Category Archives: American Indians

December 26, 1862: Mankato Execution

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Allen Gathman

The Dakota uprising of 1862 ended with 38 men hanged simultaneously in Mankato, Minnesota. It was the largest mass execution in American history. The New York Times account below appeared on January 13, 1863. THE INDIAN EXECUTIONS.; An Interesting Account, … Continue reading →

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December 25, 1862: “Red Devils” in Minnesota

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Allen Gathman

Arrowmaker, Ojibwa, ca. 1903 It takes a while for news to make it to the East from the Wild West of Minnesota. Here a New York Times report from the frontier tells of Indian “insolence”, particularly from an educated Chippewa … Continue reading →

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June 26, 1861: Plans to invade Missouri or Kansas

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Benjamin McCulloch The Confederacy encouraged McCulloch to act in Missouri, if necessary via Kansas. With fugitive governor Jackson fleeing toward the southwest corner of Missouri, support from Arkansas was becoming a more urgent necessity if there was to be any … Continue reading →

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June 23, 1861: Creek Indians are divided

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Benjamin McCulloch General McCulloch was charged with command over the Indian Territory for the Confederacy, and he had to act as a diplomat to a large number of independent nations. Sometimes a single tribe constituted more than one, as this … Continue reading →

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June 22, 1861: Chief Ross plays a deep game

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Allen Gathman

John Ross, Chief of the Cherokee John Ross, it appears, was doing a very good job of playing both sides against each other. The Unionists thought he was Union; the Confederate general McCulloch, as evidenced by his dispatch below, was … Continue reading →

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June 18, 1861: Indians divide their loyalties

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Allen Gathman

John Ross, Chief of the Cherokee Both sides were trying hard to forge alliances with Indian tribes, who had the potential to provide a lot of troops in the thinly settled west. The Choctaws had early declared for the Confederacy, … Continue reading →

Posted in American Indians, Kansas | 2 Comments

June 2, 1861: Arkansas troops need leadership

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Troops were assembling in Arkansas, many with the goal of invading Missouri, but organization was apparently lacking. Many of the American Indian tribes in the area were joining the confederacy, and David Hubbard, the Confederate Commissioner of Indian Affairs, wanted … Continue reading →

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May 23, 1861: McCulloch needs guns for Indian allies

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Benjamin McCulloch The war in the west was beginning to take shape. In Arkansas, confederate Gen. Benjamin McCulloch was mustering regiments from among the Choctaws, Creeks, and Cherokees, but lacked arms for them. From the Official Record, Series 1, Vol. … Continue reading →

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March 31, 1861: Choctaws go with the South

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Peter Pitchlynn, in 1860 Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation From the Leavenworth (Kansas) Times: Fort Washita, C. N., March 31, 1861.     Editor Times: Since my last, I have not had an opportunity to inform you of the doings here, … Continue reading →

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February 2, 1861: Texas Causes of Secession — “the debasing doctrine of equality of all men”

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Texas declaration of the causes for secession. Passed by the Texas Secession Convention, Feb. 2, 1861. Texas was one of four Southern states that, after seceding, produced an official statement of the causes of secession. You can read them all … Continue reading →

Posted in American Indians, Causes of the war, Slavery, Texas | 2 Comments