Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The FReeper Foxhole Profiles General Stand Hope Watie - Jan. 5th, 2004
www.civilwarhome.com ^

Posted on 01/05/2004 12:00:19 AM PST by SAMWolf



Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


...................................................................................... ...........................................

.

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

.

.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer.

If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions.

We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

.

.

.

General Stand Hope Watie
(1806 - 1871)

.

Born at Oothcaloga in the Cherokee Nation, Georgia (near present day Rome, Georgia) on December 12, 1806, Stand Watie's Cherokee name was De-ga-ta-ga, or "he stands." He also was known as Isaac S. Watie. He attended Moravian Mission School at Springplace Georgia, and served as a clerk of the Cherokee Supreme Court and Speaker of the Cherokee National Council prior to removal.



As a member of the Ridge-Watie-boundinot faction of the Cherokee Nation, Watie supported removal to the Cherokee Nation, West, and signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1835, in defiance of Principal Chief John Ross and the majority of the Cherokees. Watie moved to the Cherokee Nation, West (present-day Oklahoma), in 1837 and settled at Honey Creek. Following the murders of his uncle Major Ridge, cousin John Ridge, and brother Elias Boundinot (Buck Watie) in 1839, and his brother Thomas Watie in 1845, Stand Watie assumed the leadership of the Ridge-Watie-Boundinot faction and was involved in a long-running blood feud with the followers of John Ross. He also was a leader of the Knights of the Golden Circle, which bitterly opposed abolitionism.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Watie quickly joined the Southern cause. He was commissioned a colonel on July 12, 1861, and raised a regiment of Cherokees for service with the Confederate army. Later, when Chief John Ross signed an alliance with the South, Watie's men were organized as the Cherokee Regiment of Mounted Rifles. After Ross fled Indian Territory, Watie was elected principal chief of the Confederate Cherokees in August 1862.

A portion of Watie's command saw action at Oak Hills (August 10, 1861) in a battle that assured the South's hold on Indian Territory and made Watie a Confederate military hero. Afterward, Watie helped drive the pro-Northern Indians out of Indian Territory, and following the Battle of Chustenahlah (December 26, 1861) he commanded the pursuit of hte fleeing Federals, led by Opothleyahola, and drove them into exile in Kansas. Although Watie's men were exempt from service outside Indian Territory, he led his troops into Arkansas in the spring of 1861 to stem a Federal invasion of the region. Joining with Maj. GEn. Earl Van Dorn's command, Watie took part in the battle of Elkhorn Tavern (March 5-6, 1861). On the first day of fighting, the Southern Cherokees, which were on the left flank of the Confederate line, captured a battery of Union artillery before being forced to abandon it. Following the Federal victory, Watie's command screened the southern withdrawal.



Watie, or troops in his command, participated in eighteen battles and major skirmishes with Federal troop during the Civil War, including Cowskin Prairie (April 1862), Old Fort Wayne (October 1862), Webber's Falls (April 1863), Fort Gibson (May 1863), Cabin Creek (July 1863), and Gunter's Prairie (August 1864). In addition, his men were engaged in a multitude of smaller skirmishes and meeting engagements in Indian Territory and neighboring states. Because of his wide-ranging raids behind Union lines, Watie tied down thousands of Federal troops that were badly needed in the East.

Watie's two greatest victories were the capture of the federal steam boat J.R. Williams on June 15, 1864, and the seizure of $1.5 million worth of supplies in a federal wagon supply train a the Second battle of Cabin Creek on September 19, 1864.

Watie joined the Confederacy in 1861 because he feared the consequences of Lincoln's election and the Republican Party's free soil promises to open the west and the Indian Territory to white settlement. The Union abandoned all Indian Territory military posts in the spring of 1861, violating treaty pledges and making the area vulnerable to Confederate attack. He was a slave-owning planter that shared many values of the Old South. When Albert Pike and Douglas Cooper recruited Indian soldiers for the Confederacy in 1861, Watie agreed to form a Cherokee cavalry unit. Also, John Drew formed a regiment of full-blood "Pin" Cherokees (wearing a crossed-blades symbol as a pin on uniforms), as did the Choctaws and Chickasaws and Creeks and Seminoles. However, the Creeks were divided like the Cherokees. Creek chief Opothleyaholo refused to join the Confederacy and in April 1861, Confederate Indians began attacks on the neutral Creek settlement on the Deep Fork River, but Opothleyaholo won the Battle of Round Mountain Nov. 19 and Chusto Talasay Dec. 9. However, on Dec. 26, Cooper's Confederate Indians defeated Opothleyaholo at Chustenalah and drove the pro-Union Creeks into Kanasas where they formed the First and Second Union Indian Brigades to retake their homeland. At the Battle of Pea Ridge March 6-8, 1862, Stand Watie and his Cherokee Mounted Rifles captured Union artillery batteries in a dramatic charge and held their position to allow an orderly withdrawal of Earl Van Dorn's Confederate army.



Pea Ridge began the Union invasion of the Indian Territory. John Drew and his Confederate Indians deserted from the Confederacy but Stand Watie continued to fight. The Indian Expedition of 1862 advanced from Fort Leavenworth with 6000 on June 28 led by Col. William Weer, an alcoholic former officer under Jayhawker James Lane who sought to take over the Indian Territory lands for his personal gain. Weer occupied the Confederate capital of Tahlequah and captured John Ross, but paroling him when he agreed not to oppose the Union army . Stand Watie was defeated at Locust Grove July 3 by the 6th Kansas Cavalry and the black First Kansas Colored Infantry. But Weer's officers led by Col Frederick Salomon mutinied against Weer and retreated back to Kansas, re-arresting John Ross and taking him to Kansas (and then was sent to Washington D.C. where he died in 1866).

Watie was left in control of the Cherokee lands and his forces conducted a brutal campaign of revenge against pro-Union Cherokees and white missionaries. Stand Watie was chosen to replace the deposed John Ross as Chief of the Cherokees. Watie joined a Confederate raid into southwest Missouri lead by Col. Cooper and Jo Shelby, defeating Frederick Salomon at Newtonia Sept. 30. But Gen. Schofield led a Union army to retake Newtonia Oct. 4 and drove the Confederates back into Arkansas. Stand Watie and Douglas Cooper were defeated by Schofiled at Old Fort Wayne Oct. 22, and retreated south of the Arkansas River. The Union army diverted 10,000 troops from the west to help Grant at Vicksburg in November. To take advantage of this Union weakness, Gen. John Marmaduke led 2500 Confederate troops to Cane Hill in northwest Arkansas but was defeated there Nov. 28 by Gen. James Blunt and 5000 Union troops. Gen. Thomas Hindman led a Confederate army of 11,300 to attack Blunt, but Gen. Francis Herron brought 6000 Union troops from Springfield to defeat the Confederates at Prairie Grove Dec. 7, 1862. Another Union army of 1200 under Col. William Phillips defeated Stand Watie at Fort Davis Dec. 22. By the end of 1862, Union forces had secured the western flank of the Mississippi to allow Grant's river offensive to continue. Confederate forces had been defeated and pushed south of the Arkansas River.



The Indian Expedition of 1863 under James Blunt captured Fort Gibson. At the Battle of Honey Springs July 17, Blunt defeated Cooper's Confederate Indians and Blunt crossed the Arkansas River and captured Fort Smith Sept. 1, 1863, ending the Union offensive in the Indian Territory. On Sept. 10, Little Rock fell to a Union force under Frederick Steele, and Sterling Price abandoned the Arkansas River and retreated to Arkadelphia in southwest Arkansas. Stand Watie conducted raids in 1863 and 1864, as did other irregular units such as Charles Quantrill who sacked Lawrence Aug. 21, 1864, but Watie focused only on military targets and distributed captured supplies to his people.

In Nov. 1863, he attacked the Union Cherokees at Tahlequah, destroyed the town, and burned the Rose Cottage of John Ross at Park Hill. In December, Gen. Samuel Maxey began to rebuild Confederate Indian forces in the Territory and Watie was ordered to increase his raids to force a Union withdrawal from Fort Gibson. From his bases south of the Canadian River in 1864, he captured hundreds of horses from Fort Gibson and deprived the Union cavalry of fresh mounts. On May 10, he was promoted to Brigadier General. In June 1864 at Pleasant Bluff just below the mouth of the Canadian River he captured the steamer J. R. Williams carrying supplies to Fort Gibson. In September 1864 he captured 300 supply wagons at the Cabin Creek crossing on the road to Fort Gibson


Surrender of General Stand Watie


Watie was promoted to brigadier general on May 6, 1864, and given command of the first Indian Brigade. He was the only Indian to achieve the rank of general in the Civil War. Watie surrendered on June 23, 1865, the last Confederate general to lay down his arms.

After the war, Watie served as a member of the Southern Cherokee delegation during the negotiation of the Cherokee Reconstruction Treaty of 1866. He then abandoned public life and returned to his old home along Honey Creek. He died on September 9, 1871.

Thanks to FReeper stand watie whose Freeper name inspired my interest in finding out more about General Stand Watie




TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: biography; cherokee; civilwar; confederacy; dixielist; freeperfoxhole; michaeldobbs; standwatie; veterans; warbetweenstates
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140 ... 161-174 next last
To: SAMWolf
I always figured I'd make a better Southern, small town type.

I'm sure you would fit in just fine Sam. Come on down when you get the chance. :-)

101 posted on 01/05/2004 11:17:02 AM PST by SCDogPapa (In Dixie Land I'll take my stand to live and die in Dixie)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf; SCDogPapa
Sam, I happen to think you'd make a fine Southern gentleman. I've been lucky enough to know a couple and I know you. For now though we'll just have to think of you as our Northwestern or Oregonian gentleman. ;-)
102 posted on 01/05/2004 11:36:34 AM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it

I have some of that Southern independence and attitude in me. :-)

103 posted on 01/05/2004 11:56:30 AM PST by SAMWolf (Gotta run, the cat's caught in the printer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]

To: SCDogPapa
Let's see, I've been to Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and Kentucky. Florida was the only one I didn't really like, probably too many Ynakees living there. LOL!
104 posted on 01/05/2004 11:59:39 AM PST by SAMWolf (Gotta run, the cat's caught in the printer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 101 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
And the Southern charm. ;-)
105 posted on 01/05/2004 12:17:17 PM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 103 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
And the Southern charm

Occupation of the Cherokee Nation by the Union

In the spring of 1863 the United States army chiefs in Kansas decided to occupy the Cherokee country and as much of the rest of the Indian Territory as possible, in order to permit the refugees to return to their homes. The Cherokee council's repudiation of the alliance with the Confederacy had changed very considerably the situation of the Cherokee Nation, but the activity of the forces still adhering to the South made the return of the refugees impossible without military protection.

During the late winter and early spring Colonel W. A. Phillips of the Union army carried on aggressive operations in the northern part of the Cherokee country; a little later he moved south with a strong force a little later he moved south with a strong force and occupied Fort Gibson. From this south with a strong force and occupied Fort Gibson. From this post he sent out raiding expeditions and also sought to protect the northern refugees who returned to their homes. In the latter attempt he met with only fair success. Stand Watie and other Cherokee leaders, who were very active at this time, carried on counter-raids so that there was little safety for the returned civilian population unless they remained in or very near Fort Gibson.

The activity of Phillips, however, coupled with reprisals from the returning refugees, drove the southern Indian civilians south to camps along the Red River or into Texas. With some ten thousand Cherokees now aligned with the north, and with nearly seven thousand still adhering firmly to the South, the Cherokee Nation was virtually engaged in a small civil war of its own. The results were disastrous. Elias C. Boudinot, son of the elder Boudinot, had been elected delegate to the Confederate Congress at Richmond. He strove earnestly and with some success to obtain money from the government of the Confederacy to feed the starving refugees along the Red River and to supply arms and equipment to the Cherokee soldiery fighting for the southern cause. But it was not to be, and the refugees on the Red River became even more destitute than their counterparts had been in Kansas.

106 posted on 01/05/2004 12:21:28 PM PST by SAMWolf (Gotta run, the cat's caught in the printer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Occupation of the Cherokee Nation by the Union

What a mess it all was.

107 posted on 01/05/2004 12:50:13 PM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 106 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf
I have about as much charm as a mallet over the head.
108 posted on 01/05/2004 1:39:29 PM PST by Darksheare (Tagline error 401, service unavailable.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: Darksheare
That's not true.
109 posted on 01/05/2004 1:45:48 PM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 108 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
Is so, afraid so. Nothin' charming about sitting in a corner and observing the room as if afraid there's some unknown threat out there hiding. ];-)
Still a drizzly raining nasty day out this way.
Making my mood odd and 'ping pong' like.
110 posted on 01/05/2004 1:50:51 PM PST by Darksheare (Tagline error 401, service unavailable.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 109 | View Replies]

To: Darksheare
LOL. When isn't your mood odd and ping pong like? :-)

That's one of your endearing qualities.

I'm headed for home now. See ya later.
111 posted on 01/05/2004 1:57:28 PM PST by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 110 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Morning TomServo.

Sorry I missed ya, Sam.

Good evenin'!

112 posted on 01/05/2004 1:58:08 PM PST by TomServo ("She wouldn't have me on a silver platter." "How about on an air mattress slathered with butter?")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: snippy_about_it
*blink blink*
Good point!

Safe travels, be careful.
See you when you get back.
113 posted on 01/05/2004 2:00:52 PM PST by Darksheare (Tagline error 401, service unavailable.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 111 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
!!!!!!!!
114 posted on 01/05/2004 2:24:32 PM PST by stand watie (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. ,T. Jefferson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
or her damnyankee blueclads KILLED!

free the south,sw

115 posted on 01/05/2004 2:25:18 PM PST by stand watie (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. ,T. Jefferson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 99 | View Replies]

To: Darksheare
your confusion is understandable.

when i joined FR, my ancestor's WARNAME was being used by another freeper (i wonder if he/she knew they had adopted the WARNAME of "a merciless redskin"??????). so i used the WARNAME of his commanding general.

free the southland,sw

116 posted on 01/05/2004 2:28:15 PM PST by stand watie (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. ,T. Jefferson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 100 | View Replies]

To: stand watie
Heck.
I have a hard enough time keeping track of my own ancestors most of the time.
Seems they liked to wander around the country.
Finding them is hard enough, tracking them down next to impossible.
117 posted on 01/05/2004 2:41:28 PM PST by Darksheare (Tagline error 401, service unavailable.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 116 | View Replies]

To: Darksheare
Darkshere displays some of his charm. :-)
118 posted on 01/05/2004 2:58:48 PM PST by SAMWolf (Gotta run, the cat's caught in the printer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 108 | View Replies]

To: TomServo
No problem. Just like to say "hi" to our visitors.
119 posted on 01/05/2004 3:00:25 PM PST by SAMWolf (Gotta run, the cat's caught in the printer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 112 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
LOL!
*thump*
*Squeakie!*
120 posted on 01/05/2004 3:00:47 PM PST by Darksheare (Tagline error 401, service unavailable.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 118 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140 ... 161-174 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson