Buried in Section N, Grave Number 5521, is Private Martin Wiggins. His tombstone states that he was from Wisconsin.
Wiggins was a member of 21st Regiment of Wisconsin, enlisting on August 14, 1862. Soon after enlistment, he found himself in battle at Perryfield, Kentucky. At Stones River, the unit was part of the brigade commanded by Colonel John Starkweather under Major General Lovell Rousseau. Starkweather’s brigade mainly was in a reserve position throughout the Battle of Stones River providing vital support to the center of the line. Although being in a reserve position would be fortuitous to Private Wiggins at Stones River, he soon became sick from typhoid and died in Murfreesboro on January 29, 1863.
Although his military experience was short and he died of disease, Wiggins life is still recognized as he is the only known Native American buried in Stones River National Cemetery. How did this distinction come about and why aren’t there more Native Americans buried in the cemetery?
Overall, only about 3500 Native Americans fought in the Union army. Forced relocations to remote reservations, the lack of citizenship and conflicts with the U.S. military probably attributed to the lack of participation. Far more fought as part of the Confederate forces. The Confederacy promised the Native Americans land rights to property west of the Mississippi. In addition, many tribal leaders were themselves slave owners. In fact, African-American slaves were included in the Trail of Tears march through Murfreesboro.
So, if only a small number of the total Union force were Native-Americans, how did Wiggins end up buried in Stones River National Cemetery? A look at his family’s history may give some insight into how it happened.
Wiggins was born in 1828 in Brothertown, New York in Oneida County. Oneida County is located to the east of Syracuse with Rome, NY the largest city. His parents were Ezekiel and Elizabeth Wiggins. The history of their tribe shows their original territory included Connecticut, Rhode Island and eastern Long Island but they were forced to relocate to the Oneida County area. The Wiggins’ particular tribe established the community of Brothertown and were subsequently referred to as the Brothertown or the Eeyamquittoowauconnuck Tribe.
In 1831, they were forced off their land as the State of New York sold off their property to developers. The area tribes worked out an agreement with a tribe in Wisconsin to purchase land using money New York set aside from the development sales. The tribe members took steamers across the Great Lakes for relocation to the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. Here in Calumet County near Lake Winnebago, the members established Brothertown, Wisconsin.
In a few short years, the United States stepped in to move the local tribes again off the fertile farming lands of Calumet County. They offered the original Six Nations tribes from New York 1.8 million acres of Kansas land, 320 acres per registered member, in an 1838 treaty. But the Brothertown members did not want to abandon their property again. The Brothertown Tribe went to Congress and an 1839 law was passed in which the Brothertown members were made US Citizens. The reservation was to be divided equally between the members who would be given full ownership of their land, just like all other citizens.
There was a significant dispute about the 1839 law. Although not specified, the government claimed that the law meant that Brothertown was no longer a recognized tribe. The Brothertowns stated that the law only dealt with the reservation land and that they still were a sovereign nation.
Despite the fight to become US citizens and to keep their land, it continued to be hard on the Wiggins family. By 1858, a notice in the local newspaper announced the foreclosure on Ezekiel Wiggins’ 25 acres on the Brothertown “reservation”. Many other Brothertown Tribe members met similar fates with their land and were now living with neighboring tribes working on White owned lands.
Martin married in 1850 but his wife Mary died by 1857. They had at least one son. The 1850 census shows he owned 100 acres which was apparently granted as part of the 1839 law. He married again in 1861 to Sarah Reed who eventually applied for a widow’s pension after the Civil War.
The Six Nation Tribes battled the United States government for over fifty years to receive the compensation granted to them in the 1838 Treaty forcing removal to the Kansas Territory. In 1902, a decision was reached to divide two million dollars among the tribal members. But the 1839 law granting the Brothertown Tribe their land in Wisconsin would seem to exclude them from this settlement.
The Brothertown Tribe is still fighting for recognition as a tribal nation. As recently as 2012, they were denied by the Department of Interior citing the 1839 law. The decision stated that Congress must pass a law to change the 1839 law and specifically grant recognition to the Brothertowns.
So how did Martin Wiggins end up in the Union Army? As a US citizen, he was treated the same as any other male resident of Wisconsin. It is not known whether he faced the same struggles as the other Brothertown members in facing foreclosures and tax sales, but it is likely that he was encountering the same financial problems. This could lead him to volunteer at age 34 for the Wisconsin regiment. It is not known how many other Brothertown members were part of the Wisconsin 21st Infantry and how many eventually died during the Civil War. But Wiggins is the only one who died within the Middle Tennessee area designated for burial with the Stones River National Cemetery.
Wiggins was a member of 21st Regiment of Wisconsin, enlisting on August 14, 1862. Soon after enlistment, he found himself in battle at Perryfield, Kentucky. At Stones River, the unit was part of the brigade commanded by Colonel John Starkweather under Major General Lovell Rousseau. Starkweather’s brigade mainly was in a reserve position throughout the Battle of Stones River providing vital support to the center of the line. Although being in a reserve position would be fortuitous to Private Wiggins at Stones River, he soon became sick from typhoid and died in Murfreesboro on January 29, 1863.
Although his military experience was short and he died of disease, Wiggins life is still recognized as he is the only known Native American buried in Stones River National Cemetery. How did this distinction come about and why aren’t there more Native Americans buried in the cemetery?
Overall, only about 3500 Native Americans fought in the Union army. Forced relocations to remote reservations, the lack of citizenship and conflicts with the U.S. military probably attributed to the lack of participation. Far more fought as part of the Confederate forces. The Confederacy promised the Native Americans land rights to property west of the Mississippi. In addition, many tribal leaders were themselves slave owners. In fact, African-American slaves were included in the Trail of Tears march through Murfreesboro.
So, if only a small number of the total Union force were Native-Americans, how did Wiggins end up buried in Stones River National Cemetery? A look at his family’s history may give some insight into how it happened.
Wiggins was born in 1828 in Brothertown, New York in Oneida County. Oneida County is located to the east of Syracuse with Rome, NY the largest city. His parents were Ezekiel and Elizabeth Wiggins. The history of their tribe shows their original territory included Connecticut, Rhode Island and eastern Long Island but they were forced to relocate to the Oneida County area. The Wiggins’ particular tribe established the community of Brothertown and were subsequently referred to as the Brothertown or the Eeyamquittoowauconnuck Tribe.
In 1831, they were forced off their land as the State of New York sold off their property to developers. The area tribes worked out an agreement with a tribe in Wisconsin to purchase land using money New York set aside from the development sales. The tribe members took steamers across the Great Lakes for relocation to the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. Here in Calumet County near Lake Winnebago, the members established Brothertown, Wisconsin.
In a few short years, the United States stepped in to move the local tribes again off the fertile farming lands of Calumet County. They offered the original Six Nations tribes from New York 1.8 million acres of Kansas land, 320 acres per registered member, in an 1838 treaty. But the Brothertown members did not want to abandon their property again. The Brothertown Tribe went to Congress and an 1839 law was passed in which the Brothertown members were made US Citizens. The reservation was to be divided equally between the members who would be given full ownership of their land, just like all other citizens.
There was a significant dispute about the 1839 law. Although not specified, the government claimed that the law meant that Brothertown was no longer a recognized tribe. The Brothertowns stated that the law only dealt with the reservation land and that they still were a sovereign nation.
Despite the fight to become US citizens and to keep their land, it continued to be hard on the Wiggins family. By 1858, a notice in the local newspaper announced the foreclosure on Ezekiel Wiggins’ 25 acres on the Brothertown “reservation”. Many other Brothertown Tribe members met similar fates with their land and were now living with neighboring tribes working on White owned lands.
Martin married in 1850 but his wife Mary died by 1857. They had at least one son. The 1850 census shows he owned 100 acres which was apparently granted as part of the 1839 law. He married again in 1861 to Sarah Reed who eventually applied for a widow’s pension after the Civil War.
The Six Nation Tribes battled the United States government for over fifty years to receive the compensation granted to them in the 1838 Treaty forcing removal to the Kansas Territory. In 1902, a decision was reached to divide two million dollars among the tribal members. But the 1839 law granting the Brothertown Tribe their land in Wisconsin would seem to exclude them from this settlement.
The Brothertown Tribe is still fighting for recognition as a tribal nation. As recently as 2012, they were denied by the Department of Interior citing the 1839 law. The decision stated that Congress must pass a law to change the 1839 law and specifically grant recognition to the Brothertowns.
So how did Martin Wiggins end up in the Union Army? As a US citizen, he was treated the same as any other male resident of Wisconsin. It is not known whether he faced the same struggles as the other Brothertown members in facing foreclosures and tax sales, but it is likely that he was encountering the same financial problems. This could lead him to volunteer at age 34 for the Wisconsin regiment. It is not known how many other Brothertown members were part of the Wisconsin 21st Infantry and how many eventually died during the Civil War. But Wiggins is the only one who died within the Middle Tennessee area designated for burial with the Stones River National Cemetery.