Tip o' the hat to our fellow blogger Paul Taylor over at With Sword and Pen for reminding me of the remarkable story of Stand Watie.

Brigadier General Stand Watie, C.S.A.: General Watie planned the successful raid into northern Indian Territory. He had to wait for nine months before his plan was approved by the Confederate high command. When offered overall command of the expedition, he graciously turned command over to Brigadier General Richard M. Gano since Gano's commission predated Watie's by one month. Watie remained in command of the Cherokee, Creek and Seminole cavalry totaling 800 men who fought alongside their Texas brothers-in-arms. Watie was the only Native American on either side to rise to a brigadier general's rank during the war. On June 25, 1865, two months after Robert E. Lee's surrender, he officially surrendered his command of the First Indian Brigade, C.S.A to federal authorities at Doaksville near Fort Towson in the Choctaw Nation. He was the last Confederate general in the field to surrender. - BRILLIANT VICTORY: The Second Civil War Battle of Cabin Creek, Indian Territory

Read an in-depth biography of Gen. Stand Watie on NativeAmericans.com.