Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-289) and index.

"In histories of Native Americans, until now, the Civil War has been considered at most an interruption in what otherwise was an unbroken, genocidal war by the U.S. government against the Indians. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, some 20,000 Indians enlisted, joining both sides of the conflict, serving as generals, infantrymen, sharpshooters, guides, guerrillas, and spies. They joined the war on every front. All told, several hundred thousand Indians were affected by the war, either as their lands were taken or lives destroyed, or afterwards, when the newly militarized and industrialized government turned its war machine against the Indians in the West. In Between Two Fires, Hauptman tells the Civil War stories of nine different tribal groups, in all parts of the country. He shows us that the tragic story of the decline of the American Indian is incomplete without the Civil War, and that the war was an even greater tragedy for the Indians than for the North and South. Desperately seeking legitimacy, autonomy, or simply the retention of their land, the Indians were devastated by the war in what became a last, missed opportunity to stem the tide of American expansion. Against this tragic backdrop, the author highlights both the lives of everyday Indian foot soldiers as well as the military exploits of such great Indian commanders as Confederate General Stand Watie. He describes the Indians' extraordinary military roles and courage at the Battles of Antietam, Chattanooga, and Second Cabin Creek, and in the Petersburg and Carolina campaigns. There were Indians with General Grant in the Army of the Potomac, General Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia, and with General Sherman in the Grand Army of the West. They served in integrated units, all Indian outfits, as well as with the United States Colored Troops. From the evacuation of Indian Territory in the spring of 1861, to General Lee's surrender of Appomattox where Colonel, later General Ely S. Parker, General Grant's Military Secretary and Seneca Indian sachem, drew up the articles of surrender, the American Indian's presence was constant. American Indian units in both North Carolina and Indian Territory were among the last Confederate soldiers to surrender. Thus, Between Two Fires is a tale of courage that led ultimately to defeat." --,Dust Jacket.

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