Thomas' Legion of Cherokees and Highlanders

69th North Carolina, Co. A

Re-enactors & Living Historians

    In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that forced the removal of the Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Cherokee nations from their homelands of the south-eastern portion of North America to present-day Oklahoma.  The last of these nations to be forced out were the Cherokees under the leadership of Chief John Ross in 1838.  However, a remnant of defiant Cherokees remained in their mountainous homeland of western North Carolina and were rescued by a white man of influence whom they had raised as one of their own: William Holland Thomas, when Thomas approached the United States Government and successfully lobbied to exempt nearly 1,000 Cherokees from the removal.

    When the united states' disputes ignited into all-out war, Thomas organized what became known as Thomas' Legion of Cherokees and Highlanders.  Although small in it's beginning, it eventually consisted of 10 companies, 8 white and 2 Cherokee, with over 1,000 enlisted men and approximately 400 Cherokees in all.  Although it was mustered in at Knoxville, Tennessee, it's members were primarily from the hills of western North Carolina and consisted of mountaineers and the very Cherokees he had rescued from displacement who were now eager to have vengeance on the Federal government.  Col. Thomas urged the Confederate government to let the Legion remain in the mountains and serve as a home guard against both Federal and guerrilla enemies, a request President Jefferson Davis honoured for much of the war.  Thomas' Legion was an independent force and answered directly only to Brigadier General Henry Heth.  The Legion participated in the battles at Powell's Valley (Sept. 1862), Murphy, NC (Oct. 1863), Gatlinburg, TN (Dec. 1863), Carter's Depot, TN (Apr. 1864), Piedmont, VA (June 1864), Lynchburg, VA (June 1864), Monocacy, MA (July 1864), White Sulphur Springs, NC (May 1865) in addition to the Saltworks Campaign and General Jubal Early's Shenandoah Valley campaigns (Virginia) and many others.

    Throughout the War Between the States, the Legion was never officially named the 69th North Carolina Regiment, although it was referred to by that designation 75 times in official reports that often cited the Legion for outstanding bravery and performance on the field.  Thomas' Legion also retains the distinction of being the only legion in North Carolina and one of only a few in the entire Confederacy.

    Company E, Walker's Battalion, Thomas' Legion was the last Confederate surrender east of the Mississippi River, with the final signature being recorded on May 14, 1865.  Interestingly enough, the last of all the Confederate surrenders was also a Cherokee unit, Gen. Stand Watie's Cherokees in Oklahoma on June 23 of that same year.

    For more information on Thomas' Legion and the involvement of Cherokees in the War Between the States, visit ThomasLegion.net, Gen. Stand Watie, Chief John Ross, or the first-hand account written by W. W. Stringfield.