"Cherokee Stand Watie" Topic

"Always a clear-thinking man, even on a day when kinsmen were murdered and vengeful fellow Cherokees dogged his heels, Stand Watie knew that he had to maintain a straight face and stay calm if he wanted to remain alive.

The son of an old friend had ridden from one of three murder scenes and brought him a warning. The youth remained collected and spoke calmly with Watie, who was inside a small store he kept in northeastern Indian Territory. Knowing that enemies could be listening, the young man bargained loudly for sugar and softly told Watie what had happened and where to find the horse called Comet standing bridled and ready. Deliberately, Watie left the store and rode off safely. He would remain in jeopardy for almost six years.

The murders, which took place on the morning of June 22, 1839, pushed Watie into the leadership of a small and unpopular Cherokee faction for the rest of his life. The tribal majority blamed Watie and his faction for the removal of the Cherokees along what became known as the Trail of Tears. Watie's uncle, the prominent chief Major Ridge, Watie's cousin John Ridge and Watie's brother Elias Boudinot (also known as Buck Watie) all died that day in the new Cherokee Nation in the West. Stand Watie faced few worse days in his adventurous and violent life that saw him become a Confederate brigadier general. On the losing side twice in his life, he had intimate familiarity with dashed hopes and lost causes…"
Main page
link

Also…
link

Amicalement
Armand

Paul Quaama?…. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Noted.

It's a very sad story:
almost lost his life early on;
lost his homeland;
fought to the end (last CSA General to surrender) to be part of a new nation which was lost to him and his tribe;
lost his home (burned to the ground by the Union);
lost his sons;
lost his own life; and
soon after his daughters lost their lives.

The first link provides a little information on slaves of the Cherokee. It's certainly an unusual form of slavery. [I understand that they originally had virtually the same form of white slave owners in Georgia but that a new form evolved after they moved west with their slaves on the Trail of Tears.]

Many thanks!.

A sad history indeed…. but a brave man too….

Amicalement
Armand