THIS SITE IS FOR EDUCATION

The primary purpose of this web site is to educate, you the visitor to this site that Indian Territory was involved in the War Between the States.  I guess if I was a business that would be my mission statement. There is lots of other information such as what caused the War and what the name of the War actually is, and some things for the reenactor.   

One of the future goals is to have a page for each battle you see listed above next to the picture.  Another is to have information about some of the people that fought in Indian Territory.  This site is also where reenactors in present day Oklahoma can get information.  Reenactments are a lot of work to put on and to participate in.  Go see one and ask questions because the reenactors have studied their character and know the issues and the conflicts they are reenacting.  

I hope you enjoy this site and recommend it to others.  This is a free site and I don't use it for any monetary gain. The views and opinions on this site are my own so if you disagree with something I say that is fine by me. I have to agree with a history professor I had in collage. He said, "I don't care if you disagree with me, just be able to support your argument." I have been wrong before and I'll be wrong in the future but if you can prove I'm wrong I'll change my stance or at least modify it. I do try and put accurate information on this site and if you see and error let me know.  I do know my grammar is poor. Unfortunately I write like I talk, with a Deep South Accident.

The American Civil War is under attack from sources that would rather forget or rewrite the past. There are those who want to soft sell the "Southern Cause" and hard sell the "Fight for freedom". The truth to the causes of the Civil War may forever be lost as history is ignored, abridged or expunged to make it support the various beliefs.

Every person had a different reason for fighting. There were southerners involved that actually owned slaves. The majority of the southerner soldiers were too poor to own slaves. In the Confederate Army, White men, Black men, Hispanics, Native Americans, Jews and foreigners served side-by-side in the same units. This is a historical fact, research it yourself and you will find it a true statement.

Most northern soldiers thought they were fighting to preserve the Union; they did not care about the slave issue. After January 1, 1863 there were northern soldiers that actually fought to free the slaves, but very few.  After the war General U.S. Grant wrote, “If I had known it was a war to free the darky I would have fought on the other side.”    Even Abraham Lincoln's concern was to save the Union, not to save or destroy slavery. Lincoln even said "what I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save this Union" (Voices of America, p. 138).  In August, 1862 Lincoln wrote a letter to Horace Greeley, an editor of the New York Tribune, who published an open letter insisting President Lincoln free the slaves immediately. In Lincoln's reply he wrote "If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also so that"(Voices of America, p.138). Lincoln’s objective was to save the Union, not to either save or destroy slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in states that were in rebellion and not under Union control. It did not free slaves under Union control. In effect this would be like the President of the United States making a law that only applies to Brazil. The Emancipation did not set the slaves free. This was done by the 13^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution after the war.  While Black men, a few Hispanics and a hand full of Native Americans fought for the Union, they were segregated from the white men in the "Colored Troops"  (NOTE:  This is an interesting trivia, Grant and Sherman were slave owners and had slaves during the war. Lee and Jackson had freed their slaves before the war, so they were not slave owners.)

On whichever side the soldier stood, most fought because their "home state" called them to do so. The sense of independence was just as strong with northern states as with the south. The strong allegiance to a Federal authority came about during the Civil War.

Men joined to fight simply to keep from being thought a coward by his fellow citizens. Some went because they were bored at home. Others went in search of "glory" after hearing the tales of past wars. Southerners lived by "tradition". For the southern man military service was a strong "tradition" would have been a big force. The southerners lived on tradition. Southern tradition, the southern way of life, was about to change.

The war involved everyone not just white males. Women fought along side of, supported and cared for the soldiers on both sides. Black men and women served on both sides. Slaves as well as free men fought for the south. Free men and ex-slaves fought for the north. Only now, after more than 140 years, the stories and deeds of black soldiers are being accepted and made known and to the public.  There are now numerous publications that deal with Black Soldiers both north and south.  Stories about the 54^th Mass. (http://extlab1.entnem.ufl.edu/olustee/54th_MS_inf.html), which is the most noted of the Black regiments but also Black men served in the Confederate Army (http://www.rebelgray.com/blacksincombat.htm). But this web site is about Indians and Indian Territory in the Civil War on both sides.    

It is because our ancestors lived that we live today; we have what we have today. So, no matter on which side of the war your ancestors stood it is our duty, yours and mine, to keep alive their memories, to honor their lives. Through reenactments amateur historians keep that faith. They strive to reproduce the day to day life of soldiers, civilians and medical personnel. From camps to the battlefield, men and women live as people did in the 1860's. As historians we must be concise and it is our duty to pass on that history to the next generation.  No matter how distaseful it is we should not change history but look at history from the point of view of the people living at that time.  We may not like what we find but we must remember.  If we do not know our history we have no history.  

Take Me To The Home Page