June 2023 Meeting Summary

At the June dinner meeting, Dr. Isaias J. McCaffery gave a very interesting program titled: “Last Stand at Rebel Creek: The Civil War from an Osage/Wah-Zha’- Zhi Perspective.” A total of 67 people attended the June dinner meeting, which was an excellent turnout.

As conflicts between states increased during the Civil War, both Union and Confederate leaders tried to recruit the Osage to further their own agendas. Initially divided over how their people should respond in the face of escalating struggles, the Osage eventually emerged as important allies of the Union, thwarting an 1863 Confederate expedition tasked with reviving Southern resistance in Colorado and New Mexico territories. Dr. McCaffery’s presentation explored the Osage contributions to the Union cause in Kansas during the Civil War, and the impacts of the war for the Wah-Zha'- Zhi people. Main points made during the presentation:

• The Osage were caught between both sides during the Civil War. Which side to align with was a perilous decision. By 1861, the Osage leaders tried to understand the reasons for the Civil War.
• The Osage people maintained their traditions. They would go buffalo hunting twice a year on the Great Plains. The Osage did not assimilate with Americans of European descent. They got along with the French and preferred the French over Americans.
• The Osage were Dhegiha Siowan Peoples comparable to the Ponca, Omaha, Kaw, etc. The Osage were very powerful and were dominant in southeast Kansas, northeast Oklahoma Territory, northern Arkansas, and southwest and central Missouri. The traditional Osage lands were along the southern border of Kansas. There is an Osage Indian reservation in northern Oklahoma.
• By the time of the Civil War, the Osage had declined from the peak of their power. The Osage saw themselves as a sovereign, independent people. By the Civil War, the Osage were living along the southern border of Kansas.
• Decline of the Osage Population:

During the Civil War, outbreaks of disease cut down on the population. Villages in southwest Kansas were abandoned when the Civil War broke out.

• Confederate General Albert Pike was an Indian commissioner. He met with the Tahlequah Grand Council on October 21, 1862 and tried to convince the Osage to join the Confederacy.
• Confederate Cherokee General Stand Watie claimed to have the support of the Osage chiefs. However, three of the Osage Band chiefs were pro Union: Hard Rope, Chetopa, and Strike Axe.
• The Cherokees understood white culture better than the Osage. The Cherokee were more sophisticated. They got paid in gold. The Osage did not.
• In May of 1863, Confederate authorities sent a group of officers to New Mexico and Colorado to drum up support for the Confederacy. General Edmund Kirby Smith sent up to 20 officers on a secret scouting and recruiting mission. Their assignment was to head west, evade Union cavalry and authorities, and challenge the Union in the Rocky Mountain Territory.
• The leader of the group of Confederate officers was Colonel Charles Harrison, who was a comrade of William Quantrill. Harrison was a rough character and a gambler. The Mormons were pursuing him for stealing horses. Harrison operated a saloon and brothel in Denver. He was a gun slinger who had shot several people dead. The local militia expelled Harrison from Colorado.
• Harrison’s group strikes out across Kansas on the way to Colorado. However, they ran into the Osage, who by 1863 were more closely aligned with the Union. Harrison and his men wore blue coats.
• The chief of the Osage Band was We-He-Sa-Ki, also known as “Hard Rope.” A Confederate horseman shot an Osage warrior on May 15, 1863. Two hundred Osage warriors deployed. The Confederate soldiers were pursued for 5 to 6 miles with the Osage driving the Confederates toward the Verdigris River, near Drum Creek (south of present day Independence KS). Two of Harrison’s men were killed during the pursuit. A gun battle occurs along the river. The Confederates run low on ammunition. The Osage pick them off. Only two Confederates survived by hiding along the river. They walked 90 miles back to Missouri. Local residents called this battle the “Rebel Creek Massacre.” Two Osage warriors were killed in the battle.
• Following the battle, the Osage decapitated the Confederate dead. They beard scalped Harrison who was bald. It took 1 to 1 ½ days for a Union patrol to show up. Chief Joseph arrived and confirmed that the dead were Conderates, based on the papers in their pockets. The Osage took gold from the dead soldiers.
• The 9th Kansas Cavalry Regiment under Major Willoughby Doudna was stationed in Fort Scott KS to fight Confederate guerrillas along the border. They recruited an entire brigade of Osage Indians, but it didn’t last long. Osage Indians were not cut out to be soldiers. However, they made excellent scouts. The Federal government did not value the Osage. The Osage sided with the Union as useful allies.
• The Federal government then began taking Osage land in a constant push to remove the Osage from Kansas:

About 10% of the Osage died during the removal process.

• Following the Civil War, Osage scouts served with Lt. Col. George A. Custer during the Indian Wars. The Osage got horses, rifles, and clothes. 
• Dr. McCaffery said the history of the Osage Indians is one of declining population. He recommended reading the book: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. There were a lot of bad things that happened to the Osage. They suffered a lot of tragedy and loss.
• Today there are over 20,000 descendants of the Osage today. If you have ancestry, the Osage will accept you as part of their tribe.