The Battle of Honey Springs film premiere

The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) and the Friends of Honey Springs Battlefield announce the premiere of a new film documenting the Battle of Honey Springs. The first showings of The Battle of Honey Springs, a Pantheon Digital Production, will take place on Saturday, August 28, at 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. at the Honey Springs Battlefield Visitor Center near Checotah. A program with the director, producers, actors, and historians will take place after the last showing, with a reception to follow.

“We are very excited to premiere The Battle of Honey Springs,” said OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson. “This new film is a first-class production that will allow us to tell the story of the battle in an engaging way for years to come.”

July 17, 1863, marked the largest Civil War battle to take place in present-day Oklahoma, then Indian Territory. Near the community of Honey Springs in the Muscogee Nation, Union and Confederate forces battled for control of Indian Territory. Brother fought against brother as members of the Muscogee and Cherokee Nations fought on both sides. Previously enslaved people who made up the First Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment fought against their former enslavers and proved themselves to their commanders as they held the center of the line. Ten different American Indian tribes fought in the battle, including members of the Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, Delaware, Kickapoo, Osage, Quapaw, and Seneca tribes.

The film documents this clash, bringing the past to life to preserve the story for future generations. “We are thankful to the Inasmuch Foundation for making this production possible through a grant to the Friends of Honey Springs Battlefield,” said Adam Lynn, director of Honey Springs Battlefield.

The Battle of Honey Springs is a Pantheon Digital Production written and directed by Bryan Beasley and produced by Jaime Roman and Jon Roman. The film stars Sidney Flack, Aaron Martin, David Burkhart, TS Akers, Roderick Berko, Tyler Huffman, Warren Gavitt, Jeremy Guana, and Elisha Pratt.