The U.S. Army, Indian Agency, and the Path to Assimilation

Article on the First Indian Home Guards, a Civil War Union army unit from Kansas consisting of refugee Creeks, Cherokees, Seminoles, Choctaws, and Chickasaws from Indian Territory. Mustered in May 1862 out of the Union�??s desperate need for manpower, the unit clashed with Confederate troops and supporters in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Though they were overseen by white officers, the Native American troops modified military life and practices to fit their needs and culture. The author argues the Home Guard was the last instance in which Native Americans were able to exert some form of autonomy in cooperation with the American military.