Fort Davis, Oklahoma was established in 1861 on the south bank 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 ...

two and one-half miles northeast of present-day

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

to serve as a

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

headquarters in

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, ...

.Kathy Weiser-Alexander: ''Fort Davis, Oklahoma'', https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fort-davis-oklahoma/, updated December 2017, last accessed 27 Oct 2018.Jon D. May: "Fort Davis", Oklahoma Historical Society, ''The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FO032, last accessed 27 Oct 2018. The fort's name honored

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

. First called

Cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...

Davis, its purposes were to help retain the loyalty of the

to the Confederacy and to prevent Union Army invasions into

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

from the north. When Brigadier General Albert Pike was given command of all

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops in

in the fall of 1861,Jonita Mullins: "Three Forks History: Fort McCullough replaced Fort Davis" in ''The Muskogee Phoenix'', https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/three-forks-history-fort-mccullough-replaced-fort-davis/article_d407c1a9-e2b2-5cfe-b02a-a8f658efca04.html, Mar 13, 2017, last accessed 27 Oct 2018. he first located his headquarters at

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 ...

, which had been abandoned by Federal troops in 1857. When Union Army forces began to make inroads into the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

from the north, he withdrew his troops from

to a more defensible site just across the river on the

Texas Road The Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, or Shawnee-Arbuckle Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route to Texas across Indian Territory (later Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri). Established during the Mexican War by emigrants rushing to ...

, an important supply line, and began the construction of Fort Davis in November, 1861. When complete, the fort comprised 13 wooden buildings, including

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

, a

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

s, and other outbuildings covering an area of about eight acres, without a

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

. The

post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

centered on a prehistoric mound that helped conceal troop activity and provided visibility of the surrounding area from its elevation. Troops from the

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

ed the fort. In 1862, Pike and his Native American troops were ordered out to support General Earl Van Dorn in northwest Arkansas. Despite valiant service by the

soldiers, the Confederates lost two key battles, the

Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place during the American Civil War near Leetown, Arkansas, Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. United States, Feder ...

in March and the Battle of Prairie Grove in December, and northwest

and most of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

fell under Union Army control. With the

defeat at the

, Fort Davis became increasingly vulnerable to attack. When

was seized by Union troops, Pike put Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper in charge of Fort Davis and moved most of the Native American regiments farther south, and Fort Davis's key role in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

came to an end. On December 27, 1862, Union Army troops led by Colonel William A. Phillips burned Fort Davis. The fort's site was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971.

References

External links

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' article on Fort Davis

{{Oklahoma Davis, Fort, Oklahoma Native American history of Oklahoma Indian Territory Davis 1861 establishments in Indian Territory Davis, Fort, Oklahoma