, in a grave unmarked and unknown.
His brother, Major J. Woodward Washbourne, enlisted at the
Very beginning of the war in the Confederate troops of Arkan-
saw and served until its close. He was United States Indian
Agent for the Seminoles at the beginning of the war and editor
of “The Arkansian” of Fayetteville. Arkansaw. He married a
daughter of John Ridge, and is said to have been associated
with Watie's Brigade at the close of the war. Any information
regarding his military services in the Indian Territory will be
gladly received by the author.
Of General Watie's Regimental Officers, so far as known,
only two are living today. Major Joseph F. Thompson, of Tah-
leguah, Okla., for many years Superintendent of the Cherokee
Orphan Asylum. He rose from a private soldier in the Arkan-
saw State service to that of Captain in the 1st Cherokee Cav-
alry and was subsequently made Major for meritorious service
on the battlefield.
The other, Major Riley W. Lindsey of Chouteau, Okla.,
Watie's 2nd Cherokee Regiment. He had seen military service
prior to 1861, being with the brave Missourians who put John
Brown and his men to flight at Os-a-wat—omie, Kansas. He was
Adjutant of the 2nd Cherokee Regiment with rank of Major.
He was a brave and aggressive soldier and a capable officer.
He is “Brigadier General of the Cherokee Brigrade, United
Confederate Veterans” and is present at almost every state

57
“Reunion” and the flash of his eye is as keen and his love for
the “Cause” as great as it was some fifty years ago.
There are scores of other men in Watie's Cherokee Regi-
ment and Indian Brigade of whom praiseworthy tributes could
be given had the material been accessible.
At the request of the author this brief picture from mem-
ory, is given by Judge J. M. Keys of Pryor Oklahoma, as a
tribute to General Watie and his men:
Looking backward down the corridor of time through the
dim vista of more than half a century of departed years, I see
again the warlike spirit of the Southern Cherokees, from the
years 1861 to 1865. I hear again the blast of “Dutch Billy’s”
bugle. I see the muster, the march and the encounter. I see
the brave and fearless General Stand Watie, as Colonel of the
Famous 1st Cherokee Cavalry as he directs and leads his vic-
torious charge at Pea Ridge, Arkansaw. I see Colonel William
Penn Adair, with his long flowing black hair on the bloody
field of Wilson Creek, Missouri. I also see that other gallant
soldier and brilliant statesman, Elias C. Boudinot, on this same
field with his long black hair floating on the breeze as we
charged to victory. I see Colonel James M. Bell, as he bravely
led his men to victory at Mazzard Prairie, Arkansaw. I see
Colonel Thomas Fox Taylor with his dark waving plume as he
selects his own kith and kin to check the Federal advance at
the Ford of Spavinaw, near General Watie's Mill. I see that
fearless soldier, Colonel Robert C. Parks, as he defeats a Fed-
eral force with artillery, on Greenleaf Prairie near Braggs; a
deep ravine alone, saved the Federal battery from the onward
and victorious rush of Parks and his men. I see Colonel O. H.
P. Brewer, then a Captain, as he drove the Federal picket into
the fortifications at old Ft. Gibson, and rounded up the vast
herd of horses and mules, and drove them south of the Arkan-
saw River. I see Major Joel M. Bryan as he charged the Fed-
erals at Short Creek, Missouri, and drove them into the timber.
I see Colonel C. N. Vann, as he charged the negroes, at Negro
Creek, almost annihilating them. I see Major John S. Vann,
at Cabin Creek, that brave and aggressive soldier. I see that
valiant young soldier Major Moses Frye, ever ready to answer
to the call of duty. I see Major Joseph L. Thompson in many
battles and skirmishes, always displaying the highest qualities
of a soldier. I see that daring soldier, Major R. W. Lindsey at
the battle of Honey Springs take his battery across Elk Creek
Bridge amid the storm of shot and shell and roar and din of
the conflict. I see Major Howland hold the bridge across Elk
Creek at Honey Springs against superior numbers until the
Federals were about to envelope him and his command. I see
Major Joseph A. Scales, as he leads the Confederate advance
above the Webber Falls, that resulted in the capture of a train.
I see Captains C. V. Rogers and J. G. Schrimsher as they pilot
the victorious forces of McIntosh and Watie at Hominy Creek.
I see hundreds of brave men, Indians and whites, too numerous
to mention in this brief sketch, who followed the flag and lead-
ership of the matchless General Stand Watie. Less than one
hundred of General Watie's Brigade have withstood the ravages
of time. Feeble, aged and gray they will soon be gone to live
only in story and song. They are waiting for the Master's Call
to cross the dark mysterious river, separating Life from Death,
to be with Lee and Jackson, Price and McCulloch, Cooper and
our own beloved Stand Watie. I herto append a partial list of
the Cherokee families of which some member or members were
º: wounded or captured during the War between the
tates:

58
Adair, Alberty, Agnew, Aikin.
Bell, Boudinot, Buffington, Benge, Brown, Buzzard, Beaty,
Brewer, Beck, Be Vert, Bean, Blackstone, Bush.
Carter, Chambers, Coody, Corderay, Campbell, Candy,
Crittenden, Carey, Coker.
Drew, Downing, Daniels, Davis.
Elliott, England.
Fields, French, Foreman, Frye, Foster, Fike.
Gunter, Griffin, Gott.
Harris, Holt, Hickey, Harlin, Hilderbrand, Hubbard, How-
land.
Johnson, Jordan.
Keys, Kell.
Lowery, Lynch, Linder, Lipe, Lassley, Landrum.
Mayes, Morgan, Moore, McNair, McGhee, Miller, Martin,
McLaughlin, McCay, Mann, Monroe, McDaniels, Mackey,
McPherson.
Nevins, Noisey Water.
Oldfields, Odrum.
Parks, Parris, Pettit, Price, Picket.
Ridge, Riley, Ragsdale, Rogers.
Smith, Suawa-kie, Sanders, Shaw, Seabolt, Starr, Shipley,
Scraper.
Taylor, Timpson, Tyner, Thomas, Trott, Tucker.
Usery.
Vann.
West, Wright, Washbourne, Woodall, Wommock (artillery
man).

º Andeº, Male Wººl boº.
-
- |Hºnº-
º º





Mayes County Republican
Pryor, Oklahoma