Surrender
of General Stand Watie
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Artist: Dennis Parker
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Sponsor: Sen. Jeff Rabon
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Dedication: 5-02-00
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Size: 30" x 40"
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Type: Oil on Canvas
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4th Floor, Outside Senate Lounge
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Stand Watie was the only American
Indian to attain the rank of Brigadier General during the
Civil War, and was the last Confederate General to surrender.
He was born in Georgia in 1806. When the federal government
began urging Cherokees to move from Georgia, Tennessee
and North Carolina to a home west of the Mississippi, Stand
Watie was one of those who believed it best for Cherokees
to make such a move. As a signer of the treaty of New Echota
in 1836, which provided for removal of Cherokees to the
west, Stand Watie gained enmity of those opposed.
Among the battles in which he
participated were Wilson Creek, Bird Creek, Pea Ridge,
and Cabin Creek. He attained the rank of Brigadier General
on May 10, 1864. In the battle of Cabin Creek, the Confederates
routed the Federals and captured about three hundred wagons
loaded with supplies, thus, for a time, enabling the destitute
Indian Confederates to continue in the war. At the urging
of Peter Pitchlynn, Stand Watie surrendered his command
at Doaksville near Fort Towson on June 23, 1865. He died
September 9, 1871 near Grove, Oklahoma: a man of courage,
leadership and loyalty.
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