Scattered Graves
The Civil War Campaigns of Confederate Brigadier General and Cherokee Chief Stand Watie
by
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The ferociousness of the Southern charge affected not only those Union troops in the meadow but also the cavalry and infantry in the woods behind the artillery battery. Watie paused to study some Union officers trying to organize their troops to counterattack his Cherokees from the wood line.
“Look at those Pins, Elias,” Watie exclaimed, almost dropping the field glasses. The mounted Pins overtook Watie and his running soldiers and beat them to the three cannon now deserted in the middle of the meadow.
“They’re dancing around the three cannon as if they’ve just won the war. And acting crazy!” Boudinot yelled in Watie’s ear.
Watie could see several Pins jump on top of one cannon and caisson and pretend to ride them. Two other Pins put horse collars around their necks and danced around the cannon.
Then, in the midst of the dancing and screaming, Watie saw another Pin bend over a Yankee artilleryman lying on the ground beside one of the cannon. When the Pin straightened up, he held a bloody scalp in his hand, then thrust it upward with a whoop for all to see.
Watie looked away in disgust.
“Look, Uncle,” Boudinot was pointing but this time to the rear. There, drawn up on a hillock was the fancy carriage General Pike and John Ross had ridden to battle. Chief Ross sat atop the carriage, the toes of his black shoes supporting a long telescope. An umbrella shielded him from the sun.
“The Pins are showing off for John Ross,” Boudinot exclaimed.
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About the Book
Although depicted on a U.S. postage stamp and post card, Confederate Brigadier General and Cherokee Chief Stand Watie is virtually unknown to readers. The only Indian to be promoted to general on either side of the civil war, Watie was also the last Confederate general to surrender to Union forces. This book traces his skirmishes and battles--some victories, some defeats--during that terrible war. Pea Ridge was the largest battle west of the Mississippi where Watie led his “Cherokee Mounted Rifles” regiment. Later, Watie became the first cavalry commander to capture a Union ship, the J.R. Williams, underway in the Arkansas River. After his surrender to a Union commissioner, Watie--a man called by events and his Cherokee people to uncommon valor and leadership--continued to represent and inspire his people during the bitter period of reconstruction in the Indian Territory which eventually became the state of Oklahoma.