The Choctaw in the American Civil War participated in two major arenas—the Trans-Mississippi and Western Theaters. The Trans-Mississippi had the Choctaw Nation. The Western had the Mississippi Choctaw. The Choctaw Nation had been mostly removed west prior to the War, but the Mississippi Choctaw had remained in the east. Both the Choctaw Nation and the Mississippi Choctaw would ultimately side with the Confederate States of America.
After thirty years of development, the Choctaw Nation had begun to flourish in their new western environment. Their economic system was identical as the American South and based upon slave labor. Their upper class was engaged in the cotton trade with networks reaching as far as New Orleans. Confederate envoy Albert Pike successfully persuaded much of "Indian Country" to side with the newly formed Confederate states. He conducted treaties for the Confederacy and later commanded a combined force of Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole troops.
The Mississippi Choctaw led a tougher existence. Through treaty provisions, they elected to stay in Mississippi while the majority of the Indians moved west. By the time of the American Civil War, the Mississippi Choctaw were destitute and lived a sharecropper's existence. The most lucky of them had a patron who were sympathetic to their needs. Mississippi Choctaws were continually petitioning their grievances to U.S. authorities which were mostly ignored. Mississippian John W. Pierce and Alabamian Samuel G. Spann organized the Mississippi Choctaw. They were both wealthy white planters and had experience with the Indians from Mississippi.
Background
The Choctaw Nation had removed west of the Mississippi River after the signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. After three decades, the nation had become successful in establishing itself in its new country. They made considerable progress in agriculture and education with most of the farm labor being done by slaves. By 1860, the Choctaw Nation lived in a relatively calm and remote society. Many Indian citizen members had become successful farmers, planters, and business men. Angie Debo, author of The Rise and Fall of the Choctaw Republic, wrote: "Taken as a whole the generation from 1833 to 1861 presents a record of orderly development almost unprecedented in the history of any people."
Tribal members had become successful cotton planters—owning many slaves. The most famous Choctaw planter was Robert M. Jones. He was part Choctaw and had become influential in politics. Jones eventually supported the Confederacy and became a non-voting member in the Confederacy's House of Representatives. Jones was key for steering the Choctaw Nation in an alliance with the Confederacy.
Lincoln and Indian Affairs
Abraham Lincoln considered Indian affairs a low priority when compared to the secession crisis. Lincoln's administration focused their efforts on American military confrontations of early 1861. They had little time to consider the Indian's role in the coming conflict. However, certain general attitudes protrude and explains the administrations' ambivalence toward the Indian. Lincoln and his polity considered the Indian a "dying race." A U.S. senator once remarked, "It is dying through natural causes growing out of its contact with a superior race inhabiting the same country." As soon as the Civil War began, Lincoln's government abandoned Indian Country. By May 18 of 1861, U.S. military posts were abandoned leaving tribes with "no alternative but to join the South."
Reasons why the Choctaw sided with the Confederacy
In early February 1861, the Choctaw Nation's General Council instructed their delegates in Washington City to deposit their invested funds in southern banks, if necessary. A few days later, the council elected 12 delegates to meet with the Chickasaw at Boggy Depot, Choctaw Nation. In April, Choctaw officials at Washington City assured Unionists that the Choctaw Nation was to remain neutral. However, by June 1861 the Choctaw Nation had declared itself free and independent and appointed commissioners to make an alliance with the Confederacy.
Choctaw Nation
Several reasons explain why the Indians sided with the Confederacy: (1) They believed the United States was on the verge of collapse, (2) They were neglected by the United States, (3) William H. Seward, the United States Secretary of State, advocated the seizing of Indian lands, (4) Their main agent was an advocate for the South, and (5) Their laws supported slavery.
Mississippi Choctaw
The Indians in Mississippi had different reasons when siding with the Confederacy. (1) One of their main reasons included neglect. For decades Mississippi Choctaws petitioned the United States for grievances concerning the allocation of land grants provided in Article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. A large number of cases was brought before U.S. courts but most went unheard. Some Choctaw may have been enticed to side with the Confederacy as a possible solution to their land grant problems. (2) Another reason included conscription. Although a few Indians volunteered, a majority of Mississippi Choctaw soldiers were conscripted into service. (3) Financial incentives may have been another reason. Fifty dollars bounty was offered to Mississippi Choctaws who enrolled with the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. (4) Some Indians may have wanted prestige within their tribe. Many Indian societies encouraged their warriors to succeed in battle to advance in their social hierarchy which was a requirement if they wanted positions of leadership.
Trans-Mississippi Theater
At the beginning of the American Civil War, Albert Pike was appointed as Confederate envoy to Native Americans. In this capacity he negotiated several treaties, one such treaty was the Treaty with Choctaws and Chickasaws conducted in July 1861. The treaty covered sixty-four terms covering many subjects like Choctaw and Chickasaw nation sovereignty, Confederate States of America citizenship possibilities, and an entitled delegate in the House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America .
Confederate battalions were soon formed in Indian Territory and later in Mississippi. The Choctaws, who were expecting support from the Confederates, got little. Webb Garrison, a Civil War historian, describes their response: when Confederate Brigadier General Albert Pike authorized the raising of regiments during the fall of 1860, Creeks, Choctaws, and Cherokees responded with considerable enthusiasm. Their zeal for the Confederate cause, however, began to evaporate when they found that neither arms nor pay had been arranged for them. A disgusted officer later acknowledged that "with the exception of a partial supply for the Choctaw regiment, no tents, clothing, or camp and garrison equippage was furnished to any of them."
First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles
On August 1 of 1861, President Jefferson Davis was notified that the First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles was prepared for battle. They were under the command of Colonel Douglas H. Cooper. The regiment consisted of six Choctaw companies, three Chickasaw companies, and one "half-breed" company.
The First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles were "tardy" and missed the opportunity to engage at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Historian Annie H. Abel wrote that the Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks, "were both fortunate and unfortunate in thus tardily arriving upon the scene. They had missed the fight but they had also missed the temptation to revert to the savagery that was soon to bring fearful ignominy upon their neighbors."
(Battice's) First Choctaw Battalion Cavalry
Franceway Battice (Francois Baptiste or Faunceway Baptiste) became lieutenant colonel for the First Choctaw Battalion Cavalry from the Choctaw Nation. Simpson N. Folsom became the major. At one point, the battalion consisted of three companies. When the battalion was dismissed, Battice and Folsom were given their own commands.
(McCurtain's) First Choctaw Battalion Cavalry
In 1862, Jackson McCurtain became the Lieutenant Colonel of McCurtain's First Choctaw Battalion from the Choctaw Nation (Indian Territory). The First Choctaw Battalion eventually reorganized as the Third Choctaw Regiment. McCurtian's First Choctaw Battalion should not be confused with the 1st Choctaw Battalion that was organized in Mississippi under the leadership of John W. Pierce.
First Choctaw War Regiment
Franceway Battice (Francois Baptiste or Faunceway Baptiste) led this unit as the First Choctaw Battalion Cavalry which may have had 216 men. Battice resigned in early 1862. After Battice's resignation, the battalion reorganized as the First Choctaw War Regiment.
First Choctaw Regiment
The First Choctaw Regiment was organized in early 1862. The unit participated in many skirmishes. It saw action at the first Battle of Newtonia. A total of 31 officers and 686 soldiers served until June 1865. Colonel Sampson Folsom, Lieutenant Colonel David F. Harkins, and Major Sylvester Durant were the leading officers. This regiment has been referred to as the "1st Regiment, Choctaw Mounted Rifles," "First Choctaw (new) Regiment," "First Choctaw Mounted Rifles," and "1st Choctaw Cavalry Regiment."
Second Choctaw Regiment
In late 1864, the Second Choctaw Regiment was led by Colonel Simpson N. Folsom. This unit later joined Colonel Tandy Walker's Second Indian Cavalry Brigade during a reorganization.
Third Choctaw Regiment
In June 1861, Jackson McCurtain enlisted in the First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles. He was commissioned Captain of Company G under the command of Colonel Douglas H. Cooper of the Confederate Army. In 1862, he became a Lieutenant Colonel of McCurtain's First Choctaw Battalion from the Choctaw Nation, not to be confused with John W. Pierce's 1st Choctaw Battalion in Mississippi. McCurtain's First Choctaw Battalion was reorganized as the Third Choctaw Regiment.
Choctaw Warriors Regiment
George E. Deneale was the commanding officer of the Choctaw Warriors Regiment (Deneale's Regiment or Choctaw Virginia Regiment). Deneale was from Rockingham, Virginia and served in the Virginia legislature. In early 1862, he recruited in the Choctaw Nation. About 400 Choctaws were enrolled. Deneale envisioned his regiment in the Eastern Theater. It is unlikely the regiment served in the Eastern Theater.
Choctaw Company
Edmund Pickens, or Okchantubby, was the captain of this company of Choctaws who were likely mounted. Pickens was part Chickasaw.
Choctaw Infantry Company
John Wilkins was captain of the Choctaw Infantry Company.
Indian Cavalry Division
Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper was in command of this division. The division had the First (Indian) Brigade, Second (Indian) Brigade, Seventh Mounted Artillery Battalion, and a couple of unattached units. Brigadier General Stand Watie commanded the first, and Colonel Tandy Walker commanded the second. Watie's unit had Cherokee, Creek, Osage, and Seminole Indians while Walker's unit had Choctaw, Chickasaw and Caddo Indians. The remainder of the division had non-Indian members.
Organization
The Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations were organized into several companies, battalions, and regiments. The Choctaws had three units labeled 1st Choctaw Battalion. Jackson F. McCurtian's 1st Choctaw Battalion was raised in the Choctaw Nation. McCurtain's organization was later re-organized as the Third Choctaw Regiment. Franceway Battice (Francois Baptiste) also raised a unit called the 1st Choctaw Battalion (Cavalry) from the Choctaw Nation. Battice's battalion was later re-organized as the First Choctaw War Regiment. John W. Pierce's 1st Choctaw Battalion was raised in Mississippi and never saw action in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Pierce's Mississippi Choctaws operated in Mississippi and Louisiana.
First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles