Are you aware that many of the member of the original battalion, from which, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry was formed, were former members of Drew's 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles? This Indian Territory Confederate unit defected to the Union during the first invasion of the Indian Territory conducted by Salomon and Weer. Many of these men were former Cherokee Afriamer-Indians and Cherokee Freedmen. The balance of Drew's regiment of full and mixed-blood (Cherokee/White) troops were made members of the 2nd and 3rd Union Indian Home Guard Regiments.

I am a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a student of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry (79th USCT), so I've always wanted to make sure that the Cherokee component in the 1st Kansas is referenced.

Jim Martin