Albert Pike is commissioned as a Confederate brigadier general and given command of the Indian Territory

Massachusetts-born, a distinguished lawyer, and famous western explorer, Albert Pike had already negotiated with the Cherokee and other Indian nations after the advent of the Confederacy.  He was commissioned a brigadier general and given command of the Indian Territory where he began recruiting and training Cherokee troops allied with the South. He served in this post until July 1862 when he was forced to resign over charges of malfeasance and of allowing his men to scalp Union soldiers.  (By John Osborne)