Battle of Honey Springs Reenactments
Our thanks to everyone who helped to make this year's reenactment a success! The next reenactment will be held in 2023.
This biennial event includes two battle reenactments and self-guided tours through the Union, Confederate, and civilian camps. Visitors can experience military drills, demonstrations, and living history programs. Sutlers Row will feature a number of vendors selling clothes, books, souvenirs, and reproduction nineteenth-century military equipment. Visitors from around the state come to see special presentations and watch the battle. This reenactment is a scripted battle, which means the reenactor companies and regiments make the same actions that were taken in the original battle, on the original battlefield.
About the Battle of Honey Springs
The Battle of Honey Springs reenactment shows the largest of approximately 107 documented Civil War military engagements in present-day Oklahoma. The engagement took place on July 17, 1863, just two weeks after the famous Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. 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.
