In a message dated 8/26/2002 9:47:37 PM Central Daylight Time, Lori0602h@aol.com writes: > Has anyone heard the term "Captain" used. If so, how, when and why? From > what we are reading, their were various types of chiefs and captain was one > of them. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. > > Lori > Hello Lori, I think that the term Captain and other US Military terms that are used by your ancestor and other Choctaw ancestors was a byproduct of the War of 1812 in which the Choctaw under Pushmataha served in the US forces defending New Orleans and the Gulf Coast from attack by the British and the Creek Indians. Pushmataha was made a Brigadier General in the US Army by Andrew Jackson and led Choctaw warriors against the Creeks and at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, two weeks after an armistice had been agreed to by the US and Britain but before word reached the farthest reaches of the conflict. The Battle of New Orleans was a monumental defeat for the British in which they lost their commanding general and I think about 2500 soldiers compared to US losses of about 13 casualties including 7 dead. The Battle of New Orleans forever sealed the fate of our nation and Andrew Jackson gave great credit for the victory to Pushmataha and his Choctaw warriors. The Battle of New Orleans was the first US engagement in war in which many very diverse groups played equal and pivotal roles, including the Choctaws. Groups such as the Freemen of Color, Creoles, French, Spanish, and even Jean Lafitte's pirates of Barataria Bay and Andrew Jackson's Tennessee Volunteers. There is a wonderful period movie about it featuring Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston called "The Buccaneer" which was made in the 1950's and which you can probably rent at your local video store to give you a sense of the times..Even though it mentions almost nothing of the Choctaw contribution, I always thought it was a very good movie. Until the British defeat at the Battle of New Orleans, their 15,000 to 20,000 man force had been soundly defeating US forces on the waters surrounding New Orleans. Had we lost the Battle of New Orleans, the war would have resumed with the British in complete control of the Mississippi River. Who knows what our nation would look like now. At least one of my Bourgeois ancestors served at the Battle of New Orleans, Francois Valentine Bourgeois. Francois' son, Bernardo, married Isabella Rosa, the daughter of Alexis Favre and Cuna, his Indian wife. Alexis Favre was the son of Simon Favre and Pis-tik-i-ok-o-nay. Pis-tik-i-ok-o-nay was the daughter of Cham-nay and, as best as I can determine, Pushmataha, the first non-European brigadier general of the United States of America and the Great Medal Mingo of the Choctaw Nation. Pushmataha died on Christmas Eve, 1824, in Washington, D.C. while negotiating a treaty with the United States which eventually became the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. He was buried in the Old Congressional cemetary with full military honors and a 21 cannon salute as befitting the head of a nation and as Andrew Jackson had promised him. The terms, Captain, and such, were retained by the Choctaw who were called by these terms because they had been commissioned in the US Military during the War of 1812 with those titles. That's my understanding of it. That's why you'll see, for instance, Colonel Johnston in the Choctaw rolls as found in the 1889 Goss book on Choctaw Claimants and their Heirs. He was a Colonel in the US Army and proudly kept the title. I hope this helps. I may be missing some things or even have some things in error but this is my understanding about the source of the titles of Captain and such amongst the Choctaw. John Craven New Orleans