Chustenahlah

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Chustenahlah (1861)

War:

American Civil War

Date(s):

26 Dec 1861

Location:

Osage County, Oklahoma, Indian Territory

Outcome:

Confederate victory

Description:

Chief Opothleyahola, pro-Union
Col. James McQueen McIntosh, CSA

Opothleyahola had a large band of pro-Union Indians; the Confederates had two very weak brigades.

Casualties are unknown.

Confederate troops had undertaken a campaign to subdue the Union sympathizers among the Creeks and Seminoles in the Indian Territory and consolidate control for their pro-slavery allies. After pushing Opothleyahola’s band of followers back at Round Mountain and Chusto-Talasah they wanted to finish them off by assaulting them in their camp at Chustenahlah in a well-protected cove on Battle Creek.

McIntosh and Col. Douglas H. Cooper, commanding the Indian Department, planned a combined attack with their two columns hitting the camp from different directions. McIntosh left Fort Gibson on December 22 with 1,380 men. On Christmas Day he heard that Cooper’s force could not soon join up, but he decided to attack the next day regardless of numbers.
The attack began at noon on the 26th. The defenders were concealed in the underbrush on a rugged hill, but as the Confederates advanced, the Natives began to fall back, taking cover for a while, sniping, then moving back. The retreat became a rout after McIntosh’s men reached their camp. To protect their possessions Opothleyahola’s men tried to make a stand but heavier firepower inflicted losses and they were forced back.

The survivors fled, many going all the way to Kansas where they found protection from other Unionists. It may have been better than living with enemies within their tribes, but the Kansans had little love for the Natives. Opothleyahola’s Creeks and Seminoles mounted no further resistance; they had mainly sought not to take sides in the war, and fighting had been forced on them.

Content provided by:
eHistory Staff

Selected sources:
American Battlefield Protection Program, Heritage Preservation Services, National Park Service.

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