Battle of Backbone Mountain

Le Flore County · near intersection of Hardin Lane and OK-112 in Pocola

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.

Both Civil War engagements noted on this marker occurred in Arkansas. Note from the marker program.

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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Marker data: Oklahoma Historical Society, Historical Marker Program. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's marker database, reproduced with the Society's written permission.
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Battle of Backbone Mountain

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