The Cherokee Nation in the Civil War

The Cherokee Nation in the Civil War

     Prior to the Civil War, the Cherokee Indians in the United States had signed several treaties with the existing Federal government that guaranteed them certain aid and benefit based on their loyalty to the United States. However, with the building tensions between the North and the South and the eventual outbreak of the Civil War, the Cherokee found themselves in the unfortunate situation of also having to pick sides. Almost immediately after fighting broke out, Cherokee leaders began to argue vehemently over which side to choose, as it would be impossible to tell whether the United States could satisfy the treaties during war time.

     The Cherokee Nation, as it would strive to call itself, was somewhat scattered and divided, but in general its geographical situation demanded that it side with the Confederacy. If the Cherokee were going to remain allied to the United States, they were only a stones throw away from the wrath of the Confederacy, and it would be difficult for the Union troops to adequately defend their Cherokee allies. This, coupled with the surge of Confederate success in the early stages of the war, eventually compelled Cherokee leaders to side with the Confederacy in the war, drawing up new (and highly promising) treaties with the Confederate government in exchange for Cherokee support in the war. Mostly, Cherokee served as scouts and skirmishers, harassing valley terrain and hilly roads to slow Union troop movements, but the Cherokee were also featured in much of the main fighting as well. Confederate commanders John Drew and William Holland Thomas both sported their own Cherokee fighting force, which in most cases fought very successfully when integrated properly into Confederate forces. However, their overzealous fighting and scalping of defeated enemies (even though they were in some cases ordered to do so) drew negative attention from all parties, and was a factor in Cherokee punishment from the United States post-war.

     Still, even as the Cherokee featured themselves in the fighting of the war, their participation was almost entirely based upon forming a new identity of the Cherokee Nation. Leader John Ross did not want to actively fight in the war if it could be avoided, but if it meant elevating the Cherokee status as an independent entity, he was more than prepared for combat. The new treaties signed with the Confederacy were much similar to those of the Union, although with some very distinct benefits that favored Cherokee's independent sovereignty. As an ally of the Confederacy, the Cherokee could expect full aid from the Confederate government (including money, supplies, and land) as a state within the Confederacy. However, as the Confederacy championed the rights of the individual state, the Cherokee would be guaranteed a certain level of autonomy as well, something that they could never find with the United States government. As grand as these treaties and promises were, there is no telling if the Confederacy could ever actually make good on them, as they were struggling just to keep their own economy and security afloat. In fact, as Union troops pushed inward toward Oklahoma where a large Cherokee population resided, Confederate troops abandoned the Cherokee and left them to the Union army. Ultimately the decision to change sides to the Confederacy would prove a poor one as the Union won the war, and the question arose of what to do with the Cherokee Nation in the aftermath.

     The Cherokee push for a new identity through the Civil War ultimately proved to be a failure, although it is difficult to determine how much choice they had in the matter. If they had not allied with the Confederacy, it is just as likely that Confederate armies benefited by their immediate proximity could have easily invaded the Cherokee and caused immense damage. However, in choosing to side with the Confederacy, the Cherokee ultimately suffered in the aftermath of the war as the United States treated them as treasonous criminals. The original treaties that the Cherokee had signed with the United States were not renewed, and instead new ones were established that drastically increased Federal control over the Cherokee, effectively ending the dream for a more autonomous Cherokee Nation.

Sources:

Denson, Andrew. Demanding the Cherokee Nation: Indian Autonomy and American Culture, 1830-1900. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004.

Gaines, W. Craig. The Confederate Cherokees: John Drew's Regiment of Mounted Rifles. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989.

Ross, John. The Papers of Chief John Ross. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985.