Native Against Native

The Battle of Chusto-Talasah was fought in Indian Territory [near todays Tulsa County, Oklahoma] on December 9^th 1861.

The Battle of Chusto-Talasah was a part of series of battles fought between the Union leaning Creek and Seminole Indians against the Confederate leaning Cherokee and Choctaw Indians.  Creek chief Opothleyahola leading his Union force was defeated at Round Mountain and retreated with his band to the northeast.  They were located at Chusto-Talasah [also called the Horseshoe Bend of Bird Creek] on December 9^th 1861 when they were attacked in the afternoon by about 1,300 Confederates led by Colonel Douglas H Cooper.

Opothleyahola had his troops placed in a strong line in heavy timber.  They held their line for four hours as Cooper attacked and tried to outflank the Union soldiers.  Finally just before dark Cooper’s men drove Opothleyahola force across the Bird Creek.  Cooper was short on ammo and did not pursue the Union force.

Opothleyahola moved his band off, having lost about 400 men.  Cooper counted only 52 casualties in the fight.

First Battle In Indian Territory

The Battle of Round Mountain was fought in Indian Territory on November 19^th 1861 near Yale, Oklahoma.

Confederate Colonel Douglas Hancock Cooper the commander of the Indian Department moved on November 15^th 1861 with about 1,400 troops, including the 1^st Choctaw and Chickasaw Regiment to bring Chief Opothleyahola the leader of a band of Union supporting Creeks and Seminoles, under Confederate control or drive them out of the territory.  Cooper’s men found Opothleyahola’s camp on the Deep Fork of the Canadian River empty.  On November 19^th 1861 Cooper got information that Opothleyahola was working a fort near the Red Fork of the Arkansas River.

At about 4 pm on November 19^th Cooper’s cavalry found the Indians had abandoned there camp on the Red Fork.  Trying to follow Opothleyahola’s people the 4^th Texas ran into warriors at the foot of Round Mountains just inside the tree line.  There was a short fight and then Opothleyahola’s men set the prairie grass on fire, and retreated under that cover.

The next morning Cooper’s men found that Opothleyahola and his Union supporters had fled the area.  The Confederates called it a victory as they had drove Opothleyahola out of the territory.  By the end of 1861 the Indians had fled to Kansas.

If you are interested in reading more, check out BATTLE OF ROUND MOUNTAIN

Preventing A Raid Into Kansas

The Battle of Old Fort Wayne [Battle of Maysville] was fought in Delaware County, Oklahoma; then part of the Indian Territory, on October 22^nd 1862.

The Confederates started building a force for a raid into Kansas in July 1862.  Colonel Douglas Hancock Cooper built a force made up of Chickasaws, Choctaws and Creeks, which he led through the Indian Territory to Old Fort Wayne.  Old Fort Wayne was an abandoned Union garrison on the edge of the Betties Prairie.  Cooper was within supporting distance of Confederate General John Sappington Marmaduke’s Texans near Lowell, Arkansas.   He placed pickets in Maysville a small town on the Arkansas and Indian Territory border.

Union Brigadier General James G Blunt had a Division of about 3,500 men.  He received information about the Confederates located at Maysville, and was told the force there would be around 7,000 men, including General Stand Watie’s Cherokees.  Blunt’s men made a night march leaving on October 20^th 1862 southward, arriving in Bentonville, Arkansas shortly after sunrise.  They made a second forced; 25 mile march, moving west on October 21^st 1862.

At 5 am on October 22^nd 1862 the Union 2^nd Kansas Cavalry drove in the Confederate pickets at Maysville.  After following them over three miles the Cavalry ran into Cooper’s battle line with a heavy wood to their back.  Although the Union thought they were going to be facing about 7,000, in reality there was only about 1,500 men in Cooper’s line.  Both sides entered into an artillery duel.  Once Blunt had all his men up, they attacked Cooper’s thin line, opening a whole in the Confederate center.  Within a half hour Cooper’s men were in retreat with Blunt pursuing them for seven miles.  The Union had about 14 casualties.  The Confederates reported 150 losses including 50 dead.

Fighting In Arkansas

General Richard Gano

The Battle of Fort Smith was fought in western Arkansas on July 31^st 1864.

Following the failure of the Camden Expedition by the Union troops, most of Arkansas was left open to Confederate raids.  One of these many raids took place at a Union camp located near Massard Prairie on July 27^th 1864.  The ease with which Confederate General Richard Gano won this short battle emboldened him to continue raiding in the area.

On July 31^st 1864 Confederate General Douglas Hancock Cooper led his division which included Gano’s brigade and the brigade of Confederate General Stand Watie, just north of Fort Smith.  Watie moved his men against the Fort from the south, while Gano’s men held the west side of the Poteau River.

Union General John M Thayer had three brigades defending Fort Smith.  As Watie’s men moved they came up against the Union 6^th Kansas Cavalry under the command of Colonel William R Judson.  The 6^th fell back up the Texas Road letting the Union troops at the garrison know about the arrival of the Confederates.  The battle soon became an artillery duel.  Thayer’s guns were stronger and drove off the Confederate artillery in short order.  The Confederates made an orderly withdrawal, leaving a small force to cover their retreat.

If you are interested in reading more, Cooper's Attack on Fort Smith  is a very good web site.

In The Indian Territories

The Battle of Old Fort Wayne was fought October 22^nd 1862 in eastern Oklahoma.

Confederates started concentrating forces in July 1862 at Fayetteville, Arkansas for a raid into Missouri.  After weeks spent recruiting, Colonel Douglas Hancock Cooper took his men through Indian Territory to Old Fort Wayne, located on the edge of Beatties Prairie.  He placed pickets in Maysville about four mile north, near the Arkansas and Indian Territory boarder.  This put Coopers troops in support of Confederate John Sappington Marmaduke’s Texans located at Cross Hollows, near Lowell, Arkansas.

The closest Union troops were at Pea Ridge, Arkansas.  The Union soldiers were part of John Schofield’s Army of the Frontier.  Schofield received information that there was a Confederate force under Cooper at Maysville.  The scouts told Schofield that it included two of Stand Watie’s Cherokee Regiment and numbered about 7,000 men.

About 5am on October 22^nd 1862 Union Brigadier General James G Blunt sent the 2^nd Kansas Cavalry to attack the Confederates at Maysville.  The 2^nd drove in the pickets and followed them three miles into Indian Territory.  At this point they came up against Cooper’s battle line.  Even though the Union report had Cooper’s force at 7,000 in truth they had only about 1,500 men and four guns of Howell’s Texas Battery, in a line about a mile long.  As the rest of the Union force came up they hit the center of the Confederate line hard, opening a wide hole in the line.  Cooper’s men put up a hard fight for about a half hour, before they were overwhelmed and went into retreat, with Union troops pursuing them for seven miles.

The Union lost about 14 men.  The Confederate’s saw about 150 wounded or dead, including 50 who reported to have been buried on the field.  The Confederates pulled back to Fort Gibson on the Arkansas River, leaving the Indian Territory north of the river in Union control.

A Fight In Indian Territory

Fought in the Indian Territory, the Battle of Honey Springs on July 17th 1863, was fought mostly by African and Native Americans.


Confederate General Douglas Hancock Cooper had command of troops made up mostly of the Five Civilized Tribes. Cooper was to meet with soldiers of General William Cabell’s command from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Cooper moved toward Honey Springs a Confederate supply depot in the Indian Territory with plans to rest and link up with Cabell. Union General James G Blunt received information about the Confederate movement and decided to attack them. On the morning of July 17th 1863 the battle opened with light skirmishing, which exposed that the Confederates troops had wet gunpowder. The Union troops began a full scale attack in the afternoon, when a heavy rain increased the Confederate’s gunpowder problems. Blunt ordered his 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, under the command of Colonel James M William to attack. The Confederates held there ground and the 1st Kansas withdrew. Cooper’s men moved back toward the depot at Honey Springs for more ammunition, and the Union troops continued to engage them. Making a stand on the bridge over Elk Creek, Cooper’s men fell back further, allowing Union soldiers to turn his left flank. The Confederate troops fell back another half mile, near the Depot, where the Chickasaw and Choctaw regiments made a strong stand while the rest of Cooper’s men retreated.

Union troops moved into Honey Springs, where they burned all the supplies in the depot. The battle was a Union victory. The Battle of Honey Spring was the largest fought in Indian Territory, and opened the way for Union capture of Fort Smith.

A recommended web site on this subject is HONEY SPRINGS, BATTLE OF

Driving Pro-Union Indains Out Of The Territory

The Trail of Blood on the Ice, or the Battle of Chustenahlah fought December 26th 1861 was a Confederate fight to drive 9,000 Union supporting Indians out of Oklahoma.


Confederate soldiers under the command of Colonels James McQueen McIntosh and Douglas Hancock Cooper planed an attack on Union friendly Creek and Seminole Indians led by Chief Opothleyahola. The attack on the Indian camp at Chustenahlah, was to be two pronged.

McIntosh with 1,380 men left Fort Gibson. On December 25th 1861 he heard from Cooper that he would be on his own. Even thought McIntosh was out numbered he decide to attack the next day. The Confederates assaulted the Indians camp about noon December 26th 1861. Three Confederate Regiments the 3rd Texas, 11th Texas, and 6th Texas advanced on about 1,700 Union supporters. The Indians fell back slowly until the reached their camp, where they tried to make a stand, but gave way about 4 pm, the retreat turning into a rout. The survivor fled from Chustenahlah, Oklahoma Territory making their way to Fort Row, Kansas. Confederate Colonel Stand Watie and his three hundred Cherokees attacked the fleeing Union sympathizers, another 2,000 died from disease and exposure before reaching safety.

The Confederate claimed a victory. They lost 9 killed and 40 wounded.

A Friend To The Indians

Douglas Hancock Cooper an Indian Agent in what is now Oklahoma and a Confederate General was born November 1st 1815 in Mississippi.


Douglas Hancock Cooper was born in Amite County Mississippi, November 1st 1815 the son of David Cooper a Baptist minister. He went to the University of Virginia from 1832 until 1834. Not caring for studying, Cooper went back home to take up farming. He married Mary Collins and they had seven children. In 1844 Cooper was elected to the Mississippi State Legislature. When the Mexican American War started he raised a regiment of the 1st Mississippi Rifles. President Franklin Pierce appointed Cooper as a federal agent to the Choctaw Indians, and he help remove them to the Indian Territory.

When the Civil War began Cooper chose to side with the Confederacy. He raised what would be know as the 1st Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles. Cooper was made their Colonel and given brigade command. He led troops at the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, and Honey Springs. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1863 and given military command of the Indian Territory. During Confederate General Sterling Price’s second invasion of Missouri in 1864, Cooper commanded the “Indian Brigade”.

When the Civil War ended Cooper persisted in living in the Indian territory where he helped the Chickasaw and Choctaw with their claims against the United States Government. Cooper died April 29th 1879 at Fort Washita, Bryan County Oklahoma. He was buried at the old fort in an unmarked grave.