Trail of Blood on Ice Part III: Descent into Tragedy

 

Chustenahlah (December 26)

James McIntosh

Colonel Cooper received word that Colonel James McIntosh had forwarded part of his men to him so that he would have more numbers and ammunition to get back on the trail of Opothleyahola. The plan was that Cooper would travel up the Arkansas River and get in front of the rebellious Indians. McIntosh would go up the Verdigris River and head west, trapped the target between two forces. But it would be some time before Cooper was ready. McIntosh, a highly aggressive officer who often put himself at risk, knew that to wait would give Opothleyahola respite from pursuit and worse more distance. He thus resolved to move at once.[1] McIntosh had at his disposal 4 companies of his own 2^nd Arkansas Mounted Riflemen, 5 companies of the South Kansas-Texas Regiment, the 3^rd Texas Cavalry, 6^th Texas Cavalry, and a single company of Texans under Captain Bennett. Like Cooper, he led a mounted force ideal for moving quickly across large stretches of uninhabited territory. He had 1,380 men in total. These soldiers were surprised to be in action. With the first phase of winter having come, the men were busy constructing comfortable wood cabins near Van Buren. But winter rest would not come quite yet.[2]

Back on Fort Gibson, on December 24, Cooper received the ammunition he had ordered. He moved out, but sent Stand Watie and the 2^nd Cherokee ahead to link up with McIntosh. Watie was of the pro-Confederate Cherokee faction and so were the men in his regiment. Unlike Drew’s 1^st Cherokee, this regiment was in no danger of defecting.[3] Despite his quickness to move upon gaining ammunition, Cooper would miss out on the climactic battle of the Trail of Blood on Ice.

Trail of Blood on Ice Part II: Cooper Gives Chase

 

Round Mountain (November 19)

Though Opothleyahola talked of neutrality and letting the whites slaughter each other, his grand scheme was seen in a different light by the Confederacy and its allies. The McIntosh Creeks, aside from their usual political and cultural antipathy towards the traditionalists, thought this exodus would encourage their human property to run away. Slaveholders in other Indian nations felt the same. Of more strategic concerns was that instead of staying out of the “white man’s war” as stated, at least many of the males in the exodus would form Union units and improve the probability of a major Federal invasion from Missouri.[1]

The commander of the Confederate forces was Colonel Douglas Cooper (left). He long had relations with the Nations of Indian Territory, with Opothleyahola’s faction accusing him or stealing. In fact, there was a rumor that he wanted to catch up with Opothleyahola not to fight him, but to bribe him to reveal the location of a supposed great treasure that the chief’s slaves had buried. Such beliefs seem to be more the creation of spiteful Indians. While such planned thievery is not confirmed, Cooper did have a true reputation for drunkenness that would dog his Civil War career.[2]

Trail of Blood on Ice Part I: A Creek Nation Divided

 

In the American Civil War the Union Army did not hit Indian Territory until well into 1862, and only in full force in mid-1863. However, there was one major campaign, perhaps the most tragic one of all. In a period 35-45 years earlier the members of the Five Civilized Tribes and been driven off their land in the East by the executive and unconstitutional power of US President Andrew Jackson. For the Cherokees, the forced relocation to what is now Oklahoma became known as the Trail of Tears. The events at the end of 1861 would be known as the Trail of Blood on Ice.

 

Primary sources for the campaign are somewhat scarce for somebody running a blog out of Illinois. I was limited to letters contained in The Prairie Was on Fire, a wonderful source for anybody who wants firsthand accounts of the Civil War in Indian Territory, and the official battle and campaign reports. Aside from a letter in which Indian agent Carruth communicates with Creek chief Opothleyahola, they are all from the Confederate perspective. As for the secondary sources, the best was Now the Wolf Has Come, a book that seeks to reframe the campaign entirely from the Creek’s perspective. The two authors of the book, Christine and Benton White, do alert the reader that the Creeks’ biases come to the fore, so keep that in mind when some heavy accusations are made against white figures such as General Douglas Cooper. I also tried to flesh out the sources with web sources, chiefly from the Oklahoma Historical Society, but I decided not to include them because the information was so brief and already covered in the books.

The Creek chief named in the image and below (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Opothle_Yaholo.jpg)

Opothleyahola

When the Civil War began to take shape, the Confederacy was keen to make the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole nations allies. They hoped they would serve as a buffer force between Kansas and Texas. The task for many of these nations was actually not too hard, thanks to shared cultural traditions and the Federal Government’s abandonment of protection and services. The latter factor was caused by the Union’s prioritization of beating Confederates further east.

However, many Indians also opposed an alliance with the Confederacy because they preferred the Union, or, in the case of the following individual, did not want to get wrapped up in a “white man’s war.” His name was Opothleyahola. He was of the Creek Nation (their official names is Muscogee, but for the sake of lining up with my sources I will refer to them as Creek). His name stood out in stark contrast to the other major Creek chiefs, who had taken up western names. This was very symbolic. Opothleyahola was a deeply conservative traditionalist who despised much of white culture. To him whites were demons responsible for all that had befallen the Creeks. He was more not likely to be seen in the suit and shirt of the whites, and he rejected Christianity.

Opothleyahola was old enough to have been present when the great Pan-Indian Shawnee Tecumseh visited the Creeks. Tecumseh had preached that the Indians must return to their old ways of living and makes themselves pure of both the physical and cultural encroachments of the white men. Opothleyahola was struck by Tecumseh’s words and had been on the side of the Red Sticks in the Creek Civil War. It was during this event that he gained a dislike for the opposing Creeks’ white American allies. Now he saw himself as the protector of the Creeks’ old ways.[1]

His arch-enemies were the McIntosh family. Back during the days of Indian removal, the McIntosh faction had voluntarily decided to head west. Their journey west was not the mournful procession that the rest of the Creeks would face. They even entered their new lands on steamboats, and brought their slaves with them. Having first dibs at their new home, they quickly grabbed much of the best farmland and set up farms and plantations.[2]

By contrast the rest of the Creeks, the majority of them, had a miserable time of it when they were forced out of what is now Alabama. As they trekked west they fell into destitution, constantly cheated by more unsavory whites, exposed to the elements, forced to endure long marches in rough conditions. When they finally arrived the McIntosh faction was wary. They agreed to let this second wave of migration stay as long as they accepted the laws they had already set up.[3]

It took time to adjust to the new country. The majority of Creeks built settlements along the rivers, but, being unfamiliar with the weather and natural cycles of Indian Territory, found themselves hit by flooding that wrecked their homes, drowned valuable livestock, and propagated the spread of diseases. Through it all Opothleyahola sought to do what he could to revive his peoples’ prosperity.[4]

Helping the Creeks rebuild were Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian missionaries. Most were white, though at least one was black. They set up schools at which the Creek children could receive education and learn how to read and write. For this case Opothleyahola made an exception, as he understood that such talents would help his people deal with further intrusions from the United States. Despite his efforts, the mixed-bloods were more willing or likely to attend the new schools. Not only did this tie them more to American culture, it guaranteed that they would have educational advantages over the other Creeks.[5] Opothleyahola also held black slaves, just like most wealthier Creeks. It should be noted, however, that slavery by the Creeks had existed before the arrival of the whites. The only adjustment made to it was that only blacks could be held in bondage.

When these mixed-bloods began to respond positively to an alliance with the Confederacy, it was only natural that Opothleyahola would stand in opposition.

Planning the Exodus

During the pre-war Secession crisis, militant Texans surged into Indian Territory, keen to seize Federal property. Colonel William Emory of the Federal forces entered the territory to determine if the Union should maintain their handful of scattered posts: Forts Arbuckle, Cobb, Gibson, and Washita. As it turned out, soldiers had already evacuated Fort Cobb. For his part Emory, fearing an attack on Fort Washita, evacuated that site as well, and the garrison of Fort Arbuckle joined him without orders. The Union was abandoning Indian Territory and with it protection from the Comanches and Kiowa. The new Confederate forces assumed command of the forts.[6]

It did not help that the government agent assigned to the Creeks was an Alabamian secessionist named William Garrett. He ensured that none of the Creeks could easily and directly communicate with the Federal government. At the same time the federal government was aware of Garrett’s duplicity and withheld the promised annuities for fear that the agent would divert them to the Confederacy. They may as well have sent them, for by withholding them the Creeks felt further abandoned by the government and more open to Confederate overtures.[7] As bonds between the Creeks and white southerners tightened, the Creek General Council passed a law requiring all free blacks to go into servitude. They were allowed to choose their master, but that could not have been much of a relief.[8]

Opothleyahola looked on these developments in dismay. Already hostile to the whites, he did not want to see his people risk their lives and their nation in an alliance with the same people who had dispossessed them a generation earlier. He and others held the mixed-bloods back from making such an alliance. One Creek, James Scott, was ten when he saw aged chief. He recounted that his “heart was sad at all the war talk. He visited the homes of his followers or any of the Indians and gave them encouragement to face all these things, but above all things to stay out of the war. It was no affair of the Indians.”[9] In June he and many of the full-blooded chiefs left to attend a council of Great Plains Indians. This was a major political mistake. With most of their opposition out of the way, pro-Southern mixed-blood chiefs were able to meet with Confederate officials and other Indian leaders. Naturally they allied with the Confederacy, and the new deals they struck were actually more favorable than those made with the Federal government.[10]

John Ross letter to Opothleyahola

Feeling betrayed, neutral and Unionist Creeks joined with like-minded people from the other Indian groups to seek aid from the Union. William Garrett noted these developments with alarm. Technically the Creek Nation was allied with the Confederacy, but according to his estimates there was a severe division. The Lower Creeks were mostly pro-Confederate, but the Upper Creeks largely went against. Overall he counted 1,675 “Southern” Creek warriors and 1,575 “Northern” Creek warriors, a nearly-50-50 division though the Confederate faction was now better armed. John Ross, President of the Cherokee Nation, was sympathetic to Opothleyahola and had previously backed his efforts to keep Indian Territory neutral. But Ross had to cave in to pressure when a rival faction of pro-Confederate Cherokees threatened to supersede his authority. Now he begged the aged Creek not to give the Confederates and their Indian allies any pretext to attack him. But his pleas went ignored. Indian vs. Indian violence looked more likely every day. In her history of the creeks, the historian Angie Debo noted that this was a tragic repeat of history, as earlier in the century Creeks had divided in a larger conflict between a still young United States and the older European powers in the War of 1812.[11]

Opothleyahola was encouraged by a response to his messages north. It was from E.H. Carruth, another US Indian agent. “I am authorized to inform you that the President will not forget you. Our Army will soon go South, and those of your people who are true and loyal to the Government will be treated as friends…The commissioners from the Confederates States have deceived you. They have got two tongues. They wanted to get the Indians to fight, and they would rob and plunder you if they can get you into trouble…His soldiers will soon drive these men who have violated your homes from the land they have treacherously entered.” Carruth sent further letters to various loyal leaders among the Indian peoples. Each letter requested that some of their best men be sent to Kansas to meet with Federal authorities and then to Washington to meet President Lincoln. Each letter also promised protection for whoever refused to ally with the Confederacy and the short arrival of Federal troops.[12]

The anti-Confederate Creeks had a plan on how to gather without attracting premature attention. Some Creek families with herds of pigs and cattle would round up their animals and slaughter a large portion of them. The dead animals’ meat was dried preserved. Families and small groups would leave their homes and take planned out routes to a great gathering place. Each had a bundle of sticks. Each morning they would dispose of a stick until there was none left. As the sticks were thrown away, these small groupings began to converge.[13]

Opothleyahola went with a rearguard of armed, mounted men. One night while they camped in a grove of oak, a white man named John Taylor rode to them. The Confederates were aware that something was happening and had sent Taylor, a merchant and trader, to talk the Creek chieftain into surrender. He warned that if he and the others continued on their course, there would be war and suffering in Indian Territory. Opothleyahola, who had been sitting on a log, met Taylor’s words with silence. At this moment the White learned that he was surrounded by Creeks, their rifles leveled at him. Opothleyahola declared him their prisoner. He hoped that by taking Taylor with him, he would cause confusion among the Confederates as to what had happened.[14]

The size of Opothleyahola’s exodus has been estimated as high as 8,000 people, with 1,500 of those men armed for battle. It was not entirely a Creek affair. Inspired by Tecumseh, Opothleyahola had reached out to others unwilling to ally with the Confederacy. To quote Now the Wolf Has Come, “Let the white men slay one another until the earth was soaked in their venomous blood…Let the many peoples join as brothers of the same fire; Let them all shun the white man’s war, and the gods would protect them.” Many had already been looking for a way out of the war. Among those who heeded the Creek chief’s call were Delawares, Kickapoos, Seminoles, and Shawnees. There were also hundreds of enslaved and free blacks. Although Opothleyahola had no abolitionists aspirations, there were runaway slaves in his group, riding ponies they had stolen from their masters. Seeing an anti-Confederate exodus, this was an opportunity to escape enslavement for free-soil Kansas. The massive body of people moved north as one unified body on November 15.[15]

Actually, Opothleyahola had another option on his mind, one that might remove any need to interact with US government. To the west of Indian Territory were the Comanche. The Comanche are rightly among the most well-known Indian peoples. After mastering the horse, they dominated the western plains for centuries. Maps in 1861 showed the western borders of Texas and Indian Territory, but in reality these regions often fell into Comancheria. The fierce Comanche warriors, often alongside their Kiowa allies, constantly warred on their neighbors, including the displaced nations in Indian Territory. Now Opothleyahola called for a great alliance. As Indians, they should all stand together, staying free of the emerging Civil War. A few Comanches were moved by his entreaties and some would even join his exodus. The rest, however, were dismissive. The Comanche had reigned supreme and could not imagine their destruction by the Americans, much less if they were busy slaughtering each other.[16]

https://buchananej.wixsite.com/7-
cherokee-clans/the-wild-potato

So Kansas it was. As it moved the north, the great exodus absorbed several smaller groups, such as the Yuchis and Alabamas. Naturally with all these culture mingling together, tensions rose. Some of the Indian peoples would refuse to interact with traditional enemies. The Delawares killed a fox, a sacred animal of the Cherokee Potato Clan (emblematic mask pictured left). Fortunately Opothleyahola had the natural presence and ability to defuse these situations before they broke his movement apart. [17] So far the great chief had quelled fighting among those in his charge, but soon he would need to manage fighting against the true enemies. The Confederates and their Indian allies would not allow these differing Creeks and their friends to reach Kansas unmolested.

Next: Two battles erupt on the Trail of Blood on Ice.

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[1] Christine Schultz White and Benton R. White, Now the Wolf Has Come: The Creek Nation in the Civil War, (Texas A&M University Press, 1996), 19-20.

[2] Angie Debo, Road to Disappearance: A History of the Creek Indians, (Oklahoma Press, 1941), 95.

[3] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 100-102.

[4] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 108.

[5] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 120; Mary Jane Warde, George Washington Grayson and the Creek Nation, 1843-1920, (University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), 41-42.

[6] Thom Hatch, The Blue, the Gray, & the Red: Indian Campaigns of the Civil War, (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole, 2003), 2.

[7] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 142.

[8] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 143.

[9] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 151.

[10] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 144-146.

[11] Debo, Road to Disappearance, 149-150; Hatch, Indian Campaigns, 7.

[12] United States, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Vol. VIII. (Washington D.C. 1883), 25-26.

[13] White, Wolf Has Come, 15; Debo, Road to Disappearance, 151.

[14] White, Wolf Has Come, 20-22.

[15] Hatch, Indian Campaigns, 8; White, Wolf Has Come, 23; Warde, George Washington Grayson, 60; Edwards, Prairie was on Fire, 13.

[16] White, Wolf Has Come, 24-25.

[17] White, Wolf Has Come, 36-38.