One item of note in 1861 is Wm Dole's letter (Item #2) to the Secretary of the Interior recommending two or three thousand men be stationed in the Indian Territory "near the borders of Arkansas and Texas" to insure the tribes remain allied to the US. What I find interesting is that the letter is dated May 30, 1861 which is over three weeks after Emory abandoned Forts Cobb, Arbuckle, and Washita and marched to Kansas. Surely Dole knew this so he was recommending troops be sent BACK to the Indian Territory. I wonder if he was assuming the tribes would unite with the US troops to face Southern troops from Arkansas and Texas.
Ken