TheCatawba in theAmerican Civil War participated in theEastern Theater.[1] From the very beginning, the Catawba allied themselves with theConfederacy, remaining loyal until the end of the War. They enrolled with the5th,12th, and 17th South Carolina Infantry Regiments.[1][2]
TheCatawba people live in theSouth Carolina region, as they did prior to European contact.[3] The Catawba call themselves, "yeh is-WAH h’reh" or "People of the River."[3]
As Europeansettlers established themselves along the eastern coast, the Catawba became experiencedtraders. Thedeer skin market helped the Catawba receive European goods likemuskets,iron knives, kettles, andcloth[3] but also brought alongdisease and encroachment.
American colonists considered the Catawba "the best friends the colonist had."[5] When theRevolutionary War started, there were between 1,000[3] to 5,000 or more Catawbas.[6] It is said that more than 500 lost their lives during the Revolutionary War.[6] The Catawbas served underGeneral Lee's Legion and fought with him in 1780.[4] For siding with theAmericans during the revolution, theBritish destroyed the Catawba's major village.[7]
On March 13 of 1840, atreaty was made betweenSouth Carolina and the Catawba.[4][8] At that time, their delegation at the signing was recorded as 12 men, 36 women, and 40 boys & girls.[9]
When the Civil War began, the Catawba were "an obscureenclave in asocial system [southern plantationslavery] that was beginning to break down."[10] They became a group dependent on the "Southern way of life" which they believed was "meaningful" and "worth fighting for."[11] An elderly Catawba who lived through the American Civil War noted that a "good many [Catawba Indians] went, about 20."[12]
The Catawba first enrolled in Captain Lucian Palmer Sadler'sCompany on December 9, 1861. Sadler became ill and had to retire after one year of service. The Company ultimately became part of the 17th South Carolina Infantry Regiment, as Company K. Only four Catawba Indians enrolled with this company: Jefferson Ayers, William Canty, John Scott, and Alexander Tims.
The Catawba did not create a unit of their own but enrolled in Captain Lucian P. Sadler's Company, Captain Cadwallader Jones' Company, and Captain Witherspoon's Company.[2]
5th South Carolina Infantry
Field & Staff: Colonel Micah Jenkins (promoted), Colonel John R. R. Giles (Killed), Colonel A. Coward, Lieutenant Colonel G.W.H. Legg, Major William J. Thomson, A. W. Thomson (Surgeon), H.H. Durant (Chaplain), J.D. Wright (A.Q.M.), and J.W. Avery (Adjutant)
Companies:
Company A (Captain John Wesley Goss, Captain John D. Mylia),
Company B (Captain Andrew Jackson),
Company C (Captain J.C. Beckham, Captain Ryal B. Seay, Captain Thomas H. Dunn (Died), Captain J. Banks Lyle),
Company D (Captain John R. R. Giles),
Company E (Captain H.J.T. Glenn, Captain S.B. Meachaw),
Company F (Captain A.H. Foster, Captain Andrew Jackson, Captain Jonathan Fitchett (Died)),
Company G (Captain J. L. Carpenter (killed), Captain J.P. Whiteside),
Company H (Captain A.E. Hutchison, Captain William J. Bowen, Captain W.J.T. Gleen, Captain Charles W. Scott, Captain James D. Steedman, and Captain Thomas Comer),
Company I (Captain Cato A. Seabrook, Captain William Daniel Camp),
Company K (Captain Joseph Walker, Captain Ryal Seay, and Captain William Chocie).
12th South Carolina Infantry
Field & Staff: Colonel R.G.M. Dunovant, Lieutenant Colonel Dixon Barnes, E. Turnipseed (Surgeon), and W. C. Buchanan (Adjutant)
Companies:
Company A (Captain W.H. McCorkle, Captain L.M. Grist, Captain John Parker),
Company B (Captain John L. Miller, Captain W.S. Dunlop),
Company C (Captain Henry C. Davis, Captain J.A. Hinnant, Captain J.W. Delleny (killed)),
Company D (Captain Edwin F. Booker, Captain John H. Kinsley, Captain William H. Farley),
Company E (Captain C.F. Hinson, Captain J. Frank Clyborn),
Company F (Captain Hayne McMeekin, Captain John C. Bell),
Company G (Captain A.D. Gaillard, Captain John M. Moody),
Company H (Captain Cadwallader Jones Sr., Captain G.E. Mchiele, Captain F.A. Erwin, Captain Robert M. Kerr),
Company I (Captain Dvion Barnes, Captain N.V. Vanlanding, Captain W.J. Shover),
Company K (Captain L.B. Johnson, Captain J.C. Nevill, Captain John C.B. Smith)
17th South Carolina Infantry
Field & Staff: Colonel John H. Means (died), Lieutenant Colonel F.W. McMaster, Lieutenant Colonel J.F. McMaster, Lieutenant Colonel R.S. Means, Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Culp, Major Julius Mills, Major J.W. Avery, Surgeon William Wylie, Surgeon J.H. Logan, Assistant Surgeon John D. Palmer
Companies:
Company A (Captain John R. Culp, Captain W.H. Edwards),
Company B (Captain W.P. Coleman, Captain N.A. Burley),
Company C (Captain John A. Witherspoon, Captain John W. Mitchell, Captain William Dunovant, Captain William H. Moore),
Company D (Captain James Beaty, Captain W.G. Steveson),
Company E (Captain T.G. Meacham, Captain John C. Holley, Captain E.R. Mills),
Company G (Captain J.H. Kease, Captain William J. Dickinson, Captain George H. Kearse),
Company H (Captain William J. Sauders, Captain H.M. Ray, Captain H. Martin Ulmer),
Company I (Captain J.D. Caskey, Captain James F. Steele),
Company K (Captain Lucian P. Sadler, Captain E.A. Crawford)
The Catawba community survived the Civil War. They were not renowned for their participation during the War, despite their engagements in famous battles.[14]
Captain Samuel White helped to create amonument to the Catawba Indians and had thenames of the brave warriors who fought in the Confederate war placed on it.[4]
In 1900, the Catawba was honored by a monument for their service during the American Civil War. One son whose father was in the 12th South Carolina Infantry gave a speech.[15]
TheYorkville Enquirer reported the following: "For the fourth time in the history ofFort Mill, the citizens have assembled for the purpose of unveiling a monument. The first to theConfederate Soldier, on December 22d, 1891; the second, to the Women of the South, on the 21st day of May, 1895, when Colonel J. P. Thomas, ofColumbia, delivered a scholarly address; the third, to the Faithful Slaves of the South, unveiled on the 21st day of May, 1895, when Colonel Polk Miller delivered a characteristic address. Today, in the presence of a large crowd, consisting of a number ofIndians and many citizens of surrounding community, the monument of the Indians was open for inspection ..."[15]
^abcFerguson, Robert."Southeastern Indians During The Civil War".The Backwoodsman. Vol. 39, no. 2 (Mar/Apr 2018 ed.). Bandera, Texas: Charlie Richie Sr. pp. 63–65.Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2018.
