When I recommended the appointment of William H. Garrett, the present agent for the Creeks, to be colonel of the Creek regiment, I had not sufficiently estimated the ambition and desire for distinction of the leading men of that nation, and I also supposed that Mr. Garrett, popular with them as an agent, would be acceptable as colonel of their regiment; but when I concluded with them the very important treaty of July 10, instant, they strenuously insisted that the colonel of the regiment to be raised should be elected by the men. As the public interest did not require I should insist upon a contrary provision, by which I might have jeoparded the treaty, I yielded, and the consequence is that by the treaty, as signed and ratified by the Creek council, the field officers are all to be elected by the men of the regiment.
This being the case, I have this day written Colonel Garrett, requesting him to inform the Creeks immediately, as I have already done, that notwithstanding his appointment they will elect their colonel. If he should not do so he will cause much mischief, and would deserve severe censure; but I do not doubt he will promptly do it....—Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 623-624.
On the twenty-fourth of August, the matter was settled at Richmond by Walker’s writing to Pike,
In order that there shall be no misunderstanding with the friendly Indians west of Arkansas, this Department is anxious that the article in the treaty made by you, guaranteeing to them the right of selecting their own field officers, shall be carried out in good faith. The name of Mr. Garrett will therefore be dropped as colonel of the Creek regiment, and that regiment will proceed to elect its own officers. The regiment being formed among the Seminoles will exercise the same right. Reassure the tribes of the perfect sincerity of this Government toward them.—Ibid., 671.
The corresponding Cherokee Article [XL] differed slightly from the Creek. It seems to have taken certain things, like the choice of officers, both company and field, for granted. It reads thus:
In consideration of the common interest of the Cherokee Nation and the Confederate States, and of the protection and rights guaranteed to the said nation by this treaty, the Cherokee Nation hereby agrees that it will raise and furnish a regiment of ten companies of mounted men, with two reserve companies, if allowed, to serve in the armies of the Confederate States for twelve months; the men shall be armed by the Confederate States, receive the same pay and allowances as other mounted troops in the service, and not be moved beyond the limits of the Indian country west of Arkansas without their consent.
[424] Identical with Article LI of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and with Article LXI of the Cherokee.
[425] Identical with Article L of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty, with Article XLII of the Cherokee, and with Article XXXVI of the Seminole.
[426] Identical with Article LII of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and with Article XLIII of the Cherokee.
[427] Frémont reported to Townsend, August 13, 1861, that Cherokee half-breeds, judging from the muster roll and from the corroborating testimony of prisoners, were with McCulloch in this battle, fought about ten miles south of Springfield, August 10, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 54]. Connelley says, in 1861, Quantrill, returning from Texas, lingered in the Cherokee Nation with a half-breed Cherokee, Joel Mayes,