The
Civil War Battles of Cabin Creek in Oklahoma
Territory
by Roy Dickson
Those who
attended the 2001 Fulbright Family reunion in Paris, TX, will recall attending
a ceremony at the Turner Cemetery in Fulbright, Red River Co, TX where the
Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated Civil War grave markers at the graves of
3 of the Missouri/Red River Co, TX Fulbrights and one Fulbright son-in-law. The
youngest of these was Alfred N. Fulbright (1849-1876) who was only 12 years old
when he enlisted along with his father Henry S. (1819-1870), an uncle Peter (1829-1880), and uncle Robert Houston Hooker
(1837-1891). They were all in the 29th Texas Cavalry. Alfred N. was wounded at
the second battle of Cabin Creek in Oklahoma
Territory. Another Texas Fulbright,
Julius Leonidus (1847-1929) also served in the 29th
Texas Cavalry.
This became of additional interest when I noticed a sign
just a few miles from our home here in northeastern Oklahoma
pointing to the Cabin Creek Battle site! I went to the site which is owned
& maintained by the Daughters of the Confederacy chapter in Vinita,
Oklahoma. There are a number of markers
describing the second battle of Cabin Creek & marking the locations of the
various Confederate & Union outfits who participated in the battle. One
marker shows the location of the 29th Texas Cavalry in the battle.
The first battle of Cabin Creek occurred on July 1 - 2, 1863. Col. James M.
Williams of the First Kansas Colored Infantry led a Union supply train from Fort
Scott, KS to Fort
Gibson, OK (then Indian
Territory). As he approached the crossing of Cabin Creek, he
learned that Confederate Col. Stand Watie with about
1600 to 1800 men, about half of whom were Texans & the remainder Indians,
intended to assault him there. Watie was waiting for
about 1500 reinforcements under the command of Brig. Gen. William L. Cabell to
join him before attacking the supply train. Cabell, however, was detained due
to high water on the Grand River. Cabin Creek also had
high water, preventing a crossing at first, but when it had receded,
Williams drove the Confederates off with artillery fire and two cavalry
charges. The wagon train continued to Fort
Gibson and delivered the supplies,
making it possible for the Union forces to maintain their presence in Indian
Territory and take the offensive that resulted in a victory at
Honey Springs and the fall of Fort Smith, Arkansas.
The second
battle of Cabin Creek on September 19,
1864 occurred as part of a desperate effort by the Confederacy to
wrest control of Indian Territory from the Federals by
cutting their supply line. A Confederate force led again by General Stand Watie attacked a Union wagon supply train consisting of 205
wagons, 91 sutler (supply) wagons and four
ambulances, at the Cabin Creek stage station. The train was escorted by 300
troops and there were 170 Union Cherokees garrisoned at Cabin Creek Station,
sent from Fort Gibson
for escort. There were at least 250 teamsters, armed for the occasion. At 1:00 AM, September
19, 1864, the Second Battle of Cabin Creek began. By dawn the Union
defenses were crushed and Yanks were scattered in the woods, retreating to Fort
Gibson. For the first time in
years, food was plentiful and badly needed supplies were available. About 300
wagons, 720 mules and goods valued at $1,500,000 (in 1864 dollars, about $75
million in today’s dollars) were captured. Confederate President Jefferson
Davis termed the (second) Battle of Cabin Creek “the most complete battle” of
the Civil War. It is known to Union historians as the “Disaster at Cabin
Creek”. Of the 88 battles and skirmishes that took place in Indian
Territory, the second Battle of Cabin Creek was the most
significant.
Stand Watie (1806-1871) who became the highest ranking Indian in
the Civil War, was born at Oothcaloga,
GA in Cherokee Nation (near present day Rome,
GA) on 12 December 1806. He attended Moravian
Mission School
at Springplace, GA,
and served as a clerk of the Cherokee Supreme Court and Speaker of the Cherokee
National Council prior to removal.
As a member
of the Ridge-Watie-Boundinot faction of the Cherokee
Nation, Watie supported removal to the Cherokee
Nation, West, and signed the Treaty of New Echota in
1835, in defiance of the Principal Chief John Ross and the majority of the
Cherokees. Watie moved to Cherokee Nation, West
(present day Oklahoma) in 1837
and settled at Honey Creek. Following the murders of his uncle Major Ridge,
cousin John Ridge, and brother Elias Boundinot (Buck Watie) in 1839 and his brother Thomas Watie
in 1845, Stand Watie assumed the leadership of the
Ridge-Watie-Boundinot faction and was involved in a
long-running blood feud with the followers of John Ross. He also was a leader
of the Knights of the Golden Circle,
which bitterly opposed abolitionism.
At the
outbreak of the Civil War, Watie quickly joined the
Southern cause. He was commissioned a colonel on July 12, 1861, and raised a regiment of Cherokees for
service with the Confederate Army. Later, when Chief John Ross signed an
alliance with the South, Watie’s men were organized
as the Cherokee Regiment of Mounted Rifles. After Ross fled Indian
Territory, Watie was elected principal
Chief of the Confederate Cherokees in August 1862.
A portion of
Watie’s command saw action at Oak Hills 10 Aug 1861
in a battle that assured the South’s hold on Indian Territory
and made Watie a Confederate military hero.
Afterward, Watie helped drive the pro-Northern
Indians out of Indian Territory, and following the
Battle of Chustenahlah 26 Dec 1861 he commanded the
pursuit of the fleeing Federals, led by Opothleyahola,
and drove them into exile in Kansas.
Watie’s two greatest victories
were the capture of the federal steam boat J. R. Williams on 15 June 1864, and the second Battle
of Cabin Creek. He was promoted to Brigadier General on 6 May 1864 and given command of the First Indian
Brigade. He was the only Indian to achieve the rank of general in the Civil
War. Watie surrendered on 23 June 1865, the last Confederate General to lay
down his arms.
After the
war, Watie served as a member of the Southern Cherokee
delegation during the negotiation of the Cherokee Reconstruction Treaty of
1866. He then abandoned public life and returned to his old home along Honey
Creek. He died on 9 September 1871.
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