The idea for this post came from Never Yet Melted's post Stand Watie was the last Confederate General to Surrender, 160 Years Ago Today. Watie was a Cherokee who supported the Confederacy and raised to the rank of Brigadier General.
Prior to the war he had been active in Cherokee political affairs. He was one of the signers of the contested treaty that relocated the Cherokee from Georgia to the Indian Territories. This led to a lot of conflict within the Cherokee Nation, with several of his brothers and friends being assassinated in the fighting.
Watie was a slave holder, and when the Civil War broke out, he raised a regiment of troops to support the Confederacy. He fought well at the battle of Pea Ridge, although the Union troops prevailed. He also later captured supplies which led him to eventually be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. When Lee surrendered, he held out as long as possible before he laid down his arms.
After the war he increasingly stepped away from Cherokee Tribal politics and retired to his destroyed plantation to farm for the rest of his life.
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