Triple digit temperatures didn’t deter Civil War enthusiasts from attending Saturday’s Annual Memorial Ceremony recognizing the 159th anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs, an engagement that took place on July 17, 1863, two weeks after the Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
Triple digit temperatures didn’t deter Civil War enthusiasts from attending Saturday’s Annual Memorial Ceremony recognizing the 159th anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs, an engagement that took place on July 17, 1863, two weeks after the Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
Adam Lynn, site manager for Honey Springs Battlefield at Rentiesville, said more than 120 people braved the heat to attend the event.
“We had a good crowd even though it was warm,” he said.
The Memorial Ceremony was held outside the Visitor Center, beneath a canopy, where guest speaker Dr. James Finck, history professor at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, spoke about the importance of battlefields and recognizing the history of the Civil War.
The Ceremony began at 10:30 a.m. and lasted about 90 minutes, avoiding the extreme heat of the afternoon.
Prior to Finck’s lecture, there were welcoming and opening remarks followed by the presentation of colors by the color guard, representing both the North and the South, and an invocation.
Among the attendees were guests from around the state and distant states as well as
Friends of Honey Springs Battlefield hosted the meeting.
At the conclusion, the color guard retired the colors.
Following the retirement of the colors the Board of Directors of Friends of Honey Springs held its annual meeting.
“We were honored to have special guests at the Ceremony,” Lynn said.
Throughout the day there were special Civil War demonstrations and guided tours on the battlefield.
“I was absolutely thrilled with the turnout and with the participation by living historians and
others,” Lynn said.
Each month Honey Springs hosts a different event, such as a program on Civil War food, which will be held Aug. 27, and a Civil War Christmas program on Dec. 10.
Saturday’s service commemorated the largest of approximately 107 documented Civil War military engagements throughout Indian Territory, in presentday Oklahoma.
Approximately 9,000 Union and Confederate troops, mostly American Indians and African Americans, were involved in the Battle of Honey Springs.
Of those, approximately 200 total casualties were suffered. After a decisive Union victory, Confederates lost control of Indian Territory north of the Arkansas River.
The Union victory also ensured Federal control of Fort Gibson in Indian Territory and Fort Smith in Arkansas.
