In the early
morning of July 3rd 1862 about 250 Union troops under the command of
Colonel William Weer attacked a Confederate unit led by Colonel James J
Clarkson in what became the Battle of Locust Grove. Weer’s men were made up of the 9th
Kansas Cavalry and the 1st Regiment of the Indian Home Guard. The Confederate didn’t put much of fight, and
made a fighting retreat, hotly pursued by Weer’s soldiers.
The Union
had three men killed and six wounded in the fight. The Confederates had about 100 casualties and
about another 100 including Clarkson were captured. Those Confederates who escaped ran back to
Tahlequah, Oklahoma which caused desertions among the Cherokee supporters.
