Despite the perennial interest in the American Civil War, historians have not examined sufficiently how Native American communities were affected by this watershed event in U.S. history. This ground-breaking book by one of the foremost Iroquois historians significantly adds to our understanding of this subject by providing the first intimate look at the Iroquois' involvement in the American Civil War and its devastating impact on Iroquois communities. Both fascinating and fast-moving, The Iroquois in the Civil War exposes many myths about Native American soldiers. To correct old stereotypes about American Indians, Hauptman discusses the Iroquois' distinguished war service as commissioned and noncommissioned officers as well as ordinary cavalrymen and common foot soldiers. Drawing upon archival records and personal wartime letters and diaries never before used by ethnohistorians, Hauptman portrays the dilemma the Iroquois experienced during this era. He assesses the Iroquois' military volunteerism, their loyalty to the Union, and their concurrent effort to maintain their lands, sovereignty, and cultural identity just at a time when new pressures for tribal dissolution were increasing. He not only provides us with a remarkable glimpse into the hearts and minds of Iroquois Indians on the battlefield but also adds significantly to our understanding about the conflict affecting the women and children remaining on the reservations.

Tragic historic story of the destruction of Native American peoples as a result of the Civil War, including their own service in both the Union and Confederate armies.

Warrior in Two Camps is the biography of Ely S. Parker, the first native American to serve as commissioner of Indian Affairs. The name Ely Samuel Parker is seldom found among famous Indian chiefs. Indeed, the name seems somehow out of place in the company of men called Black Hawk or Crazy Horse or Geronimo. But the prosaic name is part of the story of an American Indian who chose to live his life in the white man’s world. It is a story in which a frock coat replaces the traditional deerskin, and a surveyor’s level and a soldier’s orderly book take the place of the wampum belt and the war club.

Children's book icon Joseph Bruchac tells the fascinating story of a Seneca (Iroquois) Civil War officer Ely S. Parker (1828-1895) is one of the most unique but little-known figures in US history. A member of the Seneca (Iroquois) Nation, Parker was an attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat. Raised on a reservation but schooled at a Catholic institution, he learned English at a young age and became an interpreter for his people. During the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel and was the primary draftsman of the terms of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. He eventually became President Grant's Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post. Award-winning children's book author and Native American scholar Joseph Bruchac provides an expertly researched, intimate look at a man who achieved great success in two worlds yet was caught between them. Includes archival photos, maps, endnotes, bibliography, and timeline.

Describes how the Six Nations got involved in the War of 1812, the role they played in the defense of Canada, and the war's effects on their society

After two years of fighting, Great Britain felt confident that the American rebellion would be crushed in 1777, the "Year of the Hangman." Britain devised a bold new strategy. Turning its attention to the frontiers, Britain enlisted its provincial rangers and allied warriors, principally from the Iroquois Confederacy, to wage a brutal backwoods war in support of General John Burgoyne's offensive as it swept southward from Canada. With the defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga, the Continental command decided to end any further threat along the frontier. In the award-winning Year of the Hangman: George Washington's Campaign Against the Iroquois, historian Glenn F. Williams recreates the riveting events surrounding the largest coordinated American military action against American Indians during the Revolution, including the checkered story of European and Indian alliances, the bitter frontier wars, and the bloody battles of Oriskany and Newtown.

The first full-length study of the Iroquois' actions during the American Revolution, and their history and culture.