Watie, a Cherokee Indian, was born in Georgia in 1806. In the
1830s he was one of the signers of the Treaty of New Echota, in
which the Cherokees agreed to cede their lands in the southeast
in exchange for a new homeland in the Indian Territory. Approved
by the U. S. Senate, the treaty was controversial in part
because principal chief John Ross was not a signatory. Many of
the signers of the treaty were eventually targeted for
assassination but not all were actually attacked. However, Major
Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot were assassinated; Stand
Watie escaped the attempt on his life. When the Civil War
started, Watie cast his allegiance with the Confederacy, and
eventually became the only Indian to achieve the rank of general
during the war. His wartime career mostly occurred in the Indian
Territory where he achieved a reputation as a rather daring
raider. For example, he led a force that captured a valuable
Union wagon train at 2nd Cabin Creek in September 1864, and his
men even captured a steamboat o