In 1861, along with most of the Southern Superintendency, he joined the Confederate States of America and was appointed to be the CS Agent to the Creek Nation. He helped negotiate the treaty with the Creeks and signed along with BG Albert Pike for the Confederate States. Note that Judge Stidham, who had served as the US Agency Interpreter for all of the Treaties negotiated by Garrett for the US and signing as member of the Creek Nation leadership, served as the CSA interpreter and siigned as a ratifying member of the Creek Nation.
COL Garrett helped form the 1st Creek Mounted Rifles (VOL) which McIntosh ultimately commanded. His brother, John Garrett, served as a Captain in the 1st Creek MTD. Judge G.W. Stidham served in the same unit as a Captain. After the War, Stidham became the first Chief Justice of the Creek Nation's Supreme Court. Before and after the War, He also served as a Town Chief. COL Garrett left the IT in late 1862 for Richmond with his wife and 2-3 year old son for Richmond, VA. He went by way of his parent's home in Centre, AL (formerly part of the "Mississippi" Territory and why Lizzie thought she was born in Mississippi). Lizzie was born on this trip. She was left behind in Centre, AL while her parents and brother went on to Richmond. Her parents and brother died in Richmond, VA part of the TB or "Consumption" outbreak in the Spring/Summer of 1863.
Ultimately, COL Garrett was replaced by BG Cooper's Quartermaster in the IT, MAJ Israel Vore. Vore had been Garrett's employee for the Creek Orphan Census just before the War. Cooper had been a fellow US Agent in the IT as well and was appointed in 1858 when Garrett had been re-appointed. Lizzie was returned to the IT by CPT John Garrett. Judge Stidham, who had been a widower until one of the trips to DC before the War when he had accompanied COL Garrett with a Creek Delegation to the White House, had met his wife in Virginia. Sarah Elizabeth Stidham was introduced to him by COL Garrett, became Judge Stidham's second wife. She served as one of the Agency's teachers within the Creek Nation before the War. She was Lizzie Garrett's namesake. CPT John Garrett placed Lizzie in Stidham's care. She was raised with the Confederate Creeks in Texas and it is most probable that her recollections of the actual battle came from her uncle, Judge Stidham, and her father in law (John Gibson, a private in the 1st Creek Mounted Rifles - a white farmer from Georgia who had married a full blood before the Removal). Their is no doubt that she had her own recollections about the terrible times up to the end of the war and the return to Eufuala and the North Fork Town area.
Her uncle was responsible for the burning of North Fork Town's military supplies and the Union types burned the rest of it, at least according to CSA sources and our family traditions. Judge Stidham did adopt her, but out of respect for her father she continued to be called Garrett. She was chosen at an early age by a tribal healer to become a healer. As with all healers in the Creek Nation, females treated only females and males treated only males except for very young children. She did gain full citizenship at the Grand Council in 1880 and by findings of the Dawes Commission Case in 1905, although the current Muscogee Nation refers back to the original enrollment card of 1/2 quantum of blood, not the findings of the Commission in 1905.
In a much guarded family secret through the time of my mother's death in 1988, as told to me by Lizzie's daughter (an observer at the time), her grand-daughter (who heard if from Lizzie) and her great-granddaughter (who heard it from Lizzie), my Great-Great-Grandfather Micco Gibson (Lizzie's husband) was a Lieutenant of Chitto Harjo even though he was a mixed blood and a close friend of Alex Posey who was in favor of enrollment with and allotment through the Dawes Commission. When Harjo was wounded during and alleged "insurrection", he was not mortally wounded as believed and reported at the time. Instead, he was taken from the scene by Micco Gibson. They went to the home of a fellow supporter and obtained a buckboard wagon. Harjo was dressed as a woman to escape the Federal dragnet with the cover story that Micco Gibson was taking the lady to Micco's wife the healer along "Hanging Grove Road" (now in the Eufaula Cove edition, Eufuala, OK).
Lizzie Gibson treated Chitto Harjo's wounds. On one occasion troops stormed their house (which still stands) with fixed bayonets. Six year old Irene Gibson Hall was laying on the top feather bed mattress with Harjo sandwiched beneath the mattress and box springs. The soldiers actually drove their bayonets into the mattress around her. They did not find Harjo, but to her dying day, "HikiBiki" or Irene Gibson Hall always slept with a light on as she feared the night. Harjo survived and would send Micco and Lizzie Gibson a Christmas Card every year until his death sometime in the 1930's. According to Lizzie, Irene, Eloise and Phyllis, the post-marks were from Mexico. Amazingly, one of the "Progressives" involved in the raid on Harjo's home was the father of Martin Odom who went on to become the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and a close friend of our family.
Lizzie's son Pearl was on scene and tried to rescue Alex Posey when Posey attempted to swim the Canadian when it flooded and stopped his train from making it into Eufaula. His death was a great loss for the Creek Nation and the future state of Oklahoma. Lizzie's death notice was front page news for the Indian Journal when she died in 1944.
If you have the time to visit the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, I most highly recommend it to you. The professional and volunteer staff of the Library and Archives are most friendly and helpful - whether or not you are a novice researcher or highly experienced. Additionally, the Indian Pioneer History still needs volunteers to transcribe the interviews for the Internet. You don't have to be a great typist or fast. Sadly, the IPH is like an iceberg when it comes to Internet access right now. So, you really need to go the hard stand catalog for full search capability. The digitization process has come a long way with the photos, but transcribing the IPH is much slower. If you make the trip to Oklahoma City, you can also hit the Okla. Dept. of Libraries where the State Archives - separate from the OHC, are located. They hold the Confederate Pension files, among other items. My daaughter had been reseraching in their Governorr's papers recently. They are also wonderful people and very helpful. They love students and educators. Also suggest that you consider the Western Heritage Collection at OU. IN the same building on the Oval is the Carl Albert Congressional Research Center and Archives. It also contains one of the Alfalfa Bill Murray Collections. The folks are really helpful. The Library of Congress website is also a great primary resource locator.
Should any of you come to OKC during the week and need a spot to rest or make a phone call, please feel free to call and come by my office. I suggest a call to make sure that I am there...My office number is 405-232-7744 or cell 405-640-3764. My office is in historic Stockyards City across from the Bank at 1204 S. Agnew, OKC, OK 73108-2426. If it is close to lunch we can walk down the street to my favorite, Cattleman's Cafe. I miss the ads with Clem McSpadden's voice overs almost as much as I miss Clem. A great Okie. I did not always agree with his politics, but he was always a great storyteller..
A final footnote to my "short" reply, Lizzie's daughter Irene Gibson Hall became a noted Creek Folk Artist and fixture in Eufuala The Selmon brother's adopted her and her OU crimson and creme 1962 Nash Metropolitan after she became part of their family visiting their home every Sunday starting when Luscius was an Ironhead and helping his parents keep a scrapbook for all 3 boys. Her daughter A. Eloise Hall Warren was a well known volunteer at the Oklahoma Historical Society and assisted the Archivist Mrs. Looney with much of the "connecting" work on the Creek section of the Grant Foreman Collection of Dawes Commission primary source materials and the assisting the authors with the three volumes of Vanished Splendor, Postcard Views of Oklahoma City. Her granddaughter Phyllis Warren James, MA Lib Sci, was also a volunteer in preserving and obtaining for then Central State College, now UCO, and the Okla. City Public Schools, and Heritage Hall Schools Native American Primary and Secondary Source Materials. Her great-great granddaughter, Clary Turpen James, graduated with a Fine Arts degree, summa cum laude from Bacone College (which Lizzie helped get the Creek Nation to donate the land for originally) and where Clary was Art Student of the year, an Academic All American in Track, a volunteer preservationist in the Native American Collections Archive and at the Ataloah Lodge Museum. She has served two internships under the Director of the Archives at the Oklahoma History Center, Mr. William Welge, including working directly with the Foreman Collection Creek section one summer. She is about to serve a third internship with Mr. Welge. She is currently completing a combined Museum Curator Track BA and Masters in History. She is helping me put the finishing touches on the final draft for my editor and publisher on the COL Garrett/Lizzie Garrett Gibson story. I could not have done it with the OHC. I also got some great input from the great historians on this roundttable.
Thank you you kind comments. I wish that I had known Granny Gibson.
Greg James