Native American Civil War Essay

Before the arrival of white people to the continent, Native Americans still engaged in war between the various different tribes. Their reasons for fighting each other were drastically different than the reasons they had when fighting non-Indians. Some Native American battles were fought for revenge. The most common cause of war between Native American groups was probably to defend or enlarge tribal territory. Later, their conflicts with white people were fought for trying to prevent the theft of their land, or in raids for food and supplies they were denied. There have been many famous clashes between Indians and the United States government. On November 4th 1791, In what is considered the worst ever defeat administered by Indians to U. S. troops more than 600 soldiers were killed by a force of mostly Shawnees and other Indians. The cause of the conflict was settlers moving into the Indian’s land in large numbers, ignoring Indians rights and demanding military protection if the Indians opposed them. This kind of situation was the cause for many of the largest fights with Native Americans, for example the battle of little big horn (otherwise known as Custer’s last stand) in which Indians that were ready for the arrival of the Calvary killed every soldier under General Custer’s command. A battle which United States

The early 1800s were dark times for the United States. Though free of its rule, the newly-formed nation now had to face Britain once again in the War of 1812. Settlers were moving into the Great Plains and to the West, forcing Native American tribes to relocate. Rising tensions between the U.S. and the native tribes, and conflicts among the tribes themselves, made the perfect conditions for another war. In 1813, tensions finally snapped when a faction of the Creek Indians known as the Red Sticks started a civil war against those Creeks who supported the National Council, a war that eventually grew to involve militias from several U.S. states and other Native American tribes. Although the exact cause of the war is uncertain, what the war was, some major battles of the war, and how it relates back to To Kill a Mockingbird are known.

On the other hand, Native Americans decided to fight on the side of the British because they taught it might mean a victory in expansion. Similarly, there were Native Americans fought on the American side as well because they wanted to help the Americans at the Battles of Fort George and Chippewa (Fixico, para. 2). According to Fixico, There were Indians who sided with the Americans -- Red Jacket and Farmer’s Brother led a Seneca faction to help the Americans at the Battles of Fort George and Chippewa. But most Indian nations sided with the British against the U.S, believing that a British victory might mean an end to expansion. Although the Americans went to war with the British because the Americans thought that the British were being unfair because they were unfairly taxing the Americans to pay of their debts and the Americans just wanted freedom, the Native Americans and the Americans fought because the Natives thought

The Native Americans lost many people during the war. It happen during ‘Black Hawk War’, when Chief Black Hawk led two groups, the Sac and the Fox Indians, back to their home in Illinois because they “found their western country unacceptable…” (356). However, the Illinois militia drove the Indians into Wisconsin and

For Native Americans, the War of 1812 was a struggle for freedom and independence. Before the War of 1812, the U.S. were planning to expand onto Native American territories. Most Indian tribes saw their lands at risk, so they sided with the British, and were against the United States. Thus Britain started encouraging Indians to attacks on the frontier. They provided arms and support to Native Americans who attacked settlers. Native Americans led by Tecumseh, defended Canada. After being abandoned by the British, they fought the Americans who were led by William Harrison and

The most widely known battle which was fought by many African American soldiers, was the assault on Fort Wagner, in the southern state of South Carolina, by the 54th Massachusetts, on the date of July 18, 1863. The 54th Massachusetts had volunteered to lead the assault, on the strongly-fortified Confederate grounds. The soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts, had been able to scale Fort Wagner's, parapet, or military barricade, and then they were only driven back, after the brutal hand-to-hand combat.

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas, was the first major battle of the Civil War. It took place in Virginia near the city of Manassas on July 21, 1861. The Confederate Army won the battle with the retreat of the Union Army back to Washington.

The first major battle to be fought during the American Civil War took place on July 1, 1861 near Manassas, Virginia. The 1st Battle of Manassas, commonly known as The Battle of Bull Run by Union forces, saw an estimated 28,400 Union soldiers attempt to quickly defeat the Confederate army whose numbers out manned theirs. Believing the war would not last long and that the South would fall if defeated in a major battle, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, under the instruction of President Lincoln, led an army who was overwhelmingly under trained in a major battle setting to confront the forces of General Pierce Gustave Beauregard in Northern Virginia.

As time passed and conflict progressed amidst the Creek people, outside involvement became an integral part of the war. Militant forces from several southern states amassed forces to combat the Red Sticks. Jackson himself, on Tennessee’s behalf, led a party of approximately 1,000 men along with an additional contingent of Cherokee warriors. After his, and America’s, first

The battle of the wilderness was the bloodiest battle in the civil war.  Over tens thousand people died, four hundred people burned,  And two hundred people suffercated.  The opening battle of Grant’s, sustained offensive against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia known as the Overland Campaign, was fought at the Wilderness, May 5th thru 7th in1864.

In early August 1861, the Confederates approached Unions army, which was camped at Springfield, Missouri. On August ninth, 1861, both the Confederates and the Union made plans to attack each other. On August tenth, the Union attacked the Confederates on Wilson’s creek about twelve miles southwest from Springfield. Confederate cavalry received the first shot and retreated from the high ground, later known as the “bloody hill”. Infantry soon rushed up to stabilize their positions.

Just like this century actually runs longer thematically than just 1800 to 1900, the story of the Indians extends backward before the first shots of the Civil War were fired and stretches forward past Reconstruction. Throughout this elongated era, different tribes had different experiences. Some, like the nations of the Iroquois, started their travails with warfare of white Americans as far back as choosing between the French and British during the French and Indian War. Others, like the Seminole, had fought many independent wars against America (or Spain or Britain) in their homelands long before they faced the Civil War. Still others, like the Cherokee, had attempted to assimilate into white culture, were forced off their lands, thought they were “safe” on guaranteed reservation lands, and then were forced again to participate when the Civil War bled westward into Indian Territory. The concepts of racism and “whiteness” that flowed like a river through themes of religion, progress, immigration, territory, slavery, and Reconstruction during the “long nineteenth century” also affected Native Americans; the “war of a thousand deserts” fought by the native tribes of the Southwest was both a unique experience and a shared experience as almost every tribe fought their own wars against whites and sometimes against other tribes

Despite these challenges, the Indian community played its roles in the development of the state. When the nation needed them, they were available to perform their national duties. For example, during the Civil War, they were part and parcel of the armies of both the Confederates and the Unionist military. These were essential elements in the reconstruction of the country after the Civil War. The Indian community enrolled in the army and participated just like other ethnic communities. It is also notable that they had challenges such as having to go to war to defend the rights of others while their

The Native Americans not only allied with both sides, but fought on their own. Many times they would switch their loyalties; playing both sides to get what they

Many Native Americans during the American War for Independence American side, however, most supported the Britain. Because Crown encroaching settlement in the United States promised to protect the native land. Many Native Americans were partly assimilated into the American colonies (Native Americans and the American Revolution, n.d).