Stand Watie was born on December 12, 1806, in Oothcloga (near present day Rome, Georgia). Degadoga, or “He Stands,” was given the name Isaac S. Watie by his parents; he later dropped his Christian name and became known as Stand Watie. At age twenty-two he acquired a license to practice law and procured a job as clerk of the Cherokee Supreme Court.

During the secession crisis in the Indian Territory, Watie organized a secret group of supporters of Southern rights known as the Knights of the Golden Circle. At the start of the Civil War, his followers actively worked to bring the Cherokee tribe into the Confederate camp. On July 12, 1861, Watie received a colonel’s commission in the Confederate army. He raised a regiment of 300 mixed bloods and proceeded toward the northeastern border with Kansas to guard against a possible Federal invasion. On October 7, 1861, Watie’s regiment was mustered into the Confederate military service as the Cherokee Mounted Rifles.

Watie’s regiment preformed relatively well at the Battle of Pea Ridge on March 7-8, 1862. After Pea Ridge, the Cherokee officer and his regiment participated in numerous conventional battles and skirmishes with Federal troops. On May 6, 1864, Watie was promoted to brigadier general, the only Native American to hold that rank in the Confederate army.

Perhaps Watie’s greatest military accomplishments occurred in the summer and fall of 1864. On June 15, 1864, Watie captured the Federal steamboat J. R. Williams on the Arkansas River, loaded with $100,000 worth of supplies; on September 19, 1864, at the Second Battle of Cabin Creek, Watie and his men captured a 300 wagon Federal supply train containing $1.5 million worth of supplies.

General Stand Watie finally surrendered his command on June 23, 1865, becoming the last Confederate general to capitulate. He died on September 9, 1871.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31445