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 …
XII. INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1863, JULY TO DECEMBER INCLUSIVE
Independence Day, 1863, witnessed climacteric scenes in the war dramas, east and west. The Federal victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, all-decisive in the history of the great American conflict, when considered in its entirety, had each its measure of immediate and local importance. The loss of all control of the Mississippi navigation meant for the Confederacy its practical splitting in twain and the isolation of its western part. For the Arkansas frontier and for the Missouri border generally, it promised, since western commands would now recover their men and resume their normal size, increased Federal aggressiveness or the end of suspended. Initial preparation for such renewed aggressiveness was contemporary with the fall of Vicksburg and lay in the failure of the Confederate attack upon Helena, an attack that had been projected for the making of a diversion only. The failure compelled Holmes to draw his forces back to Little Rock.
Confederate operations in Indian Territory through May and June had been, as already described, confined to sporadic demonstrations against Federal herds and Federal supply trains, all having for their main object the dislodgment of Phillips from Fort Gibson. What proved to be their culmination and the demonstration most energetically conducted occurred at Cabin Creek,[797] while far away Vicksburg was falling and
[Footnote 797: For an official report of the action at Cabin Creek, see _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 378-382. While, as things eventuated, it was an endeavor (cont.)]
Gettysburg was being fought. A commissary train from Fort Scott was expected. It was to come down, escorted by Colonel Williams who was in command of the negro troops that Blunt had stationed at Baxter Springs. To meet the train and to reinforce Williams, Phillips despatched Major Foreman from Fort Gibson. Cooper had learned of the coming of the train and had made his plans to seize it in a fashion now customary.[798] The plans were quite elaborate and involved the cooeperation[799] of Cabell’s Arkansas brigade,[800] which was to come from across the line and proceed down the east side of the Grand River. Thither also, Cooper sent a
[Footnote 797: (cont.) to cut off the supply train, there was throughout the possibility that it might also result in heading off Blunt, who was known to be on his way to Fort Gibson [Steele to Cooper, June 29, 1863; Duval to Cooper, June 29, 1863; Duval to Cabell, June 29, 1863].]
[Footnote 798: Steele to Cabell, June 25, 1863 [_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, p. 97; _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 885].]
[Footnote 799: Steele to Cabell, June 29, 1863 [_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, p. 105; _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 893-894].]
[Footnote 800: Of W.L. Cabell, the _Confederate Military History_, vol. x, has this to say: “Maj. W.L. Cabell, who had been sent to inspect the accounts of quartermasters in the department, having well acquitted himself of this duty, was, in March 1863, commissioned brigadier-general and requested to collect absentees from the service in northwestern Arkansas. Given Carroll’s and Monroe’s regiments, he was directed to perfect such organizations as he could …” He collected his brigade with great rapidity and it soon numbered about four thousand men. Even, in April, Steele was placing much reliance upon it, although he wished to keep its relation to him a secret. He wrote to Cooper to that effect.
“Who will be in command of the Choctaws when you leave? Will they be sufficient to picket and scout on the other side of the river far enough to give notice of any advance of the enemy down the river? I do not wish it to be generally known that Cabell’s forces are under my command, but prefer the enemy should think them a separate command; for this reason I do not send these troops west until there is a necessity for it; in the meantime the other troops can be brought into position, where if we can get sufficient ammunition all can be concentrated. I cannot direct positively, not having the intimate knowledge of the country, but you should be in a position which would enable you to move either down the Ark. River or on to the road leading from Boggy Depot to Gibson as circumstances may indicate. Let me hear from you frequently.”–STEELE to Cooper, April 28, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp. 217-218.]
part of his own brigade and at the same time ordered another part under Stand Watie to go to Cabin Creek and to take such position on its south bank as to command the crossing. It was a time when the rivers were all in flood, a circumstance that greatly affected the outcome since it prevented the forces on the east side of the Grand from coming to Stand Watie’s support. As Foreman proceeded northward to effect a junction with Williams, he detached some Cherokees from the Third Indian, under Lieutenant Luke F. Parsons, to reconnoitre. In that way he became apprised of Watie’s whereabouts and enabled to put himself on his guard. The commissary train, in due time, reached Cabin Creek and, after some slight delay caused, not by Stand Watie’s interposition, but by the high waters, crossed. Federals and Confederates then collided in a somewhat disjointed but lengthy engagement with the result that Stand Watie retired and the train, nothing the worse for the hold-up, moved on without further molestation to Fort Gibson.[801]
The action at Cabin Creek, July 1 to 3, was the last attempt of any size for the time being to capture Federal supplies en route. The tables were thenceforth turned and the Confederates compelled to keep a close
[Footnote 801: In describing what appears to be the action at Cabin Creek, Steele refers to “bad conduct of the Creeks,” and holds it partly responsible for the failure [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 910]. It is possible that he had in mind, however, a slightly earlier encounter, the same that he described, adversely to D.N. McIntosh’s abilities as a commander, in his general report [Ibid., part i, 32]. Steele had little faith in the Indian brigade and frankly admitted that he expected it in large measure, to “dissolve,” if the Confederates were to be forced to fall back at Cabin Creek [Steele to Blair, July 1, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 902]. Nevertheless, he anticipated a victory for his arms there [Steele to Blair, July 3, 1863, Ibid., 903]. From his general report, it might be thought that Stand Watie disappointed him at this time, as later; but the Confederate failure was most certainly mainly attributable to the high waters, which prevented the union of their expeditionary forces [Steele to Blair, July 5, 1863, Ibid., 905].]
watch on their own depots and trains. Up to date, since his first arrival at Fort Gibson, Colonel Phillips had been necessarily on the defensive because of the fewness of his men. Subsequent to the Cabin Creek affair came a change, incident to events and conditions farther east. The eleventh of July brought General Blunt, commander of the District of the Frontier, to Fort Gibson. His coming was a surprise, as has already been casually remarked, but it was most timely. There was no longer any reason whatsoever why offensive action should not be the main thing on the Federal docket in Indian Territory, as elsewhere.
To protect its own supplies and to recuperate, the strength of the Confederate Indian brigade was directed toward Red River, notwithstanding that Steele had still the hope of dislodging the Federals north of the Arkansas.[802] His difficulties[803] were no less legion than before, but he thought it might be possible to accomplish the end desired by invading Kansas,[804] a plan that seemed very feasible after S.P. Bankhead assumed command of the Northern Sub-District of Texas.[805] Steele himself had “neither the artillery nor the kind of force necessary to take a place” fortified as was Gibson; but to the westward of the Federal stronghold Bankhead might move. He might attack Fort Scott, Blunt’s headquarters but greatly weakened now, and possibly also some small posts in southwest Missouri, replenishing his resources from time to time in the fertile and well settled Neosho River Valley. Again
[Footnote 802: Steele took umbrage at a published statement of Pike that seemed to doubt this and to intimate that the line of the Arkansas had been definitely abandoned [Steele to Pike, July 13, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 925].]
[Footnote 803: For new aspects of his difficulties, see Steele to Boggs, chief of staff, July 7, 1863, Ibid., 909-911.]
[Footnote 804:–Ibid., p. 910.]
[Footnote 805: Steele to Bankhead, July 11, 1863, Ibid., 921-922.]
local selfishness rose to the surface[806] and Bankhead, surmising Steele’s weakness and that he would almost inevitably have to fall back, perhaps vacating Indian Territory altogether, became alarmed for the safety of Texas.[807]
Steele’s recognition and admission of material incapacity for taking Fort Gibson in no wise deterred him from attempting it. The idea was, that Cooper should encamp at a point within the Creek Nation, fronting Fort Gibson, and that Cabell should join him there with a view to their making a combined attack.[808] As entertained, the idea neglected to give due weight to the fact that Cabell’s men were in no trim for immediate action,[809] notwithstanding that concerted action was the only thing likely to induce success. Blunt, with
[Footnote 806: Arkansas betrayed similar selfishness. President Davis’s rejoinder to a protest from Flanagin against a tendency to ignore the claims of the West struck a singularly high note. Admitting certain errors of the past, he prayed for the generous cooeperation of the future; for “it is to the future, not to the past, that we must address ourselves, and I wish to assure you, though I hope it is unnecessary, that no effort shall be spared to promote the defense of the Trans-Mississippi Department, and to develop its resources so as to meet the exigencies of the present struggle” [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 932]. Five days afterwards, Governor Reynolds, in commending Secretary Seddon for a very able ministry, expressed confidence that his gubernatorial colleagues in Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana would, with himself, “act in no sectional or separatist spirit.” It was saying a good deal, considering how strong the drift of popular opinion had been and was to be in the contrary direction. However, in August, the four governors appealed collectively to their constituents and to “the Allied Indian Nations,” proving, if proof were needed, that they personally were sincere [Ibid., vol. liii, supplement, 892-894; Moore’s _Rebellion Record_, vol. vii, 406-407].]
[Footnote 807: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 922.]
[Footnote 808: The plans for such concerted action were made as early as July 8 [Steele to Cooper, July 8, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 911-912]. Cabell was instructed to take position between Webber’s Falls and Fort Gibson [Duval to Cabell, July 10, 1863, Ibid., 916-917] and more specifically, two days before the battle, “within 15 or 20 miles of Gibson and this side of where Gen. Cooper is now encamped on Elk Creek” [Steele to Cabell, July 15, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, p. 145].]
[Footnote 809: Steele knew of the deficiencies in their equipment, however, and of their exhausted state (cont.)]
scouts out in all directions and with spies in the very camps of his foes, soon obtained an inkling of the Confederate plan and resolved to dispose of Cooper before Cabell could arrive from Arkansas.[810] Cooper’s position was on Elk Creek, not far from present Muskogee,[811] and near Honey Springs on the seventeenth of July the two armies met, Blunt forcing the engagement, having made a night march in order to do it. The Indians of both sides[812] were on hand, in force, the First and Second Home Guards, being dismounted as infantry and thus fighting for once as they had been mustered in. Of the Confederate, or Cooper, brigade Stand Watie, the ever reliable, commanded the First and Second Cherokee, D.N. McIntosh, the First and Second Creek, and Tandy Walker, the regiment of Choctaws and Chickasaws. The odds were all against Cooper from the start and, in ways that Steele had not specified, the material equipment proved itself inadequate indeed. Much of the ammunition was worthless.[813] Nevertheless, Cooper stubbornly contested every inch of the ground and finally gave way only when large numbers of his Indians, knowing their guns to be absolutely useless to them, became disheartened and then demoralized. In confusion, they led the van in
[Footnote 809: (cont.) [Duval to W.H. Scott, Commanding Post at Clarksville, Ark., July 8, 1863, _Confederate Records_, p. 133; Steele to Blair, July 10, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 917; same to same, July 13, 1863, Ibid., 925].]
[Footnote 810: See Blunt’s official report, dated July 26, 1863 [Ibid., part i, 447-448].]
[Footnote 811: Anderson, _Life of General Stand Watie_, 21.]
[Footnote 812: With respect to the number of white troops engaged on the Federal side there seems some discrepancy between Blunt’s report [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 448] and Phisterer’s statistics [_Statistical Record_, 145].]
[Footnote 813: See Cooper’s report, dated August 12, 1863 [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 457-461]. The following references are to letters that substantiate, in whole or in part, what Cooper said in condemnation of the ammunition: Duval to Du Bose, dated Camp Prairie Springs, C.N., July 27, 1863 [_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, p. 159]; Steele to Blair, dated Camp Imochiah, August 9, 1863 [Ibid., 185-187; _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 961].]
flight across the Canadian; but enough of those more self-contained went thither in an easterly or southeasterly direction so as to create the impression among their enemies that they were retiring to meet the expected reinforcements from Fort Smith.[814]
But the reinforcements were yet far away. Indeed, it was not until all was over and a day too late that Cabell came up. A tragic sight confronted him; but his own march had been so dismal, so inauspicious that everything unfortunate that had happened seemed but a part of one huge catastrophe. He had come by the “old Pacific mail route, the bridges of which, in some places, were still standing in the uninhabited prairies.”[815] The forsaken land broke the morale of his men–they had never been enthusiastic in the cause, some of them were conscripted unionists, forsooth, and they deserted his ranks by the score, by whole companies. The remnant pushed on and, in the far distance, heard the roaring of the cannon. Then, coming nearer, they caught a first glimpse of Blunt’s victorious columns; but those columns were already retiring, it being their intention to recross to the Fort Gibson side of the Arkansas. “Moving over the open, rolling prairies,”[816] Nature’s vast meadows, their numbers seemed great indeed and Cabell made no attempt to pursue or to court further conflict. The near view of the battle-field dismayed[817] him; for its gruesome records all too surely told him of another Confederate defeat.
[Footnote 814: Cooper intended to create such an impression [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 460] and he did [Schofield to McNeil, July 26, 1863, Ibid., part ii, 399-400].]
[Footnote 815: _Confederate Military History_, vol. x, 199.]
[Footnote 816: Ibid., 200.]
[Footnote 817: Cabell might well be dismayed. Steele had done his best to hurry him up. A letter of July 15 was particularly urgent [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 933].]
In the fortunes of the Southern Indians, the Battle of Honey Springs was a decisive event. Fought and lost in the country of the Creeks, it was bound to have upon them a psychological effect disastrous to the steady maintenance of their alliance with the Confederacy, so also with the other great tribes; but more of that anon. In a military way, it was no less significant than in a political; for it was the beginning of a vigorously offensive campaign, conducted by General Blunt, that never ended until the Federals were in occupation of Fort Smith and Fort Smith was at the very door of the Choctaw country. No Indian tribe, at the outset of the war, had more completely gone over to the South than had the Choctaw. It had influenced the others but had already come to rue the day that had seen its own first defection. Furthermore, the date of the Confederate rout at Honey Springs marked the beginning of a period during which dissatisfaction with General Steele steadily crystallized.
Within six weeks after the Battle of Honey Springs, the Federals were in possession of Fort Smith, which was not surprising considering the happenings of the intervening days. The miscalculations that had eventuated in the routing of Cooper had brought Steele to the decision of taking the field in person; for there was just a chance that he might succeed where his subordinates, with less at stake than he, had failed. Especially might he take his chances on winning if he could count upon help from Bankhead to whom he had again made application, nothing deterred by his previous ill-fortune.
It was not, by any means, Steele’s intention to attempt the reduction of Fort Gibson;[818] for, with such artillery
[Footnote 818: Steele to Blair, July 22, 1863 [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 940-941].]
as he had, the mere idea of such an undertaking would be preposterous. The defensive would have to be, for some time to come, his leading role; but he did hope to be able to harry his enemy, somewhat, to entice him away from his fortifications and to make those fortifications of little worth by cutting off his supplies. Another commissary train would be coming down from Fort Scott via Baxter Springs about the first of August.[819] For it, then, Steele would lie in wait.
When all was in readiness, Fort Smith was vacated, not abandoned; inasmuch as a regiment under Morgan of Cabell’s brigade was left in charge, but it was relinquished as department headquarters. Steele then took up his march for Cooper’s old battle-ground on Elk Creek. There he planned to mass his forces and to challenge an attack. He went by way of Prairie Springs[820] and lingered there a little while, then moved on to Honey Springs, where was better grazing.[821] He felt obliged thus to make his stand in the Creek country; for the Creeks were getting fractious and it was essential for his purposes that they be mollified and held in check. Furthermore, it was incumbent upon him not to expose his “depots in the direction of Texas.”[822]
As the summer days passed, Cabell and Cooper drew into his vicinity but no Bankhead, notwithstanding that Magruder had ordered him to hurry to Steele’s
[Footnote 819: Steele to Bankhead, July 22, 1863 [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 940]]
[Footnote 820: Duval to A.S. Morgan, July 18, 1863 [Ibid., 933]; Steele to Blair, July 22, 1863 [Ibid., 940-941].]
[Footnote 821: Steele arrived at Prairie Springs on the twenty-fourth [Steele to Blair, July 26, 1863, Ibid., 948] and moved to Honey Springs two days later [same to same, July 29, 1863, Ibid., 950-951]. On August 7, his camp was at Soda Springs, whither he had gone “for convenience of water and grass” [same to same, August 7, 1863, Ibid., 956].]
[Footnote 822:–Ibid., 951.]
support.[823] Bankhead had not the slightest idea of doing anything that would put Texas in jeopardy. In northern Texas sympathy for the Federal cause, or “rottenness” as the Confederates described it, was rife.[824] It would be suicidal to take the home force too far away. Moreover, it was Bankhead’s firm conviction that Steele would never be able to maintain himself so near to Fort Gibson, so he would continue where he was and decide what to do when time for real action came.[825] It would be hazarding a good deal to amalgamate his command,[826] half of which would soon be well disciplined, with Steele’s, which, in some of its parts, was known not to be.
As a matter of fact, Steele’s command was worse than undisciplined. It was permeated through and through with defection in its most virulent form, a predicament not wholly unforeseen. The Choctaws had pretty well dispersed, the Creeks were sullen, and Cabell’s brigade of Arkansans was actually disintegrating. The prospect of fighting indefinitely in the Indian country had no attractions for men who were not in the Confederate service for pure love of the cause. Day by day desertions[827] took place until the number became alarming and, what was worse, in some cases, the officers were in collusion with the men in delinquency. Cabell himself was not above suspicion.[828] To prevent the spread of
[Footnote 823: By August third, Bankhead had not been heard from at all [Steele to Blair, August 3, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 953]. The following communications throw some light upon Bankhead’s movements [Ibid., 948, 956, 963].]
[Footnote 824: Crosby to G.M. Bryan, August 30, 1863, Ibid., 984.]
[Footnote 825: Bankhead to E.P. Turner, August 13, 1863, Ibid., 965-966.]
[Footnote 826: Bankhead to Boggs, August 10, 1863, Ibid., 966.]
[Footnote 827: There is an abundance of material in the _Confederate Records_ on the subject of desertions in the West. Note particularly pp. 167, 168, 173-174, 192-193, 198, 204-205 of chap. 2, no. 268. Note, also, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 956.]
[Footnote 828: Duval to Cabell, August 17, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii 969-970.]
contagion among the Indians, his troops were moved to more and more isolated camps[829] across the Canadian[830] and, finally, back in the direction of Fort Smith. Ostensibly they were moved to the Arkansas line to protect Fort Smith; for Steele knew well that his present hold upon that place was of the frailest. It might be threatened at any moment from the direction of Cassville and Morgan had been instructed, in the event of an attack in prospect, to cross the boundary line and proceed along the Boggy road towards Riddle’s station.[831] Steele was evidently not going to make any desperate effort to hold the place that for so long had been the seat of the Confederate control over the Southern Indians.
All this time, General Blunt had been patrolling the Arkansas for some thirty miles or so of its course[832] and had been thoroughly well aware of the assembling of Steele’s forces, likewise of the disaffection of the Indians, with which, by the way, he had had quite a little to do. Not knowing exactly what Steele’s intentions might be but surmising that he was meditating an attack, he resolved to assume the offensive himself.[833] The full significance of his resolution can be fully appreciated only by the noting of the fact that, subsequent to the Battle of Honey Springs, he had been instructed by General Schofield, his superior officer, not only not to advance but to fall back. To obey the order was inconceivable and Blunt had deliberately disobeyed it.[834] It was now his determination to do more. Fortunately, Schofield had recently changed his mind; for word had
[Footnote 829: _Confederate Military History_, vol. x, 202.]
[Footnote 830: Steele to Scott, August 7, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 957.]
[Footnote 831: Steele to Morgan, August, 1863, Ibid., 951; August 8, 1863, Ibid., 957.]
[Footnote 832: Steele to Blair, August 7, 1863, Ibid., 956.]
[Footnote 833: Blunt to Schofield, July 30, 1863, Ibid., 411.]
[Footnote 834: Blunt to Lincoln, September 24, 1863, Ibid., vol. liii, supplement, 572.]
come to him that Congress had decided to relieve Kansas of her Indian encumbrance by compassing the removal of all her tribes, indigenous and immigrant, to Indian Territory. It mattered not that the former had a title to their present holdings by ancient occupation and long continued possession and the latter a title in perpetuity, guaranteed by the treaty-making power under the United States constitution. All the tribes were to be ousted from the soil of the state that had been saved to freedom; but it would be first necessary to secure the Indian Territory and the men of the Kansas tribes were to be organized as soldiers to secure it. It is difficult to imagine a more ironical proceeding. The Indians were to be induced to fight for the recovery of a section of the country that would make possible their own banishment. Blunt strenuously objected, not because he was averse to ridding Kansas of the Indians, but because he had no faith in an Indian soldiery. Said he,
There are several reasons why I do not think such a policy practicable or advisable. It would take several months under the most favorable circumstances to organize and put into the field the Indians referred to, even were they ready and willing to enlist, of which fact I am not advised, but presume they would be very slow to enlist; besides my experience thus far with Indian soldiers has convinced me that they are of little service to the Government compared with other soldiers. The Cherokees, who are far superior in every respect to the Kansas Indians, did very good service while they had a specific object in view–the possession and occupation of their own country; having accomplished that, they have become greatly demoralized and nearly worthless as troops. I would earnestly recommend that (as the best policy the Government can pursue with these Indian regiments) they be mustered out of service some time during the coming winter, and put to work raising their subsistence, with a few white troops stationed among them for their protection.
I would not exchange one regiment of negro troops for ten regiments of Indians, and they can be obtained in abundance whenever Texas is reached.
In ten days from this date, if I have the success I expect, the Indian Territory south of the Arkansas River will be in our possession …[835]
Blunt’s mind was made up. He was determined to go forward with the force he already had. Ill-health[836] retarded his movements a trifle; but on the twenty-second of August, two days after the massacre by guerrillas had occurred at Lawrence, he crossed the Arkansas. He was at length accepting General Steele’s challenge but poor Steele was quite unprepared for a duel of any sort. If Blunt distrusted the Indians, how very much more did he and with greater reason! With insufficient guns and ammunition, with no troops, white or red, upon whom he could confidently rely, and with no certainty of help from any quarter, he was compelled to adopt a Fabian policy, and he moved slowly backward, inviting yet never stopping to accept a full and regular engagement. Out of the Creek country he went and into the Choctaw.[837] At Perryville, on the road[838] to
[Footnote 835: Blunt to Schofield, August 22, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 465.]
[Footnote 836:–Ibid., 466. There seems to have been a good deal of sickness at Fort Gibson and some mortality, of which report was duly made to Steele [Ibid., 956; _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, pp. 192-193].]
[Footnote 837: Steele had crossed the line between the Creeks and Choctaws, however, before Blunt crossed the Arkansas. On August sixteenth, he had his camp on Longtown Creek and was sending a detachment out as far south as within about ten miles of Boggy Depot [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 968]. A few days later, he made his camp on Brooken Creek, a little to the eastward [Ibid., 972]. By that time, Steele was evidently quite reconciled to the thought that Fort Smith might at any moment be attacked and, perhaps, in such force that it would be needless to attempt to defend it. Cabell was to move to a safe distance, in the neighborhood of Scullyville, from whence, should there be reasonable prospect of success, he might send out reenforcements. In the event of almost certain failure, he was to draw off betimes in the direction of Riddle’s station, where flour was stored [Ibid.,].]
[Footnote 838: On the subject of roads and highways in Indian Territory, see Ibid., (cont.)]
Texas, his men did have a small skirmish with Blunt’s and at both Perryville and North Fork, Blunt destroyed some of his stores.[839] At North Fork, Steele had established a general hospital, which now passed from his control.
Following the unsuccessful skirmish at Perryville, the evening of August 25, Steele was “pushed rapidly down the country,”[840] so observed the wary Bankhead to whom fresh orders to assist Steele had been communicated.[841] Boggy Depot to the Texan commander seemed the proper place to defend[842] and near there he now waited; but Steele on East Boggy, full sixty miles from Red River and from comparative safety, begged him to come forward to Middle Boggy, a battle was surely impending.[843] No battle occurred, notwithstanding; for Blunt had given up the pursuit. He had come to know that not all of Steele’s command was ahead of him,[844] that McIntosh with the Creeks had gone west within the Creek country, the Creeks having refused to leave it,[845] and that Cabell had gone east,
[Footnote 838: (cont.) vol. xxxiv, part ii, 859; vol. xii, part ii, 997; Sheridan, _Memoirs_, vol. ii, 340.]
[Footnote 839: Blunt to Schofield, August 27, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i. 597-598; Steele to Snead, September 8, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, p. 223.]
[Footnote 840: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 983.]
[Footnote 841: W.T. Carrington to Bankhead, August 22, 1863, Ibid., 975.]
[Footnote 842: Bankhead to Turner, August 23, 1863, Ibid., 977. Near Boggy Depot, “the Fort Gibson and Fort Smith roads” forked. At Boggy Depot, moreover, were “all the stores of the Indian Department.” With Boggy Depot in the hands of the enemy, Bankhead’s whole front would be uncovered [Bankhead to Turner August 20, 1863, Ibid., 972].]
[Footnote 843: Duval to Bankhead and other commanders, August 27, 1863, Ibid., 981.]
[Footnote 844: Blunt to Schofield, August 27, 1863, Ibid., part i, 597. He thought, however, that Stand Watie was with Steele but he was not. He was absent on a scout [Steele to Boggs, August 30, 1863, Ibid., part ii, 984].]
[Footnote 845: Steele to Snead, September 11, 1863, Ibid., part ii, 1012.]
towards Fort Smith.[846] It was Fort Smith that now engaged Blunt’s attention and thither he directed his steps, Colonel W.F. Cloud[847] of the Second Kansas Cavalry, who, acting under orders from General McNeil,[848] had cooeperated with him at Perryville, being sent on in advance. Fort Smith surrendered with ease, not a blow being struck in her defence;[849] but there was Cabell yet to be dealt with.
Steele’s conduct, his adoption of the Fabian policy, severely criticized in some quarters, in Indian Territory, in Arkansas, in Texas, had yet been condoned and, indeed, approved[850] by General Kirby Smith, the
[Footnote 846: Cabell’s brigade, as already indicated, had had to be sent back “to avoid the contagion of demoralization.” [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 983; Steele to Snead, September 11, 1863, Ibid., 1012].]
[Footnote 847: Cloud had arrived at Fort Gibson, August 21 [Cloud to McNeil, August 22, 1863, Ibid., 466].]
[Footnote 848: John McNeil was commanding the District of Southwestern Missouri. The orders originated with Schofield [Ibid., part i, 15].]
[Footnote 849: Cabell had taken a position on the Poteau. Steele had been much averse to his running the risk of having himself shut up in Fort Smith [Steele to Cabell, September 1, 1863, Ibid., part ii, 987].]
[Footnote 850: “The general commanding is satisfied that the Fabian policy is the true one to adopt when not well satisfied that circumstances warrant a different course…” [G.M. Bryan to Steele, September 8, 1863, Ibid., 999]. Smith believed in “abandoning a part to save the whole” [Letter to General R. Taylor, September 3, 1863, Ibid., 989]; but President Davis and men of the states interested had impressed it upon him that that would never do. It must have been with some idea of justifying Steele’s procedure in mind that Smith wrote to Stand Watie, September 8th [Ibid., 999-1000]. Watie had lodged a complaint with him, August 9th, against the Confederate subordination of the Indian interests. To that Smith replied in words that must have made a powerful appeal to the Cherokee chief, who had already, in fact on the selfsame day that he wrote to Smith, made an equally powerful one to his own tribe and to other tribes. Watie’s appeal will be taken up later, the noble sounding part of Smith’s may as well find a place for quotation here.
“I know that your people have cause for complaint. Their sufferings and the apparent ill-faith of our Government would naturally produce dissatisfaction. That your patriotic band of followers deserve the thanks of our Government I know. They have won the respect and esteem of our people (cont.)]
person most competent to judge fairly; because he possessed a full comprehension of the situation in Steele’s command. Smith knew and others might have known that the situation had been largely created by envy, hatred, and malice, by corruption in high places, by peculation in low, by desertions in white regiments and by defection in Indian.
The Confederate government was not unaware of the increasing dissatisfaction among its Indian allies. It had innumerable sources of information, the chief of which and, perhaps, not the most reliable or the least factional, were the tribal delegates[851] in Congress. Late
[Footnote 850: (cont.) by their steadfast loyalty and heroic bravery. Tell them to remain true; encourage them in their despondency; bid them struggle on through the dark gloom which now envelops our affairs, and bid them remember the insurmountable difficulties with which our Government has been surrounded; that she has never been untrue to her engagements, though some of her agents may have been remiss and even criminally negligent. Our cause is the same–a just and holy one; we must stand and struggle on together, till that just and good Providence, who always supports the right, crowns our efforts with success. I can make you no definite promises. I have your interest at heart, and will endeavor faithfully and honestly to support you in your efforts and in those of your people to redeem their homes from an oppressor’s rule…
“What might have been done and has not is with the past; it is needless to comment upon it, and I can only assure you that I feel the importance of your country to our cause…”
That Smith was no more sincere than other white men had been, when addressing Indians, goes almost without saying. It was necessary to pacify Stand Watie and promises would no longer suffice. Candor was a better means to the end sought. Had Smith only not so very recently had his interview with the governors of the southwestern states, his tone might not have been so conciliatory. In anticipation of that interview and in advance of it, for it might come too late, some Arkansans, with R.W. Johnson among them, had impressed it upon Governor Flanagin that both Arkansas and Indian Territory were necessary to the Confederacy. In their communication, appeared these fatal admissions, fatal to any claim of disinterestedness:
“Negro slavery exists in the Indian Territory, and is profitable and desirable there, affording a practical issue of the right of expansion, for which the war began…” [July 25, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 945].]
[Footnote 851: Only two of the tribes, entitled to a delegate in the Confederate Congress, seem to have availed themselves of the privilege in 1863, the (cont.)]
in May, Commissioner Scott[852] set out upon a tour of inspection, similar to the one he had made during the days of the Pike regime. On his way through Arkansas, he stopped at Little Rock to consult with General Holmes and to get his bearings before venturing again among the tribes; but Holmes was ill, too ill to attend to business,[853] and no interview with him was likely to be deemed advisable for some time to come. Scott had, therefore, to resume his journey without instructions or advice from the district commander, not regrettable from some points of view since it enabled
[Footnote 851: (cont.) Cherokee and the Choctaw, which may account for the persistence with which, in one form or another, a measure for filling vacancies in the Indian representation came up for discussion or for reference [See _Journal_, vols. iii, vi]. It became law in January, 1864 [Ibid., vol. iii, 521]. A companion measure, for the regulation of Indian elections, had a like bearing. It became law earlier, in May, 1863 [Ibid., 420, vi, 459]. In the _Official Records_, fourth ser. vol. in, 1189, _footnote o_, the statement is made that the name of Elias C. Boudinot appeared first on the roll, January 8, 1864; but it must be erroneous, since Boudinot, as the delegate from the Cherokee Nation, was very active in Congress all through the year 1863. His colleague from the Choctaw Nation was Robert M. Jones. On December 10, when Indian affairs had become exceedingly critical, Representative Hanly moved that one of the Indian delegates should be requested to attend the sessions of the Committee on Indian Affairs (_Journal_, vol. vi, 520). This proposition eventually developed into something very much more important,
“_Resolved_, First, That each Delegate from the several Indian nations with whom treaties have been made and concluded by the Confederate States of America shall have and be entitled to a seat upon the floor of this House, may propose and introduce measures being for the benefit of his particular nation, and be heard in respect and regard thereto, or other matters in which his nation may be particularly interested.
“Second. That, furthermore, it shall be the duty of the Speaker of this House to appoint one Delegate from one of the Indian nations upon the Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Delegate so appointed shall have and possess all the rights and privileges of other members of such committee, except the right to vote on questions pending before such committee”–_Journal_, vol. vi, 529. The Speaker appointed Boudinot to the position thus created.]
[Footnote 852: In February, upon the nomination of President Davis and the recommendation of Secretary Seddon, Scott had been appointed to the position of full commissioner [Ibid., vol. iii, 69].]
[Footnote 853: During the illness of Holmes, which was protracted, Price commanded in the District of Arkansas.]
him to approach his difficult and delicate task with an open mind and with no preconceived notions derived from Holmes’s prejudices.
Scott entered the Indian Territory in July and was at once beset with complaints and solicitations, individual and tribal. On his own account, he made not a few discoveries. On the eighth of August he reported[854] to Holmes upon things that have already been considered here, defective powder, deficient artillery, and the like; but not a word did he say about the Cooper[855] and Boudinot intrigues. It was too early to commit himself on matters so personal and yet so fundamental. The Indians were not so reticent. The evil influence that Cooper had over them, due largely to the fact that he professed himself to be interested in Indian Territory to the exclusion of all other parts of the country, was beginning to find expression in various communications to President Davis and others in authority. Just how far Stand Watie was privy to Cooper’s schemes and in sympathy with them, it is impossible to say. Boudinot was Cooper’s able coadjutor, fellow conspirator, while Boudinot and Watie were relatives and friends.
Watie’s energies, especially his intellectual, were apparently being exerted in directions far removed from the realm of selfish and petty intrigue. He was a man of vision, of deep penetration likewise, and he was a patriot. Personal ambition was not his besetting sin. If he had only had real military ability and the qualities that make for discipline and for genuine leadership
[Footnote 854: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1097.]
[Footnote 855: On August 14, Cooper complained to Smith that Steele had been given the place that rightfully should have been his [Ibid., 987]. Smith looked into the matter and made his reply, strictly non-partisan, September 1st [Ibid., 1037]. The authorities at Richmond declared against Cooper’s claims and pretensions, yet, in no wise, did he abandon them.]
among men, he might have accomplished great things for Indian Territory and for the Confederacy. Almost simultaneously with the forwarding of Scott’s first report to Holmes, he personally made reports[856] and issued appeals,[857] some of which, because of their grasp, because of their earnestness, and because of their spirit of noble self-reliance, call for very special mention. Watie’s purpose in making and in issuing them was evidently nothing more and nothing less than to dispel despondency and to arouse to action.
Watie’s appeal may have had the effect designed but it was an effect doomed to be counteracted almost at once. Blunt’s offensive had more of menace to the Creeks and their southern neighbors than had Steele’s defensive of hope. The amnesty to deserters,[858] that issued under authority from Richmond on the twenty-sixth of August, even though conditional upon a return to duty, was a confession of weakness and it availed little when the Choctaws protested against the failure to supply them with arms and ammunition, proper in quality and quantity, for Smith to tell them that such things, intended to meet treaty requirements but diverted, had been lost in the fall of Vicksburg.[859] Had not white men been always singularly adept at making excuses for breaking their promises to red?
In September, when everything seemed very dark for the Confederacy on the southwestern front, desperate efforts were made to rally anew the Indians.
[Footnote 856: Watie’s report to Scott, August 8, 1863 [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1104-1105] was full of very just criticism, but not at all factional.]
[Footnote 857: The appeal to the Creeks, through their governor, is to be found in _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1105-1106, and that to the Choctaws and Chickasaws, Ibid., 1106-1107.]
[Footnote 858:–Ibid., 980.]
[Footnote 859: Smith to Principal Chief, Choctaw Nation, August 13, 1863, Ibid., 967; Bryan to Hon. R.M. Jones, September 19, 1863, Ibid., 1021.]
Proposals[860] from Blunt were known to have reached both the Creeks and the Choctaws and were being considered, by the one, more or less secretly and, by the other, in open council. Israel G. Vore,[861] who had become the agent of the Creeks and whose influence was considerable, was called upon to neutralize the Federal advances. In a more official way, Commissioner Scott worked with the Choctaws, among whom there was still a strong element loyal to the Confederacy, loyal enough, at all events, to recruit for a new regiment to fight in its cause.
Nothing was more likely to bring reassurance to the Indians than military activity; but military activity of any account was obviously out of the question unless some combination of commands could be devised, such a combination, for example, as Magruder had in mind when he proposed that the forces of Steele, Cooper, Bankhead, and Cabell should cooeperate to recover Forts Smith and Gibson, something more easily said than done. It was no sooner said than brigade transfers rendered it quite impracticable, Cabell and Bankhead both being needed to give support to Price. In charge now of the Northern Sub-district of Texas was Henry E. McCulloch. From him Steele felt he had a right to expect cooeperation, since their commands were
[Footnote 860: Steele to Snead, September 11, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1013; Bankhead to Steele, September 15, 1863, Ibid., 1016.]
[Footnote 861: In the spring of 1863, Vore was engaged in disbursing funds, more particularly, in paying the Indian troops [Steele to Anderson, April 17, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp. 197-198]. In November, 1862, the Creeks had requested that Vore be made their agent and the appointment was conferred upon him the following May [Scott to Seddon, December 12, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1095]. The Creeks were inclined to be displeased at the delay, especially as they later had no reason to regret their choice [Moty Kanard to Davis, August 17, 1863. Ibid., 1107]. It was Cooper, apparently, who suggested sending up Vore to have him work upon the Creeks [Ibid., 1000].]
territorially in conjunction, and to consult with him he journeyed to Bonham.[862]
Viewed in the light of subsequent events, the journey was productive of more evil than good. With Steele absent, the command in Indian Territory devolved upon Cooper[863] and Cooper employed the occasion to ingratiate himself with the Indians, to increase his influence with them, and to undermine the man who he still insisted had supplanted him. When Steele returned from Texas he noticed very evident signs of insubordination. There were times when he found it almost impossible to locate Cooper within the limits of the command or to keep in touch with him. Cooper was displaying great activity, was making plans to recover Fort Smith, and conducting himself generally in a very independent way. October had, however, brought a change in the status of Fort Smith; for General Smith had completely detached the commands of Indian Territory and Arkansas from each other.[864] It was not to Holmes that Steele reported thenceforth but to Smith direct. Taken in connection with the need that soon arose, on account of the chaos in northern Texas, for McCulloch[865] to become absorbed in home affairs, the
[Footnote 862 His destination was apparently to be Shreveport, the department headquarters [Crosby to Bankhead, September 23, 1863. _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268. p. 251].]
[Footnote 863: Cooper’s headquarters, in the interval, were to be at Fort Washita [Ibid.,], where a company of Bass’s regiment had been placed in garrison [Duval to Cooper, July 15, 1863, Ibid., p. 145].]
[Footnote 864: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1045.]
[Footnote 865: McCulloch was being greatly embarrassed by the rapid spread of unionist sentiment and by desertions from his army. The expedient of furloughing was restarted to. To his credit, be it said, that no embarrassments, no dawning of the idea that he was fighting in a failing cause, could make him forget the ordinary dictates of humanity. His scornful repudiation of Quantrill and his methods was characteristic of the man. For that repudiation, see, particularly, McCulloch to Turner, October 22, 1863, Ibid., vol. xxvi. part ii, 348.]
separation from Arkansas left Indian Territory stranded.
Fort Smith, moreover, was about to become Blunt’s headquarters and it was while he was engaged in transferring his effects from Fort Scott to that place that the massacre of Baxter Springs occurred, Blunt arriving upon the scene too late to prevent the murderous surprise having its full effect. The Baxter Springs massacre was another guerrilla outrage, perpetrated by Quantrill and his band[866] who, their bloody work accomplished at the Federal outpost, passed on down through the Cherokee Nation, killing outright whatever Indians or negroes they fell in with. It was their boast that they never burdened themselves with prisoners. The gang crossed the Arkansas about eighteen miles above Fort Gibson[867] and arrived at Cooper’s camp on the Canadian, October twelfth.[868]
Scarcely had Blunt established his headquarters at Fort Smith, when political influences long hostile to him, Schofield at their head,[869] had accumulated force
[Footnote 866: Quantrill’s bold dash from the Missouri to the Canadian had been projected in a spirit of bravado, deviltry, and downright savagery, and had undoubtedly been incited by the execution of Ewing’s notorious order, _Number Eleven_ [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 473]. That order, as modified by Schofield, had authorized the depopulating of those counties of Missouri, Jackson, Cass, Bates, and a part of Vernon, where the guerrillas were believed to have their chief recruiting stations and where secessionist feeling had always been dominant. It was at once retaliatory and precautionary and on a par with the instructions for the removal of the Acadians on the eve of the breaking out of the French and Indian War. The banished Missourians have, however, as yet found no Longfellow to sentimentalize over them or to idealize, in a story of _Evangeline_, their misfortunes and their character. History has been spared the consequent and inevitable distortion.]
[Footnote 867: Britton, _Civil War on the Border_, vol. ii, 224.]
[Footnote 868: Quantrill to Price, October 13, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 700-701.]
[Footnote 869: In the matter of domestic politics in Kansas, particularly as they were shaped by the excitement over the guerrilla outrages, Schofield belonged to the party of _Moderates_, “Paw Paws” as its members were called in derision, (cont.)]
sufficient to effect his removal. He was relieved, under Schofield’s orders of October 19, and Brigadier-general John McNeil then assumed command of the District of the Frontier.[870] Colonel Phillips continued in charge at Fort Gibson,[871] his presence being somewhat of a reassurance to the Cherokees, who, appreciating Blunt’s energetic administration, regretted his recall.[872]
Had the Federal Cherokees been authoritatively apprised of the real situation in the Indian Territory farther south, they need never have been anxious as to the safety of Fort Gibson. Steele’s situation was peculiarly complex. As private personage and as commander he elicits commiseration. Small and incapable was his force,[873] intriguing and intractable were his
[Footnote 869: (cont.) and Blunt, like Lane, Wilder, and others, to that of the _Extremists_, or _Radicals_. Of the Extremists the “Red Legs” were the active wing, those who indulged in retaliatory and provocative outrages. Schofield’s animosity against Blunt, to some extent richly deserved, amounted almost to a persecution. He instituted an investigation of the District of the Frontier and it was upon the basis of the findings of the committee of investigation that he ordered Blunt’s retirement [Schofield to Townsend, October 3, 1863, _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 595-597; Blunt to Curtis, November 30, 1864, Ibid., vol. xli, part iv, 727-729]. For evidence of continued animosity see the correspondence of Champion Vaughan, Ibid., vol. xxii, part ii, 738, 742.]
[Footnote 870: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 666.]
[Footnote 871: For the condition and movements of the Indian Brigade from November 20, 1863, to December 20, 1863, see _Daily Conservative_, January 3, 1864.]
[Footnote 872: The resolutions, commendatory of his work, to which Blunt refers in his letter to Curtis of November 30, were passed by the Cherokee National Council, October 20, 1863. The text of them is to be found, as also Chief Christie’s letter of transmittal, in _Official Records_, vol. xxxiv, part ii, 790-791.]
[Footnote 873: Steele reported that on October first he had “Seminoles, 106; Chickasaws, 208; Creeks, 305; Choctaws, 1,024; Choctaw militia, 200, and whites, 999” [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 34]. Concerning the condition of his entire command, the best understanding can be obtained from the inspection report of Smith’s assistant inspector-general, W.C. Schaumburg, [Ibid., part ii, 1049-1053], October 26, 1863. Schaumburg exhibits conditions as simply deplorable, Indians poorly mounted, ignorant of drill, destitute of suitable (cont.)]
subordinates. Of the white force Magruder[874] was doing his utmost to deprive him, and of the Indian Steele found it next to impossible to keep account. Insignificant as it was, it was yet scattered here, there, and everywhere,[875] Cooper conniving at its desultory dispersion. Instead of strengthening his superior’s hands, Cooper was, in fact, steadily weakening them and all for his own advancement. He disparaged Steele’s work, discredited it with the Indians,[876] and, whenever possible, allowed a false construction to be put upon his acts. In connection with the movements of the white troops, is a case in point to be found. Rumor had it that Bankhead’s brigade, now Gano’s,[877] was to be called away for coast defence. Cooper knew perfectly well that such was not Steele’s intention and yet he suffered
[Footnote 873: (cont.) arms; posts dilapidated; and prominent tribesmen, like Colonel Tandy Walker, indulging in petty graft, drawing government rations for members of their families and for their negro slaves. McCulloch was also of the opinion that conditions in Indian Territory were pretty bad [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part i, 1065], and that the red men were absolutely unreliable [Ibid., vol. xxvi, part ii, 378].]
[Footnote 874: For Magruder’s insolent and overbearing attitude towards Steele, see his correspondence in Ibid., part ii. Magruder wanted Indian Territory attached to the District of Texas [p. 295] and was much disgusted that Gano’s brigade was beyond his reach; inasmuch as Smith himself had placed it in Indian Territory and Steele could retain it there if he so pleased [pp. 349, 369, 371].]
[Footnote 875: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1063, 1065, 1076, 1109.]
[Footnote 876: Cooper’s influence was greatest with the Choctaws and Chickasaws. The Choctaw wavering of which there were numerous signs [Ibid., 1019, 1024], the disposition of the Choctaw Council towards neutrality [Ibid., 1042, 1046], which Scott was called upon to check [Ibid., 1030-1031], and the Choctaw complaint about the absence or inadequacy of arms [Ibid., 1021] were all made the most of, in order to accentuate Steele’s incapacity for his task. October 7, the Chickasaw Legislature petitioned for the elevation of Cooper to the full command in Indian Territory [Ibid., 1123-1124]. It was, of course, a covert attack upon Steele.]
[Footnote 877: Dissatisfaction with Bankhead on the part of his men had been the chief cause of the transfer to Richard M. Gano. Steele had a good deal of trouble with Gano’s brigade as also with Bass’s regiment [See _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, nos. 267, 268].]
the Indians to believe that it was; in order that they might with impunity charge Steele with having violated their treaty pledges.[878] To nothing did they hold so rigidly as to the promise that white troops were always to support Indian.
In the role of Indian superintendent ex officio, Steele had no fewer difficulties and perplexities than in that of military chief. The feeding of indigents was a problem not easily solved, if solvable. In the absence of legislative provision, Hindman had instituted the questionable practice of furnishing relief to civilians at the cost of the army commissary and no other course had ever been deemed expedient by his successors. In July, 1863, Steele had ordered[879] practically all distribution agencies to be abolished, his reason being that only refugees,[880] Indians out of their own country, ought, in the season of ripened and ripening crops, to need subsistence and such subsistence, being limited in amount and derived altogether from the army supply, could be most economically handled by the regular commissaries. As winter approached and the necessity for feeding on a large scale became again pronounced,
[Footnote 878: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1063-1064, 1064-1065.]
[Footnote 879: “I am instructed by the Gen. Com’dg to direct that you issue an order abolishing all agencies in the Indian country for feeding ‘Indigents.’
“It is thought that the crops now coming in will be sufficient to support these people without any further drain upon Govt supplies.
“What little issues are absolutely necessary will be made by post commissaries.”–DUVAL to Lee, July 1, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 268, p. 119.]
[Footnote 880: “I beg leave to recommend to your favorable consideration the accompanying letter from the Hon. E.C. Boudinot. The necessity of feeding not only the refugees, but to some extent during the winter the other Indians, has been recognized by all commanders, the drouth of last year having cut the crops very short. As the crops are now maturing I have in a great measure discontinued the issue except to refugee Cherokees and Osages, both of whom are out of their own country …”–STEELE to Smith, July 13, 1863, Ibid., pp. 142-143.]
he was disposed to keep the whole matter still under army regulations so as to “avoid increasing competition.”[881] The army exchequer could be subsequently reimbursed when specific appropriations for Indians should be made. Supplies of clothing had naturally to be otherwise provided for and for those he contracted[882] in northern Texas. Steele’s whole policy with regard to the indigents was subjected to the severest criticism;[883] for it was based upon the idea that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Disappointed speculators and grafters were chief among his critics and, in spite of all his precautions, they outwitted him. Peculation appeared on every hand, white sharpers abounded, and Indians, relatively affluent, subsisted at government expense.
Another source of embarrassment was developed by the application of war measures, primarily intended for the states only, to the Indian country. Indian property was impressed[884] as occasion arose. Very
[Footnote 881: Steele to Scott, August 7, 1863, _Confederate Records_, pp. 179-180.]
[Footnote 882: Steele to Bryan, November 9, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 267, p. 31. The Reserve Indians had all along been fed by contract [Steele to Scott, August 7, 1863, Ibid., no. 268, pp. 179-180]. In the fall, Steele renewed the contract with Johnson and Grimes [Steele to S.A. Roberts, November 15, 1863, Ibid., no. 267, p. 37] and detailed men from his command, from Martin’s regiment, to assist in its execution [Steele to McCulloch, November 22, 1863, Ibid., p. 41].]
[Footnote 883: The Creeks were particularly dissatisfied. They claimed that food and raiment had been promised them, but the source of the promises Steele was powerless to determine [Steele to Vore, November 20, 1863, Ibid., p. 39]. Indian soldiers on leave seemed to expect their usual allowances and Cooper, although disclaiming that he had any desire to “pander to the prejudices” of the natives, was always to be found on their side in any contention with Steele. To all appearances, the Indians had Cooper’s support, in demanding all the privileges and profits of regular troops and “all the latitude of irregular, or partisan” [Steele to Cooper, November 24, 1863, Ibid., pp. 44-45].]
[Footnote 884: Concerning the request of Steele that cotton and teams be ordered exempt from impressment, see Steele to Bryan, November 9, 1863. _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 267, p. 31. The Choctaws had considerable cotton and the question was what was to be done with it in case of an advance of (cont.)]
frequently was this the case in the matter of transportation facilities, in that also of negro labor. It was Steele’s opinion that the impressment law and the grain tithe law were not operative as against the Indians[885] but his necessities forced the practice, and execution by the army, under his orders, only intensified Indian opposition to him.
Indian opposition to Steele in tangible form took two directions, one of which, the advancement of Douglas H. Cooper, has already been frequently referred to. The other was the advancement of Stand Watie. During the summer, Stand Watie, as chief of the Confederate Cherokees, had authorized the formation of a Cherokee brigade,[886] the object being, the dislodgment of the Federals from Fort Gibson and their consequent retirement from the Cherokee country. The brigade had not materialized; but all Stand Watie’s subsequent efforts were directed towards the accomplishment of its patriotic object. Love of country best explains his whole military endeavor. The enemy in the Cherokee country he harassed, the enemy elsewhere, he left for others to deal with. Generally speaking, in consequence, the autumn months of 1863 found Watie hovering around the Arkansas, the Cherokees and their neighbors with him, while Cooper, almost equally particularistic because the Choctaws and Chickasaws were his main support, concerned himself with plans for the recovery of Fort Smith.
[Footnote 884: (cont.) the enemy. Was it to be burnt and the owners were they to be indemnified [Steele to Anderson, December 9, 1863, _Confederate Records_, p. 68]? Steele peremptorily forbade confiscation of Indian property and discouraged any interference “with the duties of agents, or with the National Council or government of the tribes” [Steele to Captain J.L. Randolph, enrolling officer, July 7, 1863, Ibid., no. 268, p. 132].]
[Footnote 885: Crosby to A.S. Cabell, October 6, 1863, Ibid., no. 267, p. 2.]
[Footnote 886: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1103.]
The fervid patriotism of one leader and the overweening personal ambition of the other divided the Indians, then, into two camps and it was but natural that the idea should soon evolve that Indian interests