Ely S. Parker

Ely S. Parker
Birth name	Ely Samuel Parker
Born	1828 Indian Falls, New York
Died	August 31, 1895 (aged 66–67) Fairfield, Connecticut
Buried at	Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1863–1869
Rank	Brevet Brigadier General
Unit	Western Theater Adjutant to General Grant
Battles/wars	American Civil War Siege of Vicksburg Battle of Chattanooga Overland Campaign Siege of Petersburg Appomattox Campaign
Other work	Head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

American Civil War

Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), (born Hasanoanda, later known as Donehogawa) was a Seneca attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat. He was commissioned a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War, when he served as adjutant to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. He wrote the final draft of the Confederate surrender terms at Appomattox. Later in his career, Parker rose to the rank of brevet brigadier general. President Grant appointed him as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post.

Parker was born in 1828 as the sixth of seven children to Elizabeth and William Parker, of prominent Seneca families, at Indian Falls, New York (then part of the Tonawanda Reservation). He was named Ha-sa-no-an-da and later baptized Ely Samuel Parker. His father was a miller and a Baptist minister. The Seneca are one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy). Ely had a classical education at a missionary school, was fully bilingual speaking Seneca as well as English, and went on to college. He spent his life bridging his identities as Seneca and a resident of the United States.

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