Indigenous Peoples in the American Civil War

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Guide to Indigenous Peoples in the American Civil War ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Cherokee Confederates Reunion


Introduction[edit | edit source]

During the Civil War, 28,693 American Indians served in the Union and Confederate armies.[1] They served in various regiments in Oklahoma as well as in military units of other states. "Many Native American tribes fought in the war including: the Delaware, Creek, Cherokee, Seminole, Kickapoo, Seneca, Osage, Shawnee, Choctaw, Lumbee, Chickasaw, Iroquois, Powhatan, Pequot, Ojibwa, Huron, Odawa, Potawatomi, Catawba, and Pamunkey. The Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Catawba, and Creek tribes were the only tribes to fight on the Confederate side."[1]

Union General Ely S. Parker, of the Seneca tribe, was the military secretary for Ulysses S. Grant and a lawyer.  He wrote the articles of surrender signed by Robert E. Lee.[2]

To determine where a tribe is/was, see the map showing locations of tribes in the early 1800s

For help with American Indian genealogical research, see the Wiki article, American Indian Genealogy.

The following is not a complete list.

Confederate Regular Troops[edit | edit source]

Cherokee[edit | edit source]

  • 1st Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Rifles, CSA (Confederate)
    Organized at Old Fort Wayne, Delaware District, Cherokee Nation, in July, 1861.
    Surrendered on June 23, 1865.
    Commanders: Colonels James M. Bell and Stand Watie; Lieutenant Colonels Robert C. Parks, Thomas F. Taylor, Joseph F. Thompson, and Clem N. Vann; and Majors E.C. Bondinot and E.J. Howland.

Sources[edit | edit source]

Chickasaw[edit | edit source]

Choctaw[edit | edit source]

  • 1st Regiment, Choctaw Mounted Rifles, CSA (Confederate)
    Completed organization during the early spring of 1862 where Atoka now stands in the Choctaw Nationa.
    Surrendered in June, 1865 at Doaksville.
    Field officers: Colonel Sampson Folsom, Lieutenant Colonel David F. Harkins, and Major Sylvester Durant.
  • 3rd Regiment, Choctaw Cavalry, CSA (Confederate)
    Organized during the fall of 1863 using McCurtain's 1st Choctaw Cavalry Battalion as its nucleus.
    Surrendered at Doaksville on June 23, 1865.
    Commanders were Colonel Jackson McCurtain, Lieutenant Colonel (acting) Tom Lewis, and Major John Page.

Creek[edit | edit source]

  • 1st Regiment Creek Mounted Volunteers, CSA(Confederate)
    Organized near Eufaula, Creek Nation, in August, 1861.
    Surrendered on June 23, 1865 with other Indian troops.
    Commanders: Colonel D.N. McIntosh, Lieutenant Colonels Samuel Chekote and W.R. McIntosh, and Majors J. Derrysaw and James McHenry.

Osage[edit | edit source]

Seminole[edit | edit source]

Florida[edit | edit source]

Mississippi[edit | edit source]

  • 1st Choctaw Battalion, Mississippi Cavalry
    Endorsed by President Jefferson Davis on February 17, 1863.
    Headquartered at Newton Station, Mississippi.
    Mustered into service with 101 American Indian soldiers.
    Ordered to disband on May 9, 1863.

Missouri[edit | edit source]

Nebraska[edit | edit source]

Indian Territory (Oklahoma)[edit | edit source]

Confederate - First Indian Cavalry Brigade[edit | edit source]

Created early 1864 when Major General Samuel B. Maxey reorganized Confederate troops in Indian Territory. Colonel Stand Watie was its commander.[3]

Confederate - Second Indian Cavalry Brigade[edit | edit source]

Created early 1864 when Major General Samuel B. Maxey reorganized Confederate troops in Indian Territory. Colonel Tandy Walker was its commander. It was mostly composed of veteran soldiers from various Choctaw and Chickasaw units.[4]

Union - Indian Home Guard[edit | edit source]

  • 2nd Regiment, Indian Home Guard (Oklahoma) (Union)
    Organized on Big Creek and at Five-Mile Creek, Kansas, June 22 to July 18, 1862.
    Commanded by Colonel John Ritchie
    Consisted of one company each of Delaware, Kickapoo, Quapaw, Seneca, and Shawnee, two companies of Osage, and two of Cherokee.[6]
  • 4th Regiment, Indian Home Guard (Oklahoma) (Union)
    Organization commenced but not completed. Men transferred to other organizations.[6]
  • 5th Regiment, Company C, Indian Home Guard became the 14th Regiment Kansas Cavalry, Company M.  <ref> William Fryne Amann.Personnel of the Civil War. Volume 2 page 247 The Union Armies. Thomas Yoseloff, New York, NY 1964<ref/> FHL book 973 M2a Vol. 2 WorldCat

Confederate Sources[edit | edit source]

Service Records[edit | edit source]

Compiled Service Records Online

The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) of Confederate Soldiers who Served in Organizations Raised Directly by the Confederate Government are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms.

For more information see Confederate Service Records.

Compiled Service Records on Microfilm

  • Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers who Served in Organizations Raised Directly by the Confederate Government...and Nonregimental Enlisted Men, 26 films starting with FHL film 1205310
- First Cherokee Mounted Rifles (1st Arkansas Cherokee Mounted Rifles) A-L FHL Film 880283
- First Cherokee Mounted Rifles (1st Arkansas Cherokee Mounted Rifles) M-Y FHL Film 880284
- First Cherokee Mounted Volunteers (Watie's Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Volunteers; 2d Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Rifles, Arkansas; 1st Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Rifles or Riflemen) A-K FHL Film 880285
- (Watie's Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Volunteers; 2d Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Rifles, Arkansas; 1st Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Rifles or Riflemen), L-Y First Squadron, Cherokee Mounted Volunteers (Holt's Squadron, Cherokee Mounted Volunteers.) FHL Film 880286
- First Chickasaw Infantry (Hunter's Regiment, Indian Volunteers) FHL US/CAN Film 880287
- First Choctaw Mounted Rifles FHL Film 880288
- First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles, A-G FHL Film 880289
- First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles, H-N FHL Film 880290
- First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles, O-Y FHL Film 880291
- First Creek Mounted Volunteers (1st Regiment, Creek Mounted Rifles or Riflemen; Creek Regiment, Mounted Indian Volunteers; 2d Regiment, Arkansas Creeks) A-H FHL Film 880292
- (1st Regiment, Creek Mounted Rifles or Riflemen; Creek Regiment, Mounted Indian Volunteers; 2d Regiment, Arkansas Creeks), I-S FHL Film 880293
- (1st Regiment, Creek Mounted Rifles or Riflemen; Creek Regiment, Mounted Indian Volunteers; 2d Regiment, Arkansas Creeks), T-Z First Osage Battalion, C.S.A. First Seminole Mounted Volunteers, A-C FHL Film 880294
- First Seminole Mounted Volunteers, D-Y FHL Film 880295
- Second Cherokee Mounted Volunteers (2d Regiment, Cherokee Mounted Rifles or Riflemen) FHL Film 880296
- Second Creek Mounted Volunteers Cherokee Regiment (Special Service) Deneale's Regiment, Choctaw Warriors (Deneale's Confederate Volunteers) Shecoe's Chickasaw Battalion, Mounted Volunteers) Washington's Squadron of Indians, C.S.A. (Reserve Squadron of Cavalry) Capt. of Wilkins' Co., Choctaw Infantry Miscellaneous Indian Records. FHL US/CAN Film 880297

Union Units[edit | edit source]

  • Indian Home Guards, or Indian Brigade, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, Regiments
  • Indian Home Guards, or Indian Brigade, 5th Regiment, Company C.
    Designated 14th Regiment Kansas Cavalry (Company M).


Union Records[edit | edit source]

Other Sources[edit | edit source]

Amann, William Frayne. Personnel of the Civil War. Volume 2: The Union Armies. New York., NY C 1964 FHL Collection WorldCat http://www.worldcat.org/title/personnel-of-the-civil-war/oclc/612485509

Internet Sites[edit | edit source]

  • Oklahoma Historical Society, Civil War Era, article in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed 15 August 2011). This article discusses how the Civil War impacted the Five Civilized Tribes.
  • Oklahoma Historical Society, Civil War Refugees, article in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed 15 August 2011).
  • Oklahoma Historical Society, Free Companies, article in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed 15 August 2011). Free companies were irregular soldiers. They sometimes included partisans, renegades, bandits, and bushwhackers. Such groups infested the Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

Books[edit | edit source]

  • Abel, Annie Heloise, The American Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist, Reprint. Originally published: Cleveland: Arthur H. Clarke Co., 1915. (Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, c1992). Internet Archive. FHL book 970.1 Ab34ai
  • Britton, Wiley. The Union Indian Brigade in the Civil War. Kansas City: Franklin Hudson. 1922. FHL microfiches 6118718 WorldCat
  • Hauptman, Laurence M. Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War. (New York, New York: The Free Press, c1995). Discusses military role of Native Americans during the Civil War. 970.1 H294b; Libraries with book (WorldCat)

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikipedia contributors, Native Americans in the American Civil War, (accessed 12 August 2011).
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, Native Americans in the United States, an article in Wikipedia.com (accessed 15 August 2011)
  3. ↑ Oklahoma Historical Society, First Indian Cavalry Brigade, article in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed 4 August 2011)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Oklahoma Historical Society, Second Indian Cavalry Brigade, article in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed 4 August 2011)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Oklahoma Historical Society, Indian Home Guard, article in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed 5 August 2011)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wikipedia contributers, Indian Home Guard (American Civil War) article (accessed 5 August 2011).


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