The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War. Annie Heloise Abel

229: (return)

      Connelley, Quantrilt and the Border Wars, 236 ff.

Footnote 230: (return)

      Steele to Dole, March 26, 1862 [Indian Office General Files, Southern Superintendence, 1859–1862].

      

once recovered, they were to be left in such shape as to be able to "protect and defend themselves."²³¹

Halleck's preoccupation, prejudice, or whatever it was that prevented him from giving any satisfaction to Steele soon yielded, as all things sooner or later must, to necessity; but not to the extent of sanctioning the employment of Indians in warfare except as against other "Indians or in defense of their own territory and homes." The Pea Ridge atrocities were probably still fresh in his mind. On the fifth of April, he instructed²³² General Denver with a view to advancing, at last, the organization of the Indian expedition and Denver, Coffin, and Steele forthwith exerted all their energies in coöperating effort²³³. Some time was spent in inspecting arms²³⁴ but, on the eighth, enough for two thousand Indians went forward in the direction of Leroy and Humboldt²³⁵ and on the sixteenth were delivered to the superintendent²³⁶. Coffin surmised that new complications would arise as soon as the distribution began; for all the Indians, whether they intended to enlist or not, would try to secure guns. Nothing had yet been said about their pay and nothing heard of an auxiliary force²³⁷. Again the question was, what,

Footnote 231: (return)

      Dole to Steele, March 21, 1862, Indian Office Letter Book, no. 67, 508–509.

Footnote 232: (return)

      Official Records, vol. viii, 665.

Footnote 233: (return)

      Dole's name might well be added to this list; for he had never lost his interest or relaxed his efforts. On the fifth of April, he communicated to Secretary Smith the intelligence that he had issued instructions to "the officers appointed to command the two Regiments of Indians to be raised as Home Guard to report at Fort Leavenworth to be mustered into service … "—Indian Office Report Book, no. 12, 357.

Footnote 234: (return)

      Steele to Dole, April 7, 1862 [ibid., General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859–1862, S 538 of 1862].

Footnote 235: (return)

      Denver to Halleck, April 8, 1862 [Official Records, vol. viii, 679].

Footnote 236: (return)

      Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, 148.

Footnote 237: (return)

      " … I fear we shall have trouble in regard to the guns as many will take guns that will not go and whether they will give up their arms is doubtful. I had a long talk with Opothly-Oholo on that point and told (cont.)

      

in the event of its not appearing, should the Indian agents do?²³⁸

The time was propitious for starting the expedition; for not the shadow of an enemy had been lately seen in the West, unless count be taken of Indians returning home or small roving bands of possible marauders that the people of all parties detested²³⁹. But the order for the supplanting of Denver by Sturgis had already been issued, April sixth²⁴⁰, and Sturgis's policy was not yet

      Footnote 237: (return)

      (cont.) him you could only get 2000 guns and you wanted every one to go and an Indian with it and that if any of them got guns that did not go they must give up their guns to those that would go but I know enough of the Indian character to know that it will be next thing to an impossibility to get a gun away from one when he once gets it and I shall put off the distribution of the guns till the last moment and it would be best to send them on a day or two before being distributed but that would make them mad and they would not go at all and how we are to know how many to look out for from others than those we have here I am not able to see but we will do all that we can but you may look out for dificulty in the matter they all seem anxious now to go and make no objections as yet nor have they said anything about their pay but as they were told before when we expect them to go into the Hunter Lane expedition that they would get the same pay as white troops and set off a part of it for their families it was so indelibly impressed upon their minds that I fear we will have a blow up on that score when it comes up we hear nothing yet of any troops being ordered to this service and I very much fear they will put off the matter so long that there will be no crop raised this season … the mortality amongst them is great more since warm weather has set in than during the cold weather they foolishly physic themselves nearly to death danc [dance] all night and then jump into the river just at daylight to make themselves bullet proof they have followed this up now every night for over two weeks and it has no doubt caused many deaths Long Tiger the Uchee Chief and one of the best amongst them died to-day—yesterday we had 7 deaths and there will not be less to-day"—Coffin to Dole, April 7, 1862, Indian Office General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859–1862, C 1578 of 1862.

Footnote 238: (return)

      This was the query put to Dole by Steele in a letter of the thirteenth of April, which acknowledged Dole's of the third and ventured the opinion that Postmaster-general Blair "must be imitating General McClellan and practicing strategy with the mails." Steele further remarked, "Gen'l Denver, Maj. Wright and I are in the dark as to the plans of the Indian Expedition. Gen. Denver thinks I should proceed at once to Leroy without waiting for your instructions."—Ibid., S 539 of 1862.

Footnote 239: (return)

      Curtis to Halleck, April 5, 1862 [Official Records, vol. viii, 662].

Footnote 240: (return)

      Sturgis, upon the receipt of orders of this date, assumed command of (cont.)

      

known.