Trail of Blood on Ice

The Trail of Blood on Ice was a December 1861 campaign in the American Civil War in which pro-Union Native Americans, led by Upper Creek Chief Opothleyahola, fought their way north from Indian Territory (then under Confederate control) to Fort Row, Kansas. They faced continuing attacks from Confederate forces under Col. Douglas H. Cooper.

With the secession of eleven Southern states in 1861, both the Union (American Civil War) and the Confederate States of America vied for control of the Indian Territory. Old tribal rivalries were renewed, with some aligning with the North and others with the South.

When a Confederate force under Col. Douglas H. Cooper attacked Unionist tribes in the Indian Territory, Upper Creek Chief Opothleyahola resisted and led Unionist Creek and Seminole from McIntosh County, Oklahoma north to Fort Row, Kansas. These Indian warriors fought Cooper in a series of battles in the winter of 1861–62. They withdrew to Kansas in a bitterly harsh trek known as the "Trail of Blood on Ice."

The first engagement, the Battle of Round Mountain occurred on November 19, 1861 near the Red Fork of the Arkansas River. The actual location is in dispute as some historians believe it to be near Keystone, while others believe it to be near Yale, Oklahoma. Cooper’s men arrived there around 4:00 p.m. Charging cavalry discovered that Opothleyahola’s followers had recently abandoned their camp. The Confederates located and followed stragglers; the 4th Texas blundered into Opothleyahola’s warriors on the tree line at the foot of the Round Mountains. The Federal response chased the Confederate cavalry back to Cooper’s main force. Darkness prevented Cooper's counterattack until the main enemy force was within 60 yards. After a short fight, Opothleyahola’s men set fire to the prairie grass and retreated.

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