The Battle of Old Fort Wayne, also known as Maysville, Beattie's Prairie, or Beaty's Prairie, was an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

battle on October 22, 1862, in Delaware County in what is now eastern

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman, commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, had ordered his troops to put down bushwhackers in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. At the time, Colonel Douglas H. Cooper and his Indian Brigade were stationed near Newtonia, Missouri, preparing to move to

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. Hindman ordered Cooper to hold Newtonia until he could move other troops to surround Springfield. There were several skirmishes between Confederate and Union forces from September 30 and October 3. On October 4, Blunt's troops surrounded Newtonia on three sides. Cooper and his Indian forces beat a hasty retreat back to Indian Territory. Edwards, Whit. "Battle of Old Fort Wayne." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Brig. Gen.

James G. Blunt James G. Blunt (July 21, 1826 – July 27, 1881) was an American physician and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist who rose to the rank of Major general (United States), major general in the Union Army during the American Civil ...

and his

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

troops from the First Division of the

Army of the Frontier The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas. In June 1863 the Army was discontinued but ...

attacked Col. Douglas H. Cooper and his Confederate command on Beatties Prairie near Old Fort Wayne at 7:00 a.m. on October 22, 1862. The Confederates put up stiff resistance for a half-hour, but overwhelming numbers forced them to retire from the field in haste, leaving

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

and other equipment behind. This was a setback in the 1862 Confederate offensive that extended from the

Tidewater Tidewater may refer to: * Tidewater (region), a geographic area of southeast Virginia, southern Maryland, and northeast North Carolina. ** Tidewater accent, an accent of American English associated with the Tidewater region of Virginia * Tidewater ...

in the East to the plains of the

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

of the West.

Opposing forces

Union

1st Division,

First Division, Army of the Frontier
– Brigadier General James G. Blunt. *1st Brigade (detachment) ** 11th Kansas Infantry **2nd Indian Home Guard *2nd Brigade – Colonel

William Weer William Weer (''a.k.a.'' William A. Weer and William WeirEicher p. 558) was a lawyer, attorney general for Kansas and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is notable for his service in the Trans-Mississippi Theater early ...

** 6th Kansas Cavalry **3rd Indian Home Guard ** 10th Kansas Infantry **1st Kansas Battery *3rd Brigade – Colonel William F. Cloud ** 2nd Kansas Cavalry ** 2nd Indiana Light Artillery **1st Indian Home Guard

Confederate

1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps,

Army of the Trans-Mississippi The Trans-Mississippi Army was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last major Confederate command to surrender, submitting on May 26, 1865, exactly one month after ...

– Colonel Douglas Cooper **1st Choctaw/Chickasaw Regiment – Colonel S. N. Folsom **2nd Cherokee Mounted Rifles – Colonel

Stand Watie Brigadier-General Stand Watie (; December 12, 1806September 9, 1871), also known as Standhope Uwatie and Isaac S. Watie, was a Cherokee politician who served as the second principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1862 to 1866. The Cherokee ...

**3rd Cherokee Regiment – Colonel Phillips **Buster's Battalion **Creek Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Chilly McIntosh ** Howell's Texas Battery

Battle

In mid-July 1862, the Confederate Army started concentrating forces at

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, for a planned raid into

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. Concurrently, Douglas Cooper was to raid Kansas with his force of

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

s, and Lower Creeks. After weeks of recruiting to bolster their numbers, Cooper led his men through Indian Territory to Old Fort Wayne, an abandoned pre-war Federal military garrison on the southern edge of the sprawling Beatties Prairie. He positioned pickets to the north in Maysville, a small village directly on the Arkansas - Indian Territory boundary ( west of Bentonville). He was within supporting distance of John S. Marmaduke's small 4,000-man force of mostly Texans, which was positioned at Cross Hollows (near

Lowell, Arkansas Lowell is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located within Ozark Mountains, the Ozarks, the first settlement was along Old Wire Road in the 1840s, and although destroyed during the Civil War, the communit ...

). The nearest Federal troops were from

John Schofield John McAllister Schofield (; September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later serve ...

's Army of the Frontier, encamped at

Pea Ridge, Arkansas Pea Ridge is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The name Pea Ridge is derived from a combination of the physical location of the original settlement of the town, across the crest of a ridge of the Ozark Mountains, and for the ho ...

. Word had been received that Cooper, accompanied by

's two

Indian Regiments, was at Maysville, and scouts reported his total force to be about 7,000 men. James Blunt's First Division was relatively small (3,500 men), but was better trained and equipped than many of the recently raised Confederate units. At 7 p.m. on October 20, Blunt departed camp with the Second and Third Brigades. His command consisted of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry in the lead, followed by the 6th Kansas Cavalry, 10th Kansas Infantry and 11th Kansas Infantry, the 1st and 3rd Cherokee Regiments, the 1st Kansas Battery, 2nd Indiana Battery, and four mountain howitzers. After a night march southward, he arrived in Bentonville shortly after sunrise and paused until 5 p.m. to wait for his cumbersome supply wagons to arrive. He was anxious to surprise the Confederates, who were unaware of his advance. After a forced march of westward late on October 21, he stopped his column at 2 a.m. and allowed most of his men to rest. However, he pushed forward the 2nd Kansas Cavalry, which struck the Confederates at 5 a.m. at Maysville, while the balance of the division was sleeping, nearly back. After driving in the pickets at Maysville, the Union cavalry followed them three and into the Indian Territory, where they encountered Cooper's main Confederate battleline, aligned along an east and west road, facing north, with a dense wood at their backs. Despite early Federal reports that he had as many as 7,000 men, Cooper in reality had roughly 1,500 men at his disposal, with Howell's Texas Battery of four artillery guns in the center of his three-quarter mile line. Blunt positioned howitzers in place to duel with the Confederate artillery, then deployed the 2nd Kansas, which soon pushed back Confederate skirmishers from a ridge fronting their main battleline. When the balance of Blunt's division arrived, he attacked, concentrating his men on the center of the thinly spread Confederate battleline. His howitzers silenced the lone enemy battery, and the Kansans and Cherokees opened a wide hole in Cooper's center. Within a half-hour, much of Cooper's ill-trained force was in full retreat (minus their artillery), with Blunt in pursuit for nearly before halting. Blunt lost 14 men; Cooper approximately 150, including a reported 50 dead who were buried on the battlefield."CWSAC Battle Summaries: Old Fort Wayne."
December 31, 2014. The Confederates retreated nearly to

Fort Gibson Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any ot ...

. The Union Army once again had undisputed possession of Indian Territory north of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. For his decisive victory, Blunt was appointed major general of volunteers. The State of Arkansas erected a commemorative marker in Benton County at the northwest corner of state routes 43 and 72 in Maysville.

References

General references

*U.S. War Department, ''The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'', 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. Series 1, Volume 13, Chapter 25.
National Park Service description of Old Fort WayneMap of the general areaCWSAC Report Update and Resurvey: Individual Battlefield Profiles

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Fort Wayne 1862 in the Confederate States of America Old Fort Wayne Old Fort Wayne Old Fort Wayne Old Fort Wayne Delaware County, Oklahoma 1862 in the American Civil War October 1862