Natives in the American Civil War
The Civil War wasn't just a war between Whites over Black slavery. Native tribes and Individuals from various tribes line up on either side of the issue. The Five Southeastern Tribes had been, prior to Indian Removal, prosperous farmers and planters. Many owned slaves and brought their slaves with them on the Trails of Tears. Natives of other tribes did not own slaves. Their allegiance to either the Union or Confederacy revolved around the ability of either government to protect their lands or perhaps to grant them more land, or lands they had lost. To that end, when war broke out in 1861, Natives formed troops of infantry and cavalry just as quickly as did White volunteers, and brought their own skills to bear in the war effort. Some of these units were raised primarily in Oklahoma and composed of mounted cavalry from the Five Southeastern Tribes. The most famous of these were the Cherokee Mounted Rifles, raised in Oklahoma by ...