Watie, Stand, 1806-1871

Stand Watie, also known as Standhope, Oowatie, Degataga, and Isaac S. Watie, was a Cherokee Nation leader and brigadier general in the Confederate Army. He was born into the Cherokee Nation in Calhoun, Georgia, on December 12, 1806, and was educated at a Moravian mission school in Spring Place, Georgia. He briefly wrote for the Cherokee Phoenix, during which time he became involved in anti-Indian laws following the discovery of gold in Georgia in the 1830s. Watie was a signer of the Treaty of New Echota, which facilitated the removal of the Cherokees to Oklahoma and which many Cherokees blamed for the Trail of Tears. As a result of their participation in the treaty, Watie's uncle Major Ridge, cousin John Ridge, and brother Elias Boudinot were killed by members of the John Ross party in 1839, while Watie escaped with his life. In 1842 he killed one of his uncle's murderers in Arkansas, but was acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. During the Civil War, Watie, a slave-owner, joined the Cherokee Nation in supporting the Confederacy and eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general. Watie served as chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1862-1866, a time that was marked by conflicts between Watie's supporters and those of the former chief, John Ross. Watie died on September 9, 1871.