The Indian Territory in the Civil War Message Board

Battle of Bayou Menard

I drove to Tahlequah yesterday and it got me to thinking about an unresolved issue regarding the location of the Battle of Bayou Menard (shown as Bayou Bernard in Phillips' report in the ORs).

The OHS marker is on US Hwy 62 where it crosses what is now called Manard Bayou. Phillips report says it was where two roads from Tahlequah and one from Park Hill converged. Having done some searching on these roads and the location, I don't think it was near the OHS marker.

As I recall, the battle was about 7 miles east of Ft Gibson. There was a settlement and a church near there at Woodall Spring. Just north of Woodall Spring a road crossed the upper course of Bayou Menard and the old Cherokee Agency was there. I believe is was Butler who moved the agency from Ft Gibson due to the debauchery around the post. The new location was closer to half way between the fort, Tahlequah (the capital), and Park Hill (where Chief Ross lived). When Monfort Stokes became the agent, he moved it near Tahlequah. Parks mentions scouting from Tahlequah to the west and past the Old Agency. The road from Ft Gibson to Tahlequah skirted the hills on the north side of the valley of Bayou Menard and then up the hollow into the hills and on east to Tahlequah. A road from Park Hill went to Woodall Spring and then merged with this road.

A relic hunter told me he had searched all around where US 62 crossed the creek and found nothing but search further northeast and found large caliber balls and minie balls. He said he determined the location by reviewing old railroad maps (there were, of course, no railroads in the Indian Territory until after the war but several surveys had been done). He wouldn't tell me the location but he put me on the track of searching the old maps and all the sources I could find on the roads --Indian Pioneer Papers, contemporaneous diaries, pre-war Cherokee history.

My hope in saying all this is that someone has done some research or will get interested in researching this battle where one of my ancestors, Lt Col Thomas Fox Taylor was taken prisoner and then killed by Pins.

Ken

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