Ely S. Parker

Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), (born Hasanoanda, later known as Donehogawa) was an Iroquois of the Seneca tribe born at Indian Falls, New York (then part of the Tonawanda Reservation). During the American Civil War, he wrote the final draft of the Confederate surrender terms at Appomattox and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 552 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1270 × 1378 pixel, file size: 563 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) From Mathew Brady collection at http://narademo. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 552 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1270 × 1378 pixel, file size: 563 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) From Mathew Brady collection at http://narademo. ... Year 1828 (MDCCCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee, also known as the League of Peace and Power, Five Nations, or Six Nations) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans. ... The Seneca are a Native American people, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League. ... Pembroke is a town located in Genesee County, New York. ... Tonawanda Reservation is an Indian reservation located in New York. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee # Strength Army of the Potomac, Army of the James Army of Northern Virginia Casualties 164[1] ~500 killed and wounded[1], 27,805 paroled The Battle of Appomattox Courthouse was the final engagement... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ...

Career

Parker began his career in public service by working as a translator to the Seneca chiefs in their dealings with government agencies. In 1852 he was made sachem of the Seneca, Donehogawa, Keeper of the Western Door. A sagamore is the head of a Native American tribe. ...

Parker worked in a law firm ('read law') for the customary three years in Ellicotville, NY and then applied to take the bar examination. He was not permitted to take the examination because he was not a white man.^[1]. He then studied engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and worked as a civil engineer until the Civil War. Ellicottville, New York is the name of two places in Cattaraugus County, New York: Village of Ellicottville Town of Ellicottville Both locations are named after Joseph Ellicott, agent for the Holland Land Company. ... A bar examination is a lengthy examination (two or more days) conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction. ... Engineering is the design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. ... Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a coeducational private university in Troy, New York, near Albany, founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer. ... Looking west down Broadway at downtown Troy. ... A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering. ...

Near the start of the Civil War, Parker tried to raise a regiment of Iriquois Volunteers to fight for the Union, but was turned down by New York Governor Edwin D. Morgan. He then sought to join the Union Army as an engineer, but was told by the Secretary of War that he could not since he was Indian.^[2] Parker's lifelong friend Ulysses S. Grant, whose forces suffered from a shortage of engineers, intervened; Parker joined Grant at Vicksburg. He was commissioned a captain in 1863 and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. Parker became the adjutant to Ulysses S. Grant and was present when Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865. The surrender documents are in his handwriting. During this surrender, Lee mistook Parker for a black man, but apologized saying "I am glad to see one real American here." Parker purportedly responded, "We are all Americans, sir." Edwin Dennison Morgan (February 8, 1811 - February 14, 1883) was governor of New York in the USA from 1859 to 1862. ... The Secretary of War was a member of the United States Presidents Cabinet, beginning with George Washingtons administration. ... Ulysses S. Grant[2] (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American general and the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). ... Vicksburg is the name of some places in the United States of America: Vicksburg, Michigan Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg may also refer to the Battle of Vicksburg in the American Civil War (fought near the Mississippi city above). ... An adjutant (from the Latin adiutans, present participle of the verb adiutare, to help; the Romans actually used adiutor for the noun) is an officer who assists a more senior officer. ... // For the author of Inherit the Wind and other works, see Robert Edwin Lee. ... The court house The Appomattox Court House is a historic court house located in Appomattox, Virginia famous as the site of the surrender of the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War. ...

After the Civil War, Parker was head of the Federal Commission on Indian Affairs from 1869 to 1871. Leaving government service, he involved himself in the stock market, but eventually lost the fortune he had accumulated. He lived his last years in poverty. His body was exhumed and moved to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York, to lie with other notables of Western New York. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the Department of the Interior charged with the administration and management of 55. ... Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo was founded in 1849. ... Nickname: Location of Buffalo in New York State County Erie County Government  - Mayor Byron Brown Area  - City 52. ... NY redirects here. ...

Parker's career and impact on contemporary Native Americans form Chapter 8 of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1970). ...

References

1. ^ Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown, ISBN 0-330-23219-3, p. 145
2. ^ The Life of General Ely S. Parker, by Arthur Parker, Buffalo Historical Society, 1919, pp. 102-3 (reprinted 2005, ISBN 1-889246-50-6)

Armstrong, William H. (1978) Warrior in Two Camps. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-0143-3. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1970). ...

External links

• Biography from PBS's "The Civil War"
• Article from "History of Buffalo"