Watie, Stand (1806-1871), became the only Native American brigadier general in the Confederate Army. Born on Dec. 12, 1806, near Rome, Georgia, he moved to Oklahoma with the Cherokee in 1838 and became a tribal leader. Watie entered the army after forming an alliance between the Cherokee and the Confederacy in 1861. He led a regiment of Cherokee volunteers called the Cherokee Mounted Rifles. In 1864, he was made a brigadier general. Watie was one of the last Confederate officers to surrender. He died on Sept. 9, 1871.
