Fort McCulloch was a Confederate military fort built by CSA Brigadier General Albert Pike in the

Indian Territory The 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 St ...

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 th ...

after the

Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place in the American Civil War near Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Federal forces, led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, moved south ...

History

After the southern states seceded from the United States of America, Albert Pike negotiated treaties between the

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by European Americans in the colonial and early federal period in the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek ...

and the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

government, promising that the Confederacy would take over the obligations that the Union failed to fulfill and take over defense for the Indian Territory. Pike was appointed commander of the Department of the Indian Territory in November 1861. His first assignment was to construct a fort north of

Bacone College Bacone College, formerly Bacone Indian University, is a private tribal college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by missionary Almon C. Bacone, it was originally affiliated with the mission arm of what is now Americ ...

on the Arkansas River near Muskogee. He named this site Cantonment Davis. However, he and his troops were ordered to leave the site to support the Confederate troops at Pea Ridge. They never returned to Cantonment Davis.Morrison, W. B. "Fort McCulloch." In: ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Volume 4, Number 3, September 1926.
Retrieved January 15, 2014. Pike's Native American troops participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge near Leetown, Arkansas in March 1862. The battle was a defeat for the Confederate Army. Pike then considered that his Indian Territory command post at Fort Davis, Cherokee Nation, was vulnerable to a Union attack. He retreated to the Choctaw Nation in southern Indian Territory. Pike chose a site on a bluff on the west side of the Blue River near Nail's Crossing, where he established Fort McCulloch, named for General Benjamin McCulloch, who fell in battle at Pea Ridge. The site, about southwest of the present-day town of Kenefic, Oklahoma, controlled military roads linking Fort Smith with Fort Washita, Fort Gibson and north Texas. The fort had earthworks, but no permanent buildings. Its importance diminished after Pike resigned his command in July 1862. It was not abandoned until the end of the war. Meanwhile, it served as a haven for pro-Confederate refugees. General

Stand Watie Brigadier-General Stand Watie ( chr, ᏕᎦᏔᎦ, translit=Degataga, lit=Stand firm; December 12, 1806September 9, 1871), also known as Standhope Uwatie, Tawkertawker, and Isaac S. Watie, was a Cherokee politician who served as the second princ ...

used it briefly as a command post in 1865.May, Jon D. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Fort McCulloch."
/ref> Hatsburg Indian Territory

Fort McCulloch was built to defend

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

from a Union attack. It had extensive earthworks designed to defend against any advance.

History

References

Further reading