The Civil War in Oklahoma, then known as the Indian Territory, was a complex and devastating chapter in American history, often overshadowed by battles in the East. This unorganized region, set aside for Native American tribes relocated under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, became a crucial theater in the Trans-Mississippi West. The Civil War in Oklahoma involved not only Union and Confederate forces but also Native American units allied with both sides, making it a conflict of fractured loyalties and immense suffering for the indigenous peoples caught in the crossfire.
Before the war’s outbreak, the United States government withdrew all federal troops from the Indian Territory, leaving it vulnerable. The newly formed Confederate government swiftly recognized its strategic value. For Jefferson Davis and his advisors, the Indian Territory served multiple purposes: a shield for Texas and Arkansas, a potential agricultural ‘breadbasket’ against a Union blockade, a buffer between Texas and Union-held Kansas, and a future launchpad for westward expansion.
Native American Alliances and Divided Loyalties
Confederate officers, led by General Douglas H. Cooper, actively negotiated with Native American tribes in June and July 1861, promising protection, economic support, and recognition of sovereignty. These efforts largely succeeded, with most tribal leaders aligning with the Confederacy. The prominent Five Civilized Tribes—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole nations—signed treaties of alliance. Other tribes, including the Comanche, Osage, Quapaw, Seneca–Cayuga, and Shawnee, also joined the Confederate cause. Confederate forces quickly occupied U.S. Army forts, and an estimated 7,860 Native Americans served in the Confederate Army as both officers and enlisted men.
However, loyalty within the Indian Territory was far from unified. Creek Chief Opothle Yahola staunchly refused to allow Creek lands to be annexed by the Confederacy and led Union-sympathizing Creeks towards Kansas. This perilous journey, often referred to as the Trail of Blood on Ice, saw them repeatedly fighting Confederate pursuers. Upon reaching Kansas, Opothle Yahola and his followers formed three volunteer regiments, known as the Indian Home Guard, to serve the Union cause within the Indian Territory and adjacent states.
Early Union Efforts to Reclaim Indian Territory
Regaining control of the Indian Territory presented significant logistical challenges for the Union Army. The region was largely undeveloped, with primitive roads and no railroads, making supply lines precarious. Pro-Union Native Americans had been displaced by pro-Confederacy raids, fleeing to Kansas or Missouri, placing further strain on Union resources. An early attempt in 1862, General William Weer’s ‘Indian Expedition,’ suffered a disastrous collapse due to exhausted supplies and failed logistics.
The first major engagement occurred on November 19, 1861, at the Battle of Round Mountain, where Opothle Yahola’s Union-allied forces, numbering about 7,000 men, women, and children, repulsed a 1,400-strong Confederate force under Colonel Douglas H. Cooper. Following this, Opothle Yahola moved his camp to Chustenalah, where Confederate forces attacked again on December 26, 1861, successfully driving his people into Kansas. Meanwhile, Confederate leaders attempted to use Indian Territory troops to push Federal forces out of Arkansas. At the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862, Confederate General Albert Pike’s Indian regiments fought alongside divisions led by Sterling Price and Ben McCulloch but were ultimately defeated by Union Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis. Pike, angered by accusations of disorderly conduct and scalping by Indian troops, withdrew his regiments back to the Indian Territory and resigned, leaving officers like Stand Watie to continue fighting without broader support.
The Failed Indian Expedition of 1862
In June 1862, Union General James G. Blunt ordered Colonel William Weer to lead a major ‘Indian Expedition’ from Kansas into the Indian Territory. Comprising over 5,000 men, including white, African-American, and two Indian regiments, its primary goal was to escort Indian refugees back to their homes and secure the territory for the Union. The expedition achieved early success at the Battle of Locust Grove on July 3, defeating Confederate units led by Colonels Stand Watie and John Drew through superior artillery use. However, the expedition stalled at Locust Grove for two weeks awaiting a supply train that never arrived. Food, forage, and ammunition dwindled, leading to widespread demoralization. Colonel Weer, succumbing to heavy drinking, was eventually arrested by his own men in a mutiny, and Colonel Frederick Salomon took command, bringing the ill-fated expedition to an end. Despite its failure, this expedition indirectly led to the formal organization of three Indian Home Guard regiments for the Union. The chaos spurred Cherokee Chief John Ross to nullify the Confederate treaty and publicly embrace the Union cause, relocating with his family to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Union Brigadier General James G. Blunt later invaded the Indian Territory from Arkansas on October 22, 1862, defeating Colonel Douglas H. Cooper at Fort Wayne and beginning to organize Cherokee Unionists.
The Successful Second Indian Expedition of 1863
The Federal Second Indian Expedition in 1863 proved far more successful. This campaign involved several key engagements, including the capture of Fort Gibson in April 1863, where the Second Indian Home Guard played a crucial role in driving Confederate defenders into the Grand River. In July 1863, Indian Home Guard soldiers famously saved a Union supply train from Stand Watie’s Confederate forces during the First Battle of Cabin Creek. The most pivotal military engagement in the Indian Territory Civil War occurred on July 17, 1863, at Honey Springs. Here, Union forces under General Blunt, including white, African-American, and Indian regiments, decisively defeated Confederate General Douglas H. Cooper. The Union’s victory was largely attributed to their superior artillery and the Confederacy’s inferior gunpowder, marking a turning point in the struggle for the territory.
The Brutality of Guerrilla Warfare
After the Union victory at Honey Springs, the Civil War in Oklahoma shifted dramatically, mirroring the brutal guerrilla warfare seen in border states like Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Law and order collapsed, replaced by rampant raids and skirmishes perpetrated by roaming bands of irregular partisans. Confederate Captain William Quantrill and his infamous gang conducted numerous raids across the lands of the Five Civilized Tribes. So-called ‘free raiders,’ operating independently, plundered horses and cattle, burning communities indiscriminately, affecting both Confederate and Union sympathizers.
A more disciplined form of raiding was carried out by Confederate General Stand Watie and his unit. Watie focused his attacks on targets of military value, destroying Union headquarters, troop quarters, and supply depots. He meticulously targeted military supply trains, depriving Union forces of essential food, forage, and ammunition, and often distributed captured goods to his men. His most celebrated exploits included the capture of the Steamboat J.R. Williams on June 15, 1864, and the seizure of a Union supply train at the Second Battle of Cabin Creek on September 19, 1864.
The End of the Conflict and Lingering Divisions
General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, effectively sealed the Confederacy’s fate. However, the news traveled slowly, and some Western generals were hesitant to accept defeat. On May 26, 1865, Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith officially surrendered the Confederacy’s Trans-Mississippi Department, which encompassed the Indian Territory. Stand Watie, remaining a defiant symbol of the Southern cause, was among the last Confederate generals to capitulate, formally surrendering at Doaksville on June 23, 1865.
The end of the war left the Indian Territory in a state of profound devastation. Thousands of Confederate civilians, numbering nearly 15,000, gathered in desperate camps around the Red River, facing immense suffering. The conflict also exacerbated existing divisions within the Native American tribes. When Watie traveled to Washington, D.C. to negotiate on behalf of a Southern Cherokee Nation, the U.S. government refused to recognize his claims, choosing instead to negotiate solely with the Union-loyal Cherokee, reaffirming John Ross as the rightful principal chief. The war irrevocably altered the social, political, and economic landscape of the Indian Territory, leaving a legacy of division, hardship, and a protracted struggle for rebuilding tribal nations.
