Civil War
Theoutbreak of the civil war
(1861-65), dividing the nation, seemed to offer the Indians a great opportunity
to win backmusch they had lost. The north and the south bid for the support of
the cherokee, creeks, seminoles, choctaws, and chickasaws. (these were southern
tribes that owned negro slaves.) althought the south made the indians more
promises of land and other rewards for their services than did the north, many
southern indians still wished to remain loyal to the union. The issue of
slavery was not as importan to them as it was to white slave owner in the
south. Their way of live would not be changed greatlyif they lost the few
slaves they held.
Indians did fight for south in
the battle of pea ridge (1862). Two indian became brigade generals. Stand watie
(1806-71), a cherokee, became a southern brigadier general. A Sioux name Ely
Samuel Parker gained the same rank in the United States Army. However, before
the war ended the Snatee Sioux, a western tribe, had massacred more than 800
white in minnesota. Despite the sympathy that individual indians had forboth
north and south, the aim of the western tribes was to stop the white man from
taking their land. Nor did the civil war stop america attacks on the indians.
At sand creek in 1864 coloradi militia killed 300 cheryenne men, women, and
children who had tried to surender.
The Far West
Combat rged on western prairie
and desert and in themountain. The plains indians fought on, though a chain of
frontier forts closed in on them and transcontinental railroad and telegraph
lines cut trough their hunting grounds. The united state army never had more
than 25,000 tropes available for indian fighting in the west. Since indian
country was so vast, these 25,000 men had to break up into many small groups in
order to cover the area. These small groups were oftrn outnumbered by attacking
indians.
Fort kearny in wyoming would not
have survived a sioux siege 1867 if a courier, “portugee”Philips, had not made
a heroic 236-mile ride trough a terrific blizzard and brought help. On
september 17, 1868, a little groupof soldiers and scouts enterenched on beecher
Island, Colorado, and change by massed sheryennes was also narrowly rescued. In
1871in present-day Oklahoma the famous General W. T. Sherman (1820-91) almost
los his scalp during the kiowa uprising.
In northeastern California the Modocs rose in 1873, took refuge in a
natural fortress of volcanic rock called the Lava Beds, and repulsed all
assaults. At a peace parley they
teracherously shot and killed an american general and several members of his
party. They were driven from their stronghold only mortal fire.
In the suthewest the apache had
longfought bo the united states and mexico. There was no more formidable foe
than these fierce warriors. They had incredible endurance in battle, and they
treated prisoners brutally. Only after series of tough campaigns in the years
following the civil war were they conquered. General george crook, organizing
packtrains for supply and using aqpache scouts, throught he hadsubdue the
apache 1875. However, they rose again in 1882 in protest agains cheating by
united states government indian agents. General crook had to return. The apache
war were over last with the surendder of apache leader geronimo in 1886.
Meanwhile the army staged a
threeproged drive against the warlike sioux, unreleting enemy of the white man
and of lesser tribes. Acolumn under general crook, with shoshone and crow
indian allies, clashed with sioux,led by the dashing chief crazy horse. The two
opposing force met at the desperate day long battle ended in a draw. Crook,
forced to retreat and re equip, was unable to combine in time with the other
rwo columns for roundup of the hostile indians.
sumber: Encyclopedia Americana (1975:213-214)
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