James Hedtke Presents Ely Parker/One Real American
Ely Parker was a Seneca Indian from Genesee County, NY. Parker was one of 8000 Native Americans to fight for the Union in the American Civil War. He joined General Grant’s staff in the summer of 1863 and quickly became an invaluable aide to the General because of his legal training and engineering skills. Parker became the most famous and highest-ranking Native American in the Union Army. Colonel Parker penned the surrender agreement at Appomattox Court House and had a memorable, as well as controversial, exchange with General Lee in the McClean house.
After the Civil War, Parker was promoted to brigadier general and remained on Grant’s staff. Parker negotiated several treaties with Indian tribes in the American west and during the Grant administration became the first Native American to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Throughout his life, Parker faced racial prejudice that left him straddling the world of his Seneca heritage and the world of the white man. Despite this racial divide, General Parker faithfully served the country that denied him citizenship.
James Hedtke, Ph.D.
Hedtke earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from Saint Joseph's University, a master's in political science from Villanova University, and a Ph.D. in political science from Temple University. He taught history and political science at Cabrini University for fifty years. His research interests include the American presidency, the United States Civil War, and World War II, as well as research on the Freckleton Air Disaster, which took place in 1944 when a United States Army Air Force B-24 Liberator crashed into the center of the English village of Freckleton, Lancashire. His research resulted in a new book, The Freckleton, England Air Disaster published by McFarland in 2014.
Hedtke’s latest work is American Civil War: Facts and Fictions (ABC-CLIO, August, 2018). He is also working on a book focusing on the World War II letters of Colonel J. Bradley McManus, an 8th Army Air Forces fighter pilot.
Hedtke has authored two other books, Lame Duck Presidents: Myth or Reality, and Civil War Professional Soldiers, Citizen Soldiers and Native American Soldiers of Genesee County, New York: Ordinary Men of Valor, the latter of which he edited and researched with students. Hedtke also co- authored two text books, The American Saga, Vol. I. & II. He writes book reviews for Choice, a higher education magazine, and is a member of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education (SEPCHE) Speaker's Bureau. He also has made numerous presentations to area and national audiences on the presidency, terrorism, and the American Civil War, including one at the Pennsylvania Civil War Road Show commemorating the war's 150th anniversary.
A native of Batavia, N.Y., Hedtke has a passion for baseball, gardening, and traveling. He also maintains an intense curiosity about the American Civil War. He is married and lives with his wife, Judy, in Broomall, Pa. They have three daughters.
