- Sonuk Mikko
Sonuk Mikko (? - ca 1864), commonly known as Billy Bowlegs and also known as So-Nuk-Mek-Ko, was a
Seminole who gained recognition as a captain in theAmerican Civil War . Mikko adopted the name of ChiefBilly Bowlegs (Holato Micco), who had fought in the the Second and ThirdSeminole wars , following Holato Micco's death in 1859. [John D. Spencer, [http://books.google.com/books?id=QhdBmtT5a7kC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=So-nuk-mek-ko&source=web&ots=ichZMXhIR7&sig=WwaWUZCwzzv710ZJAX317t0oMA0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA46,M1 "The American Civil War in the Indian Territory"] , Osprey Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1846030005, p. 46]Civil War
With the
secession of eleven Southern states in 1861, both the Union and Confederacy vied for control of theIndian Territory . Old tribal rivalries were renewed, with some aligning with the North and others with the South. Sonuk Mikko sided with the Union. When a Confederate force under Col.Douglas H. Cooper attacked Unionist tribes in the Indian Territory, Mikko aligned his followers withOpothleyahola ’s Upper Creeks and resisted. Together, they fought Cooper in a series of losing battles in the winter of 1861–62 that led to the withdrawal of the Union sympathizers toKansas in a bitter trek known as the "Trail of Blood on Ice." Mikko's band covered the rear after theBattle of Chustenahlah against Cherokee chiefStand Watie . They eventually settled near Fort Belmont, where a number of his Seminoles perished of exposure and starvation during the winter.Mikko formally enlisted in the
Union Army as acaptain in May 1862 and was assigned command of Company A of the First Indian Home Guards. He saw action in a number of battles that year and was commended by Col. William Cloud, commander of the Third Brigade,Army of the Frontier , for his actions at theBattle of Cane Hill in December. The First Indian Home Guards arrived on the battlefield, dismounted, and entered a patch of woods on the left-center, flanked by two white regiments from Kansas and Iowa. When the Iowans gave way under a heavy volley, the entire Union line wavered and fell back. Rallying, the Indians and Kansans pushed forward and gained the position. Colonel Cloud wrote, “Of the Indian officers, Captain Jon-neh, of the Uches, and Captain Billy Bowlegs, of the Seminoles, and Captain Tus-te-nup-chup-ko, of Company A (Creek), are deserving of the highest praise.” [ [http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/recordview.cfm?content=/032/0094 Volume XXII] , "Official Records", Series 1, Volume 8, p. 94]Eventually being reassigned to command of Company F, Billy Bowlegs remained prominent in the fighting in Kansas and Indian Territory. At a skirmish with Confederates at Rhea Mills, he lost two revolvers, saddle, bridle and his horse, but emerged unscathed.
Mikko died in 1864 of
smallpox and was buried in theFort Gibson National Cemetery . [PDFlink| [http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/pdf/ftgibson.pdf "Fort Gibson National Cemetery"] , p. 3] Indian Agent G.C. Snow lamented, “His loss is very much regretted, as he was an influential man among (the Seminoles) and I believe generally beloved by all.” [Thrapp, Dan L., "The Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography." Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. ISBN 0-8032-9418-2, page 112.]References
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