Historical Marker Program

Battle of Backbone Mountain

Le Flore County
Location: near intersection of Hardin Lane and OK-112 in Pocola
Coordinates: 35.202720, -94.491268
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: Military; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

Union forces, led by Major General James G. Blunt, and Confederate troops, commanded by Brigadier General William L. Cabell, skirmished near this marker’s location in September 1863. The Union victory secured Fort Smith for the remainder of the Civil War. On July 27, 1864, a Choctaw battalion under the command of Captain Jackson McCurtain defeated federal troops in a skirmish nearby.

Note: Both Civil War engagements noted on this marker occurred in Arkansas.