Confederate Service of Alabama & Coushatta
Indians
Submitted By Theresa Neal
(Photos by Theresa Neal)
"Alabama and Coushatta Indians of Polk County were trained as cavalrymen
in 1861 by Indian Agent Robert R. Neyland as the War Between the
States
advanced. In April 1862, nineteen Alabama and Coushatta, including
Chief
John Scott, enlisted in the Confederate Army as members of Company
G,
24th Texas Cavalry. They trained in Hempstead, Texas, and
in Arkansas,
where their commander, General Thomas C. Hindman, converted them
to
infantrymen. After voicing displeasure with the change from
cavalry
infantry duties, they were permitted to return to their Polk County
homes to await further order.
Following brief service in the Confederate Navy under
Galveston Bay Commander W. W. Hunter, they were reorganized as
a Cavalry Company in the 6th Brigade, 2nd Texas Infantry Division.
In 1864 the Company Roster listed 132 men. Their primary job
was to
build and operate flat-bottomed boats (Scows) to transport farm
produce
and other supplies needed for the confederacy down the Trinity River
to the Port at Liberty, Texas.
Offical correspondence of Wartime Texas Govenors Francis R. Lubbock
and Pendlton Murrah refer to the Alabama and Coushatta Indians loyalty
in their role as Confederate Infantry, Cavalry, and Navy Servicemen."
{ Texas Historical Commission-1994}
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