12. Catawba
Although the Confederacy refused to recruit and arm blacks, even freedmen, for their armies it had no qualms about arming Indian tribes which expressed loyalty to the government. The Catawba were so enthusiastic about their support of the Confederacy that nearly all of the adult males in the region entered the army. However, there were then not many Catawba left in South Carolina. About 55 Catawba were alive when the war began and of those a known 19 entered the Confederate Army, serving in the 5th, 12th, and 17th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry. The 12th fought in the Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of Antietam, the Siege of Petersburg, and other major actions of the war.
In the Army of Northern Virginia, the Indian troops were not deployed in segregated units, as they were for the most part in the Army of the Potomac. In the latter, they were enrolled in units that were at the time referred to as “colored” troops. Exceptions were made for spies, scouts, and waterways pilots. In terms of sheer numbers the participation of the Catawba was small but in terms of the percentage of the population serving it was high. The Catawba’s service to the Confederacy was honored with a monument erected in Columbia, South Carolina in 1900.