The Civil War in
Indian Territory
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Summarize the impact of the Civil War and
Reconstruction Treaties on Native American
peoples, territories, and tribal sovereignty
Content Standard
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Understand the events leading up to the
American Civil War
Objective
Tensions were growing in the
country over a variety of issues such
as: tariffs on imported and exported
goods and regional differences on
federal versus state authority, which
became known as an issue of state’s
rights.
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A Conflict Coming?
In the North, cheap labor was provided
by thousands of immigrants. While most
people in the south lived on small farms
and owned no slaves, a few who were
wealthy and powerful strongly believed
that African slaves were essential to their
economy and lifestyle. Due to their
larger population, the North had more
representation in the House of
Representatives; the South saw this as a
threat to their way of life.
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Slavery died out in the North because of
cheap immigrant labor and the moral beliefs
of some. If cotton had not been so profitable,
it might have died out in the South before a
conflict occurred. However, tensions were
rising and several attempts were made to
maintain the balance of power in Congress
and maintain the peace.
Increasing Tensions
In 1820, the Missouri Compromise
established a dividing line. Threatened
by John C. Calhoun’s talk of southern
succession, the Compromise of 1850
tried to resolve the issue. However,
northern abolitionists (people against
slavery) ignored the fugitive slave act
and became even more active in the
Underground Railroad (a secret network
of safe places for slaves to hide as they
escaped).
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In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was
passed which allowed for popular
sovereignty (the people deciding for
themselves by vote) to determine the
issue of slavery. This led to violence and
the Kansas Territory being known as
“Bleeding Kansas”. Then, the Dred Scott
ruling by the Supreme Court found that
slaves had no rights which meant
Congress had no legal right to stop
slavery.
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The Election of 1860 –
Tensions come to a head
Douglas
Breckenridge
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The Republican Party, which was dominated by
Northerners, nominated Abraham Lincoln who
opposed slavery, supported free western
homesteads, protective tariffs, and a
transcontinental railroad. With a split Democratic
Party and newly formed Constitutional Union Party,
Lincoln won 40% of the popular vote and 60% of the
electoral vote which all came from Northern or
Western states.
Almost immediately, southern states
began carrying out their threat to
succeed; South Carolina withdrew on
December 20th 1860. In February of 1861,
South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas
formed the Confederate States of
America. In April 1861, war broke out at
Fort Sumter. Arkansas, Tennessee, North
Carolina, and Virginia joined the
Confederacy.
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Indian Territory was rich in resources
including: horses, cattle, grain, and
lead for making ammunition, salt, and
men who could become soldiers. It
was also valuable to the South as a
buffer and a central base west of the
Mississippi.
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War in Indian Territory
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In February of 1861, officials from Texas
approached the Five Tribes about supporting
the Confederacy, but many declined because
they decided, “simply to do nothing, to keep
quiet and to comply with their treaties.” The
Civil War, however, quickly spilled into
Indian Territory. Of the many military forts in
Indian Territory, only three were manned in
the spring of 1861 - Fort Washita, Fort
Arbuckle, and Fort Cobb. In April 1861,
secessionists (those who supported
withdrawing from the union) seized military
supplies headed for the Forts. All three Forts
were abandoned

Understand the significance of the Civil War in
Indian Territory
Objectives
Tribes had different opinions – side with
North, side with South, remain neutral.
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Taking Sides
South? Tribes would loss the money
promised to them by the Federal
government but many felt abandoned by
them already. Federal troops had
withdrawn so the tribes had to either
fight the Confederacy on their own or
accept it. Some tribes were led to believe
that, if the South won, they would be
allowed to return to their homelands.
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Albert Pike was appointed Commissioner of Indian
Affairs. The Cherokee Chief, John Ross, said that he
refused to destroy his people for the “white man’s”
quarrel. The Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole,
Caddo, Washita, Osage, and Shawnee all signed
treaties. While different, these treaties all included
that the Confederacy would assume guardianship of
the Tribes and become responsible for obligations to
the Tribes imposed by former treaties with the
United States. Not wanting to stand alone, John Ross
reluctantly signed a treaty with the Confederacy.
Cherokee Mounted Rifles, Choctaw and Chickasaw
Mounted Rifles
The Native Americans who supported
the Union or wanted to remain neutral
felt overpowered.
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War on Indian Land
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The Loyal Creek – Despite the Creek treaty
with the Confederacy, Upper Creek leader
Opothleyahola, a large number of Creek
followers, and about 6,500 from other tribes
appealed to the “Great Father” in Washington
for help. Aware of the Loyal Creek’s appeal to
Washington, Cooper’s 2,000 man regiment
attacked the “Loyal” on November 19th, 1861
just northwest of Tulsa); when the skirmish
stopped due to darkness, the “Loyal”
retreated north and left most of their
possessions behind.
On December 9th, Cooper again attacked
the “Loyal” and it resulted in another
stalemate. On December 26th, the
“Loyal” were attacked again near
Skiatook and defeated. They fled north;
the dead and wounded were left to
freeze in the blizzard.
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first half of the war saw many
Confederate victories; however, the
Union won a decisive victory at Pea
Ridge. This caused the Confederate
leaders to retreat into Indian Territory,
abandon Fort Davis, and set up Fort
McCulloch
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Pea Ridge
The Indian Expedition – This loss
weakened the Confederate position
in the west. Union leaders
summoned troops from Wisconsin,
Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, and two
regiments of the loyal Native
Americans to form the Indian
Expedition to regain control of the
Indian Territory.
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After a few skirmishes, Colonel William
Weer faced the Confederate forces at
Locust Grove on July 3rd 1862.
Confederate forces fell back under heavy
artillery fire and Union soldiers took
over Fort Gibson and Tahlequah, where
they were welcomed by a grateful Chief
John Ross. However, poor leadership
and a counterattack sent the Union forces
back to Kansas.
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African American Troops – Frederick
Douglass called for African Americans to
participate in the Civil War. The War
Department authorized it and, then, President
Lincoln endorsed it in 1863. 265 African
American soldiers in the 11th Regiment,
United States Colored Troops, were sent to
Indian Territory to guard government stock
and hay at Gunther’s Prairie. They were
attacked by about 400 Confederates but held
their position and forced the Confederates to
retreat.
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Colonel William Philips, left in charge of the
Union Indian troops, had been combating
raids, helping find food for the Native
Americans who stayed, and trying to
convince the Cherokee to return to the
recaptured land.
Cabin Creek
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In February 1863, Union Cherokee met, elected John
Ross as their chief and Thomas Pegg as acting chief,
abolished slavery, and declared Stand Watie and his
followers outlaws. By April, the Union had
recaptured Fort Gibson; in July, a Union supply train
was headed for Fort Gibson but were captured by
Watie’s regiment at a river. After a bloody and costly
fight, the Union infantry held off Watie’s men and
the supplies went to Fort Gibson as planned. This
Battle, the Battle of Cabin Creek, was the first
engagement of the Civil War in which African
American, white, and Native American troops
fought side by side.
In July 1863, Union General Blunt heard
of a Confederate plan to join two
Confederate forces together to attack
Union troops at For Gibson. Wanting to
attack first, he began moving artillery
and men toward Honey Springs, a
Confederate supply depot.
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Honey Springs
After a small skirmish early on July 17th,
a two-hour battle ensued. Many Texans
were killed and Confederate forces
retreated; before retreating, they set their
storage buildings on fire but Blunt’s men
were able to save most of the supplies.
The Battle of Honey Springs was the
largest, bloodiest, and most decisive Civil
War battle in the Indian Territory.
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The Battle at Perryville – Trying to defeat
the Confederates in Indian Territory once
and for all, Blunt attacked on August
26th. The Confederates hastily retreated;
Blunt’s forces took a few supplies and
then burned the town.
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Guerilla Fighting – From the fall of Fort
Smith in September 1863 to the
Confederate surrender in Indian
Territory in 1865, the only warfare in
Indian Territory was guerilla activity. A
guerrilla is a member of a small military
group that harasses the enemy. Colonel
William Quantrill, a Confederate raider
base out of Kansas, roamed Indian
Territory.
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Refugees – Neither side anticipated many
Native American refugees. However, there
were many. About 7,000 of the “Loyal”
eventually made it to Kansas. Confederate
Native American refugees sought safety in
Choctaw camps or across the Red River.
Following the Confederate defeat at Honey
Springs, the Cherokee and Creek quickly tried
to get out of the way of the Union troops.
Confederate Brigadier General Samuel Maxey
attempted to care for the refugees which
sometimes numbered almost 14,000.
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At Appomattox Court House on April 9th
1865, General Robert E Lee surrendered to
Ulysses S Grant. The last Confederate
surrender was General Stand Watie on June
23rd 1865.
War Ends
Before the war formally ended, the Creek
tried to arrange a General Council of all
the Natives at Council Grove to present a
united front to the North but Union
forces did not approve of the meeting.
The Five Tribes Confederate
representatives met and adopted a
compact of peace to present to the US.
However, it made little difference.
Indian Territory was devastated and the
Native Americans would have to rebuild
their lives again.
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