Five Civilized Tribes and the American Civil War

Five Civilized Tribes and the American Civil War

For the Five Civilized Tribes the Civil War proved a disastrous experience. The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, and Creek had only begun to repair the damage done by intratribal factionalism before and during Indian Removal (1830-39) and to fashion a hospitable existence in Indian Territory, when the war came upon them and revived old disagreements. Indeed, it can be argued that no group in the nation suffered more in the Civil War than the Indians of Oklahoma. An argument can also be applied to the fate of the North Carolina Cherokee.