The Battle of Chusto-Talasah, also known as Bird Creek, Caving Banks, and High Shoal, was fought December 9, 1861, in what is now
Tulsa County, Oklahoma (then
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
) during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. It was the second of three battles in the
Trail of Blood on Ice campaign for the control of
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
A series of battles were fought in December in bad weather between the Confederate
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
and
Choctaw Indians and the Union
Creek and
Seminole Indians
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
(led by the Muscogee Creek chief
Opothleyahola
Opothleyahola, also spelled Opothle Yohola, Opothleyoholo, Hu-pui-hilth Yahola, Hopoeitheyohola, and Hopere Yahvlv (c. 1778 – March 22, 1863) was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted as a brilliant orator. He was a Speaker of the Upper Cre ...
) who supported the Federal government. Following Opothleyahola and his
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
force’s defeat at
Round Mountain, he retreated northeastward in search of safety. On December 9, 1861, the force was at ''Chusto-Talasah'' (Caving Banks) on the Horseshoe Bend of
Bird Creek when
Col.
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Douglas H. Cooper
Douglas Hancock Cooper (November 1, 1815 – April 29, 1879) was an American politician, soldier, Indian Agent in what is now Oklahoma, and Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War.
Early life and career
Cooper ...
’s 1,300 Confederates attacked about 2:00 p.m. Chief Opothleyahola knew Cooper was coming and had placed his troops in a strong position in heavy timber at Horseshoe Bend.
For almost four hours, Cooper attacked and attempted to outflank the Federals, finally driving them across Bird Creek just before dark. Cooper camped there overnight but did not pursue the Federals because he was short of ammunition. The Confederates claimed victory, although some sources credit Opothleyahola's forces with driving off the attackers.
[Oklahoma Historical Society granite marker on the east side of Sperry says: "Battle of Chusto-Talasah This battle site is 9 miles N.E.S.E., at the “Caving Banks” bend on Bird Creek. Here-Dec. 9, 1861- Opothleyahola’s Union Indians forced the retreat of Col. D.H. Cooper’s Confederate troops. Marker sponsored by the Tulsa County Historical Society. Oklahoma Historical Society.”] In any event, Chief Opothleyahola and his band moved on in search of security elsewhere. Their loss was estimated by Cooper as 500 (some accounts suggest 412). Confederate casualties were 15 killed and 37 wounded.
Regardless of whether the Confederates had gained a minor tactical victory here, they would win a resounding one later in the month at
Chustenahlah.
The Chusto-Talasah battle site is on privately owned land near 86th Street North and Delaware Avenue, 5 miles northwest of modern
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
.
[THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES IN INDIAN TERRITORY. "Battle of Chusto-Talasah December 9, 1861." Accessed August 23, 2012]
/ref> A granite marker on the east side of Sperry, Oklahoma
Sperry is a town in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,205 in the 2010 U. S. census, compared to 1,351 in 2000. It is primarily a bedroom community, since approximately 85 percent of the employed residents commute to wor ...
places the battlesite 9 miles N.E.S.E. of that point.
Order of battle
''Cooper's Brigade'' - Col. Douglas H. Cooper
Douglas Hancock Cooper (November 1, 1815 – April 29, 1879) was an American politician, soldier, Indian Agent in what is now Oklahoma, and Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War.
Early life and career
Cooper ...
*6 companies, 1st Choctaw-Chickasaw Mounted Rifles - Maj. Mitchell Laflore
*Detachment, Choctaw Battalion - Capt. Alfred Wade
*Detachment, 1st Creek Regiment - Col. Daniel N. McIntosh
*Detachment, Creek Indians - Capt. James M. C. Smith
* 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifle Regiment - Col. John Drew
*4th Texas Cavalry Regiment - Col. William B. Sims
*Detachment, 9th Texas Cavalry
The 9th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment fought at Round Mountain and Bird Creek (Chusto-Talasah) in 1861, Pea Ridge, Siege of Corint ...
- Lt. Col. William Quayle
*Whitfield’s Battalion - Capt. John W. Whitfield
''Creek and Seminole Indians'' - Chief Opothleyahola
*Lockapoka Creeks
*Muscogee Creeks
*Seminoles - Halleck Tustenuggee
Halleck Tustenuggee (also spelled Halek Tustenuggee and Hallock Tustenuggee) (c. 1807 – ?) was a 19th-century Seminole war chief. He fought against the United States government in the Second Seminole War and for the government in the American Ci ...
, Sonuk Mikko
See also
* List of battles fought in Oklahoma
This is an incomplete list of military and other armed confrontations that have occurred within the boundaries of the modern US State of Oklahoma since European contact. The region was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1679, New ...
* Trail of Blood on Ice
References
National Park Service Battle Summary
* 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 8, Part 1, pages 8–10.
* White, Christine Schultz and White, Benton R., ''Now The Wolf Has Come: The Creek Nation in the Civil War'', Texas A & M University Press, 1996. .
External links
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - "Chusto Talasa, Battle of"
Creek Indians in the American Civil War
On this date in Civil War history: December 9, 1861 - The Battle of Chusto-Talasah (150th Anniversary)
Battle of Chusto-Talasah December 9, 1861
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chusto-Talasah
Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
Trail of Blood on Ice
Confederate victories of the American Civil War
Battles of the American Civil War in Indian Territory
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
1861 in Indian Territory
December 1861 events
American Civil War orders of battle