Stand Watie: the Cherokee leader who signed away his ancestral lands and became a Confederate general

Stand Watie’s Final Stand Against Union Forces

Pea Ridge National Military Park holds the story of the only Native American Confederate general. Stand Watie signed the hated Treaty of New Echota in 1835, giving up Cherokee land for forced removal west.

When assassins killed his fellow treaty signers in 1839, Watie escaped death but not revenge.

During the Civil War, he led Cherokee mounted rifles into brutal combat at Pea Ridge in 1862. His men scalped Union soldiers after overrunning their artillery.

Watie became a Confederate general and held out longer than anyone else, surrendering 75 days after Lee quit at Appomattox.

The park’s Trail of Tears exhibits tell his remarkable story of survival and defiance.

500 Cherokee Signed Away 7 Million Acres of Ancestral Land

Stand Watie and three relatives signed the Treaty of New Echota on December 29, 1835.

This small group agreed to give up 7 million acres of Cherokee land east of the Mississippi for $5 million and new territory in Oklahoma.

Only about 500 of the 16,000 Cherokee backed this deal, causing a deep split in the tribe. Major Ridge told others, “I signed my death warrant.”

Chief John Ross and more than 15,000 Cherokee signed a petition against what they saw as a fake treaty.

Thousands Died During the Brutal 1,200-Mile Journey West

In 1838, General Winfield Scott brought 7,000 soldiers and forced about 17,000 Cherokee from their homes at gunpoint.

Soldiers packed Cherokee families into wooden stockades and camps with awful living conditions.

The Cherokee traveled 1,200 miles to their new land in what people called the Trail of Tears. They went by water and land through bad weather and rough terrain.

About 4,000 Cherokee – one in four who started the trip – died from cold, hunger, and sickness.

Cherokee Assassins Killed Three Treaty Signers But Missed Watie

Cherokee killers attacked on June 22, 1839, murdering three treaty signers but missing Stand Watie. Men hiding in bushes shot Major Ridge five times while he rode near Dutch Mills, Arkansas.

Twenty-five men loyal to Chief Ross dragged John Ridge from his bed and stabbed him many times in front of his family.

Tricksters lured Elias Boudinot outside his home and hacked him to death. Watie got lucky – he wasn’t home when killers came for him.

Tribal Divisions Turned Cherokee Against Each Other During the Civil War

The Cherokee Nation split as the Civil War started.

Watie formed the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secret group backing Southern rights in Indian Territory. Chief John Ross tried staying neutral but ended up making a deal with the Confederacy in October 1861.

Confederate General Albert Pike made treaties with all Five Civilized Tribes.

Watie got a colonel’s rank on July 12, 1861, and raised the 2nd Cherokee Mounted Rifles regiment from supporters who shared his pro-Southern views.

Cherokee Troops Marched Under Confederate General Earl Van Dorn

Confederate General Earl Van Dorn called for Pike’s Indian forces to join his Army of the West in Arkansas in March 1862.

Pike led about 900 Cherokee troops, including Watie’s fighters, through harsh winter weather to reach the battlefield.

The Cherokee soldiers arrived late on March 6, 1862, just before the fight.

Van Dorn planned a complex attack to hit Union General Samuel Curtis’s army from behind. Union officers looked down on the Cherokee troops, calling them poorly armed and untrained.

Watie’s Warriors Captured Union Artillery at Foster’s Farm

Watie’s Cherokee troops helped Confederate cavalry grab a Union artillery battery at Foster’s Farm near Leetown on March 7, 1862.

The Cherokee beat companies of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Henry Trimble in close fighting.

Confederate forces took the Federal guns in what seemed like a big win at first. Cherokee warriors and other Confederate troops cheered around the captured cannons.

This battle marked the first major fight where Native American troops fought outside Indian Territory during the Civil War.

Union Soldiers Found Their Comrades Scalped After the Battle

After the Foster’s Farm fight, soldiers found at least eight Union cavalrymen from Trimble’s force scalped and cut up.

The scalping happened in woods near the captured battery, with reports that many victims were still alive during the attacks.

While no clear eyewitness accounts exist, sworn statements from 3rd Iowa Cavalry survivors described the bloody scene. Union soldiers felt shocked by what they called “inhuman fiends” and the “savage” warfare.

This became one of only four known scalping events during the entire Civil War.

Confederate General Pike Tried to Stop the Scalping Practices

General Albert Pike felt horrified when he learned about the scalping and tried to stop it right away. He gave orders against such acts and court-martialed a soldier for killing a wounded Union man.

Northern newspapers attacked Pike and criticized his Indian troops, hurting the Confederate image.

Pike quit his Confederate job in July 1862 and later faced charges in Federal court for causing war atrocities.

The Cherokee forces pulled back into the woods and reportedly shot at anyone wearing a blue coat.

Watie Kept Fighting Long After Lee Surrendered

By 1865, the Confederate cause crumbled. Richmond fell on April 3, and Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9.

Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith gave up the Trans-Mississippi Army on May 26, 1865. But Watie refused to quit and kept fighting with his Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, and Osage troops.

People worried that Watie’s forces might attack Kansas, but his army grew smaller daily. On June 15, 1865, the Grand Council of Confederate Indian chiefs decided to stop fighting and make peace.

The Last Confederate General Finally Laid Down His Arms

Stand Watie signed a cease-fire agreement at Doaksville in the Choctaw Nation on June 23, 1865, ending his resistance.

He surrendered to Union Lieutenant Colonel Asa C.Matthews, making him the last Confederate general to give up – a full 75 days after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.

The three-page handwritten document made his troops “return to their respective homes, and there remain at peace.”

Watie lived six more years after the war, dying on September 9, 1871, at his Honey Creek plantation. He was buried in what is now Delaware County, Oklahoma.

Visiting Pea Ridge National Military Park

Pea Ridge National Military Park at 15930 National Park Drive in Garfield, Arkansas offers free admission to explore Stand Watie’s Cherokee warrior history.

The visitor center has Cherokee Civil War exhibits and a 30-minute “Thunder in the Ozarks” battle film.

You can see the reconstructed Elkhorn Tavern where Cherokee warriors fought and Confederate headquarters operated.

Take the seven-mile self-guided driving tour with Cherokee involvement exhibits, plus walk 2. 5 miles of preserved Trail of Tears route along historic Telegraph Road.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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