When we think about the Sachems or wise men of the Iroquois Nation, we don’t usually think about the Erie Canal. However, the story of the Erie Canal is indeed interwoven into the life of Ely Parker, one of the most important Native Americans born in the 19th century. Parker got his start working on the canals of New York state and went on to be one of the most important individuals in the conclusion of the Civil War.
Ely Samuel Parker was born in 1828 at Indian Falls into a well-respected Seneca family with lineage to famous Indian spokesman, Red Jacket. His family connections afforded him a very good education at a missionary school where he became fully bilingual. Parker devoted his entire life to finding a way to meld his life as an American with his identity as a Seneca.
Parker’s connection to the Erie Canal began with his chance meeting of a young Lewis Henry Morgan. By 1850, Morgan was working to establish his identity as the “Father of American Anthropology,” and was studying the Iroquois tribes. Morgan was very impressed with Parker’s attempts to combine his two cultures. He recommended him for a position as an engineer on the soon-to-be-built Genesee Valley Canal that was envisioned to provide a connection between the Erie Canal at Rochester and the Allegheny River and ultimately the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The canal route chosen turned out to be a logistical nightmare and the canal suffered from the hilly terrain, scant water supply and a price tag that eventually brought about its demise after only 20 years of operation.
Parker, though, was one of the few success stories of the Genesee Canal, and learned its lessons well. He went on to secure a good job in Rochester as the resident engineer on the entire New York state canal system, including the Erie Canal. In this position, Parker was responsible for several upgrades as well as maintenance on the canal. From the canals of New York, Parker was later offered a job to supervise canal building in Illinois, where he befriended a young Ulysses S. Grant, an association that would have a dramatic impact on the rest of Parker’s life.
After the beginning of the Civil War, Parker hoped to join the Union forces as an engineer. His efforts were severely rebuffed when Secretary of War Simon Cameron refused the appointment because Parker was an American Indian. Hearing of his plight, and lacking engineers for his war effort, Ulysses Grant intervened and commissioned Parker as a captain in May 1863. Parker went on to serve as Chief Engineer of the 7th Division during the Siege of Vicksburg. Later, Parker was appointed as military secretary to Gen. Grant himself and was responsible for much of the general’s written correspondence. Both Grant and Parker were present when Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. It was Brigadier Gen. Ely Parker who helped draft the terms of surrender for that meeting and the original documents are in Parker’s own handwriting. At the surrender, it was reported that Gen. Lee had mistaken Parker for a black man, but when he learned of his mistake, Lee offered, “I am glad to see one real American here.” Parker is said to have responded, “We are all Americans, sir.”
Following the Civil War, Grant appointed Parker as the first Native American to serve as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. In spite of his military and diplomatic success, Parker’s business dealings after the Civil War were not quite as successful. His economic fortunes were erased through the uncertainties of the stock market and several bad investments and he lived the last few years of his life in relative poverty.
Doug Farley is director of the Erie Canal Discovery Center. Contact him at 434-7433. The Erie Canal Discovery Center has resumed normal summer hours and is now open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
