Hartford Ephedra Attorney

Jeffrey R Gudzune, M.A.

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E Lee, General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army, surrendered his forces to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House; effectively ending the War Between the States. As the embattled southern warrior clasped hands with his northern contemporaries, he was immediately drawn to a dark skinned man with distinguished features. The casual conversation and reminiscences of days gone by fell silent as Lee walked over to address this individual. The man that had drawn the general’s attention was Lt. Colonel Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Chief and Military Secretary to General Grant. Parker was also the highest ranked Native American in the Union Army. Popular belief has it that Lee extended his hand and said to Parker, “ I’m glad to see that there is at least one real American here.” Parker shook the old soldier’s hand and is thought to have responded, “We are all Americans.” While there is some speculation as to whether or not this exchange of polite banter occurred, there is no doubt as to Colonel Parker’s presence at this historic meeting. Not only did he serve with distinction during the war, but, as Grant’s adjutant, he was responsible for transcribing the terms of surrender that Lee would sign. His remarkable career after the war would greatly benefit Native Americans and further secure their place within the nation that for so long had stifled their independence.

Although the exact date is uncertain, Ely Parker was born in 1828 on the Tonawanda Reservation near Buffalo, New York. Even before his birth, his mother, Ga-ont-gwut-twus, or Elizabeth, (herself the descendant of great Seneca leaders such as Red Jacket and Handsome Lake) felt that he would accomplish great things in his life. According to Seneca tradition, a dream interpreter told Elizabeth that her son would be “distinguished among his nation as a peacemaker,” and that he would be “a warrior for the pale faces…but will never lay down his horns as a great Iroquois chief.” This was enough to convince Elizabeth that such a child should be given a proper name. When Ely was born, he was given the Seneca name Ha-sa-no-an-da—which means “Leading Name.” His early life was divided between learning the ways of the Seneca and learning the ways of the white man.

As one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Seneca participated in a tradition of sending the flower of their youth to learn at schools in the United States. Young Ha-sa-no-an-da Parker excelled in his early schooling, but refused to learn English. He did choose the Anglicized Ely as a first name for himself through his interactions with the Reverend Ely Stone. Ely Parker soon realized that in order to function properly in both worlds, a mastery of the English language would be necessary. In 1842, Ely entered Yates Academy, in New York. Being the only Native American student in a class of 119 greatly accelerated his study of the language of the whites. He soon gained attention for his writing abilities and became a member of several literary groups. While he was gaining notoriety among his classmates for his academic skills, Ely was also closely followed by the leaders of the Seneca nation—many of whom had no command of English. During his education at Yates, Ely was called on to serve as translator for the Seneca delegations on their diplomatic mission to Albany. Ely Parker was now in the ascendancy.

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