A struggle for survival and recognition the Catawaba nation - 1840-1890 /

by Fenlon, Timothy E.

Like all Americans, the Native peoples were swept into the crucible that was the Civil War. Although under no obligation to participate in the conflagration, many Indian tribes joined one side, some even both factions. The Catawba peoples of South Carolina were, among these, fully committing to the Confederacy. That seemingly contradictory response in the light of their treatment by South Carolina is the subject of this thesis. Before examining their Civil War response, the Introduction traces their relationship with the white colonists of Carolina from its founding in 1670 through the end of the American Revolution. With this background, the direct antebellum period is explored in Chapter I, especially the watershed Nations Ford Treaty. The Civil War itself and its military and homeland effects on Catawbas is the subject of Chapter II. Finally, the changes or continuity as a result of this experience are examined in Chapter III. At each stage the responses of the other Southeastern Indians to the same circumstances are historiographically reviewed, especially to attempt an understanding of what motivated the Catawbas’ unique response to the Civil War and the consequences of that choice. iv