Hayes Lowe
Indian Wars
Wed Feb 28 08:54:28 2001


First, let me say that I'm not an expert in this subject by any stretch of the imagination.

Most people, when we think of the Indian Wars, think of those that occurred between 1870 and 1900. But, those were not the only Indian Wars, and with your man's age, it seems highly improbable that he was involved in those wars.

There was an Indian War during the Civil War that was wholly unrelated to the Civil War. There was also an Indian War that was related to the Civil War, and that service would have definitely been considered a Civil War service and would most probably not say "Indian Wars" on his tombstone.

The most likely service was the Blackhawk War. I don't recall the years of this war off the top of my head, and it is only one of the several possibilities, but it was pre-Civil War. Like Henry said, the National Archives is your best bet.