Native Americans in the Civil War: The History and Legacy of Various Indian Tribes' Participation in the War Between the States

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading Few people need to be reminded in the 21st century of the cost of European imperialism and colonization on indigenous and native cultures around the world. The increasingly controversial view of “Columbus Day,” still represented on the United States commemorative calendar, attests quite clearly to an ambiguous modern view of early European encounters with Native Americans. Slavery, disease, land and resource appropriation and the rapid disintegration of indigenous societies are all characteristics of European global expansion. There are those societies, particularly in Asia and Africa, that proved resilient enough to weather the European imperialism, but others, most notably those of Australia and North America, certainly did not. By far the most important element in the Civil War from a native standpoint was what happened in and to Indian Territory, now part of the state of Oklahoma. There was a parallel civil war in Indian Territory, with the Cherokee nation splitting in two. While the 100,000 inhabitants of Indian Territory represent most of the experiences during the Civil War, many others were affected by it all over the country. In fact, men from more than two dozen tribal peoples actively participated in the Civil War by fighting for one side or the other. There were full-size Indian regiments fighting for the Confederacy, and full-size Indian regiments fighting for the Union. Indians joined sharpshooter regiments, functioned as scouts, piloted Union ships, and served as guerrillas, while some joined units of United States Colored Troops. Recent estimates are that more than 28,000 Indians served as Civil War soldiers. One difference between Confederates and Union Indian troops is that Confederate Indian units were generally officered by Indians, and Union formations were usually led by white officers, but some Indians in the Union forces did eventually work their way into command.