Many of the tribal members, however, did not support the Confederacy, and, not being organized, were driven from Indian Territory with a large loss of life.
Many of the "Loyal" Indians volunteered for Union duty in order to get control back from the Confederate generals.
It took longer to organize, due to the political disagreements of the various government agents involved in the negotiations.
They were attached to the first Indian Expedition given the task of clearing the territory north of the Arkansas River of Confederates.
[1] Many of its troops had previously fought for the Confederate Army, particularly the First Cherokee Mounted Rifles that had been commanded by Colonel John Drew.