| Eli Samuel Parker | |
|---|---|
| 1828 – August 31, 1895 (aged 67) | |
 Ely Parker |
|
| Place of birth | Indian Falls, New York |
| Place of death | Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Years of service | 1861 - 1865 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit | Western Theater Adjutant to General Grant |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
| Other work | Head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs |
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. Later in his career Parker rose to the rank of Brigadier General, a promotion which was backdated to the surrender.[1]
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. 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,[2] though other sources say the reason given was that he was not a U.S. citizen).[3] (All American Indians did not receive citizenship until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924).[4] He then studied engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and worked as a civil engineer until the Civil War. Near the start of the Civil War, Parker tried to raise a regiment of Iroquois 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.[5] 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." 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, dying in Fairfield, Connecticut on August 31, 1895. His body was exhumed and moved to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York, to lie with other notables of Western New York, on January 20, 1897. Parker's career and impact on contemporary Native Americans is described in Chapter 8 of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. He is also said to have helped start the town of Parker, Arizona. However it should be noted there is another individual with the last name of Parker who is credited with this distinction as well.
References
- ^ Ely Samuel Parker
- ^ Brown, Dee, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. 1970. ISBN 0-330-23219-3
- ^ Seneca Chief Fought Greed, Injustice, By Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service
- ^ The Indian Citizenship Act (1924) (43 Stat. 253, ante, 420)
- ^ 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.
