The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War Part 13

Your Messenger reports himself Straped, that no funds were furnished him to pay his expenses, that he had to beg his way down here. I have paid his bill here and furnished him with five dollars to pay his way back. Very respectfully your Obedient Servant

W.G. COFFIN, _Sup't. of Indian Affairs_, Southern Superintendency. [Indian Office Special Files, no. 201, _Southern Superintendency_, C 1612 of 1862].]

[Footnote 246: LEROY COFFEY CO., KANSAS, April 29th, 1862.

SIR: Enclosed please find a communication from Brigadier General Sturgis in regard to the organising of the Indians and my reply to the same, the officers are here, or at least four of them. Col Furnace Agutant Elithurp Lieutenant Wattles and Agutant Dole I need scarcely say to you that we shall continue to act under your Instructions til further orders, the Officers above alluded to have been untiring in their efforts to get acquainted with and get the permanent (cont.)]

Colonel John Ritchie[247] of the inchoate Second Regiment Indian Home Guards did the same[248].

The reestablishment[249] of the Department of Kansas, at this critical moment, while much to be regretted as indicative of a surrender to politicians[250] and an abandonment of the idea, so fundamentally conducive to military success, that all parts must contribute to the good of the whole, had one thing to commend it, it restored vigor to the Indian Expedition. The department was reestablished, under orders[251] of May second, with James G. Blunt in command. He entered upon his duties, May fifth, and on that selfsame day authorized the issue of the following most significant instructions, in toto, a direct countermand of all that Sturgis had most prominently stood for:

[Footnote 246: (cont.) organization of the Indians under way and have made a fine impression upon them, and I should very much regret any failure to carry out the programe as they have been allready so often disappointed that they have become suspicious and it all has a tendency to lessen their confidence in us and to greatly increase our dificulties All of which is most Respectfully Submitted by your obedient Servant

W.G. COFFIN, Sup't of Indian Affairs. [Indian Office Special Files, no. 201, _Southern Superintendency_, C 1612 of 1862].]

[Footnote 247: For an inferential apprais.e.m.e.nt of Ritchie's character and abilities, see Kansas _Historical Collections_, vol. iii, 359-366.]

[Footnote 248: Ritchie to Dole, April 26, 1863 [Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, 1858-1863].]

[Footnote 249: The reestablishment, considered in the light of the first orders issued by Blunt, those set out here, was decidedly in the nature of a reflection upon the reactionary policy of Halleck and Sturgis; but Halleck had no regrets. Of Kansas, he said, "Thank G.o.d, it is no longer under my command." [_Official Records_, vol.

xiii, 440.] Ever since the time, when he had been urged by the administration in Washington, peculiarly sensitive to political importunities, not to retain, outside of Kansas, the Kansas troops if he could possibly avoid it, there had been more or less of rancor between him and them. His opinion of them was that they were a "humbug" [Ibid., vol. viii, 661].]

[Footnote 250: Almost simultaneously, Schofield was given independent command in Missouri, a similar surrender to local political pressure.]

[Footnote 251: _Official Records_, vol. xiii, 368-369.]

General Orders, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF KANSAS, No. 2. Fort Leavenworth, Kans., May 5, 1862.

I. General Orders, No. 8, dated Headquarters District of Kansas, April 25, 1862, is hereby rescinded.

II. The instructions issued by the Department at Washington to the colonels of the two Indian regiments ordered to be raised will be fully carried out, and the regiments will be raised with all possible speed.

By order of Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt,[252]

THOS. MOONLIGHT, _Captain and a.s.sistant Adjutant-general_.[253]

The full extent, not only of Sturgis's failure to cooperate with the Indian Office, but also of his intention utterly to block the organization of the Indian Expedition, is revealed in a letter[254]

from Robert W. Furnas, colonel commanding the First Regiment Indian Home Guards, to Dole, May 4, 1862. That letter best explains itself.

It was written from Leroy, Kansas, and reads thus:

Disclaiming any idea of violating "Regulations" by an "Official Report" to you, permit me to communicate certain facts extremely embarra.s.sing, which surround the Indian Expedition.

In compliance with your order of Ap'l 5th. I reported myself "forthwith" to the U.S. mustering officer at Ft. Leavenworth and was "mustered into the service" on the 18th. of April. I "awaited the orders from Genl Halleck" as directed but rec'd none. On the 20th. Ap'l I rec'd detailed

[Footnote 252: The promotion of Blunt to a brigadier-generalship had caused surprise and some opposition. Referring to it, the _Daily Conservative_, April 12, 1862, said, "Less than three months ago Mr. Lincoln informed a gentleman from this State that no Kansas man would be made a Brigadier 'unless the Kansas Congressional delegation was unanimously and strenuously in his favor' ... Either the President has totally changed his policy or Lane, Pomeroy and Conway are responsible for this most unexpected and unprecedented appointment ..."]

[Footnote 253: _Official Records_, vol. xiii, 370.]

[Footnote 254: Indian Office General Files, _Southern Superintendency_, 1859-1862, F 363 of 1862.]

instructions from Adjt. Gen'l Thomas, authorizing me to proceed and raise "from the loyal Indians now in Kansas a Regiment of Infantry." I immediately repaired to this place and in a very few days enrolled a sufficient number of Indians to form a minimum[255] Regiment. I am particularly indebted to the Agts.

Maj. Cutler of the Creeks and Maj. Snow of the Seminoles, for their valuable services. Immediately after the enrolling, and in compliance with my instructions from Adjt. Gen'l Thomas, I notified Lieut. Chas. S. Bowman U.S. mustering officer at Ft.

Leavenworth of the fact, to which I have rec'd no answer.

At this point in my procedure a special messenger from Gen'l Sturgis reached this place with a copy of his "Order No. 8," a copy of which I herewith send you. On the next day Maj. Minor in command at Iola, Kansas, and who had been furnished with a copy of General Sturgis' "Order" came with a company of Cavalry to this place "to look into matters." I showed him my authority, and informed him what I had done. He made no arrest, seeming utterly at a loss to understand the seemingly _confused_ state of affairs. Whether Gen'l Sturgis will on the reception of my notice at the Fort arrest me, or not, I know not. I have gone to the limits of my instructions and deem it, if not my duty, prudent at least to notify you of the condition of affairs, that you may be the better enabled to remove obstacles, that the design of the Department may be fully and promptly executed....[256]

[Footnote 255: The regiment, according to the showing of the muster roll, comprised one thousand nine men. Fifteen hundred was the more usual number of a regiment, which, normally, had three battalions with a major at the head of each.]

[Footnote 256: The remainder of the letter deals with the muster roll of the First Regiment Indian Home Guards, which was forwarded to Dole, under separate cover, the same day, and of which Dole acknowledged the receipt, May 16, 1862 [Indian Office _Letter Book_, no. 68, pp.

240-241]. The roll shows the captain and number of each company as here:

Company A Billy Bowlegs 106 Company B A-ha-luk-tus-ta-na-ke 100 Company C Tus-te-nu-ke-ema-ela 104 Company D Tus-te-nuk-ke 100 Company E Jon-neh (John) 101 Company F Mic-co-hut-ka (White Chief) 103 Company G Ah-pi-noh-to-me 103

(cont.)]

It soon developed that General Halleck had been equally at fault in disregarding the wishes of the government with respect to the mustering in of the loyal Indians. He had neglected to send on to Kansas the instructions which he himself had received from Washington.[257] It was inc.u.mbent, therefore, upon Blunt to ask for new. He had found the enlisted Indians with no arms, except guns, no shot pouches, no powder horns, although they were attempting to supply themselves as best they could.[258] Blunt thought they ought to be furnished with sheath, or bowie, knives; but the Indian Office had no funds for such a purpose.[259] The new instructions, when they came, were found to differ in no particular from those which had formerly been issued. The Indian Home Guards were to const.i.tute an irregular force and were to be supported by such white troops, as Blunt should think necessary. They were to be supplied with transportation and subsistence and Blunt was to "designate the general to command."

Blunt's own appointment was expected to remove all difficulties that had stood in the way of the Indian Expedition while under the control of Halleck.[260] On

[Footnote 256: (cont.)

Company H Lo-ga-po-koh 94 Company I Jan-neh (John 100 Company J Lo-ka-la-chi-ha-go 98]

[Footnote 257: Coffin to Dole, May 8, 1862, Indian Office General Files, _Southern Superintendency_, 1859-1862.]

[Footnote 258: Same to Same, May 13, 1862, Ibid., Land Files, _Southern Superintendency_, 1855-1870.]

[Footnote 259: Dole to Coffin, May 20, 1862, Ibid., _Letter Book_, no. 68, p. 252.]

[Footnote 260: "I visited the War Department today to ascertain what orders had been forwarded to you and your predecessor relative to the organization of two thousand Indians as a home guard, which when so organized would proceed to their homes in the Indian country in company with a sufficient number of white troops to protect them at their homes.

"I learn from Adjutant General Thomas that all necessary orders have been forwarded to enable you to muster these Indian Regiments into the service as an irregular force; and to send such white force with them as (cont.)]

May 8 came the order from Adjutant-general Thomas, "Hurry up the organization and departure of the two Indian regiments,"[261] which indicated that there was no longer any question as to endors.e.m.e.nt by the Department of War.

As a matter of fact, the need for hurry was occasioned by the activity of secessionists, Indians and white men, in southwest Missouri, which would, of itself, suggest the inquiry as to what the Indian allies of the Confederacy had been about since the Battle of Pea Ridge. Van Dorn had ordered them to retire towards their own country and, while incidentally protecting it, afford a.s.sistance to their white ally by hara.s.sing the enemy, cutting off his supply trains, and annoying him generally. The order had been rigidly attended to and the Indians had done their fair share of the irregular warfare that terrorized and desolated the border in the late spring of the second year of the war.

Not all of them, regularly enlisted, had partic.i.p.ated in it, however; for General Pike had, with a considerable part of his brigade, gone away from the border as far as possible and had intrenched himself at a fort of his own planning, Fort McCulloch, in the Choctaw Nation, on the Blue River, a branch of the Red.[262] Furthermore,

[Footnote 260: (cont.) in your judgment may be deemed necessary, also that the difficulties we experienced while the expedition was under the control of Gen'l Halleck are now removed by your appointment, and that you will designate the general to command the whole expedition and see that such supplies for the transportation and subsistence as may be necessary are furnished to the whole expedition (Indians as well as whites). Lieut. Kile informs me that there was doubt whether the Quarter Master would be expected to act as Commissary for the Regiment. I suppose that you fully understand this was the intention...."--Dole to Blunt, May 16, 1862, Indian Office _Letter Book_, no. 68, pp. 241-242.]

[Footnote 261: _Daily Conservative_, May 9, 1862.]

[Footnote 262: "... General Albert Pike retreated from the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, a distance of 250 miles, and left his new-made wards to the mercy (cont.)]

Colonel Drew and his men, later converts to secessionism, had, for a good part of the time, contented themselves with guarding the Cherokee Nation,[263] thus leaving Colonel Cooper and Colonel Stand Watie, with their commands, to do most of the scouting and

[Footnote 262: (cont.) of war, stringing his army along through the Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw Nations, pa.s.sing through Limestone Gap, on among the Boggies, and halted at Carriage Point, on the Blue, 'away down along the Chickasaw line.' Cherokee Knights of the Golden Circle followed Pike's retreat to Texas ... "--Ross, _Life and Times of Hon. William P. Ross_, p. viii.]

[Footnote 263: These two letters from John Ross are offered in evidence of this. They are taken from Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, John Ross _Papers_: