Department of Missouri [_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii,
315].]
[Footnote 736: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 34.]
[Footnote 737: Steele to Blair, February 10, 1863, Ibid.,
87-88.]
[Footnote 738: Steele to Anderson, February 8, 1863, Ibid.,
81-82.]
[Footnote 739: Duval to Cabell, May 15, 1863, Ibid., 244-245.]
[Footnote 740: Steele to Cabell, March 19, 1863, Ibid., 148.]
[Footnote 741: Steele to Anderson, March 22, 1863, Ibid., 158.]
nearly empty.[742] It was not possible for him to furnish corn for
seed or, finally, the necessaries of life to indigent Indians. Indian
affairs complicated, his situation tremendously.[743] He could get no
funds and no
[Footnote 742: Steele to Anderson, April 3, 1863, _Confederate
Records_, 179-180.]
[Footnote 743: For instance the officers of the First Cherokee
regiment had a serious dispute as to the ranking authority among
them [Ibid., Letter from Steele, March 14, 1863, p. 143]. The
following letters indicate that there were other troubles and other
tribes in trouble also:
(a)
"Your communication of 13 Inst. is to hand. I am directed by the
Commanding Gen'l to express to you his warmest sympathy in behalf of
your oppressed people, and his desire and determination to do all
that may be in his power to correct existing evils and ameliorate the
condition of the loyal Cherokees. The Gen'l feels proud to know that a
large portion of your people, actuated by a high spirit of patriotism,
have shown themselves steadfast and unyielding in their allegiance to
our Government notwithstanding the bitter hardships and cruel ruthless
outrages to which they have been subjected.
"It is hoped that the time is not very far distant, when your people
may again proudly walk their own soil, exalted in the feeling, perhaps
with the consciousness that our cruel and cowardly foe has been
adequately punished and humiliated.
"Your communication has been ford. to Lt Gen'l Holmes with the urgent
request that immediate steps be taken to bring your people fully
within the pale of civilized warfare.
"It is hoped that there may be no delay in a matter so vitally
important.
"We are looking daily for the arrival of Boats from below with corn,
tis the wish of the Gen'l that the necessitous Indians sh'd be
supplied from this place. Boats w'd be sent farther up the river, were
we otherwise circumstanced. As it is the Boats have necessarily to run
the gauntlet of the enemy--The Gen'l however hopes to be able to keep
the River free to navigation until a sufficient supply of corn to
carry us through the winter can be accumulated at this place.
"You will receive notice of the arrival of corn so that it may
be conveyed to the Indians needing it."--CROSBY to Stand Watie,
commanding First Cherokee Regiment, February 16, 1863, Ibid.,
pp. 91-93.
(b)
"I am directed by Gen'l Steele to say that a delegation from the
Creeks have visited him since your departure and a full discussion has
been had of such matters as they are interested in.
"They brought with them a letter from the Principal Chief Moty Kennard
asking that the Cattle taken from the refugee Creeks be turned over to
the use of the loyal people of the nation. The Gen. Com'dg has ordered
a disposition of these Cattle to be made in accordance with the wishes
of the chief. If necessary please give such instructions as will
attain this object. (cont.)]
instructions from Richmond so he dealt with the natives as best he
could.[744] Small-pox became epidemic
[Footnote 743: (cont.) No Boats yet. Will endeavor to send one up the
river should more than one arrive."--Crosby to D.H. Cooper, February
19, 1863, Ibid., p. 97.
(c)
"I enclose, herewith, a letter from the agent of the Seminoles. You
will see from that letter the danger we are in from neglecting the
wants of the Indians. I have never had one cent of money pertaining
to the Indian superintendency, nor have I received any copies of
treaties, nor anything else that would give me an insight into the
affairs of that Department. I wrote, soon after my arrival at this
place, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs but have received
no reply. If you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of the
superintendent who has been lately appointed I hope you will urge
upon him the necessity of coming at once and attending to these
matters."--STEELE to Anderson, April 6, 1863, Ibid., 180.
(d)
"I have today received a long letter from the Chief of the Osages,
which I enclose for your perusal. Maj. Dorn came in from Texas a few
days since, and has, I understand, gone down to Little Rock on the
steamer 'Tahlequah.' It is certainly represented that a portion of
the funds in his hands is in specie. Please have the latter surely
delivered. Please return Black Dog's letter unless you wish to forward
it."--STEELE to Holmes, May 16, 1863, Ibid., 249.
(e)
"Letters, received today, indicate a great necessity for your presence
with the tribe for whom you are Agent. I wish you, therefore, to visit
them, and relieve the discontent, as far as the means in your hands
will permit. The Osage Chief, 'Black Dog,' now acting as 1st Chief,
claims that certain money has been turned over to you for certain
purposes, for which they have received nothing."--STEELE to A.J. Dorn,
May 16, 1863, Ibid., 249.]
[Footnote 744: "Your letter of May 6th, with letter of Black Dog
enclosed, has been received and the enclosure forwarded to Lieut. Gen.
Holmes for his information. The General Com'dg desires me to express
his regrets that the affairs of the Osage and Seminole tribes should
be in such a deplorable condition, but he is almost powerless, at
present, to remedy the evils you so justly complain of. He has written
again and again to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Richmond
requesting instructions in the discharge of his duties as ex-officio
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, but not a word has ever been
received in reply to his reiterated requests, owing probably to the
difficulty of communication between this point and the Capital. He has
also requested that funds be sent him to liquidate the just demands of
our Indian Allies, but from the same cause his requests have met with
no response. You must readily appreciate the difficulties under which
Gen. Steele necessarily labors. In fact his action is completely
paralized by the want of instructions and funds. In connection with
this he has been compelled to exert every faculty in defending the
line of the Arkansas River against an enemy, vastly his superior in
arms, numbers, artillery and everything that adds to the efficiency of
an army, and consequently has not been able to pay (cont.)]
among his men,[745] as among Phillips's--and from like causes.
Then General Steele had difficulty in getting his men and the right
kind of men together. Lawless Arkansans were unduly desirous of
joining the Indian regiments, thinking that discipline there would be
lax enough to suit their requirements.[746] Miscellaneous conscripting
by ex-officers of Arkansan troops gave much cause for annoyance[747]
as did also Cooper's unauthorized commissioning of officers to a
regiment made
[Footnote 744: (cont.) that attention to the business of the
superintendency that he would under other circumstances.
"It was stated, some time ago, in the newspapers, that a
superintendent had been appointed in Richmond, and the General Com'dg
has been anxiously expecting his arrival for several weeks. He
earnestly hopes that the superintendent may soon reach the field of
his labors, provided with instructions, funds and everything necessary
to the discharge of his important duties.
"Major Dorn, the Agent for the Osages, was here, a few days ago, but
he is now in Little Rock. The General has written to him, requiring
him to come up immediately, visit the tribe for which he is the Agent
and relieve their necessities as far as the means in his hands will
permit.
"The General has been offically informed that Major D. has in his
possession, for the use of the Osages twenty odd thousand dollars.
"I have to apologize, on the part of Gen'l Steele, for the various
letters which have been received from you, and which still remain
unanswered, but his excuse must be that, in the absence of proper
instructions etc. he was really unable to answer your questions or
comply with your requests, and he cannot make promises that there is
not, at least, a _very strong probability_ of his being able
to fulfil. Too much harm has already been occasioned in the Indian
Country by reckless promises, and he considers it better, in every
point of view, to deal openly and frankly with the Indians than to
hold out expectations that are certain not to be realized.
"It is not possible, however, to say in a letter what could be so much
better said in a personal interview, and the Gen'l therefore, desires
me to say that as soon as your duties will admit of your absence, he
will be happy to see and converse with you fully and freely at his
Head Quarters" [Ibid., no. 268, pp. 27-29].
On this same subject, see also Steele to Wigfall, April 15, 1863,
_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 819-821.]
[Footnote 745: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 220.]
[Footnote 746: Steele to Anderson, May 9, 1863, Ibid.,
233-234.]
[Footnote 747: Same to same, March 1, and 3, 1863, Ibid.,
112-113, 113-114.]
out of odd battalions and independent companies.[748] Cooper, in fact,
seemed bent upon tantalizing Steele and many of the Indians were
behind him.[749] Colonel Tandy Walker was especially his supporter.
Cooper had been Walker's choice for department commander[750] and
continued so, in spite of all Steele's honest attempts to propitiate
him and in spite of his promise to use every exertion to satisfy
Choctaw needs generally.[751] To Tandy Walker Steele entrusted the
business of recruiting anew among the Choctaws.[752]
[Footnote 748: Steele to Anderson, February 13, 1863, _Confederate
Records_, chap 2, no. 270, p. 89.]
[Footnote 749: It was not true, apparently, that the Chickasaws were
dissatisfied with Cooper. See the evidence furnished by themselves,
_Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 1116-1117.]
[Footnote 750: _Confederate Military History_, vol. x, 134,
_footnote_.]
[Footnote 751: Steele to Tandy Walker, February 25, 1863,
_Confederate Records_, chap. 2; no. 270, p. 109.]
[Footnote 752: Crosby to Walker, March 11, 1863, Ibid., p.
136. Steele thought that the Indians might as well be employed in a
military way since they were more than likely to be a public charge.
To Colonel Anderson he wrote, March 22, 1863 [Ibid., p. 155],
"I forward the above copy of a letter from Gen'l Cooper for Gen'l
Holmes' information. I purpose if not otherwise directed to call out
all the available force of the Nations within the conscript age....
They have to be fed and might as well be organized and put into a
position to be useful." From the correspondence of Steele, it would
seem that there was some trouble over Walker's promotion. April 10,
Steele wrote again to Anderson on the subject of Indian enrollment in
the ranks and referred to the other matter.
"The enclosed copy of some articles in the Treaty between the C.S.
Govt and the Choctaws with remarks by Gen'l Cooper are submitted for
the consideration of the Lt. Gen'l.
"It appears that Col. Walker was recommended to fill the vacancy made
by the promotion of Col. Cooper, the right being given by the treaty
to appoint to the office of Col., the other offices being filled by
election, and that at the time, the enemy were at Van Buren. Col.
Walker being at the convenient point was put upon duty by Col. Cooper
and has since been recognized by several acts of my own, not however
with a full knowledge of the circumstances. That under instructions
from Gen'l Hindman a Regt was being organized which it was expected
would be commanded by Col. Folsom, the whole of which appears to be a
very good arrangement. The necessity that exists of feeding nearly all
the Indians would seem to present an (cont.)]
Furloughs and desertions were the bane of Steele's existence.[753] In
these respects Alexander's brigade,
[Footnote 752: (cont.) additional reason for having them in service.
Companies are also being organized from the Reserve Indians, with the
view to replace white troops with them who are now engaged protecting
the frontier from the incursions of the wild tribes. Moreover the
enemy's forces being composed partially of Indians, the troops would
be effective against them, when they might not be against other
troops..." [Ibid., pp. 186-187]. Appointments, as well as
promotions, within the Indian service caused Steele much perplexity.
See Steele to Anderson, April 13, 1863, Ibid., pp. 190-191.]
[Footnote 753: Steele thought it desirable to arrest all men, at
large, who were subject to military duty under the conscript act,
unless they could produce evidence "of a right to remain off duty"
[Crosby to Colonel Newton, January 12, 1863, Ibid., p. 32].
Presumably whole companies were deserting their posts [Crosby to
Cooper, February 1, 1863, Ibid., pp. 66-67]. It was suggested
that some deserters should be permitted to organize against jayhawkers
as, under sanction from Holmes, had been the case with deserters
in the Magazine Mountains [Steele to Anderson, February 1, 1863,
Ibid., p. 67]. When word came that the Federals were about to
organize militia in northwestern Arkansas, Steele ordered that
all persons, subject to military duty, who should fail to enroll
themselves before February 6, should be treated as bushwhackers [same
to same, February 3, 1863, Ibid., pp. 69-70]. Colonel Charles
DeMorse, whose Texas regiment had been ordered, February 15, to report
to Cooper [Crosby to DeMorse, February 15, 1863, Ibid.,], asked
to be allowed to make an expedition against the wild tribes. Some two
hundred fifty citizens would be more than glad to accompany it. Steele
was indignant and Duval, at his direction, wrote thus to Cooper, April
19: "... Now if these men were so anxious to march three or four
hundred miles to _find_ the enemy, they could certainly be
induced to take up arms _temporarily_ in defence of their
immediate homes" [Ibid., p. 203]. It was not that Steele
objected to expeditions against the wild tribes but he was disgusted
with the lack of patriotism and military enthusiasm among the Texans
and Arkansans. Colonel W.P. Lane's regiment of Texas Partizan Rangers
was another that had to be chided for its dilatoriness [Ibid.,
pp. 168-169, 199, 234]. Deficient means of transportation was
oftentimes the excuse given for failure to appear but Steele's
complaint to Anderson, April 10 [Ibid., 185-186], was very much
more to the point. He wrote,
"... I find that men are kept back upon every pretext; that QrMasters
and Govt Agents or persons calling themselves such have detailed them
to drive teams hauling cotton to Mexico, and employed them about the
Gov't agencies. This cotton speculating mania is thus doing us great
injury besides taking away all the transportation in the country...."
Public feeling in Texas was on the side of deserters to a very great
extent and in one instance, at least, Steele was forced to defer to
it, "You will desist from the attempt to take the deserters from
Hart's Company or any other in northern Texas if the state of public
feeling is such that it cannot be done without (cont.)]
within which Colonel Phillips had detected traitors to the Confederate
cause,[754] was, perhaps, the most incorrigible.[755] From department
headquarters came impassioned appeals[756] for activity and for
loyalty but
[Footnote 753: (cont.) danger of producing a collision with the
people. The men are no doubt deserters, but we have no men to spare,
to enforce the arrest at the present time" [Steele to Captain
Randolph, July i, 1863, Ibid., p. 116. See also Steele to
Borland, July 1, 1863, Ibid., no. 268, p. 117]. When West's
Battery was ordered to report at Fort Smith it was discovered going
in the opposite direction [Steele to J.E. Harrison, April 25, 1863,
Ibid., no. 270, p. 213; Duval to Harrison, May 1, 1863,
Ibid., p. 221; Steele to Anderson, May 9, 1863, Ibid.,
p. 233; Steele to Cooper, May 11 1863, Ibid., pp. 237-238].
One expedition to the plains that Steele distinctly encouraged was
that organized by Captain Wells [Steele to Cooper, March 16, 1863,
Ibid., pp. 145-146]. It was designed that Wells's command
should operate on the western frontier of Kansas and intercept
trains on the Santa Fé trail [Steele to Anderson, April 17, 1863,
Ibid., p. 197].]
[Footnote 754: _Official Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, p. 62.]
[Footnote 755: For correspondence with Alexander objecting to further
furloughing and urging the need of promptness, see _Confederate
Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp. 121-122, 163-164, 170, 178-179,
210-211.]
[Footnote 756: The following are illustrations:
"... Every exertion is being made and the Gen'l feels confident that
the means will be attained of embarking in an early spring campaign.
It only remains for the officers and men to come forward to duty in
a spirit of willingness and cheerfulness to render the result of
operations in the Dept (or beyond it as the case may be) not only
successful but to add fresh renown to the soldiers whom he has the
honor to command ..."--CROSBY to Talliaferro, February 24, 1863,
_Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp. 105-106.
"The Commanding Gen'l would be gratified to grant the within petition
were it compatible with the interests of the service and the cause
which petitioners 'Hold dearer than life.' He is fully aware of the
many urgent reasons which a number of officers and men have for
visiting their homes, providing for their families, etc., etc.
"The Enemy conscious of his superior strength is constantly
threatening the small force that now holds him in check on the line
of the Arkansas river. Speight's Brigade was sent to their present
position--not because they were not needed here--but for the reason
that it was an utter impossibility to subsist it in this region.
"Every consideration of patriotism and duty imperiously demands the
presence of every officer and soldier belonging to this command. The
season of active operations is at hand. The enemy in our front is
actively employed in accumulating supplies and transportation and in
massing, drilling, and disciplining his troops. His advance cannot be
expected to be long (cont.)]
without telling or lasting effect. The Confederate service in Indian
Territory was honeycombed with fraud and corruption.[757] Wastrels,
desperadoes, scamps of every sort luxuriated at Indian expense. It was
no wonder that false muster rolls had to be guarded against.[758]
The Texans showed throughout so great an aversion to the giving of
themselves or of their worldly goods[759] to the salvation of the
country that
[Footnote 756: (cont.) delayed. This enemy is made up of Kansas
Jayhawkers, 'Pin Indians,' and Traitors from Missouri, Arkansas and
Texas. The ruin, devastation, oppression, and tyranny that has marked
his progress has no parallel in history. The last official Report from
your Brigade shews a sad state of weakness. Were the enemy informed on
this point _our line of defence would soon be transferred from the
Arkansas to Red river_. In the name of God, our country and all
that is near and dear to us, let us discard from our minds every other
consideration than that of a firm, fixed, and manly determination to
do our duty and our whole duty to our country in her hour of peril and
need. The season is propitious for an advance. Let not supineness,
indifference and a lack of enthusiasm in a just and holy cause, compel
a retreat Texas is the great Commissary Depot west of the Mississippi.
The enemy must be kept as far from her rich fields and countless
herds, as possible. Let us cheerfully, harmoniously, and in a
spirit of manly sacrifice bend every energy mental and physical to
preparations for a forward movement. The foregoing reasons for a
refusal to grant leave of absence will serve as an answer in all
similar cases and will be disseminated among the officers and men of
the Brigade by the Commanders thereof."--CROSBY, by command of Steele,
March 20, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp.
151-152.]
[Footnote 757: J.A. Scales to Adair, April 12, 1863, _Official
Records_, vol. xxii, part ii, 821-822.]
[Footnote 758: _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, p. 224.]
[Footnote 759: Holmes, as early as March, warned Steele that he would
have to get his supplies soon from Texas. It would not be possible to
draw them much longer from the Arkansas River. He was told to prepare
to get them in Texas "at all hazard," which instruction was construed
by Steele to mean, "take it, if you cant buy it" [Ibid.,
145-146]. It was probably the prospect of having to use force or
compulsion that made Steele so interested, late in May, in finding
out definitely whether Hindman's acts in Arkansas had really been
legalized [Steele to Blair, May 22, 1863, Ibid., 34].
Appreciating that it was matter of vital concern that the grain crop
in northern Texas should be harvested, Steele was at a loss to know
how to deal with petitions that solicited furloughs for the purpose
[Steele to Anderson, May 4, 1863, Ibid., 227; Duval to Cabell,
May 7, 1863, Ibid., 230-231]. Perhaps, it was a concession
to some such need that induced him, in June, to permit seven day
furloughs [Duval to Cooper, June 27, 1863, Ibid., no. 268, p.
100].]
Steele in despair cried out, "... it does appear as if the Texas
troops on this frontier were determined to tarnish the proud fame that
Texans have won in other fields."[760] The Arkansans were no better
and no worse. The most fitting employment for many, the whole length
and breadth of Steele's department, was the mere "ferreting out of
jayhawkers and deserters."[761]
The Trans-Mississippi departmental change, effected in January, was of
short duration, so short that it could never surely have been intended
to be anything but transitional. In February the parts were re-united
and Kirby Smith put in command of the whole,[762] President Davis
explaining, not very candidly, that no dissatisfaction with Holmes was
thereby implied.[763] Smith was the ranking officer and entitled to
the first consideration. Moreover, Holmes had once implored that a
substitute for himself be sent out. As a matter of fact, Holmes had
become too much entangled with Hindman, too much identified with all
that Arkansans objected to in Hindman,[764] his intolerance, his
arrogance, his illegalities, for him to be retained longer, with
complacency, in chief command. Hindman and he were largely to blame
for the necessity[765] of suspending the privilege of the writ of
_habeas corpus_ in Arkansas and the adjacent Indian country,
which had just been done. Strong
[Footnote 760: Steele to Alexander, April 23, 1863, _Confederate
Records_, no. 270, pp. 210-211.]
[Footnote 761: Duval to Colonel John King, June 30, 1863,
Ibid., no. 268, p. 110.]
[Footnote 762: Livermore, _Story of the Civil War_, part iii,
book i, p. 255.]
[Footnote 763: Davis to Holmes, February 26, 1863, _Official
Records_, vol. liii, supplement, 849-850.]
[Footnote 764: Davis to Holmes, January 28, 1863, Ibid.,
846-847.]
[Footnote 765: The necessity was exceedingly great. Take, for
instance, the situation at Fort Smith, where the citizens themselves
asked for the establishment of martial law in order that lives and
property might be reasonably secure [Crosby to Mayor Joseph Bennett,
January 10, 1863, _Confederate Records_, chap. 2, no. 270, pp.
33-34].]