Charlie,
Were these men of the 20th TX Cav (dismounted), Bass's? Can you give me a couple of examples I can look up on Fold3? Bass's wasn't assigned to the Indian Territory until January 1863 when Steele took command and kept them with him at Ft Smith, sending the balance of Speight's Brigade to Doaksville. Prior to that, they were part of Hindman's command in Arkansas.

Blunt had just defeated Cooper at Old Ft Wayne, a few miles southwest of Maysville AR on Oct 22, 1862. Where these prisoners from that battle?

There release might suggest they were deserters or civilians. Had they been guerillas or regular troops, seems they would have been executed or held as POWs.

Ken