Oklahoma Civil War Battle To Live Again Near Checotah

NewsOn6.com

MCINTOSH COUNTY, Oklahoma -- It's been 150 years since the Battle of Honey Springs, a Civil War conflict that took place near Checotah in Indian Territory. A special reenactment will be held on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 as the original battlefield shakes with the roar of cannon, musket and saber to saber conflict.

The Engagement at Honey Springs was the largest of more than 107 documented hostile Civil War encounters in the Indian Territory. There were about 9,000 men involved in the action including Cherokee and Creek regiments that fought on both sides.

The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers, the first black regiment in the Union Army, also fought in the battle.

The Union invaded Confederate held Indian Territory where Confederate forces had established a supply depot 20 miles southwest of Fort Gibson at Honey Springs. Union Major General James G. Blunt marched out from Fort Gibson and engaged the Confederate forces under Brigadier General Douglas Cooper.

The battlefield will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. The battle will take place at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and free to children under 12.

The battlefield Visitors Center is located 3.6 miles north of Checotah on Business 69; east 2 miles through Rentiesville and 2 miles north on Honey Springs Battlefield Road.

The 1,100 acre battlefield site has six walking trails that lead history buffs to the Union bivouac area, the Union line of battle, the Texas regiments line of battle, the battle at the Elk Creek Bridge, the Confederate supply depot and the site of the final action.

For more information about the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Oklahoma and the Battle of Honey Springs reenactment, go to the Oklahoma Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission website.