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.
