Red Fox: Stand Watie's Civil War Years - Quick Review

I have just finished reading the book, "Red Fox: Stand Watie's Civil War Years" by Wilfred Knight. This book was published in 1987 by The Arthur H. Clark Company.

Stand Watie was born in Rome, Georgia on December 12, 1806. He was the second son of a half-blood Cherokee mother and a full blooded Cherokee father. He is remembered largely due to the fact that he is the only Native American to achieve the rank of Brigadier General in either army during the American Civil War. Furthermore, he achieved that rank in the Confederate Army overcoming the racism of the time.

Most officers in the Confederate Army achieved rank through the attendance of the US Military Academy at West Point or through political influence. During the war, The Confederacy promoted many officers due to heroism in combat. Stand Watie earned his commission at the head of Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole Indians fighting for the Confederacy. Eventually, these units were brigaded together under Stand Watie as the Indian Brigade.

The book written by Wilfred Knight is sometimes a dry read, but largely an interesting look into a little know part of the Civil War. Normally, information about these back-water theaters are hard to come by, but Wilfred Knight has managed to collect a lot of information on the political infighting and history of the Cherokee people from their original home in Georgia through the Trail of Tears to the Indian Territory of Oklahoma.

Knight provides a well researched book that provides the first full biography of Stand Watie. The campaigns are easily laid out for the reader to follow. It is very interesting reading about these engagements where the counts of the dead and wounded are so low, often 5 to 10 are killed in each engagement, while 20 or so are wounded. Where, in the east armies of thousands are engaged and hundreds are killed or wounded, here in the west units of 400 to 2000 battle it out. This is largely because there was so much territory to protect in the West with very few troops and supplies.

In a War where all the action took place in the East, history says the war was won/lost in the West, depending on your point of view. In the West, the War was more complicated than just Blue versus Grey.

If you have any interest in the actions that Indians took part in the Civil War, this book is a great place to start.