Oaks, Oklahoma once called “New Springplace” by Moravian missionaries became the one of many bloody scenes during the American Civil War. Over a thousand miles from the battle fields in the east a group of “Pin Indians and federal troops shot and killed Reverend James Ward as his wife held their eight-month-old twin sons in her arms only a few feet away.
Some academics consider the term “Pin Indians” derogatory. It was a common term during the civil war. They were mostly full blood Cherokee, Creek and Seminoles who sworn loyalty to the United States. They wore turbans and cross pins on their lapels of coats and calico shirts. Hence the name “Pin Indians.” They were closely associated with Baptist and Masonic lodges.
The battles that tore the nations in two were some of the bloodiest of the civil war. As America struggled to hold its nation together old disputes and feuds resurfaced among the tribes occupying what is now Eastern Oklahoma.
I always wondered why James Ward was targeted. By all accounts he was peaceful and a family man. In 1898 the Moravians left the Cherokee and a Lutheran minister took up the call to operate the Oaks Indian Mission.
James Ward was laid to rest just southwest of Oaks at the Oaks Cemetery. His remains lie among those who came across the trail of tears. Some killed by their own family members during a conflict born in the East. A conflict fought on battlefields, farms and even the front step of a parsonage in Indian Territory.
