Hand-carried military courier cover to Brigadier Stand Watie – the only Native American to achieve general officer rank in the Confederate States Army. It is addressed to him at Web(b)ers Falls, CN (Cherokee Nation). Because the address explicitly uses the rank of general, this cover can be narrowed to the late war period following Watie's promotion in May 1864. Weber's Falls was a highly contested, strategic pro-Confederate Cherokee stronghold on the Arkansas River. Late-war military dispatches sent to this specific location within the Indian Territory are exceedingly rare due to constant troop movements, paper shortages, and the chaotic nature of the trans Mississippi theater. This is an important artifact of the Confederate Cherokee military communication. Professionally restored, rebacked cover front. $375.

Cherokee heritage: Webber's Falls was settled in 1829 and named after Walter Webber, a western Cherokee chief who established a trading post there. Covers sent to this location during the late war period are incredibly rare because military operations forced Watie's family and headquarters to move constantly. Webber's Falls served as a significant site during the Trail of Tears and is home to the National Trail of Tears office. 

 Rich Joe Vann, a Cherokee and the father of David Vann, established a plantation in the area and built a replica of the mansion he was forced to leave behind in Georgia. In 1863, Union troops burned this home along with most of the town, but failed to capture Gen. Stand Watie and his troops, who had established headquarters at Webber’s Falls during the Civil War. A Civil War-era salt kettle owned by David Vann from the Dardeen “Dirty” Creek saline survives at Webber's Falls Museum.