Battle of Honey Springs

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Honey Springs


caption=
partof=the American Civil War
date=July 17, 1863
place=Muskogee and McIntosh Counties Oklahoma, Indian Territory
result=Union victory
combatant1= flagicon|USA|1863 United States (Union)
combatant2= flagicon|CSA|1863 CSA (Confederacy)
commander1=James G. Blunt
commander2=Douglas H. Cooper
strength1=Dist. of the Frontier (approximately 3,000)
strength2=1st Brigade, Native American troops (anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000)
casualties1=79
casualties2=637

The Battle of Honey Springs was an American Civil War battle, an important victory for Union forces in their efforts to gain control of the Indian Territory. The battle was also unique in the fact that white soldiers were the minority in both forces. Native Americans and blacks made up significant portions of each of the opposing armies.

Background

At the start of the American Civil War, for cultural and economic reasons, all of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory opted to side with the Confederate States of America, raising native troops under the leadership of General Douglas H. Cooper, and driving out pro-Union Creek indian forces after a short campaign culminating in the Battle of Chustenahlah. By 1863 Confederate fortunes in the region had sunk low, however. A Union campaign launched from Kansas led by General Blunt having driven the Confederacy from the north of the region, many of the Cherokee switched sides to support the Union. Confident in their numerical superiority, the Confederates plotted a counteroffensive against Union forces at Fort Gibson, to be launched by Cooper's Indians and some attached Texan troops, and the soldiers of Gen. William Cabell's brigade, camped in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Cooper moved his army forward to Honey Springs, Indian Territory, an important Confederate supply depot, to rest and equip, while awaiting Cabell's brigade, marching to link up with Cooper. Union forces under General Blunt got wind of Cooper's plan however, and opted to attack him first, before Cabell arrived, which would've given the Confederates overwhelming numerical superiority. Blunt's command included three Federal Indian Home Guard Regiments recruited from all the Five Nations and the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers, with two white Cavalry battalions (6th Kansas, 3rd Wisconsin), one white infantry battalion consisting of six companies of the 2nd Colorado Infantry, and two Kansas artillery batteries making the remainder.

The Battle

Blunt's attack began on July 17th, with desultory morning skirmishing that revealed many of the Confederate soldiers had wet gunpowder, causing numerous misfires and accidents. The main Union attack began at mid-afternoon, and the beginning of a rain squall intensified the Confederate's ammunition problems. After repulsing the first Union attack, Cooper pulled his men back towards the depot to obtain new ammunition, but the Federals continued to press his army closely, driving them back further and gradually beginning to turn Cooper's left, causing a general Confederate retreat. Cooper attempted to fight a rearguard action, but despite a notable half-hour stand by the Choctaw and Chickasaw regiment, most of the badly-organized, disheartened, and in many cases due to their poor powder, unarmed Indians and Texans simply continued to flee. Victorious Union forces took possession of the Honey Springs depot, burning what couldn't be immediately used, and occupying the field. Blunt trumpeted the battle as a major victory, claiming Union losses of only 76, with enemy casualties in excess of 500, although Cooper reported only 181 Confederate casualties.

Reasons for Union Victory

The terrible equipment of the Confederates and the rain squall which ruined their powder, played a large part in the Confederate defeat, although some eyewitness sources, notably future Creek Indian chief George Washington Grayson, claimed Cooper's poor generalship was responsible for the defeat, arguing that about half the Confederate army was never even engaged.

Aftermath

The battle was the largest ever fought in the Indian Territory, and would indeed prove to be decisive. Despite the efforts of notable Confederate officers like Stand Watie Confederate forces in the region would never regain the initiative or engage the Union army in an open, head-on battle again, instead relying almost entirely on guerilla warfare and small-scale cavalry actions to fight the Federal Army. The loss of the supplies at Honey Springs depot would likewise prove disastrous. Confederate forces, already operating on a shoe-string budget and with bad equipment, would come to increasingly rely on captured Union war material to keep up the fight.

ources

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ok007.htm National Park Battle Summary]
* [http://www.lpdgames.com/arthisths.html War in the Indian Nations 1861-1863 - extensive bibliography]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/68honey/68honey.htm "The Battle of Honey Springs: The Civil War Comes to the Indian Territory," a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]