On Friday, June 23, 1865 at Doaksville in the Indian Territory Confederate General Stand Watie surrendered his Indian battalion of Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, and Osage to units of the Union army. His surrender represented the last formal submission of any significant body of Confederate troops. Afterwards, Watie led a Cherokee delegation to Washington to sue for peace, hoping to have tribal divisions recognized. The U.S. government elected, however, to negotiate only with leaders who had sided with the Union and subsequently named John Ross, Watie’s long-time rival for leadership of the Cherokee tribe, as principal chief in 1866. Watie remained in exile in the Choctaw Nation until Ross’ death, when he returned home to rebuild his plantation. Disavowing any further interest in politics, he died there on September 9, 1871.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.