150th Anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs, Oklahoma-- Part 2

Union forces at the battle numbered about 3,000 and Confederates had nearly 6,000. The Union victory paved the way to the Union capture of Fort Smith and much of Arkansas. It was also the largest of the 107 engagements that took place in Indian Territory.

It was also the most significant battle fought in what is now Oklahoma. The battlefield is now a National Historic Landmark near Checotah.

Phase 1 plans are to build a new $1 million, 6,000 square foot visitor center and museum at the battlefield.

Other Indian Territory battlefields and forts: Cabin Creek, Fort Gibson, Fort Towson and Fort Washita.

Five battles were fought at Cabin Creek, the first Battle of Cabin Creek was July 2, 1863, while Gettysburg was raging to the east.

Fort Gibson was established in 1824; Fort Washita in 1842 and Fort Towson in 1824.

--Old Secesh

150th Anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs, Oklahoma-- Part 1

From the July 1, 2013, Duncan (Stevens County, Ok.) Banner "Preserving the history of the Civil War Battle of Honey Springs' 150th Anniversary" by Max Nichols.

At 10 AM, July 17, 1863, Confederate Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper ordered his men to begin firing four cannons at Federal artillery near Elk Creek in Indian Territory.

His adversary, Union Major General James G. Blunt, responded with his 12 pieces of artillery. Blunt then ordered Col. James M. William to take his 1st Kansas (Colored) Infantry and capture the Confederate cannons. They defeated the Confederates.

More to Come. --Old Secesh

Confederate Soldier's Son Dies at 99"

From the December 14, 2012, Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal by Matthew Hutchinson.

Marion Wilson, 99, was the youngest of sixteen children fathered by Confederate soldier Hamilton "Ham" Wilson of the 29th North Carolina Infantry, which was brigaded with 4 Texas regiments and the 2nd North Carolina led by General Matt Ector, who was himself from Texas.

The brigade fought at Chickamauga and in the Atlanta and Nashville campaigns. After the war, "Ham" had been a farmer and justice of the peace in eastern Oklahoma. He fathered eight children with his first wife. She died at age 44 and he later remarried and had eight more, spending the rest of his life in Rose, Oklahoma, where he died in 1938.

Marion Wilson was born Fenruary 8, 1913, and moved to Amarillo, Rexas, in 1929. He joined the Army after Pearl Harbor. He said that his father had lived so far up in the Smokey Mountains that he knew nothing about slavery when he joined the Confederate Army.

--Old Secesh

Honey Springs Has National Significance: "The Gettysburg of the West"-- Part 2

The battle was fought along the Muskogee and McIntosh county line, pitting 3,000 Federals versus 5,700 Confederates under Gen. Douglas Cooper.  The majority of the troops on the Confederate side were Indians while the Union Army consisted mostly of Indians and blacks.

The First Kansas Colored unit played a key role at the center of the Union line.

Cooper's troops withdrew to Fort Washita, Bogey Depot and Red River, opening Indian Territory to Union control.

A Key Battle Few Have Heard Of.  --Old Secesh

Honey Springs Has National Significance: "The Gettysburg of the West"-- Part 1

From the March 16, 2013, Muskogee (Ok) Phoenix by Jonita Mullins.

This little-known engagement (I think I first heard about it in conjunction with Route 66 Civil War history) turned Indian Territory from a Confederate stronghold into a Union one.  The site was recently named a National Historic Landmark.

Honey Springs is located on Texas Road, about 25 miles south of Fort Gibson.  Confederate Fort Davis was across the river from Fort Gibson and the Confederates also set up a supply depot at Honey Springs.

When Union commander James Blunt found out his foe was building up for an attack, he decided to strike first.  His force crossed the Arkansas River by flatboats and marched south on Texas Road.  The two sides clashed July 17, 1863 in what has been called the "Gettysburg of the West."

More to Come.  --Old Secesh