Forced by powers greater than their own, Native Americans were ruthlessly rounded up and held in concentration camps by the U.S. army where many died waiting to be relocated to the west. Their long difficult journey would be no less merciful in 1839 when the Cherokees were marched to their new homelands in the Indian Nations (Oklahoma), and more than 4,000 perished along the way on what became known as the "Trail of Tears." Other Indian tribes would have similar experiences.
Their sorrowful ordeal would not end, however, with the loss of their native firesides and hunting grounds. Indians would once again face trials and tribulations when civil war between the white men broke out in 1861, which also raged in Indian Territory and its bordering states. As a result, Native American loyalties were torn between the Union and the Confederacy.
By the time the War Between the States had ended, Native Americans would fight mortally, not just in the Indian Nations, but also in Missouri and Arkansas. The Civil War would leave Oklahoma Indian Territory a wasteland of destruction, and cause many casualties as well.
Numerous photographs, a bibliography, a chronology of battles and skirmishes, and an index enhance the value of this work.
Rex T. Jackson
(2004), 2007, 5½x8½, paper, index, 128 pp.
ISBN: 9780788425622
101-J2562
