Questions about Choctaw in the American Civil War
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Why did the Choctaw Nation side with the Confederacy in the Civil War?
Five main factors drove the Choctaw Nation toward the Confederacy: a belief that the United States was collapsing, years of federal neglect, Secretary of State William H. Seward's advocacy for seizing Indian lands, a pro-South Indian agent, and tribal laws that supported slavery. Confederate envoy Albert Pike also negotiated a formal treaty with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations in July 1861, covering sixty-four terms including sovereignty guarantees and a delegate in the Confederate House of Representatives.
Who organized the Mississippi Choctaw as Confederate soldiers?
John W. Pierce and Samuel G. Spann, both white planters with prior experience among the Mississippi Choctaw, organized those Indians as Confederates beginning in 1862. Pierce commanded the 1st Choctaw Battalion based at Newton Station, Mississippi, while Spann led a unit of independent scouts headquartered at Mobile, Alabama, later reorganized as Alabama's 18th Confederate Cavalry.
What happened to Mississippi Choctaw prisoners captured during the Civil War?
Around two dozen Mississippi Choctaw soldiers captured near Ponchatoula, Louisiana were shipped by steamboat to Castle Williams near New York City. They were then displayed at Madison Park as, in Samuel Spann's words, "curiosities for the sport of sight-seers." At least two Indian prisoners died while imprisoned at the Union prison on Governors Island.
When did the Choctaw Nation formally surrender at the end of the Civil War?
Principal Chief Peter P. Pitchlynn surrendered the Choctaw Nation's military forces at Doaksville, Choctaw Nation, on the 19th of June 1865. In Mississippi and Alabama, the last Mississippi Choctaw Confederates surrendered in May 1865.
What was the 1866 Treaty with the Choctaw and Chickasaw?
The 1866 Treaty with the Choctaw and Chickasaw was a Reconstruction agreement of 51 articles drafted by the Southern Treaty Commission. It declared permanent peace, granted amnesty for siding with the Confederacy, and abolished slavery. The treaty was proclaimed in July 1866 and was attended by Choctaw delegates including Campbell LeFlore, John Page, James Riley, Alfred Wade, Allen Wright, and Peter P. Pitchlynn.
Who was Robert M. Jones and what role did he play in the Choctaw Nation's Civil War alliance?
Robert M. Jones was the most famous Choctaw cotton planter of the era, part Choctaw by blood and influential in politics. He supported the Confederacy and became a non-voting member in the Confederacy's House of Representatives. Jones was described as key in steering the Choctaw Nation toward its alliance with the Confederate states.