Rentiesville in McIntosh County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)

Burying the Dead

Honey Springs Battlefield

— Interpretive Trail Five · Last Engagement —

Burying the Dead Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, March 20, 2024

1. Burying the Dead Marker

Inscription. Those who died were quickly buried, often where they lie, as the summer heat and the high humidity led to unbearable conditions. In 1868 contractors were hired to open the graves and remove bodies whose uniforms had US buttons. These were reburied in the Fort Gibson National Cemetery. The Confederate dead were reburied where they were found in individual or mass unmarked graves. The location of the Confederate dead is still unknown.

The Feds say that they buried one hundred fifty of our dead and the same of theirs. They turned a prisoner loose and sent him with a letter to Cooper to come and tend to his wounded men and that his surgeons would stay with them until Cooper would send his.
Pvt. R. McDermott, Company A,
20th Texas, CSA

We left our dead and wounded on the field. The Federals buried our dead in a cornfield north of Elk Creek. Our wounded were picked up by the Federals and carried to the McIntosh house and were well cared for by their surgeons until they were relieved under a flag of truce 5 or 6 days after the battle.
Corp. W. K. Makemson,
1st Choctaw and Chickasaw Regiment, CSA

Erected

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2019 by Friends of Honey Springs Battlefield.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Honey Springs Battlefield series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1868.

Location. 35° 32.304′ N, 95° 28.824′ W. Marker is in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, in McIntosh County. It can be reached from Honey Springs Battlefield Road 0.2 miles north of East 1020 Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rentiesville OK 74459, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Oklahoma’s Muscogee Nation

and specifically in the Cherokee Nation.

It is also in the American South,

specifically on the prairies,

and on the Southern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this

Photographed by Mark Hilton, March 20, 2024

2. Burying the Dead Marker

marker: Treating the Wounded (within shouting distance of this marker); The Armies Rest and Recuperate (within shouting distance of this marker); 1st Choctaw & Chickasaw Mounted Rifles (within shouting distance of this marker); William Frederick McIntosh (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Private Cemetery (about 400 feet away); The Final Engagement (about 400 feet away); The Confederate Headquarters and Reserve Units (approx. 0.6 miles away); Battlefield Archaeology (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rentiesville.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 22, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 268 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 22, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.