Sonuk Mikko commonly known as Billy Bowlegs and also known as So-Nuk-Mek-Ko, was a Seminole

Seminole

The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...

 who gained recognition as a captain in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Mikko adopted the name of Chief Billy Bowlegs

Billy Bowlegs

thumbChief Billy Bowlegs or Billy Bolek was a leader of the Seminoles in Florida during the Second and Third Seminole Wars against the United States...

 from (Holato Micco), who had fought in the Second and Third Seminole wars

Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...

, following Holato Micco's death in 1859.

Civil War

With the secession

Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...

 of eleven Southern states in 1861, both the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 and Confederacy

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 vied for control of the Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

. Old tribal rivalries were renewed, with some aligning with the North and others with the South. Sonuk Mikko sided with the Union. When a Confederate force under Col. Douglas H. Cooper

Douglas H. Cooper

Douglas Hancock Cooper was a politician, a soldier, an Indian Agent in what is now Oklahoma, and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

 attacked Unionist tribes in the Indian Territory, Mikko aligned his followers with Opothleyahola

Opothleyahola

Opothleyahola, also spelled Opothle Yohola, Opothleyoholo, Hu-pui-hilth Yahola, and Hopoeitheyohola, was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted as a brilliant orator. He was a speaker of the Upper Creek Council. He led Creek forces against the United States government during the first two Seminole...

’s Upper Creeks and resisted. Together, they fought Cooper in a series of losing battles in the winter of 1861–62 that led to the withdrawal of the Union sympathizers to Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 in a bitter trek known as the "Trail of Blood on Ice." Mikko's band covered the rear after the Battle of Chustenahlah

Battle of Chustenahlah

The Battle of Chustenahlah was fought in Osage County, Oklahoma, on December 26, 1861, during the American Civil War. A band of 9,000 pro-Union Native Americans was forced to flee to Kansas in bitter cold and snow in what became known as the Trail of Blood on the Ice.Confederate troops had...

 against Cherokee chief Stand Watie

Stand Watie

Stand Watie , also known as Standhope Uwatie, Degataga , meaning “stand firm”), and Isaac S. Watie, was a leader of the Cherokee Nation and a brigadier general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...

. They eventually settled near Fort Belmont, where a number of his Seminoles perished of exposure and starvation during the winter.

Mikko formally enlisted in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 as a captain in May 1862 and was assigned command of Company A of the First Indian Home Guards

Indian Home Guard (American Civil War)

The Indian Home Guard were volunteer infantry regiments recruited from the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian Territory to support the Union during the American Civil War....

. He saw action in a number of battles that year and was commended by Col. William Cloud, commander of the Third Brigade, Army of the Frontier

Army of the Frontier

The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas...

, for his actions at the Battle of Cane Hill

Battle of Cane Hill

The Battle of Cane Hill was fought during the American Civil War on November 28, 1862 in Washington County, Arkansas. Union troops under Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt drove Confederates under Brig. Gen. John S...

 in December. The First Indian Home Guards arrived on the battlefield, dismounted, and entered a patch of woods on the left-center, flanked by two white regiments from Kansas and Iowa. When the Iowans gave way under a heavy volley, the entire Union line wavered and fell back. Rallying, the Indians and Kansans pushed forward and gained the position. Colonel Cloud wrote, “Of the Indian officers, Captain Jon-neh, of the Uches, and Captain Billy Bowlegs, of the Seminoles, and Captain Tus-te-nup-chup-ko, of Company A (Creek), are deserving of the highest praise.”

Eventually being reassigned to command of Company F, Billy Bowlegs remained prominent in the fighting in Kansas and Indian Territory. At a skirmish with Confederates at Rhea Mills, he lost two revolvers, saddle, bridle and his horse, but emerged unscathed.

Mikko died in 1864 of smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

 and was buried in the Fort Gibson National Cemetery

Fort Gibson National Cemetery

Fort Gibson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located inside of the town of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. It encompasses , and through fiscal year 2008 there were 19,102 interments.-History:...

. Indian Agent G.C. Snow lamented, “His loss is very much regretted, as he was an influential man among (the Seminoles) and I believe generally beloved by all.”