The Indian Territory in the Civil War Message Board

Re: Cooper's Command during the Battle of Pea Ridg

When Earl Hess and I did our Pea Ridge research back in the 1980s, we found no evidence that any Choctaw troops participated in the battle. As best we could determine, a small force of Choctaws reached the junction of Little Sugar Creek Road and Bentonville Detour while the battle was in progress, but did not press forward or take part in the fighting.

Needless to say, the exact role of Indian forces in that brief campaign remains murky, but the story that the Choctaws engaged in the battle is a myth. Had the battle occurred a day or two later, however, the Choctaws almost certainly would have been involved in some fashion.

Messages In This Thread

Cooper's Command during the Battle of Pea Ridge
Re: Cooper's Command during the Battle of Pea Ridg
Re: Cooper's Command during the Battle of Pea Ridg