© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 509

On February 18, 1863, a council representing the Cherokee Nation agreed to peace terms with the Union.  Like most other Indian tribes located in the territories that are now the state of Oklahoma, the Cherokee had initially sided with the Confederacy, contributing warriors in the West and in the Appalachians. 

The Cherokee historically had distrusted the federal government, and many of their members owned slaves.  However, when the Confederacy began to divert forces away from the Indian territories to other strategically vital theatres, many Cherokee, including Chief John Ross, had a change of heart. 

The 1863 treaty included a provision that emancipated slaves held by the Cherokee.  After the treaty was signed, the Cherokee splintered into pro-Union and pro-Confederate factions that spent the remainder of the war fighting each other.