Dear Pam,

I'm very interested in your posting for two reasons.

First, I've been pursuing an informal project for the last several months to document Native-Americans who fought in the Civil War in previously thought of "white" units. From what I've discovered, so far, there were a number of full and mixed-blood Creeks (Muscogee) in the 32nd Alabama Infantry (primarily from Butler County, AL) and in the 15th Confederate Cavalry a mixed unit of Alabamians and Floridians organized directly by the Confederate government.

Second, I'm a mixed-blood Cherokee and member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. I am also a "Helton" descendant, but this is not my "Indian" line. My Heltons were from East Tennessee and relocated to Southern Indiana in the 1830's. I am descended from an Andrew C. Helton (gggg-grandfather)who was the son of an Abraham Helton. This Abraham Helton applied for a "gold claim" during the North Georgia goldrush of the 1830's. He was refused a claim on the grounds that "he is not white". This information is included in the Georgia Black Book. I do not know if Abraham Helton was a Native-American and/or what tribe he was from. I have read in genealogical postings of a "Chief Andrew Helton" who was a Creek.

You're claim that your Heltons were Cherokee, though listed as Creek, is very interesting to me. As you probably know the Helton name is not uncommon within the Cherokee nation.

I noted Wayne Adam's posting and I'd recommend you look very closely at the James Helton listed in the 32nd Alabama Infantry, due to the other Creeks (specifically Poarch Creeks) I've discovered in this unit.

Do you have any additional information regarding James Helton, such as, his DOB, POB, parents, where he lived during the 1860's, etc.?

Jim Martin