Regarding maps of the Indian Territory, I would make the general statement that they are highly inaccurate -- that doesn't mean they are not worthwhile, it just means you have to be cautious, make sure the map fits with other descriptions, and compare to other maps. Many "names" moved for various reasons -- the coming of the railroads in the 1870s was the most common reason but in the area we're talking about it was Grand Lake that move the communities (e.g., Bernice) and cemeteries. Another cause was changing postmasters -- the post office was at or near the postmaster's house, if the postmaster changed the post office moved. Note that their were very VERY few "towns" in the Indian Territory during the war -- people usually lived 1/4 mile or more from their neighbors.

A general land survey of the Cherokee Nation wasn't completed until the 1890s so the 1896 township maps are the oldest precise maps of northeastern Oklahoma. I have a few copies of individual township maps, maybe including the vicinity of the bend -- if not, copies can be made a the Tulsa Public Library. These maps are, of course, 30 years after the war with all the changes brought by the railroads, the cattle industry, and a huge influx of whites into the Nations (who renamed places and forgot or didn't know what the Cherokee called the place).

There are, of course, many older maps based on the best skills of the day. Boundary lines, military roads, and routes of some expeditions included astronomers (specializing in determining the exact longitude and latitude of their location) and surveyors (who used the astronomers reference point to survey a boundary line or route of a road). Military staff officers used sextants to determine their location at a point in time which is how the commanders knew their general position (less precise than astronomer teams) and how far they had traveled in a day. (I'm not aware of odometers being used during the war in the Indian Territory.)

The military maps produced around the time of the Civil War usually have long citations of maps and other sources used to create the map. This is usually a list of military expeditions, boundary surveys, and other sources from which a map was constructed. Mistakes on the older maps are perpetuated until superseded by more accurate information. This is especially true regarding the routes of rivers ands streams between two reference points -- e.g. where roads crossed streams. Creating maps in this way could be very confusing when there are multiple locations with the same or similar names, e.g., Wolf Creek.

In reading the Official Records, one has to keep in mind the maps available to the officers. If the locations of rivers and streams on his map were inaccurate, then his report is inaccurate. In researching Phillips Expedition of Feb 1864 and the military maps of the period, his reports began to make more sense when, for example, I realized his map and therefore his report said "Middle Boggy" but he was really on "Clear Boggy".