Stand Watie and the Agony of the Cherokee Nation

For more than three decades Stand Watie was a controversial figure in Cherokee history. Not educated for the task, he was thrust to the forefront of Cherokee history after the brutal murders of the leaders of the Ridge-Waite-Boudinot faction. Thereafter he was locked in a lifelong struggle with John Ross, the leader of the other principle faction of the Cherokees. During the Civil War he became the only Indian general on either side of the conflict, a role that brought great hardships to him and his family. Time and again he demonstrated his genius, never wavering from what he saw as his duty until his death in 1871