The Indian Territory in the Civil War Message Board

Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River
In Response To: Battle of Middle Boggy ()

The Battle of Middle Boggy was a major engagement within the Phillips Expedition of February 1864. It is believed that Phillips' little army marched from Hillabee to Old Fort Holmes along the Old Beale Wagon Road of 1859-60. See my article's Figures 2,3,& 4 (previously noted, on this move) at:

http://www.history-sites.com/itcw/2014_Version_4.pdf

Old Fort Holmes was located on high ground just northeast of the mouth of Little River with the South Canadian in Hughes County, Oklahoma.

The Beale Wagon Road crossed Little River, going west to nearby legendary Edwards Trading Post, on one of six new steel bridges built along the military road from Fort Smith west past Old Fort Holmes. This bridge crossing Little River was probably completed in 1860. This Beale Road bridge across Little River is described and an updated 1909 replacement bridge (it is argued therein) is shown in a neat article in Bridgehunters at:

https://bridgehunter.com/ok/hughes/little-river

The GPS coordinates of this supposed location of the Beale Road Bridge, connecting Old Fort Holmes and nearby Edwards Trading Post (in the southwestern corner of the Creek Nation) in Hughes County, Oklahoma (to the center of the bridge) is:

35 d, 0 m, 26.28 s N ; 96 d, 23 m, 16.88 s W

I recommend that the two above references be examined in the order given prior to locating the bridge using its GPS coordinates in Google Earth, or such. The Bridgehunter article gives several pictures that show the 1909 replacement bridge structure and its (old Beale) foundations, as of 2009. The north-south bridge and its resulting shadows that can be seen in a late afternoon western sun (at least in my Google Earth Pro) will then make a lot more visual sense. As the bridge now sets in a dry oxbow bend of old Little River on private property, this may be a close as most of us will ever get to it. But the old is clearly still there, and some of us think it is the site of the old Beal Wagon Road bridge, so enjoy your trip!

Messages In This Thread

Battle of Middle Boggy
Re: Battle of Middle Boggy
Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River
Re: Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River
Re: Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River
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Re: Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River
Little River Town
Re: Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River
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Re: Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River
Re: Beale Wagon Road Bridge Across Little River