"The column(Colonel Emorys)had halted near the present McClain-Garvin County line,north of the present town of Paoli. From here Captain(S.D.)Sturgis with his cavalry troops and Lieutenant(W.W.)Averell turned back along the trail they had just traveled, and met the pursuing forces(30 Texans under Captain Alfred Johnson) a few miles from present Pauls Valley in Garvin County,east(or northeast)of the Washita. From available records,this encounter on May 5,1861,was the first between the armed forces of the Union Army and the Southern Confederacy in the Indian Territory at the outbreak of the Civil War."

From an article in the "Chronicles of Oklahoma" called Lieutenant Averell's Ride at the Outbreak of the Civil War by Muriel H Wright. Sorry I failed to copy the date.

I would like to suggest the possibility of an Historical Marker. Im in Texas and would like to know how to apply.

Thank you,

Mike