Honey Springs Battlefield held its annual memorial service this past Saturday honoring the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs near Checotah. The Friends of Honey Springs also had their annual business meeting and the Checotah Landmark Preservation Society hosted a light luncheon of sandwiches and homemade desserts.

This year’s event opened with remarks from Molly Hutchins, director of Honey Springs Battlefield, and the presentation of colors by the 24th Missouri Infantry and 1st Arkansas Mountain Artillery. Rev. Samuel Cunningham of Mount Olive Baptist Church led the invocation.

Then OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson spoke with a crowd gathered to honor the soldiers who fought so many years ago for their freedom.

“It’s a privilege to be with you all as we mark the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs, the largest Civil War battle in Indian territory,” Thompson said. “We pause here this morning to remember the momentous events that happened on this hallowed ground. We recall the grit and determination it took for Union soldiers to cross the swollen Arkansas River during the night, a necessary action to confront the Confederate Army before reinforcements could arrive. We comprehend the bravery it took for the Confederate troops to confront the advancing Union Army, despite a disadvantage in artillery. We feel the stifling heat rising with each passing hour, and we hear the mosquitoes and the gnats buzzing about our ears as we await the call to action. We hear soldiers rustling in the tree line and we fear what we cannot see. How many men are back there? How well supplied are they? How long will they fight?”

He then read an excerpt from Colonel Stephen Waddles with the first Indian home guard who recalled after the battle, ‘I advanced under a destructive fire from the enemy…On the left of the bridge, the enemy formed several times and desperately contested every foot of ground.’

He also read from a report written by Major General James Blunt with the Union Army, ‘In a few moments, the entire force was engaged… the fighting was unremitting and terrific for two hours.’

Thompson stated, “As you look out over this field today, think of those two words used to describe the fighting -unremitting and terrific. Though the landscape is calm today, 162 years ago, it was anything but. I’ve never been in battle, but I suspect that any image that I could conjure in my mind would not do the horrors justice.

“Despite the outcome of this battle, the Civil War would trudge on for another two years.

People in Indian Territory would continue to be displaced. Civilians would continue to starve.

Families would continue fighting each other. Farms and homesteads would be plundered and burned. Soldiers would continue to die in a war that everyone had grown weary of by the time July 17, 1863, rolled around.

“As we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, we must keep the words of General Blunt in the forefronts of our minds, ‘We honor those who perished, but we must be careful not to glorify war itself.’ By keeping the memory of this battle alive, we hope that Americans will seek to find other ways to resolve our conflicts…and be determined to find humanity in each other.”

Special speaker, Dr. Matthew Pierce, the state historian for the Oklahoma Historical Society also spoke briefly with those in attendance and expressed his appreciation for the opportunities he has to share with audiences across the states.

He went on to explain how it is not uncommon for historians to present works in progress to audiences and that the audience was getting one such work, entitled ‘Behind the Flag, the Political Life of Ruth Dickinson Clement.’

“I got on this story because of how much I’ve had to think about commemoration…On the one hand, sometimes I get frustrated with the work that can be involved in all these types of events.

But on the other hand, I recognize the valuable opportunities for conversation, reflection, and community building that commemoration provides. It’s important to remember that to commemorate, to memorialize, those are verbs, those are actions that we do as a people.

They are called to commemorate through particular rituals or to preserve in memory.

“So while preparing for my speech today, I was struck by the statement from Reverend Mike Asher of the First United Methodist Church in Checotah, who in July 1992 told those gathered at this place that the purpose of this service is to, ‘Remind us the cost of doing battle. We hope, oh God, we will not repeat history. That’s why we study history.’

“So I wish to tell you the story about a historical figure I recently came across during yet another commemoration we recently had on the 100th anniversary of the Oklahoma State Flag, which we hosted in April of this year. Though this individual did not have any direct ties to the Honey Springs Battlefield, she was an individual committed to the commemoration of Oklahoma’s Civil War history.

“On June 17, 1911 Ruth Dickinson Clement received a glowing biography in the Capital News. The biography established Ruth’s Southern heritage, stating that she was born in Kentucky and resided for a time in Texas before coming to Oklahoma to become, ‘One of Oklahoma City’s most talented and highly respected citizens.’ She was credited with establishing the first women’s club in Capitol Hill, and she was a member of the Women of 89, which was a predecessor to the 1889er Society. She was the leading figure in both the Oklahoma City Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Oklahoma Division of the Daughters of the Confederacy or the UDC. In fact, she was president of the Oklahoma Division of the UDC at the time this biography was published.

“Clement was also a state official, having been appointed by Governor Lee Cruz to serve on the board of trustees that oversaw the Confederate Veterans Home in Ardmore, which was the state facility, tasked with housing and caring for Confederate veterans. The newspaper noted that Ruth was the first woman appointed to this body. It also noted that Ruth regularly attended national reunions or encampments. The Confederate veterans were claiming that no one was ‘more beloved, honored, and respected by the boys who wore the gray living today than Ruth Clement.’ All these accomplishments were highlighted before the biography even noted Ruth’s role in designing Oklahoma’s first state flag.

“Newspapers across Oklahoma reported on her work at the local and state levels which culminated in a campaign in a Democratic primary for Commissioner of Charities and Corrections in 1914, a race she ultimately lost. Yet paying closer attention to Ruth Clement, allows us to better understand the social and political networks that women established in Oklahoma.

“In 1911, Clement felt it important to convey the fact that Oklahoma was admitted to the union as the 46th state. But rather than the flag, I find Clement’s slogan during her 1914 campaign for Commissioner of Charities Corrections tells us more about how she defined herself and the state of Oklahoma. The slogan is as follows, quote, born in Kentucky, reared in Texas, an 89er, a daughter of the Confederacy, a Democrat.

“Oklahoma’s past and present is littered with opportunities for commemoration just like this one today. And in my position, there will always be a commemoration that I attend or participate in.

But one thing I think we can take away from Clement’s story is the importance to think deeply, not only about why we commemorate, but to also look for the stories we might be missing or overlooking during those commemorations. And for that reason, we should continue to ask any questions and do the work necessary to answer them. After all, to borrow from the Reverend Asher, once again, that’s why we study history.”

After the speakers, there was an artillery salute and “Taps” was played by Jim Spillars of Fayetteville, AR as all in attendance remembered the Battle of Honey Springs and the interesting stories one might have missed if not archived in newspapers and other documents to keep history alive.