July 17, 1863---The Battle of Honey Springs

JULY 17, 1863:           

The Battle of Honey Springs, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) (The Battle of Elk Creek).        

As Confederate forces were pushed out of Arkansas, the Confederate forces (largely Cherokee) in Indian Territory found themselves increasingly isolated; after a string of Union victories, many Cherokee either deserted the Confederate cause or switched sides. In an attempt to reassert Confederate control of Indian Territory, a large contingent of 3,000 men (mostly Cherokee) challenged a Union contingent (mostly African-American and Cherokee) of the same size near the crucial Confederate supply depot on Elk Creek. The Confederates were poorly armed and provisioned, and despite attacking aggressively they were driven from the field with anywhere from 200 to 500 losses against 75 Union losses. Heavy rains kept Confederate muskets from firing, and several headlong charges turned into bloodbaths when the Cherokees couldn’t fire their weapons. The defeat meant that they lost their major supply dump in Indian Territory, and the Cherokee were reduced to relying on an ever-decreasing supply of captured Union weapons to carry out sporadic guerrilla attacks, effectively ending organized Rebel activity in Indian Territory.