Ely Parker - Chief, Lawyer, Engineer, and Brigadier General.

Grant and his staff, ca. January 1865.

General Grant and Staff - Lt. Colonel Ely S. Parker seated on far left.

Library of Congress Image

Parker was educated as a lawyer, but being an American Indian had been unable to sit before the bar, as he was not a U. S. citizen. He later became an engineer for the U.S. Treasury Department and was sent to Galena, Illinois to supervise the construction of the customhouse.

In Galena, Parker met U. S. Grant, an obscure ex-army captain working as a clerk in his brother’s store. The two men became friends and during the war Grant made a position on his staff for the able Parker. At the time of the surrender Parker was a lieutenant colonel, but received the rank of brevet brigadier general after the Civil War.





Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Colonel Ely S. Parker wearing the
Do-ne-ho-ga-wa (“Open Door”) when he was proclaimed Grand Sachem of the Six Nations of the Iroquois. more . . .

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