Thomas M. Gunter
Born near McMinnville, Warren County, Tennessee, Gunter pursued classical studies and was graduated from Irving College in 1850.During the Civil War, Gunter served in the Confederate States Army as colonel of the Thirteenth Regiment, Arkansas Volunteers.In objection to an 1880 removal agreement with the Utes of Colorado, Gunter proclaimed that "The Government has 'treated' with the Indians as the owners of the soil...In doing this we have always respected the tribe or communal relation.In the same speech, Gunter argued that "under the communal system of land ownership we have seen the Indians gradually passing from the nomadic through the pastoral life to a higher civilization."[2] In this moment Gunter opposed the push toward forcing Native peoples to take on individual allotments (which would see most of their lands taken by citizens of the United States).