Warrior in Two Camps: Ely S. Parker, Union General and Seneca Chief

by William H. Armstrong

Warrior in Two Camps is the biography of Ely S. Parker, the first native American to serve as commissioner of Indian Affairs. The name Ely Samuel Parker is seldom found among famous Indian chiefs. Indeed, the name seems somehow out of place in the company of men called Black Hawk or Crazy Horse or Geronimo. But the prosaic name is part of the story of an American Indian who chose to live his life in the white man’s world. It is a story in which a frock coat replaces the traditional deerskin, and a surveyor’s level and a soldier’s orderly book take the place of the wampum belt and the war club.

Genres: Biography, History, American History, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

This is NOT the William H. Armstrong who wrote Sounder.

Reviews

[Marc Lichtman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ely Parker played two important roles in life. He introduced Lewis Henry Morgan (today known as the founder of American anthropology) to the ways of the Iroquois. Morgan is little read today unfortunately, but his book Ancient Society Or, Researches In The Lines Of Human Progress From Savagery, Through Barbarism To Civilization played a major role in the writing of Frederick Engels' The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Frederick Engels,

Genocide Against the Indians Its Role in the Rise of U S Capitalism 1st Edition, essays by Marxist historian and philosopher, gives a good idea of what happened to most American Indians, and why. One should also read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.

And later, Parker managed to become an important officer (eventually brevet general) on U.S. Grant's staff. His role gets a credit at the end of Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' starring Daniel Day-Lewis, despite the fact that it isn't a speaking role. He chose "integration" but still maintained close ties to the reservation. The latter part of his life was not a huge success, and he largely gave up his assimilationist views: At the end of the 1880s, he wrote that “Black deception, damnable frauds, and persistent oppression have been its characteristics…" "All other methods of dispossessing the Indians of every vested and hereditary right having failed, compulsion must now be resorted to, a certain death to the poor Indian.” He particularly condemned the evangelical reformers who advocated allotments to which the “Indians, as a body, are deadly opposed.” He no longer even granted the reformers good intentions: “It is very evident to my mind that all schemes to apparently serve the Indians are only plausible pleas put out to hoodwink the civilized world that everything possible has been done to save this race from annihilation and to wipe out the stain on the American name for its treatment of the aboriginal population.”

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gets four stars simply because it tells the story of a man who has been too long neglected. As evidence, in fact, this biography of Ely Parker was written nearly 50 years ago. It's time we all remember and celebrate Parker and his accomplishments. Having said all that, I wish the writing had been a bit more lively, but there's no faulting the amount of research the author has conducted and the sources through which he has plowed and sifted. The result is a volume worth adding to your Civil War or Native American reading list. By the way, anyone traveling in or near Galena, Ill., should not miss the Post Office building Parker worked on as an engineer. It has stood the test of time in that once-flood-prone town.

[Les Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional biography of a man who rose from obscurity on an Iriqouis reservation to Grand sachem of the Seneca clan, became an accomplished lawyer and engineer and brevet General in the U. S. Army.
He became a champion of not only his own tribe but many others and also was a major force in shaping the policy that allowed for peace and integration of the black families in the South following the Civil War. Ely Parker was U. S. Grant's personal secretary during the critical last years of the war and went on to an appointment as Indian Commissioner during the Grant administration. He is probably best remembered as the seceretary who out the terms of surrender at Appomatox Court House.

[Jedi-Timelord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account of an American Seneca, serving in the Union army with Grant during the American Civil War. Thought provoking!

[J. Hickey]

Research for my next book

[Jerry]

This is a very good book. I did not know anything about Eli Parke until I read it. It is worth reading about an historical figure most people don't know much about.

[andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating biography of Ely Parker

[Jerry]

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[Kjrsails · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little known historic figure who bridged two worlds .While serving General Grant during the Civil War. He went on to lead the Bureau of Indian Affairs as the first Native American to serve in this capacity.

[Valarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-written, and as interesting as a Civil War history/biography could be for me!