Waiting for History

Waiting for History. Honey Springs Battlefield. The timber and brush concealed the main Confederate force aligned on either side of the Texas Road. The 20th and 29th Texas Cavalry, the 5th Texas Partisan Rangers, and four guns of Capt. Roswell W. Lee's battery waited to repel the advance of Federal troops. The 1st and 2nd Creek Regiments guarded the Elk Creek fords west of here while elements of the 1st and 2nd Cherokee Regiments defended the cast fords. It had rained during the night, and the woods were damp as the Confederates watched the open prairie and the Texas Road for the approaching enemy. A short walk from here will take you to the Texas Road. Still clearly visible today, it is here that the heaviest fighting of the Battle of Honey Springs occurred. , "The enemy must, if possible, be prevented from gaining the cover of the timber on the north side." , Brig. Gen. Douglas H. Cooper, CSA, [Inset] , General Orders, {Hdqrs. First Brig., Indian Troops, No. 25} , Elk Creek, July 14, 1863, 1. The 1st and 2nd Cherokee Regiments will constitute the right wing of the brigade, Col. Stand Watie, senior colonel, commanding., II. The left wing will be composed of 1st and 2nd Creek Regiments, Col. D. N. McIntosh commanding., III. The center will consist of 20th Texas dismounted Cavalry, 29th Texas Cavalry, 5th Texas Partisan Rangers, and Lee's Light Battery, Col. Thomas C. Bass, senior colonel, commanding., IV. Scanland's Squadron, Gillette's Squadron, and 1st Choctaw and Chickasaw Regiment, Col. Tandy Walker commanding, will be attached to headquarters and constitute the reserve, to which such other troops belonging to this brigade as may report will be added until further orders. Captain Scanland will fall back to a position which will be assigned him near headquarters, Honey Springs. , Brig. Gen. Douglas H. Cooper, July 14, 1863