Battle of Honey Springs Memorial Service

Honey Springs Battlefield will hold its annual memorial service honoring the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs near Checotah on Saturday, July 15, at 10:30 a.m. John Beaver, curator for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Cultural Center and Archives, will be the guest speaker.

The memorial service will be held outside on the lawn of the visitor center. The program will include a welcome and opening remarks from site director Adam Lynn and the presentation of colors by the color guard and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Honor Guard. An invocation will be given by Muscogee (Creek) Nation Secretary of Veterans Affairs Grover Wind, and Mvskoke citizen Ms. Anne Townsend-Edwards will present music.

After the program, the Color Guard will retire the colors. The Friends of Honey Springs Battlefield will host its annual meeting following the retirement of the colors.

The service commemorates the largest of approximately 107 documented Civil War military engagements throughout Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The engagement took place at the Honey Springs settlement, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, on July 17, 1863, just two weeks after the famous Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Approximately 9,000 Union and Confederate troops, mostly Native and African Americans, were involved in the Battle of Honey Springs. Of those, approximately 200 total casualties were suffered. After a decisive Union victory, Confederates lost control of Indian Territory north of the Arkansas River. The Union victory also ensured Federal control of Fort Gibson in Indian Territory and Fort Smith in Arkansas.

For more information regarding the memorial service and Honey Springs Battlefield call 918-617-7125. You can also email honeysprings@history.ok.gov or adam.lynn@history.ok.gov.Honey Springs Battlefield is located east of US Highway 69 between Oktaha and Rentiesville. The Visitor Center is located on a hill near the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in Rentiesville. Take the second left after reaching the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame Museum (driving from the west).