A Creek Warrior for the Confederacy: The Autobiography of Chief G. W. Grayson, and: The Life of Okah Tubbee (review)

86erra war history The book contains many errors in capitalization, punctuation, and grammar, ranging from split infinitives to the prolific use of contractions (including "it's" in place of the possessive "its"). Often the syntax is quite awkward, paragraph structure is erratic, and the phraseology is sophomoric (182, 187). These tendencies detract from the scholarly merit of the book. It is interesting that the same passions which sundered a tribe over one hundred years ago still live to hinder an objective examination of the story. Those familiar with antebellum and Civil War Cherokee history who are looking for a quality revisionist version of the accepted story will have to wait longer. Wilfred Knight's book unfortunately contributes little to an objective understanding of those turbulent times in the Indian Territory. Mark Hellstern Oral Roberts University A Creek Warrior for the Confederacy: The Autobiography of Chief G. W. Grayson. By G. W. Grayson. Edited by W. David Baird. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. Pp. vii, 181. $16.95.) 7"Ae Life of Okah Tubbee. Edited by Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. Pp. vii, 159. $19.95.) Autobiography offers the historian and the casual reader of history insights into the historical process. This personal perspective breathes life into the factual data and offers a firsthand account of events as they unfolded. These two books provide a unique dimension to the personal view of history. George Washington Grayson, a mixed-blood American Indian, and Okah Tubbee, a black man who passed as an Indian, recount events from a perspective frequently overlooked or, more often, not available. Born in 1843 near present Eufaula, Oklahoma, of mixed-blood Creek parents, Grayson's early years reflected experiences typical of mixedbloods among the Five Civilized Tribes. His parents sent him to schools in the Creek Nation, he attended college in Arkansas, and he became a clerk in a dry goods store at North Fork Town, Indian Territory. But, as with thousands of others in 1861, the Civil War disrupted Grayson's well-ordered life. The following year he enlisted in Company K, Second Creek Regiment, a Confederate unit. He rose to the rank of captain, was present at the Battle of Honey Springs, participated in attacks on federal haying parties, aided in the capture of the J. R. Williams, a Union supply vessel, and fought at the Second Battle of Cabin Creek. He emerged from these engagements unscathed, and, after the war, Grayson became active in BOOK REVIEWS87 Creek politics. During the 1870s-1880s, he served as national treasurer and as a member of numerous delegations to Washington, D.C. Five of the book's ten chapters deal with Grayson's Civil War service. His reminiscences of the war seem realistic and absent of selfglorification . He imparts the anxiety felt by combatants prior to an engagement and expresses a constant concern for his family, who became refugees following the Federal invasion of Indian Territory. His combat experiences also reflected the realities of war ranging from mundane— routine troop movements—to murderous—the indiscriminate shooting of black Federal prisoners. Only in Grayson's description of the seizure of the J. R. Williams did he apparently exaggerate his role. The memoir itself demonstrates the literate, articulate talents common to mixed-bloods among the Five Civilized Tribes. Written in a simple, flowing style, occasionally sprinkled with anecdotes, it engages the reader. Expertly edited by David Baird, the book contains numerous explanatory footnotes at the bottom of the page for convenient reference. Additionally, several well placed photographs enhance the narrative. A Creek Warrior for the Confederacy offers a valuable perspective of significant events for historians and casual readers of the Civil War, Indian history, and Oklahoma history. 7"Ae Life of Okah Tubbee differs significantly from Grayson's memoir in that it is about a man who worked vigorously to escape his native surroundings rather than rise to defend them. Named Warner McCary by his black slave mother following his birth in 1810 or 1811 at Natchez, Mississippi, Okah Tubbee grew to maturity as a bondsman. This situation was not unusual, but due to a peculiar legal arrangement, Warner became the slave of his manumitted...