You know I believe the Battle of Middle Boggy was fought at or near Cochran's and that Phillips moved no more than about twenty miles further south than that though he may have scouted further. I don't think he got anywhere near Boggy Depot and probably not to the Rock Academy or he would have destoryed it. Camp Kagi was 20 miles south of the location of the battle so the battle location near Atoka makes no sense -- if he was 20 miles south of the Atoka location he would have destroyed Boggy Depot and/or Armstrong Academy but he says he was in the Chickasaw Nation and would come back later in the spring to raid through the Choctaw Nation. The tribal leaders were in council at Armstrong Academy at the time and D.N. McIntosh headed to the Canadian in the SW Creek Nation to rally his scattered Creek troops.
I have recently come to believe that Phillips with his mounted troops (Willett's Battalion) did travel far west to the vicinity of Old Ft Arbuckle on the southside of the Canadian. I assumed it was an error in Phillips report in the ORs that was addressed from "Little River Town (Old Fort Arbuckle)" and thought it really meant Old Fort Holmes at the mouth of Little River on the Canadian but other references I found to Little River Town lead me to believe Phillips actually accompanied his cavalry west into the Seminole Country before returning to Ft Gibson. (Old Ft Arbuckle is in the Chickasaw Nation but I believe Little River Town is in the Seminole Nation on the north side of the Canadian).
Tell me more about Colbert living near Cochran before/during the war. Is there documentation that proves this? This is one more piece of evidence that Phillips' route was down the Chickasaw border and further west and not along the Texas Road near present Atoka.
It is possible that the balance of the 14th KS Cav came down the Texas Road but it seems unlikely they went as far as present Atoka before returning to Ft Smith. I actually don't think they moved to North Fork Town because Phillips sent men there to wait for them but Phillips says he never heard from them. If they did move any distance from Ft Smith or reached the Texas Road, they may have come down the Butterfield Route which may have put them near Atoka. It does appear that after the Battle of Middle Boggy, pickets were sent up the Texas Road to watch for Union troops. These may have been sent to watch for the balance of the 14th KS Cav coming from Ft Smith -- not for Phillips in the Chickasaw Nation.