Battle of Middle Boggy Depot

Battle of Middle Boggy

Date	February 13, 1864 (1864-02-13)
Location	Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, near present-day Allen, Oklahoma in ,
Result	Union victory

Belligerents

United States of America (Union)

CSA (Confederacy)

Commanders and leaders

Col. William A. Phillips
Maj. Charles Willetts
Cpt. Solomon Kaufman

Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper
Lt. Col. John Jumper
Cpt. Jonathan Nail

Strength

350 men
2 howitzers

90 men

Casualties and losses

49 killed

The Battle of Middle Boggy sometimes called either Battle of Middle Boggy River or Battle of Middle Boggy Depot, took place on February 13, 1864 in Choctaw Indian Territory, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of what is now Allen in . Advancing down the Dragoon Trail toward Fort Washita, Union Colonel William A. Phillips sent out an advance of approximately 350 men from the 14th Kansas Cavalry (led by Maj. Charles Willetts) and two howitzers (led by Captain Solomon Kaufman) to attack a Confederate outpost guarding the Trail's crossing of Middle Boggy River. The Confederate force was led by Captain Jonathan Nail and composed of one company of the First Choctaw and Chickasaw Cavalry, a detachment of the 20th Texas Cavalry and part of the Seminole Battalion of Mounted Rifles. The outpost was about 12 miles (19 km) from Muddy Boggy Depot, which was held by the Confederates. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture says that the battlefield was 15 miles northeast of the depot, whereas the battlefield marker says the distance was 12 miles. The Confederate force at the outpost, consisting of 90 poorly armed men, were caught off guard when Willetts attacked them. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Confederates held off the Union cavalry attack for approximately 30 minutes before retreating to the rest of Lt. Col. John Jumper's Seminole Battalion, who were not at the main skirmish. The Confederates retreated 45 miles (72 km) southwest down the Dragoon Trail. The Union advance continued south toward Ft. Washita the next day, but when the expected reinforcements did not arrive Philips' Expedition into Indian Territory stalled on February 15, near old Stonewall.

Union Colonel William A Phillips led an expedition consisting of about 1,500 soldiers to divide the Confederate forces in Indian Territory along a line from Fort Gibson to the Red River. The force represented three companies of the 14th Kansas Cavalry, a battalion of Kansas Infantry and two regiments of the Indian Home Guard, supported by howitzers from the 3rd Regiment of the Indian Home Guards. The expedition had four objectives: (1) establish Union Control over the Indian Territory, (2) offer amnesty to the Creek, Seminole, and Chickasaw Indians provided in President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of December 1863; sever Confederate treaties with the tribes and (4) gain new recruits.

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