Honey Springs Battlefield National Historic Landmark Nomination
Warde M and Schwan LB. 2013. Honey Springs Battlefield National Historic Landmark Nomination. National Historic Landmark Nominations. 13000280_NHL. National Park Service. Washington, DC
This document is the National Historic Landmark (NHL) nomination for Honey Springs Battlefield in Checotah, McIntosh and Muskogee Counties, Oklahoma. The NHL nomination for the Honey Springs Battlefield documents its national significance under NHL Criterion 1. This July 17, 1863 battle was a watershed event in the histories of the Cherokee, Creek (or Muskogee), Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations—the “Five Civilized Tribes” of the Indian Territory. Although the battle occurred within the context of the American Civil War (1861-1865) and was partially the result of Indian Nations’ alliances with the Confederacy, it was the climax of a devastating concurrent civil war within the Cherokees and Creeks, rooted in their pasts and key to the futures of all five Indian Nations. This was the largest Civil War battle in Indian Territory in which Indian men fought as members of national regiments (Union and Confederate) and was among the first engagements in which formerly enslaved men participated as Union soldiers. To restore peace, all five nations were forced to sign Reconstruction Treaties in 1866 which radically changed their sovereignty, land base, social structure, and relationship with the United States. The period of national significance is 1863-1866.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Warde, Mary Jane; Schwan, Lynda
- Date of Issue
- 2013-02-27
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Keywords
- "Five Civilized Tribes", Checotah, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Civil War, Creek (or Muskogee), Elk Creek, Indian Territory, National Historic Landmark, Oklahoma, Seminole