Battle of Honey Springs 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 . African and Native Americans 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 Infantry , with two white cavalry battalions ( 6th Kansas and 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 . His attack began on July 17 , 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 . Opposing artillerymen each eliminated one gun on the opposing side during an early artillery duel . Then Blunt saw an opportunity , and ordered the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry to attack . Colonel James M . Williams led the Colored infantry forward , but the Confederates held their ground . Williams was wounded but the Colored troops conducted a disciplined withdrawal and sporadic firing continued . During this period the 2nd Indian Home Guards , fighting for the Union , accidentally strayed into no man ' s land between the Confederate and Union lines . The Federal commanders gave the order for the Home Guards to fall back , the Confederates assumed it was an order to retreat and attacked . The Confederates charged into an established defensive line held by the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry , which repulsed the charge . Cooper pulled his men back towards the depot to obtain new ammunition , but the Federals continued to press his army closely . Heavy fighting occurred when Cooper ' s men made a stand at a bridge over Elk Creek , roughly 1 / 4 of a mile south of the original position . Union forces continued driving them back further and gradually beginning to turn Cooper ' s left , causing a general Confederate retreat . Cooper attempted to fight a rearguard action , making a last stand another 1 / 2 mile south near Honey Springs Depot . 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 . The victory paved the way for Blunt ' s forces to capture Fort Smith . 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 . Opposing Forces . Union . District of the Frontier - Major General James G . Blunt Confederate . 1st Brigade , Indian Troops - Brigadier General Douglas H . Cooper Battlefield Today . The battlefield is located in McIntosh County , Oklahoma near Rentiesville , and is managed by the Oklahoma Historical Society . On Aug . 21 , 2011 the U . S . Department of Agriculture Rural Development announced a $ 1 . 9 million public - private partnership that includes the Oklahoma Historical Society , McIntosh County and an area nonprofit organization to build a visitor ' s center to replace the existing facility consisting of a small trailer . A November 2011 story in the Tulsa World newspaper cites the U . S . Department of the Interior report as giving consideration of designating the Honey Springs Battlefield as a U . S . National Battlefield Park . In 2013 the battlefield was named a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service .