General Stand Watie was the highest ranking Native American serving on either side of the War Between the States.

Watie was born at Oothcaloga in the Cherokee Nation of Georgia, near Rome, Georgia, on December 12, 1806. His Cherokee name was De-ga-ta-ga, which means, "He Stands."

Stand Watie joined the Confederate cause at the outbreak of the War Between the States. He was commissioned a colonel on July 12, 1861, and raised a regiment of Cherokees for service to the Confederacy.

General Stand Watie, or his troops in command, participated in eighteen battles and skirmishes against Union troops during the war that included,Cowskin Prairie, Old Fort Wayne, Webber's Falls, Fort Gibson and Cabin Creek.

Two of Stand Watie's victories were the capture of the Union steam boat J.R. Williams on June 15, 1864 and the seisure of over a million worth of supplies of a Union wagon train at the 2nd Battle of Cabin Creek on Sept. 19, 1864.

General Watie was the last general to stop fighting on June 23, 1865. It is written that he did not actually surrender his troops but just stopped the fighting.

A native of Georgia, Calvin Johnson lives near the historic town of Kennesaw, home of the locomotive "The General" from the War Between the States. He is Chairman of the Confederate History and Heritage Month for the Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans. His email is: cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net.