Ely Parker: Iroquois Chief and Union Officer
6/12/2006 • America's Civil War
When Robert E. Lee met with Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia, on the momentous morning of April 9, 1865, the Union commander insisted on introducing his staff members to Lee individually. The Rebel leader, ever courteous, shook each man’s hand. Among the men in Grant’s entourage was Lieutenant Colonel Ely Parker, a Seneca Indian. Lee hesitated upon meeting the swarthy Parker, apparently mistaking him for a freedman or mulatto; however, he quickly realized his error, extending his hand to Parker with the gracious comment, ‘I am glad to see one real American here.’ Parker accepted the proffered handshake, responding, ‘We are all Americans.’
After exchanging small talk, the two commanders began the arduous business of drafting the articles of surrender for the Confederate Army. Among his other duties, the 37-year-old Parker served as one of Grant’s military secretaries. Once the generals had agreed on conditions, Parker was directed to copy the articles of surrender into a manifold book, a bound pamphlet in which multiple copies could be produced through the use of carbon-paper inserts. This done, he passed the book to Colonel Theodore Bowers, another of Grant’s aides, who was to prepare the final copy in ink for the commanding generals’ signatures. Bowers, however, was so unnerved by the magnitude of the occasion that he was forced to leave the task to the unflappable Parker, who quickly produced the copy in his graceful hand.
http://www.historynet.com/ely-parker-iroquois-chief-and-union-officer.htm
