The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War

By Annie Heloise Abel, Ph.D.

Professor of History, Smith College

1919

XI. INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1863, JANUARY TO JUNE INCLUSIVE


As with the war as a whole, so with that part of it waged on the
Arkansas frontier, the year 1863 proved critical. Its midsummer season
saw the turning-point in the respective fortunes of the North and the
South, both in the east and in the west. The beginning of 1863 was a
time for recording great depletion of resources in Indian Territory,
as elsewhere, great disorganization within Southern Indian ranks, and
much privation, suffering, and resultant dissatisfaction among the
tribes generally. The moment called for more or less sweeping changes
in western commands. Those most nearly affecting the Arkansas frontier
were the establishment of Indian Territory as a separate military
entity[692] and the detachment of western Louisiana

[Footnote 692: The establishment of a separate command for Indian
Territory was not accomplished all at once. In December, 1862, Steele
had been ordered to report to Holmes for duty and, in the first
week of January, he was given the Indian Territory post, subject to
Hindman. On or about the eighth, he assumed command [_Official
Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 28] at Fort Smith. In less than a
week thereafter, his command was separated from that of Hindman
[Ibid., part ii, 771]. The following document shows exactly
what had been the previous relation between the two:

Head Qrs. Dept. Indn. Terry.
Ft. Smith, Jan. 31st, 1863.

COLONEL: Your special No. 22, par. viii has been recd. I would
respectfully suggest that when assigned to this command by Maj. Gen'l
Hindman the command was styled in orders, "1st Div'n 1st Corps Trans.
Miss. Army." The special order referred to, it is respectfully
suggested, may be susceptible of misconstruction as there are under my
command two separate Brigades, one under the command (cont.)]

and Texas from the Trans-Mississippi Department.[693] Both were
accomplished in January and both were directly due to a somewhat tardy
realization of the vast strategic importance of the Indian country.
Unwieldy, geographically, the Trans-Mississippi Department had long
since shown itself to be. Moreover, it was no longer even passably
safe to leave the interests of Indian Territory subordinated to those
of Arkansas.[694]

The man chosen, after others, his seniors in rank, had declined the
dubious honor,[695] for the command of Indian Territory was William
Steele, brigadier-general, northern born, of southern sympathies. Thus
was ignored whatever claim Douglas H. Cooper might have been thought
to have by reason of his intimate and long acquaintance with Indian
affairs and his influence, surpassingly great, with certain of the
tribes. Cooper's unfortunate weakness, addiction to intemperance, had
stood more or less in the way of his promotion right along just as
it had decreased his military efficiency on at least one memorable
occasion and had hindered the confirmation of his appointment as
superintendent of Indian affairs in the Arkansas and Red River
constituency. In this narrative, as events are divulged, it will be
seen that the preference for Steele exasperated Cooper, who was not a
big enough man to put love of country before the gratification of his
own

[Footnote 692: (cont.) of Gen'l D.H. Cooper and one under command of
Col. J.W. Speight.

I am, Col., Very Res'py W. STEELE, _Brig. Gen'l_.,
Col. S.S. Anderson, A.A.G.

P.S. Please find enclosed printed Gen. Order, no. 4, which I have
assumed the responsibility of issuing on receipt of Lt. Gen'l Holmes'
order declaring my command in the Ind'n country independent.

(Sd) W. STEELE, _Brig. Gen'l_.

[A.G.O., _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 65].]

[Footnote 693: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 771-772.]

[Footnote 694:--Ibid., 771.]

[Footnote 695:--Ibid., 843; _Confederate Records_, chap.
2, no. 270, pp. 25-27.]

[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF MONTHLY INSPECTION REPORT OF THE SECOND
CREEK REGIMENT OF MOUNTED VOLUNTEERS.]

ambition, consequently friction developed between him and his rival
highly detrimental to the service to which each owed his best thought,
his best endeavor.[696]

Conditions in Indian Territory, at the time Steele took command, were
conceivably the worst that could by any possibility be imagined. The
land had been stripped of its supplies, the troops were scarcely
worthy of the name.[697] Around Fort Smith, in Arkansas, things
were equally bad.[698] People were clamoring for protection against
marauders, some were wanting only the opportunity to move themselves
and their effects far away out of the reach of danger, others were
demanding that the unionists be cleaned out just as secessionists had,
in some cases, been. Confusion worse confounded prevailed. Hindman
had resorted to a system of almost wholesale furloughing to save
expense.[699] Most of the Indians had taken advantage of it and
were off duty when Steele arrived. Many had preferred to subsist at
government cost.[700] There was so little in their own homes for them
to get. Forage was practically non-existent and Steele soon had it
impressed [701] upon him that troops in the Indian Territory ought, as
Hindman had come to think months before,[702] to be all unmounted.

Although fully realizing that it was incumbent upon him to hold Fort
Smith as a sort of key to his entire command, Steele knew it would be
impossible to

[Footnote 696: It might as well be said, at the outset, that Cooper
was not the ranking officer of Steele. He claimed that he was
[_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1037-1038]; but the
government disallowed the contention [Ibid., 1038].]

[Footnote 697:--Ibid., part i, 28; part ii, 862, 883, 909.]

[Footnote 698: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp.
29-30.]

[Footnote 699: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 895, 909.]

[Footnote 700:--Ibid., part i, 30.]

[Footnote 701: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 31.]

[Footnote 702: _Official Records_, vol. xiii, 51.]

maintain any considerable force there. He, therefore, resolved to
take big chances and to attempt to hold it with as few men as his
commissary justified, trusting that he would be shielded from attack
"by the inclemency of the season and the waters of the Arkansas."[703]
The larger portion of his army[704] was sent southward, in the
direction of Red River.[705] But lack of food and forage was, by no
manner of means, the only difficulty that confronted Steele. He was
short of guns, particularly of good guns,[706] and distressingly short
of money.[707] The soldiers had not been paid for months.

The opening of 1863 saw changes, equally momentous, in Federal
commands. Somewhat captiously, General Schofield discounted recent
achievements of Blunt and advised that Blunt's District of Kansas
should be completely disassociated from the Division of the Army of
the Frontier,[708] which he had, at Schofield's own earlier request,
been commanding. It was another instance of personal jealousy,
interstate rivalry, and local

[Footnote 703: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 30.]

[Footnote 704: Perhaps the word, _army_, is inapplicable here.
Steele himself was in doubt as to whether he was in command of an army
or of a department [_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p.
54].]

[Footnote 705: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 36.
See also, Steele to Anderson, January 22, 1863 [ibid., 50-51], which
besides detailing the movements of Steele's men furnishes, on the
authority of "Mr. Thomas J. Parks of the Cherokee Nation," evidence
of brutal murders and atrocities committed by Blunt's army "whilst
on their march through the northwestern portion of this State in the
direction of Kansas."]

[Footnote 706: Crosby's telegram, February first, to the Chief of
Ordnance is sufficient attestation,

"Many of Cooper's men have inferior guns and many none at all. Can you
supply?" [Ibid., 65-66].]

[Footnote 707: The detention and the misapplication of funds by
William Quesenbury seem to have been largely responsible for Steele's
monetary embarrassment [ibid., 28, 63-64, 75, 76, 77, 79-81, 101,
147]. Cotton speculation in Texas was alluring men with ready money
southward [ibid., 94, 104].]

[Footnote 708: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 6.]

conflict of interests.[709] So petty was Schofield and so much in a
mood for disparagement that he went the length of condemning the work
of Blunt and Herron[710] in checking Hindman's advance as but a series
of blunders and their success at Prairie Grove as but due to an
accident.[711] General Curtis, without, perhaps, having any particular
regard for the aggrieved parties himself, resented Schofield's
insinuations against their military capacity, all the more so, no
doubt, because he was not above making the same kind of criticisms
himself and was not impervious to them. In the sequel, Schofield
reorganized the divisions of his command, relieved Blunt altogether,
and personally resumed the direction of the Army of the Frontier.[712]
Blunt went back to his District of Kansas and made his headquarters at
Fort Leavenworth.

In some respects, the reorganization decided upon by Schofield proved
a consummation devoutly to be wished; for, within the reconstituted
First Division was placed an Indian Brigade, which was consigned to
the charge of a man the best fitted of all around to have it, Colonel
William A. Phillips.[713] And that was not all; inasmuch as the Indian
Brigade, consisting of the three regiments of Indian Home Guards, a
battalion of the Sixth Kansas Cavalry, and a four-gun battery that had
been captured at the Battle of Old

[Footnote 709: It seems unnecessary and inappropriate to drag into the
present narrative the political squabbles that disgraced Missouri,
Kansas, Arkansas, and Colorado during the war. Lane was against
Schofield, Gamble against Curtis.]

[Footnote 710: Yet both Blunt and Herron were, at this very time, in
line for promotion, as was Schofield, to the rank of major-general
[_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, II, 95.]]

[Footnote 711:--Ibid., 6, 12, 95; _Confederate Military
History_, vol. x, 195.]

[Footnote 712:--Ibid., 22.]

[Footnote 713: Britton, _Civil War on the Border_ vol. ii,
18-19.]

Fort Wayne,[714] was almost immediately detached from the rest of
Schofield's First Division and assigned to discretionary "service in
the Indian Nation and on the western border of Arkansas."[715] It
continued so detached even after Schofield's command had been deprived
by Curtis of the two districts over which the brigade was to range,
the eighth and the ninth.[716] Thus, at the beginning of 1863, had the
Indian Territory in a sense come into its own. Both the Confederates
and the Federals had given it a certain measure of military autonomy
or, at all events, a certain opportunity to be considered in and for
itself.

Indian Territory as a separate military entity came altogether too
late into the reckonings of the North and the South. It was now a
devastated land, in large areas, desolate. General Curtis and many
another like him might well express regret that the red man had to be
offered up in the white man's slaughter.[717] It was unavailing regret
and would ever be. Just as with the aborigines who lay athwart the
path of empire and had to yield or be crushed so with the civilized
Indian of 1860. The contending forces of a fratricidal war had little
mercy for each other and none at all for him. Words of sympathy were
empty indeed. His fate was inevitable. He was between the upper and
the nether mill-stones and, for him, there was no escape.

Indian Territory was really in a terrible condition. Late in 1862, it
had been advertised even by southern men as lost to the Confederate
cause and had been

[Footnote 714: It is not very clear whether or not the constituents of
the Indian Brigade were all at once decided upon. They are listed as
they appear in Britton, _Civil War on the Border_, vol. ii,
3. Schofield seems to have hesitated in the matter [_Official
Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 26].]

[Footnote 715:--Ibid., 33.]

[Footnote 716: On the subject of the reduction of Schofield's command,
see Ibid., 40.]

[Footnote 717: Curtis to Phillips, February 17, 1863, Ibid.,
113-114.]

practically abandoned to the jayhawker. Scouting parties of both
armies, as well as guerrillas, had preyed upon it like vultures.
Indians, outside of the ranks, were tragic figures in their utter
helplessness. They dared trust nobody. It was time the Home Guard was
being made to justify its name. Indeed, as Ellithorpe reported, "to
divert them to any other operations" than those within their own gates
"will tend to demoralize them to dissolution."[718]

The winter of 1862-1863 was a severe one. Its coming had been long
deferred; but, by the middle of January, the cold weather had set
in in real earnest. Sleet and snow and a constantly descending
thermometer made campaigning quite out of the question. Colonel
Phillips, no more than did his adversary, General Steele, gave any
thought to an immediate offensive. Like Steele his one idea was to
replenish resources and to secure an outfit for his men. They had been
provided with the half worn-out baggage train of Blunt's old division.
It was their all and would be so until their commander could
supplement it by contrivances and careful management. Incidentally,
Phillips expected to hold the line of the Arkansas River; but not to
attempt to cross it until spring should come. It behooved him to look
out for Marmaduke whose expeditions into Missouri[719] were cause for
anxiety, especially as their range might at any moment be extended.

The Indian regiments of Phillips's brigade were soon reported[720]
upon by him and declared to be in a sad state. The first regiment was
still, to all intents and purposes, a Creek force, notwithstanding
that its fortunes had been varied, its desertions, incomparable.

[Footnote 718: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 49.]

[Footnote 719: _Confederate Military History_, vol. x, 161, 162.]

[Footnote 720: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 56-58.]

The second regiment, after many vicissitudes, and after having gotten
rid of its unmanageable elements, notably, the Osages and the Quapaws,
had become a Cherokee and the third was largely so. That third
regiment was Phillips's own and was the only one that could claim the
distinction of being disciplined and even it was exposed occasionally
to the chronic weakness of all Indian soldiers, absence without leave.
The Indian, on his own business bent, was disposed to depart whenever
he pleased, often, too, at times most inopportune, sometimes, when he
had been given a special and particular task. He knew not the usages
of army life and really meant no offence; but, all the same, his utter
disregard of army discipline made for great disorder.

It was not the chief cause of disorder, however, for that was the
unreliability of the regimental officers. The custom, from the first,
had been to have the field officers white men, a saving grace; but the
company officers, with few exceptions, had been Indians and totally
incompetent. Strange as it may seem, drilling was almost an unknown
experience to the two regiments that had been mustered in for the
First Indian Expedition. To obviate some of the difficulties already
encountered, Phillips had seen to it that the third regiment had
profited by the mistakes of its forerunners. It had, therefore, been
supplied with white first lieutenants and white sergeants, secured
from among the non-commissioned men of other commands. The result had
fully justified the innovation. After long and careful observation,
Phillips's conclusion was that it was likely to be productive of
irretrievable disaster and consequently an unpardonable error of
judgment "to put men of poor ability in an Indian regiment." Primitive
man has an inordinate respect for a strong

character. He appreciates integrity, though he may not have it among
his own gifts of nature. "An Indian company improperly officered" will
inevitably become, to somebody's discomfiture, "a frightful mess."

If any one there was so foolish as to surmise that the independent
commands, northern and southern, would be given free scope to
solve the problems of Indian Territory, unhampered by contingent
circumstances, he was foreordained to grevious disappointment.
Indian Territory had still to subserve the interests of localities,
relatively more important. It would be so to the very end. In and for
herself, she would never be allowed to do anything and her commanders,
no matter how much they might wish it otherwise--and to their lasting
honor, be it said, many of them did--would always have to subordinate
her affairs to those of the sovereign states around her; for even
northern states were sovereign in practice where Indians were
concerned. General Steele was one of the men who endeavored nobly to
take a large view of his responsibilities to Indian Territory. Colonel
Phillips, his contemporary in the opposite camp, was another; but both
met with insuperable obstacles. The attainment of their objects was
impossible from the start. Both men were predestined to failure.

Foraging or an occasional scouting when the weather permitted was the
only order of the winter days for Federals and Confederates. With
the advent of spring, however, Phillips became impatient for
more aggressive action. He had been given a large programme, no
insignificant part of which was, the restoration of refugees to their
impoverished homes; but his first business would necessarily have to
be, the occupancy of the country. Not far was he allowed to venture
within

it during the winter; because his superior officers wished him to
protect, before anything else, western Arkansas. Schofield and, after
Schofield's withdrawal from the command of southwestern Missouri,
Curtis had insisted upon that, while Blunt, to whom Phillips, after a
time, was made immediately accountable, was guardedly of another way
of thinking and, although not very explicit, seemed to encourage
Phillips in planning an advance.

Phillips's inability to progress far in the matter of occupancy of
Indian Territory did not preclude his keeping a close tab on Indian
affairs therein, such a tab, in fact, as amounted to fomenting an
intrigue. It will be recalled that on the occasion of his making
the excursion into the Cherokee Nation, which had resulted in his
incendiary destruction of Fort Davis, he had gained intimations of
a rather wide-spread Indian willingness to desert the Confederate
service. He had sounded Creeks and Choctaws and had found them
surprisingly responsive to his machinations. They were nothing loath
to confess that they were thoroughly disgusted with the southern
alliance. It had netted them nothing but unutterable woe. Among
those that Phillips approached, although not personally, was Colonel
McIntosh, who communicated with Phillips through two intimate friends.
McIntosh was persuaded to attempt no immediate demonstration in favor
of the North; for that would be premature, foolhardy; but to bide the
time, which could not be far distant, when the Federal troops would be
in a position to support him.[721] The psychological moment was not
yet. Blunt called Phillips back for operations outside of Indian

[Footnote 721: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 61-62.]

Territory; but the seed of treason had been sown and sown in fertile
soil, in the heart of a McIntosh.[722]

In January, 1863, Phillips took up again the self-imposed task of
emissary.[723] The unionist Cherokees, inclusive of those in the
Indian Brigade, were contemplating holding a national council on
Cowskin Prairie, which was virtually within the Federal lines.
Secessionist Cherokees, headed by Stand Watie, were determined that
such a council should not meet if they could possibly prevent it and
prevent it they would if they could only get a footing north of the
Arkansas River. Their suspicion was, that the council, if assembled,
would declare the treaty with the Confederate States abrogated. To
circumvent Stand Watie, to conciliate some of the Cherokees by making
reparation for past outrages, and to sow discord among others,
Phillips despatched Lieutenant-colonel Lewis Downing on a scout
southward. He was just in time; for the Confederates were on the
brink of hazarding a crossing at two places, Webber's Falls and Fort
Gibson.[724] Upon the return of Downing, Phillips himself moved across
the border with the avowed intention of rendering military support,
if needed, to the Cherokee Council, which convened on the fourth of
February.[725] From Camp Ross, he continued to send out scouting
parties, secret agents,[726] and agents of distribution.

The Cherokee Council assembled without the preliminary formality of a
new election. War conditions

[Footnote 722: This remark would be especially applicable if the
Colonel McIntosh, mentioned by Phillips, was Chilly, the son of
William McIntosh of Indian Springs Treaty notoriety.]

[Footnote 723: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 100.]

[Footnote 724:--Ibid., 85.]

[Footnote 725:--Ibid., 96-97.]

[Footnote 726:--Ibid., 100, 108.]

had made regular pollings impossible. Consequently, the council that
convened in February, 1863 was, to all intents and purposes, the
selfsame body that, in October, 1861, had confirmed the alliance with
the Confederate States. It was Phillips's intention to stand by, with
military arm upraised, until the earlier action had been rescinded.
While he waited, word came that the harvest of defection among the
Creeks had begun; for "a long line of persons"[727] was toiling
through the snow, each wearing the white badge on his hat that
Phillips and McIntosh had agreed should be their sign of fellowship.
Then came an order for Phillips to draw back within supporting
distance of Fayetteville, which, it was believed, the Confederates
were again threatening.[728] Phillips obeyed, as perforce, he had to;
but he left a detachment behind to continue guarding the Cherokee
Council.[729]

The legislative work of the Cherokee Council, partisan body that it
was, with Lewis Downing as its presiding officer and Thomas Pegg as
acting Principal Chief, was reactionary, yet epochal. It comprised
several measures and three of transcendant importance, passed between
the eighteenth and the twenty-first:

1. An act revoking the alliance with the Confederate States and
re-asserting allegiance to the United States.

2. An act deposing all officers of any rank or character whatsoever,
inclusive of legislative, executive, judicial, who were serving in
capacities disloyal to the United States and to the Cherokee Nation.

[Footnote 727: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 101.]

[Footnote 728:--Ibid., 111-112.]

[Footnote 729:--Ibid., 115.]

3. An act emancipating slaves throughout the Cherokee country.[730]

His detention in Arkansas was not at all to Phillips's liking. It
tried his patience sorely; for he felt the crying need of Indian
Territory for just such services as his and, try as he would, he could
not visualize that of Arkansas. Eagerly he watched for a chance to
return to the Cherokee country. One offered for the fifth of March but
had to be given up. Again and yet again in letters[731] to Curtis
and Blunt he expostulated against delay but delay could not well be
avoided. The pressure from Arkansas for assistance was too great.
Blunt sympathized with Phillips more than he dared openly admit and
tacitly sanctioned his advance. Never at any time could there
have been the slightest doubt as to the singleness of the virile
Scotchman's purpose. In imagination he saw his adopted country
repossessed of Indian Territory and of all the overland approaches to
Texas and Mexico from whence, as he supposed, the Confederacy expected
to draw her grain and other supplies. Some regard for the Indian
himself he doubtless had; but he used it as a means to the greater
end. His sense of justice was truly British in its keenness.

[Footnote 730: Ross to Dole, April 2, 1863 [Indian Office General
Files, _Cherokee_, 1859-1865, R 87]; Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, _Report_, 1863, p. 23; Britton, _Civil War on the
Border_, vol. ii, 24-25; Moore, _Rebellion Record_, vol. vi,
50; Eaton, _John Ross and the Cherokee Indians_, 196.]

[Footnote 731: Britton [_Civil War on the Border_, vol. ii, 27]
conveys the idea that, while Phillips, truly enough, wished to enter
the Indian country at the earliest day practicable, he did not care to
go there before the Indian ponies could "live on the range." He knew
that the refugees at Neosho would insist upon following in his wake.
It would be heartless to expose them to starvation and to the ravages
of diseases like the small-pox. Nevertheless, the correspondence of
Phillips, scattered through the _Official Records_, vol. xxii,
part ii, 121-367, shows conclusively that the weeks of waiting were
weary ones.]

His Indian soldiers loved him. They believed in him. He was able to
accomplish wonders in training them. He looked after their welfare and
he did his best to make the government and its agents of the Indian
Office keep faith with the refugees. Quite strenuously, too, he
advocated further enlistments from among the Indians, especially from
among those yet in Indian Territory. If the United States did not take
care, the Confederates would successfully conscript where the Federals
might easily recruit. In this matter as in many another, he had
Blunt's unwavering support; for Blunt wanted the officers of the
embryo fourth and fifth regiments to secure their commands. Blunt's
military district was none too full of men.

March was then as now the planting season in the Arkansas Valley and,
as Phillips rightly argued, if the indigent Indians were not to be
completely pauperized, they ought to be given an opportunity to be
thrown once more upon their own resources, to be returned home in time
to put in crops. When the high waters subsided and the rivers became
fordable, he grew more insistent. There was grass in the valley of the
Arkansas and soon the Confederates would be seizing the stock that
it was supporting. He had held the line of the Arkansas by means of
scouts all winter, but scouting would not be adequate much longer. The
Confederates were beginning, in imitation of the Federals, to attach
indigents to their cause by means of relief distribution and the
"cropping season was wearing on."

At the end of March, some rather unimportant changes were made by
Curtis in the district limits of his department and coincidently
Phillips moved over the border. The first of April his camp was at
Park Hill. His great desire was to seize Fort Smith; for he

realized that not much recruiting could be done among the Choctaws
while that post remained in Confederate hands. Blunt advised caution.
It would not even do to attempt as yet any permanent occupation south
of the Arkansas. Dashes at the enemy might be made, of course,
but nothing more; for at any moment those higher up might order a
retrograde movement and anyhow no additional support could be counted
upon. Halleck was still calling for men to go to Grant's assistance
and accusing Curtis of keeping too many needlessly in the West. The
Vicksburg campaign was on.

The order that Blunt anticipated finally came and Curtis called for
Phillips to return. La Rue Harrison, foraging in Arkansas,[732] was
whining for assistance. Phillips temporized, having no intention
whatsoever of abandoning his appointed goal. His arguments were
unanswerable but Curtis like Halleck could never be made to appreciate
the plighted faith that lay back of Indian participation in the war
and the strategic importance of Indian Territory. The northern Indian
regiments, pleaded Phillips, were never intended for use in Arkansas.
Why should they go there? It was doubtful if they could ever be
induced to go there again. They had been recruited to recover the
Indian Territory and now that they were within it they were going to
stay until the object had been attained. Phillips solicited Blunt's
backing and got it, to the extent, indeed, that Blunt informed Curtis
that if he wanted Indian Territory given up he must order it himself
and take the consequences. It was not given up but Phillips suffered
great embarrassments in holding it. The only support Blunt could
render him was to send a negro regiment to Baxter Springs to protect
supply

[Footnote 732: _Confederate Military History_, vol. x, 166-168.]

trains. Guerrillas and bushwhackers were everywhere and Phillips's
command was half-starved. Smallpox[733] broke out and, as the men
became more and more emaciated, gained ground. Phillips continued to
make occasional dashes at the enemy and in a few engagements he was
more than reasonably successful. Webber's Falls was a case in point.

As May advanced, the political situation in Missouri seemed to call
loudly for a change in department commanders and President Lincoln,
quite on his own initiative apparently, selected Schofield to succeed
Curtis,[734] Curtis having identified himself with a faction opposed
to Governor Gamble. The selection was obnoxious to many and to none
more than to Herron and to Blunt, whose military exploits Schofield
had belittled. The former threatened resignation if Schofield were
appointed but the latter restrained himself and for a brief space all
went well, Schofield even manifesting some sympathy for Phillips at
Fort Gibson, or Fort Blunt, as the post, newly fortified, was now
called. He declared that the Arkansas River must be secured its
entire length; but the Vicksburg campaign was still demanding men and
Phillips had to struggle on, unaided. Indeed, he was finally told
that if he could not hold on by himself he must fall back and let
the Indian Territory take care of itself until Vicksburg should have
fallen.

[Footnote 733: Britton, _Civil War on the Border_, vol. ii, 26.]

[Footnote 734: A change had been resolved upon in March, E.V. Sumner
being the man chosen; but he died on the way out [Livermore, _Story
of the Civil War_, part iii, book i, 256]. Sumner had had a wide
experience with frontier conditions, first, in the marches of the
dragoons [Pelzer, _Marches of the Dragoons in the Mississippi
Valley_] later, in New Mexico [Abel, _Official Correspondence of
James S. Calhoun_], and, still later, in ante-bellum Kansas. His
experience had been far from uniformly fortunate but he had learned a
few very necessary lessons, lessons that Schofield had yet to con.]

The inevitable clash between Schofield and Blunt was not long
deferred. It came over a trifling matter but was fraught with larger
meanings.[735] It was probably as much to get away from Schofield's
near presence as to see to things himself in Indian Territory that led
Blunt to go down in person to Fort Gibson. He arrived there on the
eleventh of July, taking Phillips entirely by surprise. Vicksburg had
fallen about a week before.

The difficulties besetting Colonel Phillips were more than matched by
those besetting General Steele. He, too, struggled on unaided, nay,
more, he was handicapped at every turn. Scarcely had he taken command
at Fort Smith when he was apprised of the fact that the chief armorer
there had been ordered to remove all the tools to Arkadelphia.[736]
Steele was hard put to it to obtain any supplies at all.[737] Many
that he did get the promise of were diverted from their course,[738]
just as were General Pike's. This was true even in the case of
shoes.[739] He tried to fit his regiments out one by one with the
things the men required in readiness for a spring campaign[740] but it
was up-hill work. And what was perfectly incomprehensible to him was,
that when his need was so great there was yet corn available for
private parties to speculate in and to realize enormous profits
on.[741] In April, the Indian regiments, assembling and reforming
in expectation of a call to action, made special demands upon his
granaries but they were

[Footnote 735: June 9, orders issued redistricting Schofield's
Department of Missouri [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii,
315].]

[Footnote 736: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 34.]

[Footnote 737: Steele to Blair, February 10, 1863, Ibid.,
87-88.]

[Footnote 738: Steele to Anderson, February 8, 1863, Ibid.,
81-82.]

[Footnote 739: Duval to Cabell, May 15, 1863, Ibid., 244-245.]

[Footnote 740: Steele to Cabell, March 19, 1863, Ibid., 148.]

[Footnote 741: Steele to Anderson, March 22, 1863, Ibid., 158.]

nearly empty.[742] It was not possible for him to furnish corn for
seed or, finally, the necessaries of life to indigent Indians. Indian
affairs complicated, his situation tremendously.[743] He could get no
funds and no

[Footnote 742: Steele to Anderson, April 3, 1863, _Confederate
Records_, 179-180.]

[Footnote 743: For instance the officers of the First Cherokee
regiment had a serious dispute as to the ranking authority among
them [Ibid., Letter from Steele, March 14, 1863, p. 143]. The
following letters indicate that there were other troubles and other
tribes in trouble also:

(a)

"Your communication of 13 Inst. is to hand. I am directed by the
Commanding Gen'l to express to you his warmest sympathy in behalf of
your oppressed people, and his desire and determination to do all
that may be in his power to correct existing evils and ameliorate the
condition of the loyal Cherokees. The Gen'l feels proud to know that a
large portion of your people, actuated by a high spirit of patriotism,
have shown themselves steadfast and unyielding in their allegiance to
our Government notwithstanding the bitter hardships and cruel ruthless
outrages to which they have been subjected.

"It is hoped that the time is not very far distant, when your people
may again proudly walk their own soil, exalted in the feeling, perhaps
with the consciousness that our cruel and cowardly foe has been
adequately punished and humiliated.

"Your communication has been ford. to Lt Gen'l Holmes with the urgent
request that immediate steps be taken to bring your people fully
within the pale of civilized warfare.

"It is hoped that there may be no delay in a matter so vitally
important.

"We are looking daily for the arrival of Boats from below with corn,
tis the wish of the Gen'l that the necessitous Indians sh'd be
supplied from this place. Boats w'd be sent farther up the river, were
we otherwise circumstanced. As it is the Boats have necessarily to run
the gauntlet of the enemy--The Gen'l however hopes to be able to keep
the River free to navigation until a sufficient supply of corn to
carry us through the winter can be accumulated at this place.

"You will receive notice of the arrival of corn so that it may
be conveyed to the Indians needing it."--CROSBY to Stand Watie,
commanding First Cherokee Regiment, February 16, 1863, Ibid.,
pp. 91-93.

(b)

"I am directed by Gen'l Steele to say that a delegation from the
Creeks have visited him since your departure and a full discussion has
been had of such matters as they are interested in.

"They brought with them a letter from the Principal Chief Moty Kennard
asking that the Cattle taken from the refugee Creeks be turned over to
the use of the loyal people of the nation. The Gen. Com'dg has ordered
a disposition of these Cattle to be made in accordance with the wishes
of the chief. If necessary please give such instructions as will
attain this object. (cont.)]

instructions from Richmond so he dealt with the natives as best he
could.[744] Small-pox became epidemic

[Footnote 743: (cont.) No Boats yet. Will endeavor to send one up the
river should more than one arrive."--Crosby to D.H. Cooper, February
19, 1863, Ibid., p. 97.

(c)

"I enclose, herewith, a letter from the agent of the Seminoles. You
will see from that letter the danger we are in from neglecting the
wants of the Indians. I have never had one cent of money pertaining
to the Indian superintendency, nor have I received any copies of
treaties, nor anything else that would give me an insight into the
affairs of that Department. I wrote, soon after my arrival at this
place, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs but have received
no reply. If you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of the
superintendent who has been lately appointed I hope you will urge
upon him the necessity of coming at once and attending to these
matters."--STEELE to Anderson, April 6, 1863, Ibid., 180.

(d)

"I have today received a long letter from the Chief of the Osages,
which I enclose for your perusal. Maj. Dorn came in from Texas a few
days since, and has, I understand, gone down to Little Rock on the
steamer 'Tahlequah.' It is certainly represented that a portion of
the funds in his hands is in specie. Please have the latter surely
delivered. Please return Black Dog's letter unless you wish to forward
it."--STEELE to Holmes, May 16, 1863, Ibid., 249.

(e)

"Letters, received today, indicate a great necessity for your presence
with the tribe for whom you are Agent. I wish you, therefore, to visit
them, and relieve the discontent, as far as the means in your hands
will permit. The Osage Chief, 'Black Dog,' now acting as 1st Chief,
claims that certain money has been turned over to you for certain
purposes, for which they have received nothing."--STEELE to A.J. Dorn,
May 16, 1863, Ibid., 249.]

[Footnote 744: "Your letter of May 6th, with letter of Black Dog
enclosed, has been received and the enclosure forwarded to Lieut. Gen.
Holmes for his information. The General Com'dg desires me to express
his regrets that the affairs of the Osage and Seminole tribes should
be in such a deplorable condition, but he is almost powerless, at
present, to remedy the evils you so justly complain of. He has written
again and again to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Richmond
requesting instructions in the discharge of his duties as ex-officio
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, but not a word has ever been
received in reply to his reiterated requests, owing probably to the
difficulty of communication between this point and the Capital. He has
also requested that funds be sent him to liquidate the just demands of
our Indian Allies, but from the same cause his requests have met with
no response. You must readily appreciate the difficulties under which
Gen. Steele necessarily labors. In fact his action is completely
paralized by the want of instructions and funds. In connection with
this he has been compelled to exert every faculty in defending the
line of the Arkansas River against an enemy, vastly his superior in
arms, numbers, artillery and everything that adds to the efficiency of
an army, and consequently has not been able to pay (cont.)]

among his men,[745] as among Phillips's--and from like causes.

Then General Steele had difficulty in getting his men and the right
kind of men together. Lawless Arkansans were unduly desirous of
joining the Indian regiments, thinking that discipline there would be
lax enough to suit their requirements.[746] Miscellaneous conscripting
by ex-officers of Arkansan troops gave much cause for annoyance[747]
as did also Cooper's unauthorized commissioning of officers to a
regiment made

[Footnote 744: (cont.) that attention to the business of the
superintendency that he would under other circumstances.

"It was stated, some time ago, in the newspapers, that a
superintendent had been appointed in Richmond, and the General Com'dg
has been anxiously expecting his arrival for several weeks. He
earnestly hopes that the superintendent may soon reach the field of
his labors, provided with instructions, funds and everything necessary
to the discharge of his important duties.

"Major Dorn, the Agent for the Osages, was here, a few days ago, but
he is now in Little Rock. The General has written to him, requiring
him to come up immediately, visit the tribe for which he is the Agent
and relieve their necessities as far as the means in his hands will
permit.

"The General has been offically informed that Major D. has in his
possession, for the use of the Osages twenty odd thousand dollars.

"I have to apologize, on the part of Gen'l Steele, for the various
letters which have been received from you, and which still remain
unanswered, but his excuse must be that, in the absence of proper
instructions etc. he was really unable to answer your questions or
comply with your requests, and he cannot make promises that there is
not, at least, a _very strong probability_ of his being able
to fulfil. Too much harm has already been occasioned in the Indian
Country by reckless promises, and he considers it better, in every
point of view, to deal openly and frankly with the Indians than to
hold out expectations that are certain not to be realized.

"It is not possible, however, to say in a letter what could be so much
better said in a personal interview, and the Gen'l therefore, desires
me to say that as soon as your duties will admit of your absence, he
will be happy to see and converse with you fully and freely at his
Head Quarters" [Ibid., no. 268, pp. 27-29].

On this same subject, see also Steele to Wigfall, April 15, 1863,
_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 819-821.]

[Footnote 745: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 220.]

[Footnote 746: Steele to Anderson, May 9, 1863, Ibid.,
233-234.]

[Footnote 747: Same to same, March 1, and 3, 1863, Ibid.,
112-113, 113-114.]

out of odd battalions and independent companies.[748] Cooper, in fact,
seemed bent upon tantalizing Steele and many of the Indians were
behind him.[749] Colonel Tandy Walker was especially his supporter.
Cooper had been Walker's choice for department commander[750] and
continued so, in spite of all Steele's honest attempts to propitiate
him and in spite of his promise to use every exertion to satisfy
Choctaw needs generally.[751] To Tandy Walker Steele entrusted the
business of recruiting anew among the Choctaws.[752]

[Footnote 748: Steele to Anderson, February 13, 1863, _Confederate
Records_, chap 2, no. 270, p. 89.]

[Footnote 749: It was not true, apparently, that the Chickasaws were
dissatisfied with Cooper. See the evidence furnished by themselves,
_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1116-1117.]

[Footnote 750: _Confederate Military History_, vol. x, 134,
_footnote_.]

[Footnote 751: Steele to Tandy Walker, February 25, 1863,
_Confederate Records_, chap. 2; no. 270, p. 109.]

[Footnote 752: Crosby to Walker, March 11, 1863, Ibid., p.
136. Steele thought that the Indians might as well be employed in a
military way since they were more than likely to be a public charge.
To Colonel Anderson he wrote, March 22, 1863 [Ibid., p. 155],
"I forward the above copy of a letter from Gen'l Cooper for Gen'l
Holmes' information. I purpose if not otherwise directed to call out
all the available force of the Nations within the conscript age....
They have to be fed and might as well be organized and put into a
position to be useful." From the correspondence of Steele, it would
seem that there was some trouble over Walker's promotion. April 10,
Steele wrote again to Anderson on the subject of Indian enrollment in
the ranks and referred to the other matter.

"The enclosed copy of some articles in the Treaty between the C.S.
Govt and the Choctaws with remarks by Gen'l Cooper are submitted for
the consideration of the Lt. Gen'l.

"It appears that Col. Walker was recommended to fill the vacancy made
by the promotion of Col. Cooper, the right being given by the treaty
to appoint to the office of Col., the other offices being filled by
election, and that at the time, the enemy were at Van Buren. Col.
Walker being at the convenient point was put upon duty by Col. Cooper
and has since been recognized by several acts of my own, not however
with a full knowledge of the circumstances. That under instructions
from Gen'l Hindman a Regt was being organized which it was expected
would be commanded by Col. Folsom, the whole of which appears to be a
very good arrangement. The necessity that exists of feeding nearly all
the Indians would seem to present an (cont.)]

Furloughs and desertions were the bane of Steele's existence.[753] In
these respects Alexander's brigade,

[Footnote 752: (cont.) additional reason for having them in service.
Companies are also being organized from the Reserve Indians, with the
view to replace white troops with them who are now engaged protecting
the frontier from the incursions of the wild tribes. Moreover the
enemy's forces being composed partially of Indians, the troops would
be effective against them, when they might not be against other
troops..." [Ibid., pp. 186-187]. Appointments, as well as
promotions, within the Indian service caused Steele much perplexity.
See Steele to Anderson, April 13, 1863, Ibid., pp. 190-191.]

[Footnote 753: Steele thought it desirable to arrest all men, at
large, who were subject to military duty under the conscript act,
unless they could produce evidence "of a right to remain off duty"
[Crosby to Colonel Newton, January 12, 1863, Ibid., p. 32].
Presumably whole companies were deserting their posts [Crosby to
Cooper, February 1, 1863, Ibid., pp. 66-67]. It was suggested
that some deserters should be permitted to organize against jayhawkers
as, under sanction from Holmes, had been the case with deserters
in the Magazine Mountains [Steele to Anderson, February 1, 1863,
Ibid., p. 67]. When word came that the Federals were about to
organize militia in northwestern Arkansas, Steele ordered that
all persons, subject to military duty, who should fail to enroll
themselves before February 6, should be treated as bushwhackers [same
to same, February 3, 1863, Ibid., pp. 69-70]. Colonel Charles
DeMorse, whose Texas regiment had been ordered, February 15, to report
to Cooper [Crosby to DeMorse, February 15, 1863, Ibid.,], asked
to be allowed to make an expedition against the wild tribes. Some two
hundred fifty citizens would be more than glad to accompany it. Steele
was indignant and Duval, at his direction, wrote thus to Cooper, April
19: "... Now if these men were so anxious to march three or four
hundred miles to _find_ the enemy, they could certainly be
induced to take up arms _temporarily_ in defence of their
immediate homes" [Ibid., p. 203]. It was not that Steele
objected to expeditions against the wild tribes but he was disgusted
with the lack of patriotism and military enthusiasm among the Texans
and Arkansans. Colonel W.P. Lane's regiment of Texas Partizan Rangers
was another that had to be chided for its dilatoriness [Ibid.,
pp. 168-169, 199, 234]. Deficient means of transportation was
oftentimes the excuse given for failure to appear but Steele's
complaint to Anderson, April 10 [Ibid., 185-186], was very much
more to the point. He wrote,

"... I find that men are kept back upon every pretext; that QrMasters
and Govt Agents or persons calling themselves such have detailed them
to drive teams hauling cotton to Mexico, and employed them about the
Gov't agencies. This cotton speculating mania is thus doing us great
injury besides taking away all the transportation in the country...."
Public feeling in Texas was on the side of deserters to a very great
extent and in one instance, at least, Steele was forced to defer to
it, "You will desist from the attempt to take the deserters from
Hart's Company or any other in northern Texas if the state of public
feeling is such that it cannot be done without (cont.)]

within which Colonel Phillips had detected traitors to the Confederate
cause,[754] was, perhaps, the most incorrigible.[755] From department
headquarters came impassioned appeals[756] for activity and for
loyalty but

[Footnote 753: (cont.) danger of producing a collision with the
people. The men are no doubt deserters, but we have no men to spare,
to enforce the arrest at the present time" [Steele to Captain
Randolph, July i, 1863, Ibid., p. 116. See also Steele to
Borland, July 1, 1863, Ibid., no. 268, p. 117]. When West's
Battery was ordered to report at Fort Smith it was discovered going
in the opposite direction [Steele to J.E. Harrison, April 25, 1863,
Ibid., no. 270, p. 213; Duval to Harrison, May 1, 1863,
Ibid., p. 221; Steele to Anderson, May 9, 1863, Ibid.,
p. 233; Steele to Cooper, May 11 1863, Ibid., pp. 237-238].

One expedition to the plains that Steele distinctly encouraged was
that organized by Captain Wells [Steele to Cooper, March 16, 1863,
Ibid., pp. 145-146]. It was designed that Wells's command
should operate on the western frontier of Kansas and intercept
trains on the Santa Fe trail [Steele to Anderson, April 17, 1863,
Ibid., p. 197].]

[Footnote 754: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, p. 62.]

[Footnote 755: For correspondence with Alexander objecting to further
furloughing and urging the need of promptness, see _Confederate
Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp. 121-122, 163-164, 170, 178-179,
210-211.]

[Footnote 756: The following are illustrations:

"... Every exertion is being made and the Gen'l feels confident that
the means will be attained of embarking in an early spring campaign.
It only remains for the officers and men to come forward to duty in
a spirit of willingness and cheerfulness to render the result of
operations in the Dept (or beyond it as the case may be) not only
successful but to add fresh renown to the soldiers whom he has the
honor to command ..."--CROSBY to Talliaferro, February 24, 1863,
_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp. 105-106.

"The Commanding Gen'l would be gratified to grant the within petition
were it compatible with the interests of the service and the cause
which petitioners 'Hold dearer than life.' He is fully aware of the
many urgent reasons which a number of officers and men have for
visiting their homes, providing for their families, etc., etc.

"The Enemy conscious of his superior strength is constantly
threatening the small force that now holds him in check on the line
of the Arkansas river. Speight's Brigade was sent to their present
position--not because they were not needed here--but for the reason
that it was an utter impossibility to subsist it in this region.

"Every consideration of patriotism and duty imperiously demands the
presence of every officer and soldier belonging to this command. The
season of active operations is at hand. The enemy in our front is
actively employed in accumulating supplies and transportation and in
massing, drilling, and disciplining his troops. His advance cannot be
expected to be long (cont.)]

without telling or lasting effect. The Confederate service in Indian
Territory was honeycombed with fraud and corruption.[757] Wastrels,
desperadoes, scamps of every sort luxuriated at Indian expense. It was
no wonder that false muster rolls had to be guarded against.[758]
The Texans showed throughout so great an aversion to the giving of
themselves or of their worldly goods[759] to the salvation of the
country that

[Footnote 756: (cont.) delayed. This enemy is made up of Kansas
Jayhawkers, 'Pin Indians,' and Traitors from Missouri, Arkansas and
Texas. The ruin, devastation, oppression, and tyranny that has marked
his progress has no parallel in history. The last official Report from
your Brigade shews a sad state of weakness. Were the enemy informed on
this point _our line of defence would soon be transferred from the
Arkansas to Red river_. In the name of God, our country and all
that is near and dear to us, let us discard from our minds every other
consideration than that of a firm, fixed, and manly determination to
do our duty and our whole duty to our country in her hour of peril and
need. The season is propitious for an advance. Let not supineness,
indifference and a lack of enthusiasm in a just and holy cause, compel
a retreat Texas is the great Commissary Depot west of the Mississippi.
The enemy must be kept as far from her rich fields and countless
herds, as possible. Let us cheerfully, harmoniously, and in a
spirit of manly sacrifice bend every energy mental and physical to
preparations for a forward movement. The foregoing reasons for a
refusal to grant leave of absence will serve as an answer in all
similar cases and will be disseminated among the officers and men of
the Brigade by the Commanders thereof."--CROSBY, by command of Steele,
March 20, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp.
151-152.]

[Footnote 757: J.A. Scales to Adair, April 12, 1863, _Official
Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 821-822.]

[Footnote 758: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 224.]

[Footnote 759: Holmes, as early as March, warned Steele that he would
have to get his supplies soon from Texas. It would not be possible to
draw them much longer from the Arkansas River. He was told to prepare
to get them in Texas "at all hazard," which instruction was construed
by Steele to mean, "take it, if you cant buy it" [Ibid.,
145-146]. It was probably the prospect of having to use force or
compulsion that made Steele so interested, late in May, in finding
out definitely whether Hindman's acts in Arkansas had really been
legalized [Steele to Blair, May 22, 1863, Ibid., 34].
Appreciating that it was matter of vital concern that the grain crop
in northern Texas should be harvested, Steele was at a loss to know
how to deal with petitions that solicited furloughs for the purpose
[Steele to Anderson, May 4, 1863, Ibid., 227; Duval to Cabell,
May 7, 1863, Ibid., 230-231]. Perhaps, it was a concession
to some such need that induced him, in June, to permit seven day
furloughs [Duval to Cooper, June 27, 1863, Ibid., no. 268, p.
100].]

Steele in despair cried out, "... it does appear as if the Texas
troops on this frontier were determined to tarnish the proud fame that
Texans have won in other fields."[760] The Arkansans were no better
and no worse. The most fitting employment for many, the whole length
and breadth of Steele's department, was the mere "ferreting out of
jayhawkers and deserters."[761]

The Trans-Mississippi departmental change, effected in January, was of
short duration, so short that it could never surely have been intended
to be anything but transitional. In February the parts were re-united
and Kirby Smith put in command of the whole,[762] President Davis
explaining, not very candidly, that no dissatisfaction with Holmes was
thereby implied.[763] Smith was the ranking officer and entitled to
the first consideration. Moreover, Holmes had once implored that a
substitute for himself be sent out. As a matter of fact, Holmes had
become too much entangled with Hindman, too much identified with all
that Arkansans objected to in Hindman,[764] his intolerance, his
arrogance, his illegalities, for him to be retained longer, with
complacency, in chief command. Hindman and he were largely to blame
for the necessity[765] of suspending the privilege of the writ of
_habeas corpus_ in Arkansas and the adjacent Indian country,
which had just been done. Strong

[Footnote 760: Steele to Alexander, April 23, 1863, _Confederate
Records_, no. 270, pp. 210-211.]

[Footnote 761: Duval to Colonel John King, June 30, 1863,
Ibid., no. 268, p. 110.]

[Footnote 762: Livermore, _Story of the Civil War_, part iii,
book i, p. 255.]

[Footnote 763: Davis to Holmes, February 26, 1863, _Official
Records_, vol. liii, supplement, 849-850.]

[Footnote 764: Davis to Holmes, January 28, 1863, Ibid.,
846-847.]

[Footnote 765: The necessity was exceedingly great. Take, for
instance, the situation at Fort Smith, where the citizens themselves
asked for the establishment of martial law in order that lives and
property might be reasonably secure [Crosby to Mayor Joseph Bennett,
January 10, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp.
33-34].]

political pressure was exerted in Richmond[766] and the Arkansas
delegation in Congress demanded Hindman's recall,[767] Holmes's
displacement, and Kirby Smith's appointment. The loss of that historic
fort, Arkansas Post,[768] also a tardy appreciation of the economic
value of the Arkansas Valley and, incidentally, of the entire
Trans-Mississippi Department,[769] had really determined matters; but,
fortunately, the supersedure of Holmes by Smith did not affect the
position of Steele.

Steele divined that the Federals would naturally make an early attempt
to occupy in force the country north of the Arkansas River and beyond
it to the southward in what had hitherto been a strictly Confederate
stronghold. It was his intention to forestall them. The two Cherokee
regiments constituted, for some little time, his best available troops
and them he kept in almost constant motion.[770] His great reliance,
and well it might be, was upon Stand Watie, whom he had

[Footnote 766: Davis to Garland, March 28, 1863, _Official
Records_, vol. liii, supplement, 861-863; Davis to the Arkansas
delegation, March 30, 1863, Ibid., 863-865.]

[Footnote 767: Hindman was not immediately recalled; but he soon
manifested an unwillingness to continue under Holmes [Ibid.,
848]. He had very pronounced opinions about some of his associates.
Price he thought of as a breeder of factions and Holmes as an honest
man but unsystematic. In the summer, he actually asked for an
assignment to Indian Territory [Ibid., vol. xxii, part ii,
895].]

[Footnote 768: Livermore, _Story of the Civil War_, part iii,
book i, 85. Davis would fain have believed that so great a disaster
had not befallen the Confederate arms [Letter to Holmes, January 28,
1863, _Official Records_, vol. liii, supplement, 847].]

[Footnote 769: Perhaps, it is scarcely fair to intimate that the
Trans-Mississippi Department was regarded as unimportant at this
stage. It was only relatively so. In proof of that, see Davis to
Governor Flanagin, April 3, 1863, Ibid., 865-866; Davis to
Johnson, July 14, 1863, Ibid., 879-880. When Kirby Smith
tarried late in the assumption of his enlarged duties, Secretary
Seddon pointed out the increasingly great significance of them [Letter
to Smith, March 18, 1863, Ibid., vol. xxii, part ii, pp.
802-803].]

[Footnote 770: Steele to Cabell, April 18, 1863, _Confederate
Records_, no. 270, p. 199.]

brought up betimes within convenient distance of Fort Smith[771] and
with whom, in April, Phillips's men had two successful encounters, on
the fourteenth[772] and the twenty-fifth. The one of the twenty-fifth
was at Webber's Falls and especially noteworthy, since, as a Federal
victory, it prevented a convening of the secessionist Cherokee
Council,[773] for which, so important did he deem it, Steele had
planned an extra protection.[774] The completeness of the Federal
victory was marred by the loss of Dr. Gillpatrick,[775] who had so
excellently served the ends of diplomacy between the Indian Expedition
and John Ross.

Through May and June, engagements, petty in themselves but
contributing each its mite to ultimate success or failure, occupied
detachments of the opposing Indian forces with considerable
frequency.[776] Two, devised by Cooper, those of the fourteenth[777]
and twentieth[778] of May may be said to characterize the entire

[Footnote 771: "You will order Colonel Stand Watie to move his
command down the Ark. River to some point in the vicinity of Fort
Smith."--CROSBY to Cooper, February 14, 1863, Ibid., p. 90.]

[Footnote 772: Britton, _Civil War on the Border_, vol. ii, 37.]

[Footnote 773: Phillips to Curtis, April 26, 1863, _Official
Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 314-315; Britton, _Civil War on the
Border_, vol. ii, 40-41. Mrs. Anderson, in her _Life of General
Stand Watie_, denies categorically that the meeting of the council
was interrupted on this occasion [p. 22] and cites the recollections
of "living veterans" in proof.]

[Footnote 774: "I am directed by the General Com'dg to say that he
deems it advisable that you should move your Hd. Qrs. higher up the
river, say in the vicinity of Webber's Falls or Pheasant Bluff. He is
desirous that you should be somewhere near the Council when that
body meets, so that any attempt of the enemy to interfere with their
deliberations may be thwarted by you."--DUVAL to Cooper, April 22,
1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 209.]

[Footnote 775: Britton, _Civil War on the Border_, vol. ii, 42.]

[Footnote 776:--Ibid., vol. ii, chapters vi and vii.]

[Footnote 777: _Official Records_, vol. liii, supplement, 469.]

[Footnote 778:--Ibid., vol. xxii, part i, 337-338;
_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, p. 34.]

series and were nothing but fruitless demonstrations to seize the
Federal grazing herds. A brilliant cavalry raid, undertaken by Stand
Watie and for the same purpose, a little later, was slightly more
successful;[779] but even its fair showing was reversed in the
subsequent skirmish at Greenleaf Prairie, June 16.[780] To the
northward, something more serious was happening, since actions, having
their impetus in Arkansas,[781] were endangering Phillips's line of
communication with Fort Scott, his base and his depot of supplies. In
reality, Phillips was hard pressed and no one knew better than he how
precarious his situation was. Among his minor troubles was the refusal
of his Creeks to charge in the engagement of May 20.

The refusal of the Creeks to charge was not, however, indicative of
any widespread disaffection.[782] So

[Footnote 779: Anderson, 20-21. Interestingly enough, about this time
Cooper reported that he could get plenty of beef where he was and at a
comparatively low price, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268,
pp. 60-61.]

[Footnote 780: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 348-352.]

[Footnote 781: Not all got their impetus there. The following letter
although not sent, contains internal evidence that Cooper was
concocting some of them:

"I learn unofficially that Gen'l Cooper, having received notice of the
approach of a train of supplies for Gibson, was about crossing the
Arkansas with the largest part of his force, to intercept it. It is
reported that the train would have been in 15 miles of Gibson last
night. If Gen'l Cooper succeeds Phillips will leave soon, if not he
will probably remain some time longer. Be prepared to move in case he
leaves."--STEELE to Cabell, June 24, 1863, _Confederate Records_,
chap. 2, no. 268, p. 96.]

[Footnote 782: The following letter shows the nature of the Creek
disaffection:

DEAR GREAT FATHER: Sir, The wicked rebellion in the United States has
caused a division in the Nation. Some of our many loving leaders have
joined the rebels merely for speculation and consequently divided our
people and that brought ruin in our Nation. They had help near and
ours was far so that our ruin was sure. We saw this plain beforehand.
Therefore we concluded to go to you our great father, remembering the
treaty that you have made with us long ago in which you promised us
protection. This was the cause that made us to go and meet you in your
white house about eighteen months ago and there laid our complaint
before you, as a weaker brother wronged of his rights by a stronger
brother and you promised us your protection; but before we got back to
our people they were (cont.)]

honorably had Phillips been conducting himself with reference to
Indian affairs, so promptly and generously had he discharged his
obligations to the refugees who had been harbored at Neosho--they had
all returned now from exile[783]--so successfully had he everywhere
encountered the foe that the Indians, far and wide, were beginning to
look to him for succor,[784] many of them to

[Footnote 782: (cont.) made to leave their humble and peaceful home
and also all their property and traveled towards north in the woods
without roads not only that but they were followed, so that they had
to fight three battles so as to keep their families from being taken
away from them. In the last fight they were overpowered by a superior
force so they had to get away the best way they can and most every
thing they had was taken away from them ... Now this was the way we
left our country and this was the condition of our people when we
entered within the bounds of the State of Kansas ...

Now Great Father you have promised to help us in clearing out our
country so that we could bring back our families to their homes and
moreover we have enlisted as home guards to defend our country and it
will be twelve months in a few weeks ... but there is nothing done as
yet in our country. We have spent our time in the states of Mo. and
Arks. and in the Cherokee Nation. We are here in Ft. Gibson over a
month. Our enemies are just across the river and our pickets and
theirs are fighting most every day ...

There is only three regts. of Indians and a few whites are here. Our
enemy are gathering fast from all sides ...

A soldier's rights we know but little but it seems to us that our
rations are getting shorter all the time but that may be on account
of the teams for it have to be hauled a great ways.--CREEKS to the
President of the United States, May 16, 1863, Office of Indian
Affairs, General Files, _Creek_, 1860-1869, O 6 of 1863.]

[Footnote 783: Britton's account of the return of the Cherokee exiles
is recommended for perusal. It could scarcely be excelled. See,
_Civil War on the Border_, vol. ii, 34-37.]

[Footnote 784: Certain proceedings of Carruth and Martin would seem to
suggest that they were endeavoring to reap the reward of Phillips's
labors, by negotiating, somewhat prematurely, for an inter-tribal
council. Coffin may have endorsed it, but Dole had not [Dole to
Coffin, July 8, 1863, Indian Office _Letter Book_, no. 71, p.
116]. The pretext for calling such a council lay in fairly recent
doings of the wild tribes. The subjoined letters and extracts of
letters will elucidate the subject: February 7, Coffin reported to
Dole [General Files, _Southern Superintendency_, 1863-1864] that
the wild Indians had been raiding on the Verdigris and Fall Rivers
into the Creek and Cherokee countries, "jayhawking property," and
bringing it into Kansas and selling it to the settlers. Some of the
cattle obtained in this way had been (cont.)]

wonder, whether in joining the Confederacy, they had not made a
terrible mistake, a miscalculation beyond all remedying.

To the Confederates, tragically enough, the Indian's tale of woe and
of regret had a different meaning. The

[Footnote 784: (cont.) sold by a settler to the contractor and fed to
the Indians. Jim Ned's band of wild Delawares, returning from such a
jayhawking expedition, had stolen some Osage ponies and had become
involved in a fight in which two Delawares had been killed [Coffin to
Dole, February 12, 1863, ibid., _Neosho_, C 73 of 1863]. Coffin
prevailed upon Jim Ned to stop the jayhawking excursions; inasmuch
as "Considerable bad feeling exists on the part of the Cherokees in
consequence of the bringing up ... a great many cattle, ponies, and
mules, which they allege belong to the Cherokee refugees ..." [Coffin
to Dole, February 24, 1863, Indian Office General Files, _Southern
Superintendency_, 1863-1864].

Feelings of hostility continued to exist, notwithstanding, between the
civilized and uncivilized red men and "aided materially the emissaries
of the Rebellion in fomenting discords and warlike raids upon whites
as well as Indians ..." [Coffin to Dole, June 25, 1863, Ibid.,
C 325]. It was under such circumstances that Carruth took it upon
himself to arrange an inter-tribal council. This is his report
[Carruth to Coffin, June 17, 1863, Ibid.,]. His action was
seconded by Martin [Martin to Coffin, June 18, 1863, Ibid.,]:

"I left Belmont (the temporary Wichita agency) May 26th to hold a
Council with the Indians of the Wichita Agency, who have not as yet
reached Kansas ... I found ... upon reaching Fall River ... that the
Wichitas alone had sent over 100 men. We reached the Ark. River May
31st. After having been compelled to purchase some provisions for the
number of people, who have come, that were not provided for. The next
day we were joined by the Kickapoos and Sacs, and here I was informed
by the Kickapoos, that no runner had gone through to the Cadoes and
Comanches from them, as we had heard at Belmont, yet I learned, that
these tribes were then camped at the Big Bend, some sixty miles above
and waiting at this point: I sent three Wichitas--among them the
Chief--some Ionies, Wacoes, and Tawa Kuwus through to them calling on
their Chiefs to come and have a 'talk.'

"They reached us on the 8th of June, and after furnishing the presents
I had taken to them all the different tribes were called to Council.
Present were, Arapahoes, Lipans, Comanches, Kioways, Sac and Foxes,
Kickapoos and Cadoes besides the Indians who went out with me.

"All of them are true to the Government of the United States, but some
are at war with each other. I proposed to them to make peace with all
the tribes friendly to our Government, so that their 'Great Father'
might view all of them alike.

"To this they agreed, and a Council was called to which the Osages,
Potawatomies, Shians, Sac and Foxes, in fact all the tribes at
variance, are (cont.)]

tale had been told many times of late and every time with a new
emphasis upon that part of it that recounted delusion and betrayal.
For quite a while now the Indians had been feeling themselves
neglected. Steele was aware of the fact but helpless. When told of
treaty rights he had to plead ignorance; for he had never seen the
treaties and had no official knowledge of their contents. He was
exercising the functions of superintendent _ex officio_, not
because the post had ever been specifically conferred upon him or
instructions sent, but because he had come to his command to find it,
in nearly every aspect, Indian and no agent or superintendent at hand
to take charge [785] of affairs that were

[Footnote 784: (cont.) to be invited, to hold a grand peace Council
near the mouth of the Little Arkansas River within six weeks.
Meanwhile they are to send runners to notify these tribes to gather on
the Arkansas, sixty miles above, that they may be within reach of our
call when we get to the Council ground. Subsistence will have to be
provided for at least 10000 Indians at that time. They will expect
something from the Government to convince them of its power to carry
through its promises. Some of the Cadoes and Comanches connected with
this Agency, after coming to the Arkansas, returned to Fort Cobb.
These will all come back to this Council. Their desire is to be
subsisted on the Little Arkansas, some 70 miles from Emporia until the
war closes.

"They argue like this, 'The Government once sent us our provisions to
Fort Cobb over 300 miles from Fort Smith. We do not want to live near
the whites, because of troubles between them and us in regard to
ponies, timber, fields, green corn, etc. Our subsistence can be hauled
to the mouth of the Little Arkansas, easier by far, than it was
formerly from Fort Smith, and by being at this point we shall be
removed from the abodes of the whites, so they cannot steal our
ponies, nor can our people trouble them.'

"I believe they are right. I have had more trouble the past winter in
settling difficulties between the Indians and whites on account of
trades, stolen horses, broken fences, etc. than from all other causes
combined.

"I cannot get all the Indians of this Agency together this side of the
Little Arkansas. That point will be near enough the Texan frontier for
the Indians to go home easily when the war closes. It is on the direct
route to Fort Cobb. They are opposed to going via Fort Gibson ..."]

[Footnote 785: Without legislating on the subject, and without
intending it, the Confederacy had virtually put into effect, a
recommendation of Hindman's that "The superintendencies, agencies,
etc., should be abolished, and a purely military establishment
substituted ..." [_Official Records_, vol. xiii, p. 51.].]

ordinarily not strictly within the range of military cognizance.

General Steele, like many another, was inclined to think that the red
men greatly over-estimated their own importance; for they failed to
"see and understand how small a portion of the field"[786] they really
occupied. To Steele, it was not Indian Territory that was valuable but
Texas. For him the Indian country, barren by reason of the drouth,
denuded of its live stock, a prey to jayhawker, famine, and
pestilence, did nothing more than measure the distance between the
Federals and the rich Texan grain-fields, from whence he fondly hoped
an inexhaustible supply of flour[787] for the Confederates was to
come. In short, the great and wonderful expanse that had been given to
the Indian for a perpetual home was a mere buffer.

But it was a buffer, throbbing with life, and that was something
Steele dared not ignore and could not if he would. With such
a consciousness, when the secessionist Cherokees were making
arrangements for their council at Webber's Falls in April, he hastened
to propitiate them ahead of time by addressing them "through the
medium of their wants" for he feared what might be their action[788]
should they assemble with a

[Footnote 786: Steele to Wigfall, April 15, 1863, _Official
Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 820.]

[Footnote 787: Steele's letter books furnish much evidence on
this score. A large portion has been published in the _Official
Records_. During the period covered by this chapter, he was drawing
his supply of flour from Riddle's Station, "on the Fort Smith and
Boggy Road" [_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 252]
in charge of which was Captain Hardin of Bass's Texas Cavalry. He
expected to draw from Arkansas likewise [Steele to Major S.J. Lee,
June 9, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, pp. 70-71;
Duval to Hardin, June 16, 1863, Ibid., p. 81; Steele to Lee,
June 17, 1863, Ibid., pp. 87-88].]

[Footnote 788: "Enclosed please find a letter to Col. Adair, and
a note from him forwarding it. I send it for the consideration of
General Holmes. The (cont.)]

grievance[789] against the Confederacy in their hearts. Protection
against the oncoming enemy and relief from want were the things the
Indians craved, so, short though his own supplies were, Steele had to
make provision for the helpless and indigent natives, the feeding
of whom became a fruitful and constantly increasing source of
embarrassment.[790]

Just and generous as General Steele endeavored to

[Footnote 788: (cont.) subject is one of grave importance. If a
regiment of infantry could be spared to take post at this place and
General Cabell could be permitted to include it in his command, I
would go more into the nation and would be able soon to give the
required protection. The troops from Red River have been ordered up
and should be some distance on the way before this. I fear the meeting
of the Cherokee Council which takes place on the 20th ... unless more
troops arrive before they act."--STEELE to Anderson, April 15, 1863,
_Confederate Records_, no. 270, p. 194.

This was not the first time Steele had expressed a wish to go into the
Nation. March 20th, when writing to Anderson [Ibid., p. 150],
he had thought it of "paramount importance" that he visit all parts of
his command. Concerning his apprehension about the prospective work of
the Cherokee Council, he wrote quite candidly to Wigfall [_Official
Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 821].]

[Footnote 789: The letter to Colonel W.P. Adair, written by one of his
adjutants, J.A. Scales, April 12, 1863 [Ibid., 821-822], is a
creditable presentation of the Cherokee grievance.]

[Footnote 790: Steele here presents certain phases of the
embarrassment,

"... The matter of feeding destitute Indians has been all through a
vexatious one, the greatest trouble being to find in each neighborhood
a reliable person to receive the quota for that neighborhood. These
people seem more indifferent to the wants of others than any I have
seen; they are not willing to do the least thing to assist in helping
their own people who are destitute. I have, in many instances, been
unable to get wagons to haul the flour given them. I have incurred
a great responsibility in using army rations in this way and to the
extent that I have. I have endeavored to give to all destitute and to
sell at cost to those who are able to purchase. In this matter the
Nation has been more favored than the adjacent States. I am told by
Mr. Boudinot that a bill was passed by the Cherokee Council, taking
the matter into their own hands. I hope it is so. In which case I
shall cease issuing to others who have not, like them, been driven
from their homes. Dr. Walker was appointed to superintend this matter,
some system being necessary to prevent the same persons from drawing
from different commissaries ..."--STEELE to D.H. Cooper, June 15,
1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, pp. 80-81.]

be in the matter of attention to Indian necessities, his efforts were
unappreciated largely because of evil influences at work to undermine
him and to advance Douglas H. Cooper. Steele had his points of
vulnerability, his inability to check the Federal advance and his
remoteness from the scene of action, his headquarters being at Fort
Smith. Connected with the second point and charged against him were
all the bad practices of those men who, in their political or military
control of Indian Territory, had allowed Arkansas to be their chief
concern. Such practices became the foundation stone of a general
Indian dissatisfaction and, concomitantry, Douglas H. Cooper, of
insatiable ambition, posed as the exponent of the idea that the safety
of Indian Territory was an end in itself.

The kind of separate military organization that constituted Steele's
command was not enough for the Indians. Seemingly, they desired the
restoration of the old Pike department, but not such as it had been in
the days of the controversy with Hindman but such as it always was in
Pike's imagination. The Creeks were among the first to declare that
this was their desire. They addressed[791] themselves to President
Davis[792] and

[Footnote 791: Mory Kanard and Echo Harjo to President Davis, May 18,
1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1118-1119.]

[Footnote 792: Davis, in his message of January 12, 1863 [Richardson,
_Messages and Papers of the Confederacy_, vol. i, 295] had
revealed an acquaintance with some Indian dissatisfaction but
intimated that it had been dispelled, it having arisen "from a
misapprehension of the intentions of the Government ..." It was
undoubtedly to allay apprehension on the part of the Indians that
Miles, in the house of Representatives, offered the following
resolution, February 17, 1863:

"_Resolved_, That the Government of the Confederate States has
witnessed with feelings of no ordinary gratification the loyalty and
good faith of the larger portion of its Indian allies west of the
State of Arkansas.

"_Resolved further_, That no effort of the Confederate Government
shall be spared to protect them fully in all their rights and to
assist them in defending their country against the encroachments
of all enemies." [_Journal of the Congress of the Confederate
States_, vol. vi, 113].]

boldly said that their country had "been treated as a mere appendage
of Arkansas, where needy politicians and _proteges_ of Arkansas
members of Congress must be quartered." The Seminoles followed
suit,[793] although in a congratulatory way, after a rumor had reached
them that the Creek request for a separate department of Indian
Territory was about to be granted. The rumor was false and in
June Tandy Walker, on behalf of the Choctaws, reopened the whole
subject.[794] A few days earlier, the Cherokees had filed their
complaint but it was of a different character, more fundamental, more
gravely portentous.

The Cherokee complaint took the form of a deliberate charge of
contemplated bad faith on the part of the Confederate government. E.C.
Boudinot, the Cherokee delegate in the Southern Congress, had recently
returned from Richmond, empowered to submit a certain proposal to his
constituents. The text of the proposal does not appear in the records
but its nature,[795] after account be taken of some exaggeration
attributable to the extreme of indignation, can be inferred from the
formal protest[796] against it, which was drawn up at Prairie Springs
in the Cherokee Nation about fifteen miles from Fort Gibson on the
twenty-first of June and signed by Samuel M. Taylor, acting assistant
chief, John Spears of the Executive Council, and Alexander Foreman,
president of the convention. To all intents and purposes the Cherokees
were asked, in return for some paltry offices chiefly military, to
institute a sort of system of military land grants. White people were
to be induced to enlist in their behalf and were then to

[Footnote 793: June 6, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part
ii, 1120.]

[Footnote 794: June 24, 1863, Ibid., 1122-1123.]

[Footnote 795: Steele's letter to Kirby Smith, June 24, 1863
[Ibid., 883-884], gives some hint of its nature also.]

[Footnote 796:--Ibid., 1120-1122.]

be allowed to settle, on equal terms with the Cherokees, within the
Cherokee country. The proposal, as construed by Taylor and his
party, was nothing more or less than a suggestion that the Cherokees
surrender their nationality, their political integrity, the one thing
above everything else that they had sought to preserve when they
entered into an active alliance with the Confederate States. So sordid
was the bargain proposed, so unequal, that the thought obtrudes
itself that a base advantage was about to be taken of the Cherokee
necessities and that the objectors were justified in insinuating that
Boudinot and his political friends were to be the chief beneficiaries.
The Cherokee country was already practically lost to the Confederacy.
Might it not be advisable to distribute the tribal lands, secure
individual holdings, while vested rights might still accrue; for,
should bad come to worse, private parties could with more chance
of success prosecute a claim than could a commonalty, which in its
national or corporate capacity had committed treason and thereby
forfeited its rights. One part of the Cherokee protest merits
quotation here. Its noble indignation ought to have been proof enough
for anybody.

... We were present when the treaty was made, were a party to it,
and rejoiced when it was done. In that treaty our rights to
our country as a Nation were guaranteed to us forever, and the
Confederate States promised to protect us in them. We enlisted
under the banner of those States, and have fought in defense of
our country under that treaty and for the rights of the South for
nearly two years. We have been driven from our homes, and suffered
severe hardships, privations, and losses, and now we are informed,
when brighter prospects are before us, that you think it best for
us to give part of our lands to our white friends; that, to defend
our country and keep troops for our protection, we must raise and
enlist them from

our own territory, and that it is actually necessary that they are
citizens of our country to enable us to keep them with us. To do
this would be the end of our national existence and the ruin of
our people. Two things above all others we hold most dear, our
nationality and the welfare of our people. Had the war been our
own, there would have been justice in the proposition, but it is
that of another nation. We are allies, assisting in establishing
the rights and independence of another nation. We, therefore, in
justice to ourselves and our people, cannot agree to give a part
of our domain as an inducement to citizens of another Government
to fight their own battles and for their own country; besides, it
would open a door to admit as citizens of our Nation the worst
class of citizens of the Confederate States ...
 

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