View source for Battle of Perryville (Indian Territory)

{{short description|Battle of the American Civil War}}
{{Hatnote|This article is about an American Civil War battle in the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory. For the Civil War battle of the same name in [[Kentucky]], see [[Battle of Perryville]].}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Battle of Perryville (Indian Territory)
| width       =
| part of      = the ((American Civil War))
| caption     =
| date        = August 23, 1863
| place       = Perryville, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory
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| result      = Union victory
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| combatant1  = {{Flagicon|USA|1863}} [[United States]] ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])
| combatant2  = {{Flagicon|CSA|1863}} [[Confederate States of America|CSA (Confederacy)]]| combatant3  =
| commander1  =  [[James G. Blunt]]
| commander2  = [[William Steele (general)|William Steele]]
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| strength1   = 4,500<ref name=ACP>{{cite web|last1=McClarey|first1=Donald R.|last2=Zummo|first2=Paul|title=August 26, 1863: The Other Battle of Perryville|url=https://almostchosenpeople.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/august-26-1863-the-other-battle-of-perryville/|website=Almost Chosen People|accessdate=6 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225012354/https://almostchosenpeople.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/august-26-1863-the-other-battle-of-perryville/|archive-date=25 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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| casualties1 = 0<ref name=ACP/>
| casualties2 = 49<ref name=ACP/>
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| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Operations to Control Indian Territory}}
}}
The '''Battle of Perryville''' took place during the [[American Civil War]] on August 23, 1863, in what is now [[Pittsburg County, Oklahoma]].
==Background==
Perryville was an important town and county seat of [[Tobucksy County, Choctaw Nation|Tobucksy County]], Choctaw Nation, in the Indian Territory, about halfway between [[Skullyville, Oklahoma|Skullyville]] and [[Boggy Depot, Oklahoma|Boggy Depot]].{{efn|The site is now in [[Pittsburg County, Oklahoma]].}} during the mid 19th Century. It was established as a trading post by James Perry, member of a Choctaw family, about 1838,<ref name="OklahomaFWP">[https://books.google.com/books?id=HvlFlr7fS0QC&dq=perryville+oklahoma&pg=PA340  ''Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State''.] Federal Writers Project. p. 340. 1941. Retrieved September 21, 2014.</ref> and was located at the crossing of the [[Texas Road]] and the [[California Road]]. The site is about {{convert|3|miles|km}} south of [[McAlester, Oklahoma]] on U. S. Highway 69. A post office was established there on February 24, 1841.<ref>[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v004/v004p184.html Bryce, J. Y. "Perryville at one time Regular Military Post."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106160412/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v004/v004p184.html |date=2015-01-06 }} ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Volume 4, Number 2, June 1926. Retrieved February 15, 2015.</ref> It was notable as the site of the Colbert Institute, the Methodist School for Chickasaws, and the Battle of Perryville.<ref>[http://www.blogoklahoma.us/place.aspx?id=242 "Perryville."] Blog Oklahoma. Retrieved September 21, 2014.</ref> Perryville was a stage stop from about 1852 until the [[Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway]] (Katy) built a line through the area in 1872.<ref name="COO-Wright">[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v008/v008p146.html "Additional Notes on Perryville, Choctaw Nation."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108003407/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v008/v008p146.html |date=2015-11-08 }} Wright, Muriel H. ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Volume 8, No. 2. June 1930.</ref>
The community was burned after the battle and no structures survived. The retreating Confederate Army soldiers also dumped a quantity of salt into the community well to assure that the advancing Union forces could not use the site.<ref name="COO-Wright"/>
==Skirmish==
After winning the encounter at Honey Springs, Major General [[James G. Blunt]] learned from scouting reports that Colonel Cooper and his Confederate forces had withdrawn to the Confederate supply depot at Perryville. Blunt, then at Fort Gibson, reassembled a force and led them to Perryville. Arriving there on August 23, 1863, he found that the Confederate commanders, Cooper and Watie, had already left for [[Boggy Depot, Oklahoma|Boggy Depot]]. Only a rear guard, commanded by Brigadier General [[William Steele (general)|William Steele]], remained at Perryville. Steele posted a picket line that included two howitzers to block the road that led into the north side of Perryville. However, the Union troops deployed on both sides of the road and opened fire with their own artillery.<ref>[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PE021 Edwards, Whit.  "Perryville, Battle of."]  Oklahoma Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2015.</ref> The Union forces quickly scattered the Confederate. Blunt secured all supplies he could use and burned the rest, along with the town . Instead of following the retreating Confederates southwest toward Boggy Depot, Blunt proceeded to attack [[Fort Smith National Historic Site|Fort Smith]], which he captured on September 1, 1863.<ref name="Gibson">[https://books.google.com/books?id=WVt9vQ7QSqMC&dq=Perryville.+Oklahoma&pg=PA70 ''The History of Oklahoma''.] Gibson, Arrell Morgan. p.70. 1984. Available on Google Books.Retrieved September 21, 2014.</ref>
==Aftermath==
Perryville was at least partially rebuilt after the end of the Civil War, though it did not return to its former importance or population. It survived as a community until about 1872, when the Katy railroad line reached the Choctaw town of Bucklucksy and built a railroad station named McAlester.{{efn|The town that grew up around the station was later named McAlester.}}  Businesses that had stayed in Perryville moved to the area of the station. This marked the end of Perryville.<ref>[http://www.cityofmcalester.com/index.aspx?nid=130 "History of McAlester."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606220013/http://www.cityofmcalester.com/index.aspx?nid=130 |date=2014-06-06 }} City of McAlester. Retrieved February 15, 2015.</ref> The site is now the location of Chambers, Oklahoma.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://almostchosenpeople.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/august-26-1863-the-other-battle-of-perryville/ |title="August 26, 1863: The Other Battle of Perryville." Almost Chosen People blog. Retrieved February 16, 2015. |access-date=February 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225012354/https://almostchosenpeople.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/august-26-1863-the-other-battle-of-perryville/ |archive-date=February 25, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{efn|Another source gives the name of the community that replaced Perryville as [[Chambers, Oklahoma]]}}<ref>[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PE020 Jon D. May, "Perryville," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' Retrieved February 26, 2015.]</ref>
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150106160412/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v004/v004p184.html Bryce, J. Y. "Perryville at one time Regular Military Post."] ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Volume 4, Number 2, June 1926. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
{{coord missing|Oklahoma}}
{{authority control}}
<!--- Categories --->
[[Category:Ghost towns in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Indian Territory|Perryville]]
[[Category:Geography of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Operations to control Indian Territory (American Civil War)|Perryville]]
[[Category:August 1863 events]]