Stand Watie

Brigadier-General Stand Watie, born on December 12, 1806, was a prominent Cherokee politician and military leader. He served as the second principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1862 to 1866, during a tumultuous period when the Cherokee Nation allied with the Confederate States in the American Civil War. Watie holds the distinction of being the only Native American to achieve the rank of general officer in the Confederate Army, commanding a diverse force primarily composed of Cherokee, Muskogee, and Seminole troops in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.

Before the forced removal of the Cherokee people to Indian Territory in the late 1830s, Watie and his brother, Elias Boudinot, were key figures in signing the Treaty of New Echota in 1835, a decision that was met with significant opposition from the majority of their tribe. This controversial action led to violent repercussions, including an assassination attempt in 1839 that claimed the lives of many Treaty Party members, leaving Watie as the sole survivor of his immediate family during this crisis.

In the years that followed, Watie found himself embroiled in a cycle of violence, culminating in the killing of one of his uncle's attackers in 1842. He faced further tragedy when his brother Thomas was killed in retaliation in 1845. Despite these challenges, Watie was acquitted by the Cherokee community in the 1850s, with the verdict resting on the grounds of self-defense.

After the Civil War, Watie led the Southern Cherokee delegation to Washington, D.C., seeking peace and recognition of tribal divisions. However, the federal government chose to negotiate only with those who had aligned with the Union, sidelining Watie and his supporters. In his later years, he withdrew from the political arena, focusing instead on rebuilding his plantation and the lives of his people.