(Yale, Okla.) Civil War troops from across the Old Southwest will soon form up in Yale for the 20th annual Winter Encampment and Battle of Round Mountain reenactment on the property located near the First Assembly of God Church.
The event is traditionally held in February and is slated for Feb. 21 – 23, 2014. The camps will open at noon Friday for area school field trips with the main activities scheduled for Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Battle reenactments will be presented in the early afternoon on both days and a civil war church service will be held Sunday morning in the 22nd Arkansas camp. $5 charge for 12 and older for the Saturday event
In a typical year the event will attract 200 to 400 reenactors, both Union and Confederate, along with a large following of civilian “camp followers.” While in the camps the visitors can talk to the soldiers about life in the 1860s, their weapons, the drill they use,tactics, civil war battles and anything else that is of interest. Many of the troops will offer visitors a chance to shoulder a musket, share a meal or a cup of coffee or just hunker around the fire and warm their fingers and toes.
The reenactors you meet are all amateur historians who prefer living history to reading about it or watching history shows on television. They are from several surrounding states, including Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, and Missouri. Reenactors from as far away as Nebraska, New Mexico and Iowa have attended Round Mountain in past years. Most spend eight to 10 weekends a year at reenactments across the South taking time off from work and using vacation days to pursue their hobby. Many of the events they attend are held on actual battlefields. The reenactors spend a lot of time studying old photos and talking to other reenactors before deciding on the look they want before they spend money on the uniforms, weapons and equipment they use during the weekend excursions. Uniforms and equipment varied a lot during the civil war, depending on the geographic area, theater or whether it was late or early in the conflict. What you see in Indian Territory is quite different than what would be found in the Deep South, Virginia, or in the Army of Tennessee.
The Battle of Round Mountain is unique in letting the spectators view the action from only a few yards away.
Home cooked meals and snacks will be available on site. Several vendors and period sutlers will sell items related to the Victorian era along with correct clothing, uniforms utensils and accouterments.
The actual Battle of Round Mountain was fought on Nov. 19, 1861and declared a Confederate victory as the Union forces under Chief Opothleyahola withdrew during the night.
Opothleyahola led a group of about 2,000 Creek and Seminole Indians who were loyal to the Union and were making their way to Walnut Creek, Kansas. As they left their camp on the Deep Fork River they were trailed by a Confederate force of about 1,400 troopers of the 1st Choctaw-Chickasaw Mounted Rifles, detachments of the Creek Mounted Rifles, a detachment of Confederate Seminoles and a detachment of the 9th Texas Cavalry.
At dusk the Confederate cavalry saw the rear guard of Opothleyahola’s band and charged up a ravine
into an ambush. The skirmish lasted until darkness set in and a prairie fire started by the Loyalists threatened their supply wagons.
The next morning Cooper’s forces searched Opothleyahola’s camp and found several wagons that had been destroyed and a few fresh graves. Cooper then withdrew to Concharty to reorganize his forces.
Cooper and Opothleyahola met two more times in December before Opothleyahola’s band broke up and mingled in with the Cherokees or made their way to Kansas as individuals.
The Battle of Round Mountain is hosted by Co. C, 22nd Arkansas Infantry, headquartered in Mannford, Oklahoma.
The event is sponsored by Yale’s First Assembly of God Church.
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